chiefdom · France and the Low Countries

Sotiates

300 BCE – 56 BCE (approx.)

Aquitanian people of the Sos district whose king Adiatuanus made a last stand against Rome with six hundred sworn companions.

Origins

The Sotiates were one of the Aquitani, living around the oppidum of Sos in the modern Lot-et-Garonne, north of the Pyrenean foothills. They are known almost entirely from Caesar's account of the campaign of his legate Publius Crassus in 56 BCE.

Rule and society

Caesar describes their king Adiatuanus surrounded by six hundred soldurii, sworn companions who vowed to share their lord's fate and never survive him. Coins inscribed with the names of the Sotiates and of Adiatuanus confirm the account.

Decline and legacy

Crassus defeated the Sotiates in open battle and besieged their oppidum; the defenders, skilled from their copper mines, tried in vain to undermine the Roman siege works. After a failed sortie Adiatuanus surrendered. Their land later formed part of the Roman province of Aquitania.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sotiates. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sotiates
MLA
“Sotiates.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sotiates. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Sotiates.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sotiates.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sotiates’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sotiates (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻