Veneti

Attributes: | +50% Charge Strength, +25% Charge Block

The largest Illyric faction in the game, the **Veneti** are located in the northeastern corner of the map in Venetia.

Their starting neighbours are the Histri, Cenomani and North Etruscans.

### In-game Description

"The Veneti, sometimes known as the Paleoveneti or the Adriatic Veneti to distinguish them from other groups using the name such as modern people from their region or the gallic tribe in Brittany, are a group of people in the northern Italian coast of disputed origin. They were noted as not being Gallic despite being surrounded and influenced by them; ancient sources hypothesize an Illyrian or even Trojan source for them, though this is disputed by modern scholarship. They were famous for the quality of their horses, with Greek factions even establishing trade colonies nearby to access them. Relations with the nearer Gauls, save for the Cenomani, were more strained."

### Starting Cities

* **Patavium**: Later known as Padua, legend says Patavium was founded in the 11th century BC by the Trojan Prince Antenor after the fall of Troy. Under the Veneti, the city became an important Roman ally and bulwark against the Gauls, Etruscans and Carthaginians.
* **Ateste**: Ateste, named after a river that later changed course and thus stopped touching the city, is a major Venetic city that was once the capital of a distinct culture. This "Este culture" (named after the modern city found at Ateste) was later subsumed into the Veneti, but their capital would continue to be a thriving city and source of recruits until the early Roman Imperial era.
* **Vicetia**: Vicetia (modern Vicenza) is a town located near major rivers. It is said by Strabo to have been founded by the Euganei, but the discovery of a vast wealth of stones inscribed in the Venetic language to the Venetic goddess Reitia hint instead at a Venetic population.
* **Altinum**: Altinum is a minor Veneti town found in a marshy area on the edge of lagoons, subject to frequent floodings. Around 452 CE, Attila the Hun would capture and destroy it and most surrounding towns, whose survivors would flee to a series of islands in the nearby lagoon, founding a new city called Venice.
* **Acelum**: Acelum is a minor town of the Veneti believed to have hosted transhumant farmers. Its name is thought to mean "sharp place" and refer to its position in the hills from which it overlooks the plains.
* **Bellunum**: Bellunum, modern Belluno, is a settlement of the Veneti located just south of the Dolomites. It is in an excellent position to control the valley below and provide iron and copper from the mountains above.
* **Opitergium**: Opitergium (mordern Oderzo) is a town of the Veneti located near two major rivers and their border with the Carni. Their location near these routes and the Venetic word for "market" mean they were likely a major trade centre.
* **Carni**: The Carni are an Alpine tribe of gauls who are thought to have loaned their name to Carinthia, Carnia and Carniola. They are known to winter in the plains south of their mountains, eventually founding the city Akileja before being driven off by the Romans, who would rename it Aquileia.

### Strategy

With a large amount of native cities and few border areas, the Veneti should be a relatively easy faction to start as. Your starting city is relatively close to the Cenomani and North Etruscans, however, so it might become necessary to use diplomacy to secure a truce with one or both of them while still in the process of uniting your starting cities.

The Histri are the easiest target for your first conquest, as conquering them does not open up any new borders with other factions. They also suffer from a penalty to unit morale and have much less cities to draw recruits from. However, any avenue of expansion should be viable after you've gathered your native cities, since the Veneti have a strong start with many cities.

### Trivia & History

* In reality, the Veneti were not properly Illyric and represent a distinct ethnic group of the region. While some ancient historians suggested that the Veneti may have had an Illyric origin, modern analysis of the remains of their language has revealed that they were likely more closely related to the Latin and Sabellic peoples instead, though there are also similarities to Celtic and their exact affinity remains uncertain. They were presumably given the Illyric faction group in-game because it would have been difficult to design a unique faction group for the Veneti due to a lack of information regarding their original culture and fighting style, and because the Veneti may have been in close contact with the Illyrians and influenced by them regardless.
* Gallic influences would eventually became more dominant over the Veneti as the Gauls gradually assimilated the Po Valley, especially after the 4th Century BC. Some ancient sources claim that they became so heavily influenced by Gallic culture that they eventually became Gauls in every aspect except for their language.
* The Veneti were exposed to Greek influence as well, especially thanks to a colony of Syrakousai that was founded at Adria in the 380s BC, on the southern border of the Veneti.
* Many of the areas owned by the Veneti were, according to legend, originally owned by a people known as the Euganei. Their affiliation is unsure, and they may have been related to the Ligures or alternatively the Rhaeti who inhabited the nearby section of the Alps. Regardless, the Veneti gradually drove these people further inland towards the Alps as they assimilated Venetia.
* The Veneti allied with Rome in the 230s BC, and also maintained friendly relations with the Cenomani who became Roman allies as well. The Veneti seem to have been voluntarily absorbed into Rome's political and cultural domain over the course of the 2nd Century BC.
* The faction icon depicts the winged horse Pegasus of Greek mythology. The exact design is probably taken from Greek coins found at Adria.