The Cerdiciates were a Celto-Ligurian tribe living south of the Po river, in the Northern Appenine, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name They are mentioned as Cerdiciates by Livy (1st c. AD).Livy. Hist., 32.29
The ethnic name is formed with the suffix -ati- attached to a base *ker-dik-io-. The latter may derive from the Gaulish stem cerdo(n) ('craftsman'; cf. Old Irish cerd 'skill, art (esp. poetic art), craftsman', Middle Welsh cerdd 'skill, poetry, music').
Geography Their territory was located south of the Po river, in the Northern Appenine.
History The Cerdiciates are mentioned by Livy, who describes them as 'Ligurian'. During the war against Philip V of Macedon, the consuls Quintus Minucius Rufus and Gaius Cornelius Cethegus were assigned to Italy with two legions each to suppress revolts among Cisalpine Gauls. While Cornelius campaigned against the Insubres and Cenomani, Minucius advanced to Genoa and attacked several Ligurian communities, including the towns of Clastidium, Litubium, and the peoples of the Celeiates and Cerdiciates.
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