The Sicani are the oldest inhabitants of Sicily with a recorded name. In the 5th century BCE, the Greek historian
Thucydides, claims that the Sicani originated on the
Iberian Peninsula, from around a river they called "Sicanus" and had migrated to Sicily following an invasion by the
Ligurians. (The name Sicanus has been linked to the river known in modern
Spanish as the
Júcar.) Thucydides' source is unknown, although he often draws on the Sicilian historian
Antiochus of Syracuse. Conversely,
Timaeus of
Tauromenium (writing c. 300 BCE) considers the Sicani to be indigenous to Sicily. A third theory, put forward by some modern scholars, suggests that the Sicani were immigrants, who gained control of areas previously inhabited by native tribes. The testimony of a Sicanian migration by land is supported by
Greek geographer
Pausanias (writing c. 150 BCE), who does not seem to depend on Thucydides when he asserts that three peoples arrived in Sicily: Sicani,
Sicels and
Phrygians: the first two came from Italy, while the third came from
Troy.
Pliny the Elder and
Gaius Julius Solinus also mention the Sicani, among the peoples of the Mount Albanus league in the
Old Latium. The Sicans are mentioned in
Virgil's
Aeneid as allies of the
Rutuli,
Aurunci and Sacrani of Old Latium.
Aulus Gellius and
Macrobius remember them with the Aurunci and the
Pelasgians. Archaeological research suggests that the Sicani were influenced at an early stage by the
Mycenaeans (prior to the Greek colonisation of Sicily). It is generally agreed by scholars that the Sicani preceded other inhabitants of Sicily in prehistory, namely the
Elymians and
Sicels. The former are thought to be the next recorded people to settle Sicily. According to
Hellanicus of Lesbos, Elymians were a population of
Italic origin, who arrived in Sicily after having fought a war with the
Oenotrians. They settled in the north-west corner of the island, forcing the Sicanians to move across eastward. The Sicels were the next to arrive, from mainland
Italy, and settled in the east. The arrival of the Sicels is thought to have occurred during the thirteenth or eleventh century BCE. The Sicanians area after this became limited to the south-western part of the island with settlements in the area of
Gela and
Agrigentum. The Sicani enter the historical record with the Phoenicians, who established colonies during the 11th century BCE – preceding the Greeks, who founded the colony of
Syracuse. While many other Greek colonies were established around the island, by
734 BCE Syracuse had become the largest city in the Greek-speaking world. The Sicani were gradually absorbed by these colonizing peoples. They disappeared as a distinct people following the annexation of Sicily by the Roman Republic. ==Herodotus and King Minos==