The Voconces - Latin Vocontii - are one of the Gallic Peuples beaten between 125 and 118 before J. - C. at the time of the conquest of the province of Narbonnaise. They are reproduced for this reason on the marbles capitolins, in Rome, giving the names of the people overcome during these military operations.

These people occupied an important territory, which included the Vercors in north, the buttresses of the Ventoux in south-west, Manosque in south-east and Embrun in the east, distributed on 5 current departments (Drome, Isere, Hautes-Alpes, Alp-of-High-Provence, Vaucluse).

In the current of before J. - C., Voconces signed with Rome a treaty of friendship ( Fœdus ) which enabled them to keep a certain autonomy and their traditional institutions: one thus finds a praetor and a senate with the head of this city, assisted by praefecti sent in the peripheral districts (the pagi ), which are advised by local assemblies ( vigintiviri ). Public municipal officials and slaves supplement this administrative flow chart. As of this time, their chief towns are Luc-in-Diois and Vaison-the-Roman according to Pline.

Between, the towns of Gap, Sisteron and Vaison took their independence and separated from the city of Voconces, which was found centered on the valley of Drome, with Die like new capital. This city, which was honoured with the statute of colony, was surrounded by a rampart to the Bas-Empire and became the seat of one évêché (325). Audentius, bishop of Die at the 5th century, carried the title of bishop of Voconces.

Principal ancient texts

• Pline Old the , Natural history , III, 37: Vocontiorum civitatis foederata duet capita Vasio and Lucus Augusti in the list of the cities of Latin right, and VII, 78: Iulius Viator, E vocontiorum gente fœderata .

• Strabon , Geography , IV, 6,4; IV, 1,3; IV, 1,12.
• Pomponius Mixed , Chorographie , II, 5,75: Urbium quas habet (Narbonensis) opulentissimæ sunt Vasio Vocontiorum, Vienna Allobrogum…
• Tacit , History , I, 66: Lucus municipium id Vocontiorum is .
• Claude Ptolémée , Geography , II, 10,8 (text prone to controversy on its geographical precision, because omitting several capitals of cities).