The Province of Sardinia and Corsica ( la, Provincia Sardinia et Corsica) was an ancient
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
including the islands of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
and
Corsica.
Pre-Roman times
The
Nuragic civilization
The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, was a civilization or culture on Sardinia (Italy), the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, which lasted from the 18th century BC (Middle Bronze Age) (or from t ...
flourished in Sardinia from 1800 to 500 BC. The ancient
Sardinians
The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy de ...
, also known as Nuragics, traded with many different Mediterranean peoples during the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
and early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
, especially with the
Myceneans
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland ...
and the
Cypriots. Sardinians also built many coastal settlements, like
Nora
Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to:
* Nora (name), a feminine given name
People with the surname
* Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer
* Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian
Places Australia
* Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...
and
Tharros
Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Archaic Greek: , Hellenistic Greek, Tarras or Tarrae, Τάρραι) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy.
It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeologica ...
, and the characteristic tower buildings the island is known for, the
nuraghe
The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese Sardinian , Italian ), or also nurhag in English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B.C. ...
s. The similar
Torrean civilization
The Torrean civilization was a Bronze Age megalithic civilization that developed in Southern Corsica, mostly concentrated south of Ajaccio, during the second half of the second millennium BC.
History
The characteristic buildings of this cul ...
also developed in
Southern Corsica, where several ''torri'' were built. The ancient Sardinians had reached a high level of cultural complexity, building large federal sanctuaries, where the Nuragic communities gathered to participate in the same rituals during festivities. The Nuragic people were able to organize themselves and accomplish several complex projects, such as building refined temples, hydraulic implants like fountains and aqueducts, and creating life sized statues despite the lack of an elite and lacking virtually any degree of social stratification.
The
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
ns later established several commercial stations in the coast of Sardinia, the Sardinians and Phoenicians coexisted in urban centers across the coasts.
Along with them went the
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
, who founded the
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
of
Alalia
Speech delay, also known as alalia, refers to a delay in the development or use of the mechanisms that produce speech. Speech – as distinct from language – is the actual process of making sounds, using such organs and structures as the lungs, ...
in Corsica, and
Olbia
Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...
in Sardinia. The
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
, then a Phoenician dependency, conquered Alalia in 535 BC with the
Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...
' help. After Corsica, even part of Sardinia came under the control of the Carthaginians.
History
Even though Rome had drawn up an earlier treaty with Carthage following the
First Punic War, a complete disregard to the agreement led it to annex Sardinia and Corsica by force during the
Mercenary War
The Mercenary War, also known as the Truceless War, was a mutiny by troops that were employed by Carthage at the end of the First Punic War (264241 BC), supported by uprisings of African settlements revolting against Carthaginian contro ...
. In 238 BC, the Carthaginians, accepting their defeat in the First Punic War, surrendered Corsica and Sardinia, which together became a province of Rome.
This marked the beginning of Roman domination in the Western Mediterranean. The Romans ruled the area for 694 years.
The
Nuragic Sardinians
The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy de ...
and
Corsicans
The Corsicans ( Corsican, Italian and Ligurian: ''Corsi''; French: ''Corses'') are a Romance ethnic group. They are native to Corsica, a Mediterranean island and a territorial collectivity of France.
Origin
The island was populated since ...
, however, often rebelled against the Roman rulers. A revolt broke out in 235 BC, but it was violently suppressed by
Manlius Torquatus, who celebrated a triumph over the Sardinians. Other revolts arose in 233 BC and were repressed as well by the consul
Spurius Carvilius Maximus Ruga
Spurius Carvilius Maximus Ruga (died 212 BC) was Roman consul in 234 and 228 BC. Spurius Carvilius Ruga, the schoolteacher, was his freedman.
Consulships
The son of Spurius Carvilius Maximus, Carvilius was elected consul with Lucius Postumius A ...
, who celebrated with a triumph the same year. In 232 BC, the Sardinians were defeated again, this time by the consul
Manlus Pompilus who was granted the honor of celebrating a triumph. In 231 BC, in light of the widespread tensions, a consular army was sent to deal with each island: one against the Corsicans, commanded by Papirius Maso, and the other one against the Sardinians, led by
Marcus Pomponius Matho Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to:
* Marcus (name), a masculine given name
* Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name
Places
* Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44
* Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...
. However, the consuls did not manage to report a triumph since both campaigns failed. A mass revolt, known as ''Bellum Sardum'', broke out during the
Second Punic War in 216 BC: a massive Sardinian rebellion led by the landowner
Hampsicora, a native of the city of
Cornus
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...
, who commanded an army of natives and allied
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
with the title of ''Dux Sardorum'', and aided the Sardinian army with 15,000 foot soldiers and 1,500 knights. The Roman and the Sardo-Punic army fought at the Battle of Decimomannu; however, the Romans prevailed, and the rebellion ended with Hampsicora's suicide and the sack of the city of Cornus at the hands of the
Roman Army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
, commanded by Manlius Torquatus.
The 2nd century BC was a period of turmoil in the province. In 181 BC the
Corsi, a population living in Southern Corsica and North East Sardinia, rebelled against the Romans. The revolt was stopped by
Marcus Pinarius Posca, who killed 2,000 rebels and enslaved a number of them. In 177/176 BC, to quell the rebellion of the Sardinian tribes known as the
Balares The Balares were one of the three major groups among which the Nuragic Sardinians considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the Ilienses).
History
Pausanias in his work ''Periegesis'' speculated that the Balares were the descend ...
and the
Ilienses The Ilienses (or ''Iolaes'', later known as ''Diagesbes''Strabo, Geographica V, 2,7.) were an ancient Nuragic people who lived during the Bronze and Iron Ages in central-southern Sardinia, as well as one of the three major groups among which the anc ...
, the Senate sent the consul
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus to be in charge of two legions; each was composed of 5,200 common soldiers and 300 knights, with another 1,200 infantrymen and 600 knights among allies and Latins. It is estimated that around 27,000 Sardinians lost their lives in this revolt (12,000 in 177 and 15,000 in 176); following the defeat, the tax burden was doubled on the islanders, and Gracchus obtained a triumph.
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
reports the inscription on the temple of the goddess
Mater Matuta
Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora, and the Greek goddess Eos. Her cult is attested several places in Latium; her most famous temple was located at Satricum. In Rom ...
, in Rome, in which the winners exhibited a commemorative plaque that said:
In 174 BC, another revolt broke out in Sardinia, resulting in a Roman victory by
Titus Manlius Torquatus with a ''strage et fuga Sardorum'', leaving an estimated 80,000 Sardinians dead on the battlefield.
[Brigaglia, Manlio. Mastino, Attilio. Ortu, Gian Giacomo (2006). ''Storia della Sardegna, dalle origini al Settecento'', Editore La Terza, pp.36] The following year another uprising occurred in Sardinia, the island's praetor
Atilius Servatus was defeated and forced to take refuge on the other island. Atilius asked Rome for reinforcements, which were provided by Gaius Cicerius. Vowing to
Juno Moneta
In Roman mythology, Moneta (Latin Monēta) was a title given to two separate goddesses: It was the name of the goddess of memory (identified with the Greek goddess Mnemosyne), and it was an epithet of Juno, called Juno Moneta (Latin Iūno Monē ...
to build a temple in case of success, Cicerius reported a victory, killing 7,000 Corsi and enslaving 1,700 of them. In 163 BC,
Marcus Juventhius Thalna quashed another revolt without further details about the expedition. It is recorded that upon hearing of the mission accomplished in Sardinia, the Roman Senate announced public prayers and that Thalna himself, being aware of the Roman universal acclaim for the success, experienced such powerful emotions that he died. However, the rebellion must have resumed shortly afterward since
Scipio Nasica was later sent to pacify the island.
Two other revolts broke out in 126 and 122 BC and were put down by
Lucius Aurelius who celebrated his victory over the Sardinians, and celebrated a triumph afterward. The last major uprising happened in 111 BC, and was repressed by the consul
Marcus Caecilius Metellus, who was able to defeat the armies of the coastal and highland Sardinians. He was allowed the honor of celebrating a triumph, the last recorded Roman triumph against the Sardinians. From then on, the Sardinians living on the coastal areas and the lowlands definitely ceased to revolt, but the highland populations continued to rebel from time to time, coming to be known as ''
civitates Barbariae''.
In the late Republic,
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...
and
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had t ...
settled their veterans on Corsica and used the islands' grain supply to support their war efforts.
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
had his delegates capture the islands from
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
and gained control of the grain supply in the process. The wheat supply fed his army and ensured its victory in the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
of 49 BC. During the
Second Triumvirate, Octavian received the islands as part of his share and used its grain supply to feed his armies against Brutus and Cassius.
Between 40 and 38 BC,
Sextus Pompey
Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the las ...
, son of Pompey, and his
legate
Legate may refer to:
*Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
Menas occupied Corsica and terrorised Sardinia,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and even the Italian peninsula with a great pirate fleet. Along with the three
Triumvir
A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
s, Sextus Pompey was one of the four most significant contenders in the warfare after Julius Caesar's death. His fleet largely consisted of thousands of slaves and he also held many strongholds on Corsica. With it, he so seriously threatened the Roman
grain supply that Octavian had to make peace with Sextus Pompey since it was then not possible to beat him. In the
Pact of Misenum
The Pact of Misenum was a treaty to end the naval blockade of the Italian Peninsula during the Sicilian revolt. The pact was signed in 39 BC between Sextus Pompeius and the members of the Second Triumvirate – specifically, Mark Antony and Gai ...
(39 BC), Sextus Pompey was assigned Corsica and Sardinia, as well as Sicily and
Achaia
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...
, in return for ending the blockade of the mainland and remaining neutral in the conflict between Octavian and
Marc Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the aut ...
. However, Octavian was not satisfied with the area assigned to him and conflict erupted anew in 38 BC. Pompey again blockaded the Italian mainland, leading to famine. Later that year, Octavian gathered a fleet that was so powerful that defeated Sextus Pompey and became ruler of the area again.
In
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
's provincial reforms in 27 BC, ''Sardinia et Corsica'' became a
senatorial province
A senatorial province ( la, provincia populi Romani, province of the Roman people) was a Roman province during the Principate where the Roman Senate had the right to appoint the governor (proconsul). These provinces were away from the outer b ...
. The province was administered by a
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...
with the rank of a praetor. In AD 6, a separate senatorial province of ''Corsica'' was established since Augustus had appropriated the island of Sardinia, where a large garrison was kept under arms, as one of his personal provinces. Even after the return of Sardinia to the Senate in AD 67, the two islands remained separate provinces. Sardinia was always ruled by a ''praefectus (provinciae) Sardiniae'' and from Claudius on, the main and official title was enriched by the attribute
procurator Augusti.
The provinces of Corsica and Sardinia were incorporated into the
Diocese of Italy by
Diocletian in 292 AD, along with Sicily and
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
.
Roman opinion of the province
![Pula (Italy) - Nora (26)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Pula_%28Italy%29_-_Nora_%2826%29.JPG)
The coastal regions of both islands were settled by Romans and adopted the Latin language and culture; however, the interior areas of Sardinia and Corsica resisted the invaders.
A variety of revolts and uprisings occurred: however, since the interior areas were densely forested, the Romans avoided them and set them aside as ''Barbaria'', i.e. the “land of the barbarians”.
[
]
Overall, Corsica and Sardinia became trivial gains compared to the Roman Empire's eastern gains like
Roman Egypt. The Romans regarded both the islands and their peoples as backward and unhealthy, in all likelihood due to the long-standing presence of
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
. A 2017 study has in fact demonstrated that malaria was already endemic at least to Sardinia over 2000 years ago, as proven by the presence of
beta thalassemia
Beta thalassemias (β thalassemias) are a group of inherited blood disorders. They are forms of thalassemia caused by reduced or absent synthesis of the beta chains of hemoglobin that result in variable outcomes ranging from severe anemia to cl ...
in the DNA of a Sardinian individual buried in the Punic necropolis of Carales.
From Corsica, the Romans did not receive much spoil nor were the prisoners willing to bow to foreign rule, and to learn anything Roman;
Strabo, depicting the
Corsicans
The Corsicans ( Corsican, Italian and Ligurian: ''Corsi''; French: ''Corses'') are a Romance ethnic group. They are native to Corsica, a Mediterranean island and a territorial collectivity of France.
Origin
The island was populated since ...
as bestial people resorting to live by plunder, said that “whoever has bought one, aggravating their purchasers by their apathy and insensibility, regrets the waste of his money”.
The same went for Sardinian slaves, who acquired an infamous reputation for being untrustworthy and killing their masters if they had the chance.
Since Sardinian captives once flooded the Roman slave markets after a Roman victory over a serious rebellion from the mountain tribes,
the proverb ''Sardi venales'' ("Sardinians for cheap") became a common Latin expression to indicate anything cheap and worthless,
as
Livius
''Livius'' is a genus of South American tangled nest spiders containing the single species, ''Livius macrospinus''. It was first described by V. D. Roth in 1967, and has only been found in Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ...
reported.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
referred to the
Sardinians
The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy de ...
, reportedly ill-disposed as no other towards the Roman people,
[Mastino, Attilio (2005). ''Storia della Sardegna antica'', Sassari, Edizioni il Maestrale, pg. 82] as "every one worse than his fellow" (''alius alio nequior''), and to their rebels from the highlands, who kept fighting the Romans in guerrilla-style, as "thieves with rough wool cloaks" (''latrones mastrucati'').
The Roman orator likened the Sardinians to the ancient
Berbers of
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
(''A Poenis admixto Afrorum genere Sardi''
"from the Punics, mixed with
orth Orth can refer to:
Places
* Orth, Minnesota, an unincorporated community in Nore Township, Minnesota, United States
* Orth an der Donau, a town in Gänserndorf, Lower Austria, Austria
* Orth House, a historic house in Winnetka, Illinois, United S ...
African blood, originated the Sardinians", ''Africa ipsa parens illa Sardiniae''
"
orth Orth can refer to:
Places
* Orth, Minnesota, an unincorporated community in Nore Township, Minnesota, United States
* Orth an der Donau, a town in Gänserndorf, Lower Austria, Austria
* Orth House, a historic house in Winnetka, Illinois, United S ...
Africa itself is Sardinia's progenitor"), using also the name ''
Afer'' (North Africans,
orth Orth can refer to:
Places
* Orth, Minnesota, an unincorporated community in Nore Township, Minnesota, United States
* Orth an der Donau, a town in Gänserndorf, Lower Austria, Austria
* Orth House, a historic house in Winnetka, Illinois, United S ...
African) and ''Sardus'' (Sardinian) as interchangeable, to prove their supposed cunning and hideous nature inherited by the former Carthaginian masters.
Cicero stated that no Sardinian city had ever been friendly to the Romans.
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, following the tradition set by Cicero, used to compare the Sardinians to the Berber tribe of the
Getuli, stating that ''quaedam nationes harum pellibus sunt vestitae, ut in Gaetulia et in Sardinia'' ("Some barbarous nations use
oat
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...
skins for clothing, like, for instance, in Getulia and Sardinia").
Many of the negative stereotypes were fueled by the Sardinians' deep-seated hostility towards Rome and their frequent rebellions which would last for centuries: even during the 1st century BC, while the rest of the island was mostly brought to the Roman order, the Sardinian highlands were often in turmoil.
Strabo mentioned that the populations residing in the mountains were still not completely pacified during his time and eventually resorted to live off plunder, pillaging other Sardinian communities and sailing with their ships to raid the
Etrurian shores; in particular, they often committed acts of
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
against the city of
Pisa.
However, some Romans held a positive opinion of the Sardinians; Caesar, for instance, memorized his uncle's oration ''Pro Sardis'', an oration in favor of the Sardinians, and he was a close friend of the Sardinian singer
Tigellius
Tigellius (1st century BC – 40 BC), was a lyric poet during the time of Julius Caesar. The little information we have about him derives from the Satires of Horace and some letters of Cicero. From them we know that he was a Sardinian, a fine ...
. The city of Carales was in fact a supporter of Caesar and the ''populares'' as well, and aided him with some troops during the
battle of Thapsus
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...
.
Relationship to Rome
![Mosaico di Orfeo da Cagliari - Museo Archelogico di Torino](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Mosaico_di_Orfeo_da_Cagliari_-_Museo_Archelogico_di_Torino.jpg)
Corsica and Sardinia were kept in a scarcely urbanised state and came mostly to be used as places of exile.
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus (c. 86 BC – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC. He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the co ...
, the lawyer accused of conspiracy by
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
, was sent to the province, while Anicentus, murderer of
the elder Agrippina, was specifically sent to Sardinia. Many Jews and Christians were also sent to the islands under
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
.
Christians were often exiled to Sardinia, so that they would be forced to work in its rich mines or in the quarries (''damnatio ad metalla'').
Entrenched indigenous resistance to cultural and political assimilation emerges in inscriptional evidence from former Carthaginian settlements. Punic-style magistrates, the ''
sufetes,'' wielded local control in Nora and Tharros through the end of the first century BCE, although two ''sufetes'' existed in
Bithia as late as the mid-second century CE.
While neglected, the islands nonetheless ended up playing a significant role in the Empire's happenings. While Sardinia provided Rome with much of the grain supply during the times of the Roman Republic, Corsica did as well with wax to the Empire. Moreover, among all the Western Roman provinces, Sardinia provided the biggest number of sailors to the Roman military fleets. Sardinia was also one of the main metal suppliers of the Roman world; thanks to its rich silver, lead and copper mines, Sardinia ranked third among all the Roman provinces in quantity of metals produced next to Britain and Hispania. Mining production during the Roman rule was estimated at about six hundred thousand tons of lead and one thousand tons of silver.
Only a few Sardinians are known to have obtained the rank of senator or equites during the imperial era. The Sardinian Marcus Erennius Severus became legatus of
Judea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
and obtained the rank of praetor during the middle of the second century AD.
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391. Symmachus ...
mentions some senators of Sardinian origins in his epistles such as Ampelius, who were accused of having sided with
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I.
He was made emperor in B ...
against
Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name.
Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium
...
.
Major cities
![Antas Tempel1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Antas_Tempel1.JPG)
Carales was the biggest city in the entire province, reaching a population of 30,000 inhabitants. Its existence as an urban center went back to at least the 8th century BC, with Florus calling it ''urbs urbium'', the city among the cities. Sardinia and Carales came under Roman rule in 238 BC, shortly after the First Punic War, when the Romans defeated the Carthaginians. No mention of it is found on the occasion of the Roman conquest of the island, but during the Second Punic War it served as headquarters to the praetor
Titus Manlius Torquatus as he conducted his operations against Hampsicora and the Sardo-Carthaginian army. The most important monuments left of the Roman era are its amphitheater, capable of seating as many as 10,000 spectators, and the ruins of the Roman Villa known as Tigellius' villa.
Sulci
Sulci or Sulki (in Greek , Steph. B., Ptol.; , Strabo; , Paus.), was one of the most considerable cities of ancient Sardinia, situated in the southwest corner of the island, on a small island, now called Isola di Sant'Antioco, which is, how ...
was also one of the biggest cities in Sardinia. Its foundation dates back to the 9th century BC. Annexed by the Carthaginians during the 6th century BC, it became one of the largest cities under Carthaginian control, as testified by its massive necropolis which contained more than 1,500
hypogea
A hypogeum or hypogaeum (plural hypogea or hypogaea, pronounced ; literally meaning "underground", from Greek language, Greek ''hypo'' (under) and ''ghê'' (earth)) is an underground temple or tomb.
Hypogea will often contain niche (archite ...
; by the 5th century BC the city had already reached a population of about 10,000 inhabitants.
Necropoli punica – Sant'Antioco, Parco geominerario storico ambientale della Sardegna
/ref> In 258 BC, a naval battle occurred between the Carthaginian and the Roman forces near the city: after his defeat the commander Hannibal Gisco
Hannibal Gisco ( xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 , ; –258BC) was a Carthaginian military commander in charge of both land armies and naval fleets during the First Punic War against Rome. His efforts proved ultimately unsuccessful and his eventua ...
took refuge in Sulci, but was captured and crucified by his own men. By the Second Punic War the city had come under Roman control. Sulci grew wealthy due to its proximity to the rich lead mines of the Sulcis region, so much so that Caesar was able to exact from it a fine of 10 million sestertii for its having sided with Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
during the civil war.
Nora
Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to:
* Nora (name), a feminine given name
People with the surname
* Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer
* Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian
Places Australia
* Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...
, located nearby the modern city of Pula, was instead regarded by the ancient authors as the oldest city in Sardinia. Indeed, the Nora stone, an ancient Phoenician text that was found in the city, testifies the site's significance as a port already in the 9th century BC. Many beautiful Roman mosaics can still be spotted to this day, and its theater is one of the best preserved Roman monuments on the island.
The city of Tharros
Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Archaic Greek: , Hellenistic Greek, Tarras or Tarrae, Τάρραι) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy.
It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeologica ...
, located on the western side of the island on the Sinis peninsula
The Gulf of Oristano ( it, Golfo di Oristano, sc, Golfu de Aristanis) is a gulf in the Sardinian Sea, near Oristano, in the western Sardinian coast.
It is limited from north by the Cape San Marco, in the Sinis peninsula, and from the south by ...
, was one of the main producers of jewels in the Punic world, as testified by the rich funerary kits found in the Punic necropolis. It was one of the cities that rebelled against Roman rule during the Second Punic War and supported Hampsicora's revolt.
Located on the northeastern side of Sardinia, Olbia
Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...
was a rich port town. Although its name seems to be of Greek origin, the city was already under Carthaginian control by the 5th century BC. Its massive walls, still visible today, date back to the 4th century BC. Its strategic position in the Mediterranean trade routes was indisputable, so much that when the Romans occupied the island in 238 BC, the city became an important military base for the Roman navy. Like the other major Roman cities on the island, Olbia was provided with public baths and a forum. Other noteworthy cities were Othoca, Neapolis, Bithia and finally Cornus, the native city of Hampsicora. Bosa
Bosa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano (until May 2005 it was in the province of Nuoro), part of the Sardinia region of Italy. Bosa is situated about two-thirds of the way up the west coast of Sardinia, on a small hill, abo ...
was also likely settled since ancient times as an inscription dating to the 8th century BC testifies.
In addition to the aforementioned cities, the Romans founded a few colonies, the two major ones being Turris Libisonis and Forum Traiani. Turris Libisonis, situated in the northwest of the island, prospered thanks to the rich plains of the Nurra
The Nurra is a geographical region in the northwest of Sardinia, Italy. It is the second largest plain of the island, located between the towns of Sassari, Porto Torres and Alghero. It covers a surface of 700 km² and is bounded by the ...
and its ideal position as a port; its majestic baths and mosaics are well preserved even today. Forum Traiani was situated in the fertile plains of the Campidano
Campidano ( sc, Campidànu) is a plain located in South-Western Sardinia (Italy), covering approximately 100 kilometres between Cagliari and Oristano.
Geography
Geologically, it is a graben, a tectonic structure formed in the mid-Pliocene/early ...
area and became famous for its baths, which were believed to have therapeutic properties.
The most important city in Corsica was Aleria, founded in the 7th century BC by the Phocaea
Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in ...
n Greeks and later conquered by the Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...
after the battle of Alalia. Aiacium also began as a Phocaean port. Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...
founded Mariana
Mariana may refer to:
Literature
* ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens
* ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
* ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz
Music
*"Mariana", a so ...
in the north of Corsica in 93 BC.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Provinces of the Roman Republic
History of Corsica
Ancient Sardinia
States and territories established in the 3rd century BC
States and territories disestablished in the 5th century
3rd-century BC establishments in the Roman Republic
3rd-century BC establishments in Italy
238 BC
230s BC establishments
455 disestablishments
450s disestablishments in the Roman Empire
Provinces of the Roman Empire