Halaesa ( grc, Ἄλαισα,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: Halesa), also known as Halaesa Archonidea and also spelled Alaesa or Halesa was an ancient city of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, situated near the north coast of the island, between Cephaloedium (modern
Cefalù) and Calacte (modern
Caronia
Caronia ( Sicilian: ''Carunìa'', Greek: ( Ptol.) or ( Diod. et al.), Latin: ''Calacte'' or ''Cale Acte'') is a town and '' comune'' on the north coast of Sicily, in the province of Messina, about half way between Tyndaris (modern Tindari) ...
).
The site has been partially excavated and a museum contains finds.
History
The city was of
Siculian origin; in 403 BC the tyrant
Archonides of
Herbita (a Siculian city), having concluded peace with
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder ( 432 – 367 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Gre ...
, gave the northern part of his territory to the Sicilians as well as to mercenaries and others who had helped him during the war. He named it Halaesa, to which the epithet Archonidea was frequently added for the purpose of distinction. Others attributed the foundation of the city erroneously to 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 ...
.
It quickly rose to prosperity through maritime commerce. At the start of the
First Punic War it was one of the first of the Sicilian cities to submit to the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
to whose alliance it was always faithful. It was doubtless to this conduct and to the services that it was able to render to the Romans during their wars in Sicily that it was awarded the status of ''civitas libera ac immunis'' which gave it the privilege of retaining its own laws and independence, exempt from all taxation, an advantage enjoyed by only five cities of Sicily. In consequence of this advantageous position it rose rapidly in wealth and prosperity and became one of the most flourishing cities of Sicily.
On one occasion its citizens, having been involved in disputes among themselves concerning the choice of their senate, C. Claudius Pulcher was sent by Rome at their own request in 95 BC to regulate the matter by a law, which he did to the satisfaction of all parties. Halaesa is the only place in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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where an inscription to a
Roman governor
A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many Roman province, provinces constituting the Roman Empire.
The generic term in Roman legal language was ''Re ...
of the
republican period (perhaps in 93 BC) has come to light. But their privileges did not protect them from the exactions of Verres, who imposed on them an enormous contribution both in corn and money.
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 ...
and his cousin visited the city in 70 BC and attended its senate during their collection of evidence for his prosecution of Verres later that year.
Also evidence from inscriptions implies the city safely navigated its way through the
Sicilian revolt, as the family Lapiron flourished both before and after the period.
The city appears to have subsequently declined, and had sunk in the time of
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 ...
to the condition of an ordinary
municipal town, but was still one of the few places on the north coast of Sicily which
Strabo deemed worthy of mention.
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
also enumerates it among the ''stipendiariae civitates'' of Sicily.
The site
There was a difference of opinion on the site of Halaesa, arising principally from the discrepancy in the distances assigned by Strabo, the ''
Antonine Itinerary'', and the ''
Tabula Peutingeriana
' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire.
The map is a 13th-ce ...
''. There is now no doubt that its site is correctly fixed by
Cluverius and
Torremuzza at the spot marked by an old church called Santa Maria le Palate, near the modern town of
Tusa, and above the river
Pettineo
Pettineo ( Sicilian: ''Pittineu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about west of Messina.
Pettineo is a beautifully restored medieval city, situa ...
. This site coincides perfectly with the description of Diodorus, that the town was built on a hill about 8 stadia from the sea: as well as with the distance of 18 Roman miles from
Cephaloedium assigned by the Tabula (the Itinerary gives 28 by an easy error).
The ruins described by
Fazello
Tommaso Fazello (New Latin ''Fazellus'', 1498 – 8 April 1570) was an Italian Dominican friar, historian and antiquarian. He is known as the father of Sicilian history. He is the author of the first printed history of Sicily: ''De Rebus Sicu ...
as visible in his time indicated the site of a large city, and several inscriptions have been found on the spot, some of them referring distinctly to Halaesa. One of these, which is of considerable length and importance, gives numerous local details concerning the divisions of land, etc., and mentions repeatedly a river "Halaesus", evidently the same with the "Halesus" of
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire.
His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...
, and which is probably the modern
Tusa River (also called the Pettineo); as well as a fountain named "Ipybrha". This is perhaps the same spoken of by Solinus and Priscian (Perieges. 500), but without mentioning its name, as existing in the territory of Halaesa, the waters of which were supposedly agitated by the sound of music. Fazello describes the ruins as extending from the sea-shore, on which were the remains of a large building (probably baths), for the space of more than 1.5 km to the summit of a hill, on which were the remains of the citadel. About 5 km further inland was a large fountain (probably the Ipyrrha of the inscription), with extensive remains of the
aqueduct that conveyed its waters to the city.
The site has been partially excavated starting in 2017. The agora and theatre are among the monuments so far been brought to light.
Portions of the aqueduct can be seen and fragments of statues, as well as coins and inscriptions, have been frequently discovered on the spot.
[Prag, J. R. (2018). A new bronze honorific inscription from Halaesa, Sicily, in two copies. Journal of Epigraphic Studies]
Coinage
"Halaisa Archonida" can be found on a
Roman coin
Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denom ...
of the time of
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 ...
.
References
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{{Archaeological sites in Sicily
Archaeological sites in Sicily
Ancient cities in Sicily
Ruins in Italy
Former populated places in Italy