Archaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on the island 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 ...
is present in the form of
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 and other prehistoric monuments, which dot the land. The recorded history of Sardinia begins with its contacts with the various people who sought to dominate western
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
trade in
Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
:
Phoenicians
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 ...
,
Punics and
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 ...
. Initially under the political and economic alliance with the Phoenician cities, it was partly conquered by
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
in the late 6th century BC and then entirely by Rome after the
First Punic War (238 BC). The island was included for centuries in the
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 ...
of
Sardinia and Corsica
The Province of Sardinia and Corsica ( la, Provincia Sardinia et Corsica) was an ancient Roman province including the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.
Pre-Roman times
The Nuragic civilization flourished in Sardinia from 1800 to 500 BC. The ...
, which would be incorporated into the
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
of ''
Italia suburbicaria
Roman Italy (called in both the Latin and Italian languages referring to the Italian Peninsula) was the homeland of the ancient Romans and of the Roman empire. According to Roman mythology, Italy was the ancestral home promised by Jupiter to ...
'' in 3rd and 4th centuries.
In the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, through the European
barbarian movements, the waning of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
influence in the western
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
and the
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
raids, the island fell out of the sphere of influence of any higher government; this led to the birth of four independent kingdoms called ''
Judicates
The Judicates (, or in Sardinian, in Latin, or in Italian), in English also referred to as Sardinian Kingdoms, Sardinian Judgedoms or Judicatures, were independent states that took power in Sardinia in the Middle Ages, between the ninth a ...
'' (
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 ...
: ''Judicati'';
Sardinian: ''Judicados'') in the 8th through 10th centuries. Falling under
papal influence, Sardinia became the focus of the rivalry of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
,
Pisa, and the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, which eventually subsumed the island as the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
in 1324. The Iberian Kingdom was to last until 1718, when it was ceded to the
House of Savoy; from
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, the Savoyards pursued a policy of expansion to the rest of the Italian peninsula, having their Kingdom of Sardinia be later renamed into "
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...
" in 1861.
Prehistory
The oldest trace in Sardinia of the
anthropomorphic prehistoric primate called ''
Oreopithecus bambolii
''Oreopithecus'' (from the Greek , and , , meaning "hill-ape") is an extinct genus of hominoid primate from the Miocene epoch whose fossils have been found in today's Tuscany and Sardinia in Italy. It existed nine to seven million years ago in ...
'' is dated to 8.5 million years ago. In 1996 a
hominid finger bone, dated up to 250.000 BC, was found in a cave in the
Logudoro
The Logudoro (meaning "Golden Place") is a large traditional region Sardinia, Italy. The name of Logudoro today is linked to the Logudorese dialect, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia.
The first denomination of the area is ...
region.
Modern humans appeared in the island during the
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
, a phalanx dated to 18000 BC had been found in the ''
Corbeddu cave
The Corbeddu cave is located in the territory of Oliena, municipality of the province of Nuoro, in Sardinia. In this cave found refuge the famous Sardinian bandit Giovanni Corbeddu Salis (1844-1898), from which it took its name.
The cave is abou ...
'', near
Oliena
Oliena (, less correctly ; sc, Ulìana ) is a commune in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy.
History
The territory of Oliena has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic Era until today.
The first proofs about the above-mentioned presences ...
.
Mesolithic human remains had been discovered at ''Su Coloru cave'' of
Laerru
Laerru ( sc, Laìrru) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about northeast of Sassari
Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and ...
but also in the south (Sirri,
Arbus).
Already in the Stone Age,
Monte Arci
The Monte Arci is an isolated massif in the Uras plain in Campidano, south-western Sardinia, Italy. It is composed by three volcanic basalt towers, the highest one reaching an elevation of 812 m. The inner part of the massif is composed of ...
played an important role. The old volcano was one of the central places where
obsidian was found and worked for cutting tools and arrowheads. Even now the volcanic glass can be found on the sides of the mountain.
The
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
began in Sardinia in the
6th millennium BC
The 6th millennium BC spanned the years 6000 BC to 5001 BC (c. 8 ka to c. 7 ka). It is impossible to precisely date events that happened around the time of this millennium and all dates mentioned here are estimates mostly based on geological an ...
with the
Cardial culture. Later, important cultures like the
Ozieri culture
The Ozieri culture (or San Michele culture) was a prehistoric pre-Nuragic culture that occupied Sardinia from c. 3200 to 2800 BCE. The Ozieri was the culmination of the island's Neolithic culture and takes its name from the locality where early ...
and the
Arzachena culture
The Arzachena culture was a pre-Nuragic culture of the Late Neolithic Age occupying Gallura (the northeastern part of Sardinia) and part of southern Corsica from approximately the 4th to the 3rd millennium BC. It takes its name from the Sardin ...
of the late Neolithic and the Abealzu-Filigosa and Monte Claro culture of the
Chalcolithic
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
period, developed in the island contemporaneously with the appearance of the
megalithic phenomenon.
The dolmens culture, around the end of the 3rd millennium BC, passed with other typical material aspects of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
(e.g.
Bell Beaker
The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from a ...
) through by the Sardinian coast even in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
.
Prehistoric and Pre-nuragic monuments and constructions that characterise the Sardinian landscapes are the
Domus de Janas ( sc, House of the Fairies, House of the Witches), the
menhir
A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...
and
Statue menhir and the
dolmens
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...
.
Chronology of Pre-Nuragic Sardinia
Archeological cultures of Sardinia in the pre-Nuragic period:
Nuragic period
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 ...
Sardinia is characterised by stone structures called
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, of which there are more than 8,000. The most famous is the
complex of Barumini in the
province of Medio Campidano
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
. The nuraghes were mainly built in the period from about 1800 to 1200 BC, though many were used until the Roman period. Characteristics of this period are also the
holy well temples (for example Santa Cristina,
Paulilatino
Paulilatino ( sc, Paùlle) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about northeast of Oristano.
Paulilatino borders the following municipalities: Abbasan ...
), the megara temples and the
Giants' grave
Giants' tomb (Italian: '' Tomba dei giganti'', Sardinian: ''Tumba de zigantes'' / ''gigantis'') is the name given by local people and archaeologists to a type of Sardinian megalithic gallery grave built during the Bronze Age by the Nuragic civ ...
s.
The Nuragic Sards also produced a vast collection of
bronze statuettes and the so-called
giants of Mont'e Prama
The Giants of Mont'e Prama are ancient stone sculptures created by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia, Italy. Fragmented into numerous pieces, they were discovered in March 1974 on farmland near Mont'e Prama, in the comune of Cabras, province ...
, which might constitute the first anthropomorphic statues of Europe.
It is known that 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 ...
had contact 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 ...
, who traded with the western Mediterranean. Contact with powerful cities of Crete, such as
Kydonia
Kydonia or Cydonia (; grc, Κυδωνία; lat, Cydonia) was an ancient city-state on the northwest coast of the island of Crete. It is at the site of the modern-day Greek city of Chania. In legend Cydonia was founded by King Cydon (), a son ...
, is clear from pottery recovered in
archaeological excavations in Sardinia. The alleged connection with the
Sherden
The Sherden ( Egyptian: ''šrdn'', ''šꜣrdꜣnꜣ'' or ''šꜣrdynꜣ'', Ugaritic: ''šrdnn(m)'' and ''trtn(m)'', possibly Akkadian: ''še-er-ta-an-nu''; also glossed “Shardana” or “Sherdanu”) are one of the several ethnic groups the Sea ...
, one of the sea peoples who invaded
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and other areas of eastern Mediterranean, has been supported by scholars like the professor Giovanni Ugas from the
University of Cagliari
The University of Cagliari ( it, Università degli Studi di Cagliari) is a university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties.
History
The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 alon ...
; this hypothesis has been however opposed by other archaeologists and historians.
The name of the island could result from ''
Sardus
Sardus ( grc, Σάρδος), also Sid Addir and Sardus Pater ("Sardinian Father") was the eponymous mythological hero of the Nuragic Sardinians. Sardus appears in the writings of various classical authors, like Sallust, Solinus and Pausanias.
Anci ...
'' (known amongst the Romans as ''Sardus Pater''), a mythological hero of the Nuragic pantheon.
Early and Classical Antiquity
Phoenician settlement
From the 8th century BC, Phoenicians founded several cities and strongholds on strategic points in the south and west of Sardinia, often peninsulas or islands near estuaries, easy to defend and natural harbours, such as
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 ...
,
Bithia,
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 ...
,
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 Caralis (
Cagliari). The majority of the inhabitants in these cities were of indigenous nuragic stock while the Phoenician element was, although culturally predominant, in minority. The Phoenicians came originally from what is now
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
and founded a vast trading network in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
. Sardinia had a special position because it was central in the Western Mediterranean between
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
, Spain, the river
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
and the
Etruscan civilization
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 ...
area. The mining area of the
Iglesiente
The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias.
Languages ...
was important for the metals
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
and
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
. After the Phoenicians, 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 ...
took over control in this part of the Mediterranean, around 510 BC, after that a first attempt of conquest of the island in 540 BC ends in failure. They expanded their influence to the western and southern coast from
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 ...
to Caralis, consolidating the existing
Phoenician colonies
Colonies in antiquity were post-Iron Age city-states founded from a mother-city (its "metropolis"), not from a territory-at-large. Bonds between a colony and its metropolis remained often close, and took specific forms during the period of classic ...
, administered by plenipotentiaries called ''Suffetes'', and founding new ones such as
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Neapolis; Tharros become probably the capital of the province. Carthage stressed the growing of
grain and
cereals
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
and prohibited
fruit trees
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, t ...
.
Tharros, Nora, Bithia,
Monte Sirai etc. are now important archaeological monuments where architecture and city planning can be studied.
Roman Empire
In 240 BC, in the course of the
First Punic War, the Carthaginian mercenaries on the island revolted and gave the Romans, who some years earlier had defeated the Carthaginians in the
naval battle of Sulci, the opportunity to land on Sardinia and occupy it. In 238 BC the Romans took over the whole island, without meeting any resistance. They took over an existing developed infrastructure and urbanized culture (at least in the plains). Along with
Corsica it formed the province of
Corsica et Sardinia
The Province of Sardinia and Corsica ( la, Provincia Sardinia et Corsica) was an ancient Roman province including the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.
Pre-Roman times
The Nuragic civilization flourished in Sardinia from 1800 to 500 BC. The ...
, under a
praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...
. Together with Sicily it formed one of the main granaries of Rome until the Romans conquered Egypt in the 1st century BC.
A revolt, led by two Sardo-Punic notables from
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 ...
and Tharros,
Hampsicora
Hampsicora (3rd century BC - Cornus, 215 BC) was a Sardo-Punic political leader and landowner of Sardinia, and the leader of the major anti-Roman revolt () in the province of 215 BC.
The sources describe Hampsicora as the richest among the land ...
and Hanno, broke out after the crushing Roman defeat at
Cannae (216 BC). A Roman army of 22,000 infantrymen and 1,200 cavalry, under
Titus Manlius Torquatus, reached Sardinia landing in Caralis and defeating Hiostus, the son of Hampsicora, near
Milis
Milis, Miris or Milis in sardinian language, is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about north of Oristano. As of 31 December 2004, it had a populati ...
. The Romans then met the Carthaginian-Sardinian allied forces in the south of the island, defeating them in a
pitched battle
A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...
that took place between
Sestu
Sestu is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna ...
and
Decimomannu
Decimomannu ( sc, Deximumannu or ) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It is located about northwest of central Cagliari and had a population of about 8,115 .
Geography
Decimomannu borders the municipalities of ...
, and killing 12,000 men. Another major revolt took place in 177-176 BC when 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 ...
were defeated by
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the Roma ...
, who, according to
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 ...
, killed or enslaved about 80,000 natives. The last organized revolts were repressed by
Marcus Caecilius Metellus in 115-111 BC and
Titus Albucius
Titus Albucius (praetor c. 105 BC) was a noted orator of the late Roman Republic.
He finished his studies at Athens at the latter end of the 2nd century BC, and belonged to the Epicurean sect. He was well acquainted with Greek literature, or rathe ...
in 106. However the Sardinians living in the impervious mountains of the interior resisted the Roman colonization well into
Imperial times.
Punic culture remained strong during the first centuries of the Roman domination. However, in the long run,
Romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...
prevailed, and
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 ...
became the speech of the majority of the inhabitants, ultimately developing into the modern
Sardinian language. The
Roman religion
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule.
The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
began to spread among Sardinians as well. Caralis, the provincial capital, Nora and Sulci obtained the status of
Municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...
within the 1st century AD and a
Roman colony
A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term ''colony''.
Character ...
named Turris Libissonis (
Porto Torres
Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...
) was founded in the north-west while the village of
Usellus
Usellus ( sc, Usèddus; Latin: ''Uselis'' or ''Usellis'') is a town, comune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia.
Usellus borders the following ''comuni'': Albagiara, Ales, Gonnosnò, Mog ...
become perphans a Roman colony under
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
. 4 great
roads
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
were built: 2 along the coasts and 2 in the interior connecting all the major cities.
During the
Roman period, the geographer
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
noted that Sardinia was inhabited by the following tribes, from north to south: the
Tibulati The Tibulati (Greek: ), also called Tibulates and Tibulatii, were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologe ...
and the
Corsi, the
Coracenses The Coracenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Tibulati The Tibulati (Greek: ), also called Tibulates and Tibulatii, were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy ...
, the
Carenses The Carenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Coracenses The Coracenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Tibulati The Tibulati (Greek: ), a ...
and the
Cunusitani
The Cunusitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Coracenses The Coracenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Tibulati The Tibulati (Greek: ) ...
, the
Salcitani and the
Lucuidonenses, the
Æsaronenses, the
Æchilenenses
The Æchilenenses also called the Cornenses and Æchilenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Æsaronenses and north of the Rucensi The Rucensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Pt ...
(also called Cornenses), the
Rucensi The Rucensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote abou ...
, the
Celsitani The Celsitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Rucensi The Rucensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudiu ...
and the
Corpicenses The Corpicenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote ...
, the
Scapitani The Scapitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Celsitani and the Corpicenses and north of the Neapolitani and the Valentini (ancient people), Valentini.
See FurtherPtolemy's Geography online R ...
and the
Siculensi, the
Neapolitani The Neapolitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Scapitani and the Siculensi and north of the Solcitani and the Noritani. Their chief city was Neapolis, located approximately 20 km no ...
and the
Valentini, the
Solcitani and the
Noritani.
In the year 212 AD, every inhabitant of the empire became a
Roman citizen by the
Constitutio Antoniniana
The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' (Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in t ...
, better known as the "Edict of Caracalla". At that time, many islanders from the ''Municipia'' and ''Coloniae'' were Roman citizens, while those living in the interior were not. Around the year 286 AD, Sardinia was incorporated into the Italian
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
during the empire of
Diocletianus
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
, and in 324 AD, under the rule of the emperor
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
, in the ''suburbicaria'' Italian diocese, until the conquest by the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
in 456 AD.
Middle Ages
Vandals, Goths and Byzantines
After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...
, Sardinia was subject to several conquests. In 456, the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
, an
East Germanic tribe
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
, coming from North Africa, occupied the coastal cities of the island; they imposed garrisons guarded by African auxiliaries, like the
Mauri
Mauri (from which derives the English term "Moors") was the Latin designation for the Berber population of Mauretania, located in the part of North Africa west of Numidia, in present-day northern Morocco and northwestern Algeria.
Name
''Mauri'' ...
. The Vandals followed
Arianism and deported a number of African
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
s in the island such as
Fulgentius of Ruspe
Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known as Fulgentius of Ruspe (462 or 467 – 1 January 527 or 533) was North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe, in modern-day Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He has been ca ...
. In 533, Sardinia rebelled under the Vandal governor
Godas
Godas (died 533) was a Gothic nobleman of the Vandal kingdom in North Africa. King Gelimer of the Vandals made him governor of the Vandalic province of Sardinia, but Godas stopped forwarding the taxes he collected and declared himself ruler of ...
, a
Goth
A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were:
*Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history
*Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history
Goth or Goths may also refer to:
* Goth (surname) ...
, who proclaimed himself ''rex'' of Sardinia, asking the Byzantines for aid.
In the summer of 533 Vandal forces (5,000 men and 120 ships), led by
Tzazo
Tzazo (also known as Tzazon or Zano) was the brother to King Gelimer (530–534), the last Vandal ruler of the North Africa. Tzazo died on 15 December 533 during the Battle of Tricamarum, which finally brought to an end the Vandal Kingdom in Nort ...
, arrived in Sardinia to stifle Godas' rebellion and conquered Caralis, killing Godas and his followers. In early 534, the Vandals of Sardinia surrendered immediately to the Byzantines when faced with news of the
Vandal collapse in Africa; thenceforth the island was part of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, included as a province in the
Praetorian prefecture of Africa. The local governor sat in Caralis. During the
Gothic Wars
The Gothic Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Goths and the Roman Empire between the years 249 and 554. The main wars are detailed below.
Gothic War (249–253)
(Goths under Cniva against the Roman Empire)
The War was probably in ...
, much of the island fell easily to the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
, but the final fall of the Germanic resistance in
mainland Italy reassured
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
control. Sardinia was subsequently included in the
Exarchate of Africa
The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in the late 580s and survive ...
until its end by the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
in 698 AD, when the island was likely aggregated to the
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...
. In 599 and during the 7th century, the
Longobard
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
fleet tried to attack Caralis and Turris Libissonis (
Porto Torres
Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...
), but in vain.
One of the few ethnic Sardinians known from this period was
Ospitone Hospito (''Hospiton'' in Latin, ''Ospitone'' in Sardinian) was a Sardinian chief of Barbagia (''dux Barbaricinorum'') who converted to Christianity in the late sixth century. Gregory the Great, in a letter dated to 594, commended Hospito for his C ...
, a leader of the ''Barbaricinos'' (people of
Barbagia
Barbagia (; sc, Barbàgia or ) is a geographical, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif.
The name comes from Cicero, wh ...
). According to the
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregor ...
's letters, a Romanized and Christianized area existed on the island (that of the ''provinciales'') that co-existed with, in the interior, pagan or semi-pagan cultures (''Gens Barbaricina''). The ruler of one of the latter,
Ospitone Hospito (''Hospiton'' in Latin, ''Ospitone'' in Sardinian) was a Sardinian chief of Barbagia (''dux Barbaricinorum'') who converted to Christianity in the late sixth century. Gregory the Great, in a letter dated to 594, commended Hospito for his C ...
, converted to Christianity in 594 after a diplomatic exchange. Christianization however remained long influenced by eastern and Byzantine culture.
Other known religious figures of Sardinian origin of that period (5th–6th centuries) are
Pope Hilarius
Pope Hilarius (or Hilary) was the bishop of Rome from 19 November 461 to his death on 29 February 468.
In 449, Hilarius served as a legate for Pope Leo I at the Second Council of Ephesus. His opposition to the condemnation of Flavian of Constan ...
and
Pope Symmachus
Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy.
Early life
He was born on the Mediterranean islan ...
.
Saracen raids
Starting from 705–706, the
Saracens from North Africa (recently conquered by the Arab armies) harassed the population of the coastal cities. Details about the political situation of Sardinia in the following centuries are scarce. Due to Saracen attacks, in the 9th century
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 ...
was abandoned in favor of
Oristano
Oristano (; sc, Aristanis ) is an Italian city and ''comune'', and capital of the Province of Oristano in the central-western part of the island of Sardinia. It is located on the northern part of the Campidano plain. It was established as the pr ...
, after more than 1.800 years of human occupation while
Caralis
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
was abandoned in favor of
Santa Igia
Santa Igia or Santa Ilia, modern Santa Gilla lagoon (''Santa Ilia'' being a contraction of ''Santa Cecilia''Corrado Zedda; p. 121.), was a city in Sardinia, in what is now Italy, which existed from the 9th century AD to 1258, when it was destroyed ...
; numerous other coastal centres suffered the same fate (Nora, Sulci, Bithia, Cornus, Bosa, Olbia etc.). There was news of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015−16 from
Balearics
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
, led by
Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī
Abu ʾl-Jaysh Mujāhid ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿĀmirī, surnamed ''al-Muwaffaḳ'' (died AD 1044/5 AH_436.html"_;"title="Anno_Hegirae.html"_;"title="small>Anno_Hegirae">AH_436">Anno_Hegirae.html"_;"title="small>Anno_Hegirae">AH_436,_was_the_Ta ...
(Latinized as ''Museto''), the Saracens' attempt of invasion of the island was stopped by Sardinian Judicates with the support of the Fleets of the
Maritime Republics
The maritime republics ( it, repubbliche marinare), also called merchant republics ( it, repubbliche mercantili), were Thalassocracy, thalassocratic city-states of the Mediterranean Basin during the Middle Ages. Being a significant presence in I ...
of
Pisa and
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, called by Pope
Benedict VIII
Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieva ...
.
Judicates (Judicados)
From the mid-11th century the
Judicates
The Judicates (, or in Sardinian, in Latin, or in Italian), in English also referred to as Sardinian Kingdoms, Sardinian Judgedoms or Judicatures, were independent states that took power in Sardinia in the Middle Ages, between the ninth a ...
("held by judges") appeared. The title of ''Judex'' (judge, ''judike'' in medieval Sardinian) was an heir of that of the Byzantine governor after the creation of the
Exarchate of Africa
The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in the late 580s and survive ...
in 582 (''Prases'' or ''Judex Provinciae''). In the 8th and 9th centuries the four ''partes'' depending from Caralis grew increasingly independent, after that
Byzantium was totally cut off from the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
by the
Muslim conquest of Sicily
The Muslim conquest of Sicily began in June 827 and lasted until 902, when the last major Byzantine stronghold on the island, Taormina, fell. Isolated fortresses remained in Byzantine hands until 965, but the island was henceforth under Musli ...
in 827. A letter from
Pope Nicholas I in 864 mentions for the first time the Sardinian judges, and their autonomy is clear in a later letter by
Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII ( la, Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest popes of the 9th century.
John devoted much of his papacy ...
, which defined them as "Princes". A letter by
Mieszko I to
Pope John XV
Pope John XV ( la, Ioannes XV; died on 1 April 996) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from August 985 until his death. A Roman by birth, he was the first pope who canonized a saint. The origins of the investiture controversy ...
proves that the Judicates were known even in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, and that they played a prestigious role in Medieval Europe.
During the judicial era Sardinia had some 300.000 inhabitants, of which slightly more than 1/3 were free. These were subjected to the authority of local ''curators'' (administrators), in turn subjected to the judge (who also administrated justice and was the commander of the army). The church was also powerful, and at this time it had completely abandoned the
Eastern Rite. The late 11th-century arrival of
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
,
Camaldolese and other monks from the
Italian Mezzogiorno,
Lombardy and
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
, especially the monasteries of
Montecassino,
Saint-Victor de Marseille
Saint Victor of Marseilles (died c. 290) was an Egyptian Christian martyr. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Life
Saint Victor is said to have been a Roman army officer in Marseille, who publicly ...
and
Vallombrosa, boosted the agriculture in a land which was extremely underdeveloped. The ''
condaghes'' (catalogues, cartularies) of the monasteries, which record property transactions, are an important source for the study of the island and its language in the 11th and 12th centuries. Evidence from the ''condaghes'' of San Pietro di Silki, in Sassari, and Santa Maria di Bonarcado concerning the children of slaves has been adduced to show that differences in agricultural lifestyles between regions may affect the survival rate of females, hypothetically through increased infanticide of baby girls. The abbacy of Santa Maria di Bonarcado contained more central, upland regions where a pastoral economy dominated and women were less economically useful; among children in that region, sex ratios are highly skewed in favour of men. On the other hand, in the region of San Pietro di Silki, less pastoral, child sex ratios are not skewed abnormally.
There were four (historically known) Judicates:
Logudoro
The Logudoro (meaning "Golden Place") is a large traditional region Sardinia, Italy. The name of Logudoro today is linked to the Logudorese dialect, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia.
The first denomination of the area is ...
(or Torres),
Cagliari (or Pluminos),
Arborea
Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea).
Histo ...
and
Gallura
Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy.
The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area".
Geography
Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude ...
. Cagliari and Arborea and Logudoro (and perhaps Gallura) were united for a time in the 11th century.
The initiatives of the
Gregorian reform
The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be na ...
ers led to greater contact between Sardinia and the Italian peninsula, especially through the desires of the judges to establish monasteries with monks from continental monasteries at
Montecassino and
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
. By the 12th century, the Sardinian Judicates, though obscure, are visible through the mists of time. They professed allegiance to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
, which put them under the authority of the
,_superseding_the_ancient_primacy_of_the_
708,_Pisan);_on_30–31_July_1716_[1717,_Pisan_and_on_31_J_...
,_superseding_the_ancient_primacy_of_the_Archdiocese_of_Cagliari">717,_Pisan">708,_Pisan);_on_30–31_July_1716_[1717,_Pisan_and_on_31_J_...