1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
3.
Regions of Italy
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The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of Italy, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are 20 regions, of five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes. Each region, except for the Aosta Valley, is divided into provinces, regions are autonomous entities with powers defined in the Constitution. As the administrative districts of the state during the Kingdom of Italy. The original draft list comprised the Salento region, friuli and Venezia Giulia were separate regions, and Basilicata was named Lucania. Abruzzo and Molise were identified as regions in the first draft. They were later merged into Abruzzo e Molise in the constitution of 1948. Implementation of regional autonomy was postponed until the first Regional Elections of 1970, the ruling Christian Democracy party did not want the opposition Italian Communist Party to gain power in the regions, where it was historically rooted. Regions acquired a significant level of autonomy following a reform in 2001. In June 2006 the proposals, which had been associated with Lega Nord. The results varied considerably among the regions, ranging from 55. 3% in favour in Veneto to 82% against in Calabria, number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1995, Macroregions are the first-level NUTS of the European Union. These regions, whose statutes are approved by their councils, were created in 1970. Since the constitutional reform of 2001 they have had residual legislative powers, the regions have exclusive legislative power with respect to any matters not expressly reserved to state law. Yet their financial autonomy is quite modest, they just keep 20% of all levied taxes, Article 116 of the Italian Constitution grants to five regions home rule, acknowledging their powers in relation to legislation, administration and finance. These regions became autonomous in order to take into account cultural differences, moreover, the government wanted to prevent their secession from Italy after the Second World War. Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol constitutes a special case, the region is nearly powerless, and the powers granted by the regions statute are mostly exercised by the two autonomous provinces within the region, Trentino and South Tyrol. In this case, the regional institution plays a coordinating role, the latter is directly elected by the citizens of each region, with the exceptions of Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, where he is chosen by the regional council. Under the 1995 electoral law, the winning coalition receives a majority of seats on the council
4.
Campania
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Campania is a region in Southern Italy. Located on the Italian Peninsula, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west, it includes the small Phlegraean Islands, Campania was colonised by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Græcia. During the Roman era, the area maintained a Greco-Roman culture, the capital city of Campania is Naples. Campania is rich in culture, especially in regard to gastronomy, music, architecture, archeological and ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia. The name of Campania itself is derived from Latin, as the Romans knew the region as Campania felix, the rich natural sights of Campania make it highly important in the tourism industry, especially along the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri. During the 8th century BC, people from Euboea in Greece, known as Cumaeans, another Oscan tribe, the Samnites, moved down from central Italy into Campania. The Roman consul Quintus Publilius Filo recaptured Neapolis by 326 BC, the Second Samnite War ended with the Romans controlling southern Campania and additional regions further to the south. Campania was a part of the Roman Republic by the end of the 4th century BC, valued for its pastures. Its Greek language and customs made it a centre of Hellenistic civilization, during the Pyrrhic War the battle took place in Campania at Maleventum in which the Romans, led by consul Curius Dentatus, were victorious. They renamed the city Beneventum, which grew in stature until it was only to Capua in southern Italy. During the Second Punic War in 216 BC, Capua, in a bid for equality with Rome, the rebellious Capuans were isolated from the rest of Campania, which remained allies of Rome. Naples resisted Hannibal due to the imposing walls, Capua was eventually starved into submission in the Roman retaking of 211 BC, and the Romans were victorious. The rest of Campania, with the exception of Naples, adopted the Latin language as official and was Romanised. As part of the Roman Empire, Campania, with Latium, Roman Emperors chose Campania as a holiday destination, among them Claudius and Tiberius, the latter of whom is infamously linked to the island of Capri. It was also during this period that Christianity came to Campania, Two of the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, are said to have preached in the city of Naples, and there were also several martyrs during this time. Unfortunately, the period of calm was violently interrupted by the epic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 which buried the cities of Pompeii. The area had many duchies and principalities during the Middle Ages, in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, under the Normans, the smaller independent states were brought together as part of the Kingdom of Sicily, before the mainland broke away to form the Kingdom of Naples. It was during this period elements of Spanish, French
5.
Metropolitan cities of Italy
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The metropolitan city is an administrative division of Italy, operative since 2015. In 2009, amendments added Reggio Calabria to the list, the metropolitan areas individuated by the autonomous regions were, Trieste in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Cagliari in Sardinia, Catania, Messina and Palermo in Sicily. On 3 April 2014 the Italian Parliament approved a law that establishes 10 metropolitan cities in Italy, the new metropolitan cities have been operative since 1 January 2015. The metropolitan city is composed by the municipalities that before had been members of the same province, each metropolitan city is headed by a metropolitan mayor assisted by a legislative body, the Metropolitan council, and by a non-legislative assembly, the metropolitan conference. Members of the Metropolitan council are elected and chosen by mayors and city councilors of each municipality in the metropolitan city, the metropolitan conference is composed by the mayors of the municipalities closest to the capital. The main functions devolved to the new cities are, local planning and zoning, provision of local police services, transport. Regions of Italy Provinces of Italy Municipalities of Italy Media related to Metropolitan cities of Italy at Wikimedia Commons
6.
Metropolitan City of Naples
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The Metropolitan City of Naples is an Italian Metropolitan City in Campania region, established on January 1,2015. Its capital city is Naples, within the city there are 92 comune and it was first created by the reform of local authorities and established by the Law 56/2014, thus replacing the Province of Naples in 2015. The Metropolitan City of Naples is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor, since 1 January 2015 its head is Luigi de Magistris, as mayor of the capital city. Due to the presence of Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei, the city is vulnerable to seismic and volcanic activity, the city is 96th out of 110 Italian provinces and metropolitan cities by landmass, with an area that his smaller than the core comune of Rome. Municipalities in the Metropolitan City vary in size, ranging from 1.62 km² to 117, the Mayor of Naples thus also has powers as Metropolitan Mayor, presiding over a Metropolitan Council formed by 24 mayors of municipalities within the Metropolitan City. The first Metropolitan Council of the City was elected on 28 September 2014
7.
Demonym
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A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
8.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
9.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
10.
Felix of Nola
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Saint Felix of Nola was a Christian presbyter at Nola near Naples in Italy. He sold off his possessions in order to give to the poor and he was believed to have died a martyrs death during the persecution of Decius or Valentinian, but is now listed in the General Roman Calendar as a confessor of the faith, who survived his tortures. Felix was the son of Hermias, a Syrian centurion who had retired to Nola. After his fathers death Felix sold off most of his property and possessions, gave the proceeds to the poor, Felix was ordained by, and worked with, Saint Maximus of Nola. When bishop Maximus fled to the mountains to escape the persecution of the Roman emperor Decius, Felix was arrested and he escaped prison, according to legend being freed by an angel, so that he could help bishop Maximus. Felix found Maximus alone, ill, and helpless, and hid him from soldiers in a vacant building. When the two were safely inside, a spider quickly spun a web over the door, fooling the imperial forces into thinking it was long abandoned, and they left without finding the Christians. A subsequent attempt to arrest Felix followed, which he avoided by hiding in a building where again spider web was spun across the entrance convinced the soldiers the building was abandoned. The two managed to hide from authorities until the persecution ended with the death of Emperor Decius in 251. After Maximuss death, the people wanted Felix to be the bishop of Nola, but he declined, favoring Quintus. Felix himself continued as a priest and he also continued to farm his remaining land, and gave most of the proceeds to people even poorer than himself. Legend assigns to Felix a martyrs death either in the year 255 under Emperor Valerian or, in another version, according to Butler, Felix died in a good old age, on the fourteenth of January. Much of the information we have about Felix comes from the letters and poetry of Saint Paulinus of Nola. When at length peace was obtained, he returned home and in poverty lived a life until old age. Five churches have been built at, or near the place, where he was first interred and his precious remains are kept in the cathedral, but certain portions are at Rome, Benevento, and some other places. In time a new church in Nola was dedicated in the name of St Felix, people travelled from far away to see the burial place of this revered saint. He should not be confused with another Saint Felix of Nola, of about a later, whose feast is on 15 November Donald Attwater and Catherine Rachel John. 3rd edition, New York, Penguin Books,1993, ISBN 0-14-051312-4
11.
Mount Vesuvius
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Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc, Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, more than 1,000 people died in the eruption, but exact numbers are unknown. The only surviving account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus. Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Vesuvius has a historic and literary tradition. An inscription from Capua to IOVI VESVVIO indicates that he was worshipped as a power of Jupiter and it was inhabited by bandits, the sons of the Earth, who were giants. With the assistance of the gods he pacified the region and went on, the facts behind the tradition, if any, remain unknown, as does whether Herculaneum was named after it. An epigram by the poet Martial in 88 AD suggests that both Venus, patroness of Pompeii, and Hercules were worshipped in the devastated by the eruption of 79. Mount Vesuvius was regarded by the Romans as being devoted to the hero, Vesuvius was a name of the volcano in frequent use by the authors of the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. Its collateral forms were Vesaevus, Vesevus, Vesbius and Vesvius, writers in ancient Greek used Οὐεσούιον or Οὐεσούιος. Many scholars since then have offered an etymology, as peoples of varying ethnicity and language occupied Campania in the Roman Iron Age, the etymology depends to a large degree on the presumption of what language was spoken there at the time. Naples was settled by Greeks, as the name Nea-polis, New City, the Oscans, a native Italic people, lived in the countryside. The Latins also competed for the occupation of Campania, etruscan settlements were in the vicinity. Other peoples of unknown provenance are said to have been there at some time by various ancient authors. Some theories about its origin are, From Greek οὔ = not prefixed to a root from or related to the Greek word σβέννυμι = I quench, from Greek ἕω = I hurl and βίη violence, hurling violence, *vesbia, taking advantage of the collateral form. From an Indo-European root, *eus- < *ewes- < *wes-, shine sense the one who lightens, the Gran Cono was produced during the A. D.79 eruption. For this reason, the volcano is also called Somma-Vesuvius or Somma-Vesuvio, the caldera started forming during an eruption around 17,000 years ago and was enlarged by later paroxysmal eruptions, ending in the one of AD79
12.
Apennine Mountains
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The Apennines or Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km along the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare, in the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. The system forms an arc enclosing the east side of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas, the name originally applied to the north Apennines. However, historical linguists have never found a derivation with which they are universally comfortable, wilhelm Deecke said. its etymology is doubtful but some derive it from the Ligurian-Celtish Pen or Ben, which means mountain peak. The mountains lend their name to the Apennine peninsula, which forms the part of Italy. They are mostly verdant, although one side of the highest peak, Corno Grande is partially covered by Calderone glacier and it has been receding since 1794. The eastern slopes down to the Adriatic Sea are steep, while the western slopes form foothills on which most of peninsular Italys cities are located. The mountains tend to be named from the province or provinces in which they are located, for example, as the provincial borders have not always been stable, this practice has resulted in some confusion about exactly where the montane borders are. Often but not always a feature can be found that lends itself to being a border. The Apennines are divided into three sectors, northern, central, and southern, a number of long hiking trails wind through the Apennines. Of note is European walking route E1 coming from northern Europe and traversing the lengths of the northern, the Grand Italian Trail begins in Trieste and after winding through the Alpine arc traverses the entire Apennine system, Sicily and Sardinia. The northern Apennines consist of three sub-chains, the Ligurian, Tuscan-Emilian, and Umbrian Apennines, the Ligurian Apennines border the Ligurian Sea in the Gulf of Genoa, from about Savona below the upper Bormida River valley to about La Spezia below the upper Magra River valley. The range follows the Gulf of Genoa separating it from the upper Po Valley, the northwestern border follows the line of the Bormida River to Acqui Terme. There the river continues northeast to Alessandria in the Po Valley, the upper Bormida can be reached by a number of roads proceeding inland at a right angle to the coast southwest of Savona, the chief one being the Autostrada Torino-Savona. They ascend to the Bocchetta di Altare, sometimes called Colle di Cadibona,436 m, a bronze plaque fixed to a stone marks the top of the pass. In the vicinity are fragments of the old road and three ruins of former fortifications, at Carcare, the main roads connect with the upper Bormida valley before turning west. The Scrivia, the Trebbia and the Taro, tributaries of the Po River, the range contains dozens of peaks. Toward the southern end the Aveto Natural Regional Park includes Monte Penna, nearby is the highest point of Ligurian Apennines, Monte Maggiorasca at 1,780 m
13.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Nola
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The Diocese of Nola is a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples. Its seat is the Campanian city of Nola, now a suburb of Naples and its cathedral is dedicated to Mary of the Assumption. It is traditionally credited with the introduction of the use of bells into Christian worship, the diocese was founded in the late 2nd or early 3rd century by St Felix. He was martyred, as were St Januariuss companions Reparatus, Faustillus, the early center of worship was at Cimitile, outside Nola proper and now named for its cemetery. The basilica of St Felix Martyr was built by Bishop Paulinus in the late 4th or early 5th century, Paulinus is traditionally credited with the introduction of bells into Christian ritual, whence two major medieval forms became known as nolas and campanas. Felixs relics, and then Paulinuss own, made the site a major focus of Christian pilgrimage, St Adeodatus was a 5th-century archpresbyter within the diocese, his metrical epitaph has been preserved. John, the pope of Alexandria, became bishop of Nola in 484. Around 505, Bishop Paulinus III supposedly enslaved himself to free a widows son, several buildings were restored under Bishop Lupicinus around 786. In 1370, Francis Scacciani began construction of the present Gothic cathedral, the seminary was founded by Antonio Scarampi in 1549, introducing the reforms of the Council of Trent. In 1585, Fabrizio Gallo founded several charitable institutions, lancellotti, who served as bishop for much of the first half of the 17th century, also served as papal nuncio to Poland from 1622 to 1627. Francis M. Carafa devoted great attention to the education of the local clergy, john Talaia, formerly pope of Alexandria. Butler, Alban, The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints, Dublin, Duffy
14.
Bell
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A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone. The strike may be made by an internal clapper or uvula, Bells are usually cast from bell metal for its resonant properties, but can also be made from other hard materials, this depends on the function. Many public or institutional buildings house bells, most commonly as clock bells to sound the hours and quarters, historically, bells have been associated with religious rituals, and are still used to call communities together for religious services. Later, bells were made to important events or people and have been associated with the concepts of peace. The study of bells is called campanology and it is popularly but not certainly related to the former sense of to bell which gave rise to bellow. The earliest archaeological evidence of dates from the 3rd millennium BC. Clapper-bells made of pottery have found in several archaeological sites. The pottery bells later developed into metal bells, in West Asia, the first bells appear in 1000 BC. The earliest metal bells, with one found in the Taosi site, early bells not only have an important role in generating metal sound, but arguably played a prominent cultural role. See also Klang Bell of the British Museum collection, in the western world, the common form of bell is a church bell or town bell, which is hung within a tower or bell cote. Such bells are fixed in position or mounted on a beam so they can swing to. Bells that are hung dead are normally sounded by hitting the bow with a hammer or occasionally by pulling an internal clapper against the bell. Where a bell is swung it can either be swung over an arc by a rope. As the bell swings higher the sound is projected rather than downwards. Bells hung for full circle ringing are swung through just over a circle from mouth uppermost. A stay engages a mechanism to allow the bell to rest just past its balance point, the rope is attached to one side of a wheel so that a different amount of rope is wound on and off as it swings to and fro. Swinging bells are sounded by an internal clapper, the clapper may have a longer period of swing than the bell
15.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
16.
Liturgy of the Hours
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It consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns, readings and other prayers and antiphons. Together with the Mass, it constitutes the public prayer life of the Church. The Liturgy of the Hours also forms the basis of prayer within Christian monasticism, celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours is an obligation undertaken by priests and deacons intending to become priests, while deacons intending to remain deacons are obliged to recite only a part. The constitutions of religious institutes generally oblige their members to celebrate at least parts, the Liturgy of the Hours, along with the Eucharist, has formed part of the Churchs public worship from the earliest times. Christians of both Eastern and Western traditions celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours under various names, in Greek the corresponding services are found in the Ὡρολόγιον, meaning Book of Hours. Within Anglicanism, the Liturgy of the Hours is contained within the book of Daily Prayer of Common Worship and the Book of Common Prayer, as well as in the Anglican Breviary. Within Lutheranism, it is contained within the books used by the various Lutheran church bodies, such as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The primary worship resources in these churches include Lutheran Worship, the Lutheran Book of Worship, other names for the Liturgy of the Hours within the Latin liturgical rites include Diurnal and Nocturnal Office, Ecclesiastical Office, Cursus ecclesiasticus, or simply cursus. The early Christians continued the Jewish practice of reciting prayers at certain hours of the day or night, the Apostles observed the Jewish custom of praying at the third, sixth and ninth hour and at midnight. Other elements were added later in the course of the centuries, by the end of the 5th century, the Liturgy of the Hours was composed of seven offices. An eighth office, Prime, was added by Benedict of Nursia in the 6th century, however, it is found in Saint John Cassians Institutes and Conferences, which describe the monastic practices of the Desert Fathers of Egypt. After the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI promulgated a new Roman Breviary, the structure of the offices, the distribution of psalms, and the prayers themselves were modified. In short, the burden was lessened,2, V. Deus, in adiutorium meum intende. R. Domine, ad adiuvandum me festina, followed by the doxology, the verse is omitted if the hour begins with the Invitatory. The Invitatory is the introduction to the first hour said on the current day, the opening is followed by a hymn. The hymn is followed by psalmody, the psalmody is followed by a scripture reading. The reading is called a chapter if it is short, or a lesson if it is long, the reading is followed by a versicle. The hour is closed by an oration followed by a concluding versicle, other components are included depending on the exact type of hour being celebrated
17.
Camorra
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The Camorra is an Italian Mafia-type crime syndicate, or secret society, which arose in the region of Campania and its capital Naples. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, unlike the pyramidal structure of the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorras organizational structure is more horizontal than vertical. Consequently, individual Camorra clans act independently of other, and are more prone to feuding among themselves. The origins of the Camorra are not entirely clear and it may date back to the 16th century as a direct Italian descendant of a Spanish secret society, the Garduña, founded in 1417. However, recent historical research in Spain suggests that the Garduña never really existed and was based on a fictional 19th century book, the first official use of the word dates from 1735, when a royal decree authorised the establishment of eight gambling houses in Naples. The word is almost certainly a blend, or portmanteau, of capo and a Neapolitan street game and this activity was prohibited by the local government, and some people started making the players pay for being “protected” against the passing police. The first official mention of the Camorra as an organization dates from 1820, when police records detail a disciplinary meeting of the Camorra and that year a first written statute, the frieno, was also discovered, indicating a stable organisational structure in the underworld. Another statute was discovered in 1842, including initiation rites and funds set aside for the families of those imprisoned, the organization was also known as the Bella Società Riformata, Società dell’Umirtà or Onorata Società. Another qualitative leap was the agreement of the opposition and the Camorra. The liberals realized that they needed support to overthrow the king. They turned to the Camorra and paid them, the camorristi being the leaders of the city’s poor, the Camorra effectively had developed into power brokers in a few decades. The Camorra was never a coherent whole nor a centralised organization, instead, it has always been a loose confederation of different, independent groups or families. Each group was bound around kinship ties and controlled economic activities which took place in its particular territory, each family clan took care of its own business, protected its territory, and sometimes tried to expand at another group’s expense. Although not centralized, there was some minimal coordination, to avoid mutual interference, the families competed to maintain a system of checks and balances between equal powers. One of the Camorras strategies to gain social prestige is political patronage, the family clans became the preferred interlocutors of local politicians and public officials, because of their grip on the community. In turn, the family used their political sway to assist. They granted privileges and protection, and intervened in favour of their clients in return for their silence and connivance against local authorities, compared to the Sicilian Mafias pyramidal structure, the Camorra has more of a horizontal than a vertical structure. As a result, individual Camorra clans act independently of each other and this however makes the Camorra more resilient when top leaders are arrested or killed, with new clans and organizations germinating out of the stumps of old ones
18.
Triangle of death (Italy)
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The triangle of death, the largest illegal waste dump in Europe, is an area in the Italian province of Campania comprising the municipalities of Acerra, Nola and Marigliano. The region has experienced increasing deaths caused by cancer and other diseases that exceeds the Italian national average. The rise in cancer-related mortality is caused by pollution from waste disposal by outside. The term triangle of death was first used with regard to the region in an August 2004 scientific publication, an estimated 550,000 people live in this area. The annual death rate per 100,000 inhabitants from liver cancer is close to 34.5 for men and 20.8 for women, as compared to the national average of 14. The death rate for bladder cancer and cancer of the nervous system is higher than in other European countries. Campania, overall, has a lower-than-average cancer mortality rate than Italy, though some media outlets report France and Germany as waste sources the EU remains silent as to the sources of the waste and specifically the nuclear waste in their criticisms and demands of Italy. These abnormal patterns may correlate to areas where there are uncontrolled waste sites, however, this work also highlighted the difficulty in determining causality and in establishing a link between increased death and malformation rates and waste disposal. A US Navy Seals study denied any ill effects to on base personal while however advising their off base personal to drink bottled water citing polluted wells. The Us Navy Seals report denied any signs of nuclear waste dumping instead related the traces of Uranium to volcanic activity, as early as 1987, a decree of the Ministry of Environment marked Acerra at high risk of environmental crisis. High levels of polychlorinated biphenyls were detected both in the soil and in the inhabitants of the region, though no obvious emitters are known, approximately one million tonnes of toxic waste are said to have been disposed of, earning €27 million. The company was already the subject of a 2003 investigation, in another case, a tank full of toxic substances was found buried in an illegal dump, in Marigliano. The illegal burning of waste, for example to recover copper from wiring, is known to release dioxins into the atmosphere of Earth. Between January and March 2007,30,000 kilograms of waste were burned on agricultural land, the presence of fires in the north area of Naples led author Roberto Saviano to use Land of fire as chapter titles in his book Gomorrah. Hazardous industrial waste disposal may happen in lawful landfills, too, there was similar resistance in Pianosa to reopening a closed landfill proposed by government commissioner Giovanni De Gennaro. In 2007 and 2008 some of the protests turned violent, particularly in Naples and it is alleged that there was collusion between local political interests and organised crime over building interests. The incinerator of Acerra was also seen as potential source of pollution and stirred conflict, the agro-economy of the region has been adversely affected by the allegations. In March 2008, dioxin were found in milk from farms in Caserta
19.
Nola-Croce del Papa
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Nola-Croce del Papa was an early Bronze age village discovered in May 2001 in the Campania region near Nola, Italy. The settlement has been described as the first Pompeii by archaeologists, the discovery of two bodies which had been caught by the Pyroclastic flow as they were fleeing a Volcanic eruption from Mount Vesuvius led archaeologists to find the lost settlement. The eruption, which place in the 2nd millennium BC. The remains of such as goats were found, and various Fossils were also found as mud had flowed into the structures and preserved various foodstuffs. Of the entire settlement only three structures remained intact after the eruption, no human remains have been found in the settlement leading archaeologists to believe the populace had escaped, although not all had made it to safety. The lack of personal belongings in the settlement also lead to the belief that the people were given time to gather their most precious belongings before leaving
20.
Avellino eruption
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The Avellino eruption of Mount Vesuvius refers to a Plinian-type eruption that occurred in the 2nd millennium BC and is estimated to have had a VEI of 6. It is the source of the Avellino Pumice deposits named from the comune of Avellino in Campania where they have been found extensively and these pumices appearing in Apulian pottery can be used to establish relative chronology of pottery phases. A2008 study of the lithofacies distinguishes three phases, pyroclastic flows of Phases 1 and 2 were generated by magmatic fragmentation and had small dispersal areas mainly on the slopes of Vesuvius. Phase 3 was created by phreatomagmatic fragmentation, in which fragments are driven by superheated steam from ground water mixed with the other gases released from the magma. The authors characterize Phase 3 as the most voluminous and widespread in the whole of Somma-Vesuvius eruptive history, some facies a few cm thick were found 25 km from the source. The vent was 2 km west of todays center, the overall results of the Avellino Eruption were catastrophic and widespread. The deposit thickness of ash and other eruptive material ranges from 15m close to the vent to 50 cm around Avellino, the date of the Avellino Eruption remains to be determined with a precision greater than about 500 years within the framework of the Early/Middle Bronze Age. A range of 2000 BC —1500 BC includes the majority of estimates. Ample opportunity to obtain Carbon-14 dates from charcoal and soil buried under the deposits has existed, sporadic radiocarbon dating continues, with each scientist claiming to have obtained the latest. Consistency with previous and subsequent work remains elusive, according to Giardino the problem of establishing a reliable date results from the differences of calibrating on the one hand organic samples and on the other had soil facies. He prefers the earlier as the more reliable date, the latter were verified by tree-ring series and ice-core layers. The authors had just obtained carbon dates of 3360±40 BP, or 1617-1703 calibrated BC and they were suggesting a coincidence of a number of eruptions, such as the Santorini explosion, that destroyed the Minoan civilization. The hypothesis remains unverifiable a generation later, due to the imprecision of the dates. The eruption destroyed several Bronze Age settlements, the residents had hastily abandoned the village, leaving it to be buried under pumice and ash in much the same way that Pompeii was later preserved. Sevink, J. Bergen, M. J. van, Plicht, J. van der, Feiken, H. Anastasia, robust date for the Bronze Age Avellino eruption,3945 +/-10 calBP. The Island of Capri in the Gulf of Naples between the 5th and the 2nd Millennium BC, in Attema, Peter, Nijboer, Albert, Zifferero, Andrea. Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo, Pierpaolo Petrone, Lucia Pappalardo and Michael F. Sheridan, catastrophe as a Worst-Case Scenario for a Future Eruption at Vesuvius. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol.103, No
21.
History of coins
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Coins are still widely used for monetary and other purposes. All western histories of coins were invented at some time slightly before or after 700 BC, in Aegina Island, or, according to others, in Ephesus, ancient India in circa 6th century BC, was one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world. Since that time, coins have been the most universal embodiment of money, most notably, in Susa and in Ctesiphon. Some of the most famous and widely collected coins of antiquity are Roman coins, the Byzantine Empire minted many coins, including very thin gold coins bearing the image of the Christian cross and various Byzantine emperors. A tomb of the Chinese Shang Dynasty dating back to the 11th century BC shows what may be the first cast copper money Tong Bei, coinage was in widespread use by the Warring States period and the Han Dynasty. Some of the earliest coins were beaten at the edges to imitate the shape of a cow, most coins are circular but some were rectangular. Also a lot of coins, especially in China had a hole through the center so they could be tied on to a string. Among the earliest coins to be made purely from silver and gold were the silver Dirham, Silver and gold coins are the most common and universally recognized throughout history, even today. Mints around the world still make millions of gold and silver coins, including the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, the American Gold Eagle, copper, nickel, and other metals are also common, but in lower denominations. Coins were first made of scraps of metal, ancient coins were produced through a process of hitting a hammer positioned over an anvil. The Chinese produced primarily cast coinage, and this spread to South-East Asia, relatively few non-Chinese cast coins were produced by governments, however it was a common practice amongst counterfeiters. Since the early 18th century and before, presses have been used in the west, beginning with screw presses, the first of these presses were developed in France and Germany, and quickly spreading to Britain. Modern minting techniques use electric and hydraulic presses, the type of mintage method does limit the materials which can be used for the coin
22.
Ausones
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Ausones, the original Greek form for the Latin Aurunci, was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. The usage, by ancient writers, in regard to national appellations is very vague and fluctuating, nevertheless, it does not appear that the name Aurunci was ever employed by the Romans in the vague and extensive sense in which that of Ausones was used by the Greeks. Further, it appears, by the period of the fourth century BC. Evidently two parts of one people, both dwelling on the frontiers of Latium and Campania, for more details on this see Aurunci. It is possible the Ausonians may have also been identical with the Oscans, aristotle expressly states that the part of Italy towards Tyrrhenia was inhabited by the Opicans, who were called, both formerly and in his time, by the additional name of Ausones. Antiochus of Syracuse stated, that Campania was at first occupied by the Opicans, hecataeus also appears to have held the same view with Antiochus, as he called Nola in Campania a city of the Ausones. Polybius, on the contrary, regarded the two nations as different, and spoke of Campania as inhabited by the Ausonians and Opicans. This does not necessarily prove that they were distinct, as some authors mention the Opicans and Oscans as if they were two different nations when they are clearly the same. However, the use of Ausones as identical with that of the Opicans may simply be due to the fact Ausones was used as a term for all inhabitants of the Italian peninsula. Other accounts, however, represent them as originally an inland people, scymnus Chius also writes of them as occupying an inland region, and Strabo states that they had occupied the mountain tract above the Pontine marshes, and in Roman history only with Volscians. Hellanicus according to Dionysius wrote of the Ausonians as crossing over into Sicily under their king Siculus, where the people meant are clearly the Siculi. Again, Strabo wrote of Temesa as founded by the Ausones, where he must probably mean the Oenotrians and it was probably only adopted by the Alexandrian writers as a poetical equivalent for Italia, a name which is not found in any poets of that period. From them the name of Ausonia was adopted by the Roman poets in the same sense, the etymology of the name of Ausones is uncertain, but it seems not improbable that it is originally connected with the same root as Oscus or Opicus. The first Greek settlers found Italy inhabited by three populations, Ausones, Oenotrians and Iapyges. The Ausones spoke an Indo-European language and were present in Italy at least from the 17th century BC. The core of the Ausonian people lived in a territory called Ausonia, in the 8th century BC it included what is now southern Lazio, at this period they were certainly an inconsiderable tribe, and were able to offer but little resistance to the Roman arms. According to different classical sources the Ausones were also settled in Calabria, the Ausones entered in contact with the Romans, allying against them with the Samnites. The main Ausonian cities of Ausona, Minturnae, Vescia and Sinuessa, according to a legend told by Diodorus Siculus, The King of the Ausones was Auson, son of Ulysses and Circe
23.
Capua
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Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now, the name of Capua comes from the Etruscan Capeva. The meaning is City of Marshes and its foundation is attributed by Cato the Elder to the Etruscans, and the date given as about 260 years before it was taken by Rome. If this is true it refers not to its capture in the Second Punic War but to its submission to Rome in 338 BC, placing the date of foundation at about 600 BC, while Etruscan power was at its highest. In the area several settlements of the Villanovian civilization were present in prehistoric times, Etruscan supremacy in Campania came to an end with the Samnite invasion in the latter half of the 5th century BC. About 424 BC it was captured by the Samnites and in 343 BC besought Roman help against its conquerors, the citizens of Capua received the civitas sine suffragio. In the second Samnite War with Rome, Capua proved an untrustworthy Roman ally, so that after the defeat of the Samnites and it was the capital of Campania Felix. In 312 BC, Capua was connected with Rome by the construction of the Via Appia, the most important of the military highways of Italy. The gate by which it left the Servian walls of Rome bore the name Porta Capena, livy and others have suggested that the luxurious conditions were Hannibals Cannae because his troops became soft and demoralized by luxurious living. Historians from Bosworth Smith onwards have been skeptical of this, observing that his troops gave as good an account of themselves in battle after that winter as before. Considerable difficulties occurred in preventing illegal encroachments by private persons, and it was, after that period, let, not to large but to small proprietors. Frequent attempts were made by the leaders to divide the land among new settlers. Brutus in 83 BC actually succeeded in establishing a colony, but it was soon dissolved, the town of Capua belonged to none of these organizations, and was entirely dependent on the praefecti. Its luxury remained proverbial, and Campania is especially spoken of as the home of gladiatorial combats, from the gladiatorial schools of Campania came Spartacus and his followers in 73 BC. The number of colonists was increased by Mark Antony, Augustus, in the war of 69 it took the side of Vitellius. Under Constantine we hear of the foundation of a Christian church in Capua, in 456 it was taken and destroyed by the Vandals under Gaiseric, but must have been soon rebuilt. During the Gothic War, Capua suffered greatly, when the Lombards invaded Italy in the second half of the 6th century, Capua was ravaged, later, it was included in the Duchy of Benevento, and ruled by an official styled gastald. In 839, the prince of Benevento, Sicard, was assassinated by Radelchis I of Benevento, sicards brother Siconulf was proclaimed independent prince in Salerno and the gastald of Capua declared himself independent
24.
Roman Republic
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It was during this period that Romes control expanded from the citys immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, by the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation, Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened. The leaders of the Republic developed a tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military. Many of Romes legal and legislative structures can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states, the exact causes and motivations for Romes military conflicts and expansions during the republic are subject to wide debate. While they can be seen as motivated by outright aggression and imperialism and they argue that Romes expansion was driven by short-term defensive and inter-state factors, and the new contingencies that these decisions created. In its early history, as Rome successfully defended itself against foreign threats in central and then northern Italy, with some important exceptions, successful wars in early republican Rome generally led not to annexation or military occupation, but to the restoration of the way things were. But the defeated city would be weakened and thus able to resist Romanizing influences. It was also able to defend itself against its non-Roman enemies. It was, therefore, more likely to seek an alliance of protection with Rome and this growing coalition expanded the potential enemies that Rome might face, and moved Rome closer to confrontation with major powers. The result was more alliance-seeking, on the part of both the Roman confederacy and city-states seeking membership within that confederacy. While there were exceptions to this, it was not until after the Second Punic War that these alliances started to harden into something more like an empire and this shift mainly took place in parts of the west, such as the southern Italian towns that sided with Hannibal. In contrast, Roman expansion into Spain and Gaul occurred as a mix of alliance-seeking, in the 2nd century BC, Roman involvement in the Greek east remained a matter of alliance-seeking, but this time in the face of major powers that could rival Rome. This had some important similarities to the events in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the Roman Republic remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It was not until the time of the Roman Empire that the entire Roman world was organized into provinces under explicit Roman control
25.
Oscan
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Not to be confused with Old Scandinavian, sometimes abbreviated OScan. Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy, the language is also the namesake of the language group to which it belonged. As a member of the Italic languages, Oscan is therefore a sister language to Latin, Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including the Samnites, the Aurunci, and the Sidicini. The latter two tribes were grouped under the name Osci. The language was spoken from approximately 500 BC to AD100, Oscan is known from inscriptions dating as far back as the 5th century BC. The most important Oscan inscriptions are the Tabula Bantina, the Oscan Tablet or Tabula Osca, Oscan had much in common with Latin, though there are also many striking differences, and many common word-groups in Latin were absent or represented by entirely different forms. For example, Latin volo, velle, volui, and other forms from the Proto-Indo-European root *wel were represented by words derived from *gher. Latin locus was absent and represented by the hapax slaagid, which Italian linguist Alberto Manco has recently referred to a local surviving toponym. In phonology, Oscan also showed differences from Latin, Oscan p in place of Latin qu, b in place of Latin v, Oscan was written in the Latin and Greek alphabets, as well as in a variety of the Old Italic alphabet. The Z of the alphabet is pronounced. The letters Ú and Í are differentiations of U and I, the Ú represents an o-sound, and Í is a tense. Doubling of vowels was used to denote length but a long I is written IÍ, when written in the Latin alphabet the Oscan Z does not represent but instead, which is not written differently from in the native alphabet. Oscan written with the Greek alphabet was identical to the alphabet with the addition of two letters, one for the native alphabets H and one for its V. The letters η and ω do not indicate quantity, sometimes, the clusters ηι and ωϝ denote the diphthongs /ei/ and /ou/ respectively while ει and oυ are saved to denote monophthongs /iː/ and /uː/ of the native alphabet. Other times, ει and oυ are used to denote diphthongs, vowels are regularly lengthened before ns and nct and possibly before nf and nx as well. If the other consonant follows, the new vowel is the same as that of the following vowel, short a remains in most positions. Long ā remains in an initial or medial position, Long ē becomes the sound of í or íí. Long ī is spelt with i but when written with doubling as a mark of length with ií, short o remains mostly unchanged, written ú, before a final -m, o becomes more like u. Long ō becomes denoted by u or uu
26.
Samnites
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The Samnites were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium in south-central Italy. They became involved in wars with the Roman Republic until the 1st century BC. An Oscan-speaking people, the Samnites probably originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, the Samnites formed a confederation, consisting of four tribes, the Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. They allied with Rome against the Gauls in 354 BC, despite an overwhelming victory over the Romans at the Battle of the Caudine Forks, the Samnites were eventually subjugated. Although severely weakened, the Samnites later helped Pyrrhus and Hannibal in their wars against Rome, by 82 BC, the Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla conducted an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Samnites, after which they disappeared from history. The population of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans and their own endonyms were Safinim for the country and Safineis for the people. Etymologically, the name Samnium is generally recognized to be a form of the name of the Sabines, from Safinim, Sabinus, Sabellus and Samnis, an Indo-European root can be extracted, *sabh-, which becomes Sab- in Latino-Faliscan and Saf- in Osco-Umbrian, Sabini and *Safineis. The eponymous god of the Sabines, Sabus, seems to support this view, the Greek terms, Saunitai and Saunitis, remain outside the group. Nothing is known of their origin, at some point in prehistory, a population speaking a common language extended over both Samnium and Umbria. Salmon conjectures that it was common Italic and puts forward a date of 600 BC and this date does not necessarily correspond to any historical or archaeological evidence, developing a synthetic view of the ethnology of proto-historic Italy is an incomplete and ongoing task. Linguist Julius Pokorny carries the etymology somewhat further back, the earliest written record of the people is a treaty with the Romans from 354 BC, which set their border at the Liris River. Shortly thereafter, the Samnite Wars broke out, they won an important battle against the Roman army in 321 BC, by 290 BC, the Romans were able to break the Samnites power after some hard fought battles. The Samnites were one of the Italian peoples that allied with King Pyrrhus of Epirus during the Pyrrhic War and they joined and aided Hannibal during the Second Punic War. The Samnites were the last tribal group holding out against Rome in the Social War, by 82 BC, the Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla conducted an ethnic cleansing campaign against this most stubborn and persistent of Romes adversaries and forced the remnant to disperse. So great was the destruction brought upon them that it was recorded that the towns of Samnium have become villages, Caraceni Caudini Frentani Hirpini Pentri Gaius Pontius ca. 320s BC Gellius Egnatius ca.296 BC Gaius Papius Mutilus 90-89 with, Pontius Telesinus - Samnite commander to Papius Pontius Pilate - the 5th Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26–36
27.
Samnite Wars
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The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the south of Rome and the north of the Lucanians. The first of these wars was the result of Romes intervening to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from a Samnite attack. The second one was the result of Romes intervention in the politics of the city of Naples and developed into a contest over the control of much of central, the third war also involved a struggle over the control of this part of Italy. The Samnites were one of early Romes most formidable rivals, by the time of the first of these wars, the southward expansion of Rome’s territory had reached the River Liris, which was the boundary between Latium and Campania. This river is now called Garigliano and it is the boundary between the regions of Lazio and Campania. In those days the name Campania referred to the plain between the coast and the Apennine Mountains which stretched from the River Liris down to the bays of Naples, the northern part of this area was inhabited by the Sidicini, the Aurunci and the Ausoni. The central and southern part was inhabited by the Campanians, who were people who had migrated from Samnium and were related to the Samnites. The Samnites were a confederation of four tribes who lived on the mountains to the east of Campania and were the most powerful people in the area, the Samnites, Campanians and Sidicini spoke Oscan languages. Their languages were part of the Osco-Umbrian linguistic family which also included Umbrian, the Lucanians who lived to the south were also Oscan speakers. Diodorus Siculus and Livy report that in 354 BC Rome and the Samnites concluded a treaty, modern historians have proposed that the treaty established the river Liris as the boundary between their spheres of influence, with Romes lying to its north and the Samnites to its south. This arrangement broke down when the Romans intervened south of the Liris to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from an attack by the Samnites. Livy is the only preserved source to give an account of the war which has become known in modern historiography as the First Samnite War. In addition, the Fasti Triumphales records two Roman triumphs dating to this war and some of the described by Livy are also mentioned by other ancient writers. According to Livy, the First Samnite War started not because of any enmity between Rome and the Samnites, but due to outside events, the spark came when the Samnites without provocation attacked the Sidicini, a tribe living north of Campania with their chief settlement at Teanum Sidicinum. Unable to stand against the Samnites, the Sidicini sought help from the Campanians, However, Livy continues, the Samnites defeated the Campanians in a battle in Sidicine territory and then turned their attention toward Campania. First they seized the Tifata hills overlooking Capua and, having left a force to hold them. There they defeated the Campanians in a battle and drove them within their walls. This compelled the Campanians to ask Rome for help, at Rome, the Campanian ambassadors were admitted to an audience with the Senate
28.
Battle of Nola (214 BC)
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The Third Battle of Nola was fought in 214 BC between Hannibal and a Roman army led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus. It was Hannibals third attempt to take the town of Nola, once again, Marcellus successfully prevented the towns capture. This victory brought the Romans to the brink of despair, the Senate had issued a decree that forbade anyone to say the word, Peace within the city itself. Mourning was legislatively circumscribed to 30 days, women were not permitted to cry in the public venues and this proposed defection was put down and all thoughts of surrender were circumscribed. To be sure, there were colonies that had detached from the Confederacy in Cisalpine Gaul. So after Cannae, Hannibal set about just this task and it was indeed upon the basis of his being able to detach the confederates of Rome, that Hannibal had calculated upon a lasting victory. Without them, nothing serious could be brought about, so after the battle itself, Hannibal started to conduct diplomacy to this effect. Phillip of Macedon promised a navy and an army to descend on Italy - it was in way that he hoped to simultaneously strike a blow at Rome herself while regaining Epirus to his kingdom. In addition to this, Hiero II of Syracuse recently passed, however, in spite of the seeming ascendancy of Hannibal over Rome, his cause was in reality anything but that. His military chest was stretched to its limit, and to this effect he sent a deputation to Rome that requested money in return for hostages, what happened at this point, was a number of Roman Allies - although no Latin confederate - were detached. Capua, the city of all Italy and in a commanding position on the crucial plain of Campania was detached. This city had been oppressed by the Romans, and faced discriminitory treatment by the Senate. This city was said to be able to furnish Hannibal with 30,000 foot and 4,000 cavalry and this was a major blow to the Symmachy, and was in and of itself as demoralizing as the defeat at Cannae had been. Hannibal had effectively won over all of southern Italy, from the mouth of the Vulturnus river to the peninsula of Mons Garganus and south nothing could be found except a string of Roman forts holding out and adherents of Hannibal
29.
Hannibal
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Hannibal Barca, was a Carthaginian general, considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His father Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War and his younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair. One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army which included war elephants from Iberia over the Pyrenees, Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years but was unable to march on Rome. An enemy counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage, after the war, Hannibal successfully ran for the office of sufet. During this time, he lived at the Seleucid court, where he acted as advisor to Antiochus III the Great in his war against Rome. Antiochus met defeat at the Battle of Magnesia and was forced to accept Romes terms and his flight ended in the court of Bithynia, where he achieved an outstanding naval victory against a fleet from Pergamon. He was afterwards betrayed to the Romans and committed suicide by poisoning himself, military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge called Hannibal the father of strategy, because his greatest enemy, Rome, came to adopt elements of his military tactics in its own strategic arsenal. This praise has earned him a reputation in the modern world. The English form of the name is derived from the Latin, Greek historians rendered the name as Anníbas Bárkas. Hannibals name was recorded in Carthaginian sources as ḤNBʻL and its precise vocalization remains a matter of debate. Suggested readings include Ḥannibaʻl or Ḥannibaʻal, meaning grace of Baʻal, Baal is gracious, or Baal has been gracious, or Ḥannobaʻal, Barca was the surname of his aristocratic family, meaning shining or lightning. It is thus equivalent to the Arabic name Barq or the Hebrew name Barak or the ancient Greek epithet keraunos, in English, his clan are sometimes collectively known as the Barcids. As with Greek and Roman practice, patronymics were a part of Carthaginian nomenclature. Hannibal was one of the sons of Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian leader and he was born in what is present day Tunisia. He had several sisters and two brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago and his brothers-in-law were Hasdrubal the Fair and the Numidian king Naravas. He was still a child when his sisters married, and his brothers-in-law were close associates during his fathers struggles in the Mercenary War, in light of Hamilcar Barcas cognomen, historians refer to Hamilcars family as the Barcids. However, there is debate as to whether the cognomen Barca was applied to Hamilcar alone or was hereditary within his family, if the latter, then Hannibal and his brothers also bore the name Barca. After Carthages defeat in the First Punic War, Hamilcar set out to improve his familys, with that in mind and supported by Gades, Hamilcar began the subjugation of the tribes of the Iberian Peninsula
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Second Punic War
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The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and the War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic and its allied Italic socii, with the crucial participation of Numidian-Berber armies and tribes on both sides. The two states three major wars with each other over the course of their existence. They are called the Punic Wars because Romes name for Carthaginians was Poeni, derived from Poenici, in the following year, Hannibals army defeated the Romans again, this time in southern Italy at Cannae. In consequence of these defeats, many Roman allies went over to Carthage, against Hannibals skill on the battlefield, the Romans deployed the Fabian strategy. A sideshow of this war was the indecisive First Macedonian War in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Second Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome and was ignited by the dispute over the hegemony of Saguntum, a Hellenized Iberian coastal city with diplomatic contacts with Rome. After great tension within the city government, culminating in the assassination of the supporters of Carthage, the city called for Roman aid, but the pleas fell on deaf ears. Following a prolonged siege and a struggle, in which Hannibal himself was wounded and the army practically destroyed. Many of the Saguntians chose to commit suicide rather than face subjugation by the Carthaginians, before the war, Rome and Hasdrubal the Fair had made a treaty. Livy reports that it was agreed that the Iber should be the boundary between the two empires and that the liberty of the Saguntines should be preserved, Hannibal departed with this army from New Carthage northwards along the coast in late spring of 218 BC. At the Ebro, he split the army into three columns and subdued the tribes there to the Pyrenees within weeks, but with severe losses. At the Pyrenees, he left a detachment of 11,000 Iberian troops, Hannibal reportedly entered Gaul with 50,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. He took his army by a route, avoiding the Roman allies along the coast. In the meantime, a Roman fleet with a force was underway to northern Iberia. A scouting party of 300 cavalry was sent to discover the whereabouts of the enemy and these eventually defeated a Carthaginian scouting troop of 500 mounted Numidians and chased them back to their main camp. Thus, with knowledge of the location of the enemy, the Romans marched upstream, Hannibal evaded this force and by an unknown route reached the Isère or the Durance at the foot of the Alps in autumn. He also received messengers from his Gallic allies in Italy that urged him to come to their aid, before setting out to cross the Alps, he was re-supplied by a native tribe, some of whose hereditary disputes he had helped solve. Their other commander, Publius Cornelius Scipio, returned to Rome, realizing the danger of an invasion of Italy where the tribes of the Boii, after 217 BC, he moved to Iberia
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Marcus Claudius Marcellus
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Marcus Claudius Marcellus, five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War. Furthermore, he is noted for having conquered the city of Syracuse in a protracted siege during which Archimedes. Marcus Claudius Marcellus died in battle in 208 BC, leaving behind a legacy of military conquests, little is known of Marcus Claudius Marcellus’ early years since the majority of biographical information pertains to his military expeditions. The fullest account of Marcellus’ life was written by Plutarch, a Greek biographer in the time of the Roman Empire, according to Plutarch, Marcellus was a skilled fighter in his youth and was raised with the purpose of entering military service. Marcellus’ general education may have been lacking, in his youth, Marcellus quickly distinguished himself as an ambitious warrior, known for his skill in hand-to-hand combat. He is noted for having saved the life of his brother, Otacilius, as a young man in the Roman army, Marcellus was praised by his superiors for his skill and valor. As a result of his service, in 226 BC. The position of curule aedile was quite prestigious for a man like Marcellus, an aedile was an overseer of public buildings and festivals and an enforcer of public order. This is generally the first position one might take in seeking a political career. Around the same time that he became an aedile, Marcellus was also awarded the position of augur, by about the age of 40, Marcellus had already become an acclaimed soldier and public official. Following the end of the First Punic War, in which Marcellus fought as a soldier, in the fourth and final year of the war, Marcellus was elected consul with Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus. The previous consuls had pushed the Insubrians, the primary Gallic tribe involved, following such terrible defeats, the Insubrians surrendered, but Marcellus, not yet consul, persuaded the two acting consuls not to accept the terms of peace. As Marcellus and his colleague were ushered into office as the new consuls, the Insubrians mustered 30,000 of their Gallic allies, Marcellus invaded Insubrian lands up to the Po River, just as the previous consuls had done. From here, the Gauls sent 10,000 men across the Po and attacked Clastidium and this battlefield was the stage for Marcellus’ confrontation with the Gallic king, Viridomarus, which cemented his place in history. The confrontation, as told by Plutarch, is so heavy in detail that one might question the veracity of his narration, Plutarch recounts that, prior to the battle, Viridomarus spotted Marcellus, who wore commanders insignia on his armor, and rode out to meet him. Across the battlefield, Marcellus viewed the beautiful armor on the back of the enemy riding toward him. Marcellus concluded that this was the nicest armor, which he had prayed would be given by him to the gods. ”Marcellus extracted the armor from his fallen foe. The spolia opima, meaning ultimate spoil, is known in Roman history as the most prestigious, only a general who kills the leader of the opposing army prior to a battle may be honored with taking a spolia opima
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Spartacus
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Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable. However, all agree that he was a former gladiator. Although this interpretation is not specifically contradicted by historians, no historical account mentions that the goal was to end slavery in the Republic. The Greek essayist Plutarch describes Spartacus as a Thracian of Nomadic stock, Appian says he was a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a gladiator. Florus described him as one who, from a Thracian mercenary, had become a Roman soldier, that had deserted and became enslaved, and afterward, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator. Plutarch also writes that Spartacus wife, a prophetess of the Maedi tribe, was enslaved with him, the name Spartacus is otherwise manifested in the Black Sea region. Kings of the Thracian dynasty of the Cimmerian Bosporus and Pontus are known to have borne it, according to the differing sources and their interpretation, Spartacus was a captive taken by the legions. Spartacus was trained at the school near Capua belonging to Lentulus Batiatus. He was a gladiator called a murmillo. These fighters carried a big oblong shield, and used a sword with a broad, straight blade, in 73 BC, Spartacus was among a group of gladiators plotting an escape. About 70 slaves were part of the plot, though few in number, they seized kitchen utensils, fought their way free from the school, and seized several wagons of gladiatorial weapons and armor. Once free, the escaped gladiators chose Spartacus and two Gallic slaves—Crixus and Oenomaus—as their leaders, the positions of Crixus and Oenomaus—and later, Gannicus and Castus—can be clearly determined from the sources. The response of the Romans was hampered by the absence of the Roman legions, which were engaged in fighting a revolt in Spain. Furthermore, the Romans considered the more of a policing matter than a war. Rome dispatched militia under the command of praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber and they were surprised when Spartacus, who had made ropes from vines, climbed down the cliff side of the volcano with his men and attacked the unfortified Roman camp in the rear, killing most of them. The rebels also defeated an expedition, nearly capturing the praetor commander, killing his lieutenants. With these successes, more and more slaves flocked to the Spartacan forces, as did many of the herdsmen and shepherds of the region, in these altercations Spartacus proved to be an excellent tactician, suggesting that he may have had previous military experience. Though the rebels lacked military training, they displayed a skillful use of local materials
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Augustus
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Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first Roman emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia and his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesars will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar, following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvate was eventually torn apart by the ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, in reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and it took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis, the resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of peace known as the Pax Romana. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, expanding into Germania, beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. Augustus died in AD14 at the age of 75 and he probably died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Augustus was known by many names throughout his life, At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, upon his adoption, he took Caesars name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. He quickly dropped Octavianus from his name, and his contemporaries referred to him as Caesar during this period, historians. In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference to him from 27 BC until his death in AD14. While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres from Rome and he was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his fathers victory at Thurii over a band of slaves. Due to the nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his fathers home village at Velletri to be raised. Octavius only mentions his fathers equestrian family briefly in his memoirs and his paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War
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Gaius Octavius (proconsul)
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Gaius Octavius was an ancestor to the Roman Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Hailing from Velitrae, he descended from an old, wealthy equestrian branch of the gens Octavia, despite being from a wealthy family, his family was plebeian, rather than patrician. As a novus homo, he would not be of a senatorial family and his grandfather, Gaius Octavius, fought as a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War. His father Gaius Octavius was a magistrate who lived to an advanced age. He is a distant relative to Gnaeus Octavius, the consul of 87 BC who led the opposition to Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Octavius first wife was named Ancharia. It is not known how the marriage ended, although it is possible that Ancharia died during child birth and he later married the niece of Julius Caesar, Atia Balba Caesonia. How they met is not known, although Atias family on her fathers side lived close to Velitrae and they had two children, Octavia Minor and the Emperor Augustus, the latter of whom was born in 63 BC. Octavius was elected quaestor, believed to have been in 70 BC, in 61 BC, he was elected praetor. In 60 BC, after his term had ended, he was appointed propraetor, before he left for Macedonia, the senate sent him to put down a slave rebellion at Thurii. These slaves had taken part in the rebellions of Spartacus. Cicero had high regard for his diplomatic dealings, because of his successful term as governor of Macedonia, he won the support necessary to be elected consul. In 59 BC, Octavius sailed to Rome, to stand for election as consul, however, he died in Nola, before arriving in Rome. He supposedly died in the bedroom where his son Augustus would pass away many years later. Octavia Julio-Claudian family tree Suetonius - The Twelve Caesars - Augustus vs. 1-8 Augustus, The Life of Romes First Emperor, by Anthony Everitt
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Vespasian
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Vespasian was Roman emperor from AD69 to AD79. Vespasian founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for twenty-seven years, Vespasian was from an equestrian family that rose into the senatorial rank under the Julio–Claudian emperors. While Vespasian besieged Jerusalem during the Jewish rebellion, emperor Nero committed suicide, after Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became the third emperor in April 69. The Roman legions of Roman Egypt and Judaea reacted by declaring Vespasian, their commander, emperor on 1 July 69. In his bid for power, Vespasian joined forces with Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Primus. Primus and Mucianus led the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian took control of Egypt, on 20 December 69, Vitellius was defeated, and the following day Vespasian was declared Emperor by the Senate. Little information survives about the government during Vespasians ten-year rule and he reformed the financial system at Rome after the campaign against Judaea ended successfully, and initiated several ambitious construction projects. He began the building of the Flavian Amphitheatre, better known today as the Roman Colosseum, in reaction to the events of 68–69, Vespasian forced through an improvement in army discipline. Through his general Agricola, Vespasian increased imperial expansion in Britain, after his death in 79, he was succeeded by his eldest son Titus, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to be directly succeeded by his own natural son and establishing the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian was born in a village north-east of Rome called Falacrinae and his family was relatively undistinguished and lacking in pedigree. His paternal grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, became the first to himself, rising to the rank of centurion. Subsequently he became a debt collector, petros son, Titus Flavius Sabinus, worked as a customs official in the province of Asia and became a money-lender on a small scale among the Helvetii. He gained a reputation as a scrupulous and honest tax-farmer, Sabinus married up in status, to Vespasia Polla, whose father had risen to the rank of prefect of the camp and whose brother became a Senator. Sabinus and Vespasia had three children, the eldest of whom, a girl, died in infancy, the elder boy, Titus Flavius Sabinus entered public life and pursued the cursus honorum. He served in the army as a tribune in Thrace in 36. The following year he was elected quaestor and served in Crete, the younger boy, Vespasian, seemed far less likely to be successful, initially not wishing to pursue high public office. He followed in his brothers footsteps when driven to it by his mothers taunting, during this period he married Flavia Domitilla, the daughter of Flavius Liberalis from Ferentium and formerly the mistress of Statilius Capella, a Roman equestrian from Sabrata in Africa. They had two sons, Titus Flavius Vespasianus and Titus Flavius Domitianus, and a daughter, Domitilla and his wife Domitilla and his daughter Domitilla both died before Vespasian became Emperor in 69
36.
Colonia (Roman)
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A Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city and it is also the origin of the modern term colony. The Roman Republic, having no standing army, used to plant bodies of their own citizens in conquered towns as a kind of garrison, in the first century of the Roman Empire the colonies were made only of veterans and were responsible for the Romanization of many territories. Nowadays neo-Latin languages are spoken in many of the areas where these veterans settled, according to Livy, Romes first colonies were established in about 752 BC at Antemnae and Crustumerium. Other early colonies were established at Signia in the 6th century BC, Velitrae and Norba in the 5th century BC, and Ostia, Antium, and Tarracina in the late 4th century. In this first period of colonization, which lasted down to the end of the Punic Wars, colonies were primarily military in purpose, there were colonies of citizens and colonies of Latins, which differed in size, constitution, and region. Colonies of citizens were typically coastal and known as coloniae maritimae and these were small, close to Rome, and enjoyed no civic life of their own. Sherwin-White suggested that they were similar to the Athenian cleruchy, coloniae also included towns founded by Rome to house those who held Roman citizenship. In Britain this usually meant those who had completed their service in the Legions and were thus owed a grant of land by the state, see Marian Reforms. org L. Adkins. Adkins, “Coloniae”, in L. Adkins and R. A, Adkins, Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, New York,1994. M. Bunson, “colonies, Roman”, in M. Bunson, Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, New York,1994
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Roman roads
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They provided efficient means for the overland movement of armies, officials, and civilians, and the inland carriage of official communications and trade goods. Roman roads were of several kinds, ranging from local roads to broad, long-distance highways built to connect cities, major towns. These major roads were often stone-paved and metaled, cambered for drainage and they were laid along accurately surveyed courses, and some were cut through hills, or conducted over rivers and ravines on bridgework. Sections could be supported over marshy ground on rafted or piled foundations, at the peak of Romes development, no fewer than 29 great military highways radiated from the capital, and the late Empires 113 provinces were interconnected by 372 great roads. The whole comprised more than 400,000 kilometres of roads, in Gaul alone, no less than 21,000 kilometres of roadways are said to have been improved, and in Britain at least 4,000 kilometres. The courses of many Roman roads survived for millennia, some are overlaid by modern roads, livy mentions some of the most familiar roads near Rome, and the milestones on them, at times long before the first paved road—the Appian Way. Unless these allusions are just simple anachronisms, the referred to were probably at the time little more than levelled earthen tracks. Thus, the Via Gabina is mentioned in about 500 BC, the Via Latina in about 490 BC, the Via Nomentana, in 449 BC, the Via Labicana in 421 BC, and the Via Salaria in 361 BC. There is hardly a district to which we expect a Roman official to be sent, on service either civil or military. They reach the Wall in Britain, run along the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates, and cover, as with a network, a road map of the empire reveals that it was generally laced with a dense network of prepared viae. Beyond its borders there were no paved roads, however, it can be supposed that footpaths, there were, for instance, some pre-Roman ancient trackways in Britain, such as the Ridgeway and the Icknield Way. For specific roads, see Roman road locations below, the Laws of the Twelve Tables, dated to about 450 BC, specified that a road shall be 8 Roman feet wide where straight and twice that width where curved. Actual practices varied from this standard, the Tables command Romans to build roads and give wayfarers the right to pass over private land where the road is in disrepair. Roman law defined the right to use a road as a servitus, the ius eundi established a claim to use an iter, or footpath, across private land, the ius agendi, an actus, or carriage track. A via combined both types of servitutes, provided it was of the width, which was determined by an arbiter. The default width was the latitudo legitima of 8 feet, Roman law and tradition forbade the use of vehicles in urban areas, except in certain cases. Married women and government officials on business could ride, the Lex Iulia Municipalis restricted commercial carts to night-time access in the city within the walls and within a mile outside the walls. Such roads led either to the sea, or to a town, or to a public river and these roads bear the names of their constructors
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Nocera Inferiore
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Nocera Inferiore is a city and comune in Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, at the foot of Monte Albino,20 km east-south-east of Naples by rail. Nuceria minted its own money, its coins bearing the head of the god, and developed its own alphabet called nucerino. It maintained its allegiance to Rome until 309 BC when it joined the revolted Samnites, in 308 BC it repulsed a Roman attempt to land at the mouth of the Sarnus, but in 307 BC it was besieged and surrendered. It obtained favourable terms, and remained faithful to Rome even after Cannae, hannibal reduced it in 216 BC by starvation, and destroyed the town. The inhabitants returned when peace was restored, in 73 BC it was plundered by Spartacus. At an early date the city became a see, and in the 12th century it sided with Innocent II against Roger of Sicily. In the 13th century, and long after, the town had the name of Nocera de Pagani because a colony of Muslim Saracens was introduced by Frederick II, the town was described as a genuine Muhammadan town with all its characteristic mosques and minarets. It is said that, through their darker complexion and features, notably, while the towns name was changed from Nocera de Pagani to Nocera Inferiore, a nearby town, Nuceria Christianorum, was renamed Nocera Superiore. But in 1239 Frederick II decided to expel the Muslim population of Nocera, a small colony of Saracens was actually introduced in the town around the 9th century. By the end of the 15th century, until 1806 had the epithet, today there is the town of Pagani, which lies about one 1.5 km to the west. In 1385 Pope Urban VI was besieged in the castle by Charles III of Naples, helena, the widow of Manfred of Sicily, was imprisoned in the Castle and died here after the battle of Benevento. Here also Urban VI imprisoned the cardinals who favoured the antipope Clement VII, the castle also had as guests the writers Dante Alighieri and Boccaccio. About three kilometers to the east, near the village of Nocera Superiore, is the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Its chief feature is its dome, ceiled with stone internally and it is supported by 40 ancient columns, and in its construction resembles Santo Stefano Rotondo in Rome. The walls are covered with frescoes from the 14th century and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno Alphabet of Nuceria A. S. G, nocerina History of Islam in southern Italy Saracinesco Ciciliano Media related to Nocera Inferiore at Wikimedia Commons Official Website
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Via Popilia
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The Via Popilia is the name of two different ancient Roman roads begun in the consulship of Publius Popilius Laenas. The first road was an extension of the Via Flaminia from Ariminum around the north of the Adriatic through the region later became Venice. The second ran from Capua to Rhegium on the Straits of Messina, an archaeological discovery of part of its itinerarium engraved on stone brought it more fully into the light of history. There are the remains of at least one Roman bridge along the road, Roman road Roman bridge Roman engineering The Polla Tablet Omnes Viae, Via Popilia on the Peutinger Map
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nola". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "article name needed". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.