Aeclanum (also spelled Aeculanum, it, Eclano, grc, Ἀικούλανον) was an ancient town of

Samnium Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the Th ...

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...

, about 25 km east-southeast of Beneventum, on the

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...

. It lies in

Passo di Mirabella Mirabella Eclano is an Italian town and '' comune'' of the province of Avellino, in the Southern Italian Campania region. its population was of 7,904. History The Roman site of Aeclanum once stood nearby. It is now an archaeological park and l ...

, near the modern Mirabella Eclano. It is now an archaeological park. Aequum Tuticum cardo viarum

Location

Aeclanum was on a promontory naturally defended, to some extent, by a steep slope on the south side down to the river Calore, while the north side lay open towards the crest of the ridge that where the

ran. This led through Lacus Ampsanctus to Aquilonia and Venusia. Two other routes to

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, the and , diverged nearby, leading through Aequum Tuticum to Luceria and through

Trivicum Trivicum is the ancient Hirpini and Samnium town nowadays called Trevico Trevico is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Located in the Apennines upon a steep hill at 3,576 feet (1,090 m) altitude, Trev ...

to Herdoniae respectively. The road from Aeclanum to Abellinum (modern Atripalda, near

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

) may also follow an ancient line. Today there are ruins of the city walls, of an aqueduct, baths and an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

; nearly 400 inscriptions have also been discovered. Excavation has revealed a long history of pre-Roman settlement."AECLANUM (Eclano) Italy" in ''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites''
/ref>

History

Aeclanum was a town of the

Hirpini The Hirpini ( Latin: ') were an ancient Samnite tribe of Southern Italy. While generally regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation. They inhabited the southern portion of Samnium, in the mo ...

, although it was never mentioned during the

Samnite wars The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe ...

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

captured it in 89 BC by setting on fire the wooden breastwork by which it was defended, and sacked it. It quickly recovered, new fortifications were erected, and it became a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...

''.

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

, who repaired the Via Appia from Beneventum to this point, made it a '' colonia'' (colony). With the Lombard invasion of Italy, in the 6th century AD, it was annexed to the

Duchy of Benevento The Duchy of Benevento (after 774, Principality of Benevento) was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conq ...

, but was captured and destroyed by Eastern Roman forces under

Constans II Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...

in 663 and never recovered, being reduced to a small hamlet known as Quintodecimo, a name that referred to its distance of 15 Roman miles from Benevento.

Bishopric

Aeclanum became a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

, whose best known

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

was Julian of Eclanum, who was consecrated by

Pope Innocent I Pope Innocent I ( la, Innocentius I) was the bishop of Rome from 401 to his death on 12 March 417. From the beginning of his papacy, he was seen as the general arbitrator of ecclesiastical disputes in both the East and the West. He confirmed the ...

in about 417. He refused to sign the condemnation of

Pelagianism Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from t ...

issued by Pope Innocent's successor,

Pope Zosimus Pope Zosimus was the bishop of Rome from 18 March 417 to his death on 26 December 418. He was born in Mesoraca, Calabria. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in Gaul as to the jurisdiction of the See of Arles over that of Vien ...

, and carried on a war of writings against

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

. It has been thought that the diocese was united to that of Frequentium as early as the 5th century, but there is mention of Quintodecimo as a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

see of Benevento in 969 and 1058. From 1059 it was definitively united with Frequentium. No longer a residential bishopric, Aeclanum is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 884

Gallery

File:Aeclanum (Ancient Roman Street).jpg, The central

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

File:Aeclanum (Ruins-01).jpg, Remains of the houses (1) File:Aeclanum (Ruins-02).jpg, Remains of the houses (2) File:Aeclanum (Thermae-02).jpg, Side view of the ''thermae''

References

External links

Aeclanum (Cultural Property of Campania website)

{{Landmarks of Campania Roman sites of Campania Samnite cities Former populated places in Italy Province of Avellino Human remains (archaeological) Archaeological sites in Campania Roman towns and cities in Italy Archaeological parks Buildings and structures in Campania Tourist attractions in Campania Tourism in Italy Osci Italic archaeological sites Ruins in Italy Destroyed cities Coloniae (Roman)