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The Mamertine Prison ( it, Carcere Mamertino), in antiquity the Tullianum, was a prison (''carcer'') with a dungeon ('' oubliette'') located in the Comitium in ancient Rome. It is said to have been built in the 7th century BC and was situated on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill, facing the
Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
and the imperial fora of Nerva, Vespasian, and
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
. Located between it and the Tabularium (record house) was a flight of stairs leading to the Arx of the Capitoline known as the
Gemonian stairs The Gemonian Stairs ( la, Scalae Gemoniae, it, Scale Gemonie) were a flight of steps located in the ancient city of Rome. Nicknamed the Stairs of Mourning, the stairs are infamous in Roman history as a place of execution. Location The steps ...
. The church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami now stands above the Mamertine.


Name and origin

The origins of the prison's names are uncertain. The traditional derivation of "Tullianum" is from the name of one of the Roman kings Tullus Hostilius or Servius Tullius (the latter is found in Livy, Varro, and also Sallust); there is an alternative theory that it is from the
archaic Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...
''tullius'' "a jet of water", in reference to the cistern. The name "Mamertine" is medieval in origin, and may be a reference to a nearby temple of Mars. According to tradition, the prison was constructed around 640–616 BC, by
Ancus Marcius Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the assembly of the people wh ...
. It was originally created as a
cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
for a spring in the floor of the second lower level. Prisoners were lowered through an opening into the lower oubliette.


Use

Imprisonment was not a sentence under Roman statutory law, though detention is mentioned in the Twelve Tables and throughout the Digest. "Detention," however, includes debt bondage in the early Republic; the wearing of chains ''(vincula publica)'', mainly for slaves; and during the
Imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...
a sentence of hard labor, was at the mills, mines or quarries. Slaves or lower-status citizens sentenced to hard labor were held in prison camps. Incarceration ''(publica custodia)'' in facilities such as the Tullianum was intended to be a temporary measure prior to trial or execution; abuses of this principle occurred but were officially censured. Located near the law courts, the Tullianum was used as a jail or holding cell for short periods before executions and as a site for executions. In 63 BC, certain co-conspirators of Catiline, including
Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura (114 BC – 5 December 63 BC) was one of the chief figures in the Catilinarian conspiracy. He was also the step-father of the future triumvir Mark Antony. Biography When accused by Sulla (to whom he had been quae ...
, were held briefly in the Tullianum and executed there for their alleged plot to overthrow the government. In this case, the executions were conducted hastily, without due process of appeal, during the consulship of
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, who was later exiled for his actions. Sejanus was held in the Tullianum before his baroque execution, which involved the
Gemonian stairs The Gemonian Stairs ( la, Scalae Gemoniae, it, Scale Gemonie) were a flight of steps located in the ancient city of Rome. Nicknamed the Stairs of Mourning, the stairs are infamous in Roman history as a place of execution. Location The steps ...
, and the conflicting accounts of the end of Pleminius include a timely death in jail during trial. Some Gracchan sympathizers ended up in the ''Carcer'', where the
haruspex In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails (''exta''—hence also extispicy ( ...
Herennius Siculus hit his head on an
architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can als ...
and died before he could be executed. There is no evidence that the Tullianum was used for long-term incarceration, and the lowest dungeon was unsuited for the purpose; the level above, however, in theory might have been. In general, long-term incarceration was more widely practiced in the later Empire, and from the 4th century, under Christian rule, Roman laws and occasional personal intervention on the part of an
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (emp ...
indicate a growing need to crack down on abuses such as filthy conditions and torture. In some cases, it is unclear whether a source using the word ''carcer'' means "the" Carcer, or imprisonment in some other facility. High-status prisoners, whether Roman or foreign, were typically held in the custody of individual Romans, sometimes at their homes or country estates. The line between being a war captive and a hostage lawfully held by treaty was thin, and conditions of captivity could vary widely, from abject misery and humiliation to relative luxury. As a prisoner of war,
Perseus of Macedon Perseus ( grc-gre, Περσεύς; 212 – 166 BC) was the last king (''Basileus'') of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. He was the last Antigonid to rule Macedon, aft ...
was placed in a foul, overcrowded dungeon at
Alba Fucens Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic town occupying a lofty location (1,000 m) at the foot of the Monte Velino, c. 6.5 km north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its remains are today in the ''comune'' of Massa d'Albe. History It was ...
; the son of
Tigranes Tigranes (, grc, Τιγράνης) is the Greek transliteration of the Old Iranian name ''*Tigrāna''. This was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of Armenia. The name of Tigranes, which was theophoric in nature, wa ...
was kept at a praetor's house in Rome, where he could be trotted out as a dinner-party guest. The Tullianum only rarely played a role in these detentions. Captured foreign rulers or generals were paraded in a Roman conqueror's triumph, and on a few occasions the "most prominent, famous, or dastardly" were executed afterward at the Tullianum. These were "strikingly few" in number, and included the Samnite Gaius Pontius, the Gaul Vercingetorix, some "Cilician" pirates, and the Galatian Adiatorix. Jugurtha, king of Numidia, may have been executed at the conclusion of Marius's triumph, or he may have died in prison several days afterward. Most high-status war captives were neither executed nor held for any substantial length of time in the Tullianum.


Christian significance

It is not known when the prison went out of service permanently, but the site has been used for Christian worship since medieval times, and is currently occupied by two superimposed churches: S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami (upper) and S. Pietro in Carcere (lower). The Cross on the altar in the lower chapel is upside down, since according to tradition
Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...
was crucified that way. It has been long referenced that St. Peter was imprisoned at the Tullianum, and that the spring in the bottom of the pit came into existence miraculously to enable him to conduct baptisms, but the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'' points out that the spring had existed long before, and that there is little first hand account of St. Peter's imprisonment there other than being the only single celled prison available for VIPs deemed threats to the state. Saint Paul's imprisonment is well referenced by his Roman citizenship and decree of execution by Nero.


People imprisoned at the Tullianum

* Eumenes III of Pergamum, also known as Aristonicus. Rebelled against Rome in 132 BC, and defeated in 130 BC. *
Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura (114 BC – 5 December 63 BC) was one of the chief figures in the Catilinarian conspiracy. He was also the step-father of the future triumvir Mark Antony. Biography When accused by Sulla (to whom he had been quae ...
, Catiline co-conspirator. Executed with other conspirators. * Herennius Siculus, Gracchan sympathizer, hit his head on an
architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can als ...
in his cell and died before he could be executed. * Quintus Pleminius, propraetor. Arrested then exiled after fall from power. * Gaius Pontius, leader of the Samnites during the Second Samnite War. Arrested and executed. * Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls during the Gallic War. Executed at Caesar's Triumph in 46 BC. * Adiatorix, tetrarch of Galatia. Imprisoned there for having put all Roman colonists to death at Heracleia. * Jugurtha, King of Numidia. Died of starvation there in 104 BC. *
Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...
, imprisoned there before being crucified. Performed baptisms in a spring at the bottom of the pit. * Saints Martinian and Processus, guards from the same prison. After being baptized by St. Peter, both were imprisoned awaiting execution. * Sejanus, soldier and confidant of the Emperor Tiberius. Fell from power, was imprisoned there and then executed. *
Simon bar Giora Simon bar Giora (alternatively known as Simeon bar Giora or Simon ben Giora or Shimon bar Giora, arc, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר גִּיּוֹרָא or he, שִׁמְעוֹן בֵּן גִּיּוֹרָא; died 71 CE) was the leader of one of ...
, Jewish revolutionary leader. Captured in Judea and brought to Rome to be displayed during the triumphal procession. Executed in 70 AD.


See also

*
Lautumiae The lautumiae were tufa quarries that became a topographical marker in ancient Rome. They were located on the northeast slope of the Capitoline Hill, forming one side of the Graecostasis, where foreign embassies gathered prior to appearing before ...
, quarries adjacent to or near the Tullianum also used as dungeons


References


External links


''Carcer''
(Platner's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome)



* ttp://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/carcer-tullianum/ Virtual tour to the prison and surroundings {{Authority control Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Crime and punishment in ancient Rome Defunct prisons in Italy Roman Forum Rome R. X Campitelli