Archaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on the island of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...
is present in the form of
nuraghe
The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese Sardinian , Italian ), or also nurhag in English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B. ...
s and other prehistoric monuments, which dot the land. The recorded history of Sardinia begins with its contacts with the various people who sought to dominate western
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
trade in
Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
:
Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
,
Punics and
Romans. Initially under the political and economic alliance with the Phoenician cities, it was partly conquered by
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
in the late 6th century BC and then entirely by Rome after the
First Punic War
The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years ...
(238 BC). The island was included for centuries in the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of
Sardinia and Corsica, which would be incorporated into the
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
of ''
Italia suburbicaria'' in 3rd and 4th centuries.
In the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, through the European
barbarian movements, the waning of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
influence in the western
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
and the
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...
raids, the island fell out of the sphere of influence of any higher government; this led to the birth of four independent kingdoms called ''
Judicates'' (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
: ''Judicati'';
Sardinian: ''Judicados'') in the 8th through 10th centuries. Falling under
papal influence, Sardinia became the focus of the rivalry of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
,
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...
, and the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, which eventually subsumed the island as the
Kingdom of Sardinia in 1324. The Iberian Kingdom was to last until 1718, when it was ceded to the
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
; from
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, the Savoyards pursued a policy of expansion to the rest of the Italian peninsula, having their Kingdom of Sardinia be later renamed into "
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
" in 1861.
Prehistory
The oldest trace in Sardinia of the
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
prehistoric primate called ''
Oreopithecus bambolii
''Oreopithecus'' (from the Greek , and , , meaning "hill-ape") is an extinct genus of hominoid primate from the Miocene epoch whose fossils have been found in today's Tuscany and Sardinia in Italy. It existed nine to seven million years ...
'' is dated to 8.5 million years ago. In 1996 a
hominid
The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the ...
finger bone, dated up to 250.000 BC, was found in a cave in the
Logudoro region.
Modern humans appeared in the island during the
Upper Paleolithic, a phalanx dated to 18000 BC had been found in the ''
Corbeddu cave'', near
Oliena.
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...
human remains had been discovered at ''Su Coloru cave'' of
Laerru but also in the south (Sirri,
Arbus).
Already in the Stone Age,
Monte Arci
The Monte Arci is an isolated massif in the Uras plain in Campidano, south-western Sardinia, Italy. It is composed by three volcanic basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cool ...
played an important role. The old volcano was one of the central places where
obsidian
Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock.
Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements such as silicon ...
was found and worked for cutting tools and arrowheads. Even now the volcanic glass can be found on the sides of the mountain.
The
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
began in Sardinia in the
6th millennium BC
The 6th millennium BC spanned the years 6000 BC to 5001 BC (c. 8 ka to c. 7 ka). It is impossible to precisely date events that happened around the time of this millennium and all dates mentioned here are estimates mostly based on geological an ...
with the
Cardial culture. Later, important cultures like the
Ozieri culture
The Ozieri culture (or San Michele culture) was a prehistoric pre-Nuragic culture that occupied Sardinia from c. 3200 to 2800 BCE. The Ozieri was the culmination of the island's Neolithic culture and takes its name from the locality where earl ...
and the
Arzachena culture
The Arzachena culture was a pre-Nuragic culture of the Late Neolithic Age occupying Gallura (the northeastern part of Sardinia) and part of southern Corsica from approximately the 4th to the 3rd millennium BC. It takes its name from the Sardin ...
of the late Neolithic and the Abealzu-Filigosa and Monte Claro culture of the
Chalcolithic
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "Rock (geology), stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''wikt:aeneus, aeneus'' "of copper"), is an list of archaeologi ...
period, developed in the island contemporaneously with the appearance of the
megalithic phenomenon.
The dolmens culture, around the end of the 3rd millennium BC, passed with other typical material aspects of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
(e.g.
Bell Beaker
The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from ar ...
) through by the Sardinian coast even in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
.
Prehistoric and Pre-nuragic monuments and constructions that characterise the Sardinian landscapes are the
Domus de Janas ( sc, House of the Fairies, House of the Witches), the
menhir and
Statue menhir
A statue menhir is a type of carved standing stone created during the later European Neolithic.
The statues consist of a vertical slab or pillar with a stylised design of a human figure cut into it, sometimes with hints of clothing or weapons vis ...
and the
dolmens.
Chronology of Pre-Nuragic Sardinia
Archeological cultures of Sardinia in the pre-Nuragic period:
Nuragic period
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
Sardinia is characterised by stone structures called
nuraghe
The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese Sardinian , Italian ), or also nurhag in English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B. ...
s, of which there are more than 8,000. The most famous is the
complex of Barumini in the
province of Medio Campidano. The nuraghes were mainly built in the period from about 1800 to 1200 BC, though many were used until the Roman period. Characteristics of this period are also the
holy well temples (for example Santa Cristina,
Paulilatino), the megara temples and the
Giants' grave
Giants' tomb (Italian: '' Tomba dei giganti'', Sardinian: ''Tumba de zigantes'' / ''gigantis'') is the name given by local people and archaeologists to a type of Sardinian megalithic gallery grave built during the Bronze Age by the Nuragic c ...
s.
The Nuragic Sards also produced a vast collection of
bronze statuettes and the so-called
giants of Mont'e Prama, which might constitute the first anthropomorphic statues of Europe.
It is known that the
Sardinians had contact with the
Myceneans, who traded with the western Mediterranean. Contact with powerful cities of Crete, such as
Kydonia, is clear from pottery recovered in
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
excavations in Sardinia. The alleged connection with the
Sherden, one of the sea peoples who invaded
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
and other areas of eastern Mediterranean, has been supported by scholars like the professor Giovanni Ugas from the
University of Cagliari
The University of Cagliari ( it, Università degli Studi di Cagliari) is a university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties.
History
The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 alon ...
; this hypothesis has been however opposed by other archaeologists and historians.
The name of the island could result from ''
Sardus'' (known amongst the Romans as ''Sardus Pater''), a mythological hero of the Nuragic pantheon.
Early and Classical Antiquity
Phoenician settlement
From the 8th century BC, Phoenicians founded several cities and strongholds on strategic points in the south and west of Sardinia, often peninsulas or islands near estuaries, easy to defend and natural harbours, such as
Tharros
Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Archaic Greek: , Hellenistic Greek, Tarras or Tarrae, Τάρραι) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy.
It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeolog ...
,
Bithia,
Sulci,
Nora and Caralis (
Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
). The majority of the inhabitants in these cities were of indigenous nuragic stock while the Phoenician element was, although culturally predominant, in minority. The Phoenicians came originally from what is now
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
and founded a vast trading network in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
. Sardinia had a special position because it was central in the Western Mediterranean between
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
, Spain, the river
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
and the
Etruscan civilization
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roug ...
area. The mining area of the
Iglesiente
The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias.
Languages ...
was important for the metals
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...
and
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
. After the Phoenicians, the
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
took over control in this part of the Mediterranean, around 510 BC, after that a first attempt of conquest of the island in 540 BC ends in failure. They expanded their influence to the western and southern coast from
Bosa
Bosa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano (until May 2005 it was in the province of Nuoro), part of the Sardinia region of Italy. Bosa is situated about two-thirds of the way up the west coast of Sardinia, on a small hill, abo ...
to Caralis, consolidating the existing
Phoenician colonies, administered by plenipotentiaries called ''Suffetes'', and founding new ones such as
Olbia
Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...
,
Cornus and
Neapolis; Tharros become probably the capital of the province. Carthage stressed the growing of
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
and
cereals
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
and prohibited
fruit trees.
Tharros, Nora, Bithia,
Monte Sirai
Monte Sirai is an archaeological site near Carbonia, in the province of South Sardinia, Sardinia, Italy. It is a settlement built at the top of a hill by the Phoenicians of Sulci (today's Sant'Antioco). The history of studies in Monte Sirai has ...
etc. are now important archaeological monuments where architecture and city planning can be studied.
Roman Empire
In 240 BC, in the course of the
First Punic War
The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years ...
, the Carthaginian mercenaries on the island revolted and gave the Romans, who some years earlier had defeated the Carthaginians in the
naval battle of Sulci, the opportunity to land on Sardinia and occupy it. In 238 BC the Romans took over the whole island, without meeting any resistance. They took over an existing developed infrastructure and urbanized culture (at least in the plains). Along with
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
it formed the province of
Corsica et Sardinia
The Province of Sardinia and Corsica ( la, Provincia Sardinia et Corsica) was an ancient Roman province including the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.
Pre-Roman times
The Nuragic civilization flourished in Sardinia from 1800 to 500 BC. The a ...
, under a
praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...
. Together with Sicily it formed one of the main granaries of Rome until the Romans conquered Egypt in the 1st century BC.
A revolt, led by two Sardo-Punic notables from
Cornus and Tharros,
Hampsicora
Hampsicora (3rd century BC - Cornus, 215 BC) was a Sardo- Punic political leader and landowner of Sardinia, and the leader of the major anti-Roman revolt () in the province of 215 BC.
The sources describe Hampsicora as the richest among the ...
and Hanno, broke out after the crushing Roman defeat at
Cannae
Cannae (now Canne della Battaglia, ) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a ''frazione'' (civil parish) of the '' comune'' (municipality) of Barletta. Cannae was formerly a bishopric, and is presently (2022) a L ...
(216 BC). A Roman army of 22,000 infantrymen and 1,200 cavalry, under
Titus Manlius Torquatus, reached Sardinia landing in Caralis and defeating Hiostus, the son of Hampsicora, near
Milis. The Romans then met the Carthaginian-Sardinian allied forces in the south of the island, defeating them in a
pitched battle that took place between
Sestu
Sestu is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of t ...
and
Decimomannu
Decimomannu ( sc, Deximumannu or ) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It is located about northwest of central Cagliari and had a population of about 8,115 .
Geography
Decimomannu borders the municipalities o ...
, and killing 12,000 men. Another major revolt took place in 177-176 BC when the
Balares The Balares were one of the three major groups among which the Nuragic Sardinians considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the Ilienses).
History
Pausanias in his work ''Periegesis'' speculated that the Balares were the descendan ...
and the
Ilienses The Ilienses (or ''Iolaes'', later known as ''Diagesbes''Strabo, Geographica V, 2,7.) were an ancient Nuragic people who lived during the Bronze and Iron Ages in central-southern Sardinia, as well as one of the three major groups among which the anc ...
were defeated by
Tiberius Gracchus, who, according to
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, killed or enslaved about 80,000 natives. The last organized revolts were repressed by
Marcus Caecilius Metellus in 115-111 BC and
Titus Albucius in 106. However the Sardinians living in the impervious mountains of the interior resisted the Roman colonization well into
Imperial times.
Punic culture remained strong during the first centuries of the Roman domination. However, in the long run,
Romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...
prevailed, and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
became the speech of the majority of the inhabitants, ultimately developing into the modern
Sardinian language
Sardinian or Sard ( , or ) is a Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
Many Romance linguists consider it the language that is closest to Latin among all its genealogical descendants. ...
. The
Roman religion
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule.
The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
began to spread among Sardinians as well. Caralis, the provincial capital, Nora and Sulci obtained the status of
Municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...
within the 1st century AD and a
Roman colony
A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term '' colony''.
Character ...
named Turris Libissonis (
Porto Torres) was founded in the north-west while the village of
Usellus
Usellus ( sc, Usèddus; Latin: ''Uselis'' or ''Usellis'') is a town, comune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia.
Usellus borders the following ''comuni'': Albagiara, Ales, Gonnosnò, Mog ...
become perphans a Roman colony under
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
. 4 great
roads were built: 2 along the coasts and 2 in the interior connecting all the major cities.
During the
Roman period, the geographer
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
noted that Sardinia was inhabited by the following tribes, from north to south: the
Tibulati The Tibulati ( Greek: ), also called Tibulates and Tibulatii, were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt at the extreme north of the island, about the ancient city of Tibula, near the Corsi (for whom Corsica is na ...
and the
Corsi, the
Coracenses, the
Carenses The Carenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Coracenses and north of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses The Lucuidonenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They ...
and the
Cunusitani
The Cunusitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Coracenses and north of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses The Lucuidonenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). T ...
, the
Salcitani The Salcitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Carenses and the Cunusitani
The Cunusitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμ� ...
and the
Lucuidonenses The Lucuidonenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Carenses and the Cunusitani
The Cunusitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολ� ...
, the
Æsaronenses
The Æsaronenses or Aesaronenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses The Lucuidonenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt ...
, the
Æchilenenses (also called Cornenses), the
Rucensi, the
Celsitani and the
Corpicenses, the
Scapitani and the
Siculensi, the
Neapolitani and the
Valentini, the
Solcitani and the
Noritani The Noritani also called Norenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt at the extreme south part of the island, immediately south of the Neapolitani and the Valentini. Their chief town was Nora (modern Pula
...
.
In the year 212 AD, every inhabitant of the empire became a
Roman citizen
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
by the
Constitutio Antoniniana
The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' ( Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in t ...
, better known as the "Edict of Caracalla". At that time, many islanders from the ''Municipia'' and ''Coloniae'' were Roman citizens, while those living in the interior were not. Around the year 286 AD, Sardinia was incorporated into the Italian
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
during the empire of
Diocletianus
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
, and in 324 AD, under the rule of the emperor
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
, in the ''suburbicaria'' Italian diocese, until the conquest by the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
in 456 AD.
Middle Ages
Vandals, Goths and Byzantines
After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...
, Sardinia was subject to several conquests. In 456, the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
, an
East Germanic tribe, coming from North Africa, occupied the coastal cities of the island; they imposed garrisons guarded by African auxiliaries, like the
Mauri. The Vandals followed
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
and deported a number of African
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
s in the island such as
Fulgentius of Ruspe. In 533, Sardinia rebelled under the Vandal governor
Godas
Godas (died 533) was a Gothic nobleman of the Vandal kingdom in North Africa. King Gelimer of the Vandals made him governor of the Vandalic province of Sardinia, but Godas stopped forwarding the taxes he collected and declared himself ruler of S ...
, a
Goth, who proclaimed himself ''rex'' of Sardinia, asking the Byzantines for aid.
In the summer of 533 Vandal forces (5,000 men and 120 ships), led by
Tzazo
Tzazo (also known as Tzazon or Zano) was the brother to King Gelimer (530–534), the last Vandal ruler of the North Africa. Tzazo died on 15 December 533 during the Battle of Tricamarum, which finally brought to an end the Vandal Kingdom in Nort ...
, arrived in Sardinia to stifle Godas' rebellion and conquered Caralis, killing Godas and his followers. In early 534, the Vandals of Sardinia surrendered immediately to the Byzantines when faced with news of the
Vandal collapse in Africa; thenceforth the island was part of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, included as a province in the
Praetorian prefecture of Africa
The praetorian prefecture of Africa ( la, praefectura praetorio Africae) was an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire in the Maghreb. With its seat at Carthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from the ...
. The local governor sat in Caralis. During the
Gothic Wars, much of the island fell easily to the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
, but the final fall of the Germanic resistance in
mainland Italy reassured
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
control. Sardinia was subsequently included in the
Exarchate of Africa until its end by the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
in 698 AD, when the island was likely aggregated to the
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...
. In 599 and during the 7th century, the
Longobard
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
fleet tried to attack Caralis and Turris Libissonis (
Porto Torres), but in vain.
One of the few ethnic Sardinians known from this period was
Ospitone, a leader of the ''Barbaricinos'' (people of
Barbagia
Barbagia (; sc, Barbàgia or ) is a geographical, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif.
The name comes from Cicero, who d ...
). According to the
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...
's letters, a Romanized and Christianized area existed on the island (that of the ''provinciales'') that co-existed with, in the interior, pagan or semi-pagan cultures (''Gens Barbaricina''). The ruler of one of the latter,
Ospitone, converted to Christianity in 594 after a diplomatic exchange. Christianization however remained long influenced by eastern and Byzantine culture.
Other known religious figures of Sardinian origin of that period (5th–6th centuries) are
Pope Hilarius and
Pope Symmachus
Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy.
Early life
He was born on the Mediterranean isla ...
.
Saracen raids
Starting from 705–706, the
Saracens from North Africa (recently conquered by the Arab armies) harassed the population of the coastal cities. Details about the political situation of Sardinia in the following centuries are scarce. Due to Saracen attacks, in the 9th century
Tharros
Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Archaic Greek: , Hellenistic Greek, Tarras or Tarrae, Τάρραι) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy.
It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeolog ...
was abandoned in favor of
Oristano
Oristano (; sc, Aristanis ) is an Italian city and '' comune'', and capital of the Province of Oristano in the central-western part of the island of Sardinia. It is located on the northern part of the Campidano plain. It was established as the ...
, after more than 1.800 years of human occupation while
Caralis
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabita ...
was abandoned in favor of
Santa Igia; numerous other coastal centres suffered the same fate (Nora, Sulci, Bithia, Cornus, Bosa, Olbia etc.). There was news of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015−16 from
Balearics, led by
Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī (Latinized as ''Museto''), the Saracens' attempt of invasion of the island was stopped by Sardinian Judicates with the support of the Fleets of the
Maritime Republics of
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...
and
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, called by Pope
Benedict VIII.
Judicates (Judicados)
From the mid-11th century the
Judicates ("held by judges") appeared. The title of ''Judex'' (judge, ''judike'' in medieval Sardinian) was an heir of that of the Byzantine governor after the creation of the
Exarchate of Africa in 582 (''Prases'' or ''Judex Provinciae''). In the 8th and 9th centuries the four ''partes'' depending from Caralis grew increasingly independent, after that
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...
was totally cut off from the
Tyrrhenian Sea by the
Muslim conquest of Sicily
The Muslim conquest of Sicily began in June 827 and lasted until 902, when the last major Byzantine stronghold on the island, Taormina, fell. Isolated fortresses remained in Byzantine hands until 965, but the island was henceforth under Musli ...
in 827. A letter from
Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I ( la, Nicolaus I; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority, exerting d ...
in 864 mentions for the first time the Sardinian judges, and their autonomy is clear in a later letter by
Pope John VIII, which defined them as "Princes". A letter by
Mieszko I
Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...
to
Pope John XV proves that the Judicates were known even in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, and that they played a prestigious role in Medieval Europe.
During the judicial era Sardinia had some 300.000 inhabitants, of which slightly more than 1/3 were free. These were subjected to the authority of local ''curators'' (administrators), in turn subjected to the judge (who also administrated justice and was the commander of the army). The church was also powerful, and at this time it had completely abandoned the
Eastern Rite. The late 11th-century arrival of
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
,
Camaldolese
The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...
and other monks from the
Italian Mezzogiorno,
Lombardy
(man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
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, ...
and
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...
, especially the monasteries of
Montecassino,
Saint-Victor de Marseille and
Vallombrosa Vallombrosa is a toponym which indicates both a forest and a ''frazione'', located within this forest, in the territory of the Commune of Reggello, in the Metropolitan City of Florence, in the Italian region of Tuscany.
The village of Vallombrosa ...
, boosted the agriculture in a land which was extremely underdeveloped. The ''
condaghes'' (catalogues, cartularies) of the monasteries, which record property transactions, are an important source for the study of the island and its language in the 11th and 12th centuries. Evidence from the ''condaghes'' of San Pietro di Silki, in Sassari, and Santa Maria di Bonarcado concerning the children of slaves has been adduced to show that differences in agricultural lifestyles between regions may affect the survival rate of females, hypothetically through increased infanticide of baby girls. The abbacy of Santa Maria di Bonarcado contained more central, upland regions where a pastoral economy dominated and women were less economically useful; among children in that region, sex ratios are highly skewed in favour of men. On the other hand, in the region of San Pietro di Silki, less pastoral, child sex ratios are not skewed abnormally.
There were four (historically known) Judicates:
Logudoro (or Torres),
Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
(or Pluminos),
Arborea
Arborea is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea).
Hi ...
and
Gallura
Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy.
The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area".
Geography
Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude ...
. Cagliari and Arborea and Logudoro (and perhaps Gallura) were united for a time in the 11th century.
The initiatives of the
Gregorian reform
The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be na ...
ers led to greater contact between Sardinia and the Italian peninsula, especially through the desires of the judges to establish monasteries with monks from continental monasteries at
Montecassino and
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
. By the 12th century, the Sardinian Judicates, though obscure, are visible through the mists of time. They professed allegiance to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
, which put them under the authority of the
Archdiocese of Pisa
The Archdiocese of Pisa ( la, Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 ,_superseding_the_ancient_primacy_of_the_Archdiocese_of_Cagliari">717,_Pisan_and_on_31_July_1725_[1726,_Pisan
A_special_assembly_(''conventus'')_was_held_in_P_...
,_superseding_the_ancient_primacy_of_the_Archdiocese_of_Cagliari_on_the_island.
Often_quarreling_between_one_another,_the_Judicates_made_a_great_number_of_commercial_concessions_to_the_Pisans_and_the_Republic_of_Genoa.html" ;"title="Archdiocese_of_Cagliari.html" ;"title="717, Pisan and on 31 July 1725 [1726, Pisan
A special assembly (''conventus'') was held in P ...