Sentinum was an ancient town located in the

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It was situated at low elevation about a kilometre south of the present-day town of

Sassoferrato Sassoferrato is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in the Marche region of central-eastern Italy. History To the south of the town lie the ruins of the ancient Sentinum, on the Via Flaminia. The castle above the town is mentioned ...

. The ruins of Sentinum were partially excavated in 1890 and the results of the archeological investigation were published by T. Buccolini.

History

The town is best known for the Battle of Sentinum which took place nearby in 295 BC: the Romans defeated a coalition of Samnites, Etruscans,

Umbri The Umbri were an Italic peoples, Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the Regio VI Umbria, ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were settle ...

ans and Senone Gauls. During the civil wars of the 40s BC, Sentinum sided with

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

, but in 41 BC was taken and destroyed by Quintus Salvidienus Rufus who was leading troops of

Octavian 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 Pr ...

. The town was planned and rebuilt, reurbanized, and continued to exist under the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, chartered as 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 privi ...

'' and (as is sometimes supposed) a '' colonia''. Civic life at Sentinum seems to have collapsed at the time of the invasion of

Alaric I Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decade ...

and not to have resurged.

Archaeology

The site and its environs have been investigated by teams of the

University of Genoa The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Ligur ...

, led by Maura Medri, and the

University of Urbino The University of Urbino "Carlo Bo" ( it, Università degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo", ''UniUrb'') is an Italian university located in Urbino, a walled hill-town in the region of Marche, located in the north-eastern part of central Italy. The ...

led by Sergio Rinaldi Tufi. The site is protected as the Archaeological park of Sentinum. The foundations of the city walls are preserved. The archeological investigation unearthed city gates, a road, cisterns, and the remains of houses. Notable cultural finds include several mosaic pavements and inscriptions from the second half of the 3rd century AD, including three important ''tabulae patronatus:'' these are records of legal ratifications of the appointments of official

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

. Baths ''(

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

)'' dating from the early Empire show a large figured mosaic, presently kept at the Museo Nazionale delle Marche. A 2nd-century colored mosaic of

Mithra Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-se ...

Sol Sol or SOL may refer to: Astronomy * The Sun Currency * SOL Project, a currency project in France * French sol, or sou * Argentine sol * Bolivian sol, the currency of Bolivia from 1827 to 1864 * Peruvian sol, introduced in 1991 * Peruvian sol ( ...

is conserved in the

Glyptothek The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I to house his collection of Greek and Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculpture", from the Greek verb γλύφειν ''glyph ...

, Munich; Mithraic

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

of animals representing the stages of the initiate's progress were reused in the Church of Santa Croce, and Mithraic inscriptions are recorded.C. Ramelli, ''Monumenti mitriaci di Sentinum'' (1863); ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions thr ...

'' XI, 5736-37.

Notes

References

External links

Sentinum - General Department for Archaeological Monuments in the Marches
{{in lang, it Roman towns and cities in Italy Archaeological sites in le Marche Roman sites of the Marche Tourist attractions in le Marche Populated places established in the 1st century BC Former populated places in Italy

History

Archaeology

See also

Notes

References

External links