129-634: Africa was a Roman province on the northern coast of the continent of Africa . It was established in 146 BC, following the Roman Republic 's conquest of Carthage in the Third Punic War . It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia , the northeast of Algeria , and the coast of western Libya along the Gulf of Sidra . The territory was originally and still is inhabited by Berbers , known in Latin as
258-565: A Franco-Ottoman fleet occupied Corsica , but the reaction of Spain and Genoa, led by Andrea Doria , reestablished the Genoese supremacy on the island, confirmed by the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis . The unlucky protagonist of this episode was Sampiero di Bastelica , who would later come to be considered a hero of the island. Their power reinstated, the Genoese did not allow the Corsican nobility to share in
387-501: A pledge for the debts incurred after enlisting French military help in suppressing the Corsican revolt; as a result, France annexed the island in 1769. The future Emperor of the French , Napoleon Bonaparte , was a native Corsican, born that same year in Ajaccio: his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte , is now a visitor attraction and museum. Because of Corsica's historical ties to Tuscany ,
516-539: A "permanent" provincia in the scholarship, emerged only gradually. The acquisition of territories, however, through the middle republic created the recurrent task of defending and administering some place. The first "permanent" provincia was that of Sicily, created after the First Punic War . In the immediate aftermath, a quaestor was sent to Sicily to look out for Roman interests but eventually, praetors were dispatched as well. The sources differ as to when sending
645-405: A Roman magistrate. That task might require using the military command powers of imperium but otherwise could even be a task assigned to a junior magistrates without imperium : for example, the treasury was the provincia of a quaestor and the civil jurisdiction of the urban praetor was the urbana provincia . In the middle and late republican authors like Plautus, Terence, and Cicero,
774-506: A Southern Romance one. Fewer and fewer people speak a Ligurian dialect , known as bunifazzinu , in what has long been a language island , Bonifacio , and in Ajaccio , the aghjaccinu dialect. In Cargèse , a village established by Greek immigrants in the 17th century, Greek ( Ελληνικά ) was the traditional language. Among foreign languages, the most spoken ones were English (39%) and Italian (34%) as reported by an official survey by
903-441: A certain region and even for a certain pottery center. If neither form nor decoration of the material is identifiable, it is possible to trace an item using chemical analysis, not just to a certain region but even to its place of production by comparing its makeup to a matrix of important northeastern and central Tunisian potteries. Pine forests, with a herb layer of grasses, were widespread and economically significant, especially in
1032-473: A majority of people in Rome's provinces venerated, respected, and worshipped gods from Rome proper and Roman Italy to an extent, alongside normal services done in honor of their "traditional" gods. The increasing practices of prorogation and statutorily-defined "super commands" driven by popularis political tactics undermined the republican constitutional principle of annually-elected magistracies. This allowed
1161-467: A military crisis occurred near some province, it was normally reassigned to one of the consuls; praetors were left with the garrison duties. In the permanent provinces, the Roman commanders were initially not intended as administrators. However, the presence of the commander with forces sufficient to coerce compliance made him an obvious place to seek final judgement. A governor's legal jurisdiction thus grew from
1290-479: A multitude of laws had been passed on how a governor would complete his task, requiring presence in the province, regulating how he could requisition goods from provincial communities, limiting the number of years he could serve in the province, etc. Prior to 123 BC, the senate assigned consular provinces as it wished, usually in its first meeting of the consular year. The specific provinces to be assigned were normally determined by lot or by mutual agreement among
1419-440: A plain archetype of the lamp. The embellished lamp was then used to make two plaster half molds, one lower half and one upper half mold, and multiple copies were then able to be mass-produced. Decorative motifs ranged according to the lamp's function and to popular taste. Ornate patterning of squares and circles were later added to the shoulder with a stylus, as well as palm trees, small fish, animals, and flower patterns. The discus
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#17328440444331548-432: A praetor became normal: Appian reports 241 BC; Solinus indicates 227 BC instead. Regardless, the change likely reflected Roman unease about Carthaginian power: quaestors could not command armies or fleets; praetors could and initially seem to have held largely garrison duties. This first province started a permanent shift in Roman thinking about provincia . Instead of being a task of military expansion, it became
1677-486: A process which saw the republic return to "normality": he shared the fasces that year with his consular colleague month-by-month and announced the abolition of the triumvirate by the end of the year in accordance with promises to do so at the close of the civil wars. At the start of 27 BC, Augustus formally had a provincial command over all of Rome's provinces. That year, in his "first settlement", he ostentatiously returned his control of them and their attached armies to
1806-406: A reaction from the senate, which reacted with laws to rein in the governors. After initial experimentation with ad hoc panels of inquest, various laws were passed, such as the lex Calpurnia de repetundis in 149 BC, which established a permanent court to try corruption cases; troubles with corruption and laws reacting to it continued through the republican era. By the end of the republic,
1935-695: A recurrent defensive assignment to oversee conquered territories. These defensive assignments, with few opportunities to gain glory, were less desirable and therefore became regularly assigned to the praetors. Only around 180 BC did provinces take on a more geographically defined position when a border was established to separate the two commanders assigned to Hispania on the river Baetis . Later provinces, once campaigns were complete, were all largely defined geographically. Once this division of permanent and temporary provinciae emerged, magistrates assigned to permanent provinces also came under pressures to achieve as much as possible during their terms. Whenever
2064-651: A significant portion of the town's vitality came from the sale or trade of products through middlemen to markets in areas both rural and abroad. The changes that occurred in the infrastructure for agricultural processing, like olive oil and wine production, as trade continued to develop both cities and commerce directly influenced the volume of artisan production. The scale, quality, and demand for these products reached its acme in Roman Northwest Africa. The Northwest African provinces spanned across regions rich with olive plantations and potters' clay sources, which led to
2193-429: Is a territorial collectivity of France , and is expected to achieve "a form of autonomy" in the near future. The regional capital is Ajaccio . Although the region is divided into two administrative departments , Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud , their respective regional and departmental territorial collectivities were merged on 1 January 2018 to form the single territorial collectivity of Corsica. Corsican autonomy
2322-544: Is a temperate montane zone . The mountains are cooler and wetter, and home to the Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion. This region supports diverse forests of oak , pine , and broadleaf deciduous trees, with vegetation more typical of northern Europe. The population lives predominantly below 900 m (3,000 ft), with only shepherds and hikers from 600 to 900 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft). The elevation above 1,800 to 2,700 m (5,900 to 8,900 ft)
2451-649: 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 the French mainland , west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia , the nearest land mass. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. As of January 2024 , it had a population of 355,528. The island
2580-521: Is estimated that only 10% of Corsica's population speak the language natively, with only 50% having some sort of proficiency in it. The Corsican language is divided into two main varieties: Cismuntanu and Ultramuntanu , spoken respectively northeast and southwest of the Girolata– Porto Vecchio line. This division was due to the massive immigration from Tuscany which took place in Corsica during
2709-552: Is more extensive than in other regional collectivities of France and the Corsican Assembly is permitted to exercise limited executive powers. Corsica's second-largest town is Bastia , located in the prefecture of Haute-Corse. Corsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa from 1284 to 1755, when it seceded to become a self-proclaimed, Italian -speaking Republic . In 1768, Genoa officially ceded it to Louis XV of France as part of
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#17328440444332838-461: Is the high alpine zone . Vegetation is sparse, with high winds and frequent cloud cover. This zone is uninhabited. There is considerable birdlife in Corsica. One famous example is the bearded vulture , or Lammergeier , which (along with the iconic griffon vulture ) serve as environmental "janitors" by scavenging the remains of deceased animals, thus limiting the proliferation of infectious microbes and diseases. Other avian species to be seen include
2967-488: The lex Gabinia which gave Pompey an overlapping command over large portions of the Mediterranean. The senate, which had long acted as a check on aristocratic ambitions, was unable to stop these immense commands, which culminated eventually with the reduction of the number of meaningfully-independent governors during the triumviral period to three men and, with the end of the republic, to one man. During his sixth and seventh consulships (28 and 27 BC), Augustus began
3096-649: The GR20 , one of Europe's most notable hiking trails . The island is 90 km (56 mi) from Tuscany in Italy and 170 km (110 mi) from the Côte d'Azur in France. It is separated from Sardinia to the south by the Strait of Bonifacio , which is a minimum of 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. In 2005 the population of Corsica was settled in approximately 360 communities. According to
3225-594: The Köppen climate classification scheme, coastal regions are characterized by a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). Further inland, a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) is more common. At the highest elevation locations, small areas with a subarctic climate (Dsc, Dfc) and the rare Mediterranean climate can be found. The station of Sari-Solenzara records the highest year-round temperatures in Metropolitan France, with an annual average of 16.41 °C over
3354-573: The Mauri, indigenous to all of North Africa west of Egypt. In the 9th century BC , Semitic-speaking Phoenicians from West Asia built settlements along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to facilitate shipping. Carthage, rising to prominence in the 8th century BC, became the predominant of these. Africa was one of the wealthiest provinces in the western part of the Roman Empire , second only to Italy . In addition to Carthage , other large settlements in
3483-622: The Mesolithic era. The permanent human presence in Corsica is documented in the Neolithic period from the 6th millennium BC. After a brief occupation by the Carthaginians , colonization by the ancient Greeks , and an only slightly longer occupation by the Etruscans , it was incorporated by the Roman Republic at the end of the First Punic War and, with Sardinia , in 238 BC became a province of
3612-843: The Ostrogoths . Briefly recovered by the Byzantine Empire , it soon became part of the Kingdom of the Lombards . This made it a dependency of the March of Tuscany , which used it as an outpost against the Saracens . Pepin the Short , king of the Franks and Charlemagne 's father, expelled the Lombards and nominally granted Corsica to Pope Stephen II . In the first quarter of the 11th century, Pisa and Genoa together freed
3741-519: The Republic of Genoa , including an ephemeral attempt in 1736 to proclaim an independent Kingdom of Corsica under the German adventurer Theodor von Neuhoff , an independent Corsican Republic was proclaimed in 1755 under the leadership of Pasquale Paoli and remained sovereign until 1769 when the island was conquered by France . Following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Pasquale Paoli
3870-462: The Roman Republic . The Romans, who built a colony in Aléria , considered Corsica as one of the most backward regions of the Roman world. The island produced sheep, honey, resin and wax, and exported many slaves, not well considered because of their fierce and rebellious character. Moreover, it was known for its cheap wines, exported to Rome, and was used as a place of exile, one of the most famous being
3999-632: The Roman limes (mainly the Garamantes and the Getuli ), who were reached with Roman expeditions to Sub-Saharan Africa . The willing acceptance of Roman citizenship by members of the ruling class in African cities produced such Roman Africans as the comic poet Terence, the rhetorician Fronto of Cirta, the jurist Salvius Julianus of Hadrumetum, the novelist Apuleius of Madauros, the emperor Septimius Severus of Leptis Magna,
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4128-685: The Sardinian dhole , the mustelid Enhydrictis galictoides , the deer Praemegaceros cazioti , the Corsican giant shrew , Tyrrhenian mole , Sardinian pika , Tyrrhenian vole , and the Tyrrhenian field rat . As of the January 2024 estimate, Corsica has a population of 355,528 inhabitants. At the 2019 census, 55.7% of the inhabitants of Corsica were people born on the island, 29.9% were from Continental France , 0.3% were natives of Overseas France , and 14.1% were born in foreign countries. The majority of
4257-484: The Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion , in which forests and woodlands of evergreen sclerophyll oaks predominate, chiefly holm oak ( Quercus ilex ) and cork oak ( Quercus suber ). Much of the coastal lowlands have been cleared for agriculture, grazing and logging; these activities have reduced the forest area considerably. Between 600 and 1,800 m (2,000 and 5,900 ft)
4386-503: The barn owl , blue rock thrush , common crane , Corsican nuthatch , golden eagle , greater flamingo , osprey , peregrine falcon , red kite , and starry bittern . In some cases, Corsica is an isolated portion of a species' distribution; in other cases, it is the furthest point in a species' range. For example, a subspecies of hooded crow ( Corvus cornix cornix ) occurs in Corsica, but not anywhere further south. Corsica has abundant reptile and amphibians, one protected species being
4515-470: The imperial prefectures ). A province was the basic and, until the Tetrarchy (from AD 293), the largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside Roman Italy . During the republic and early empire, provinces were generally governed by politicians of senatorial rank, usually former consuls or former praetors . A later exception was the province of Egypt, which
4644-497: The pomace residue after oil extraction was also locally important as fuel. The temple of Mercury Silvius , a god of commerce related to forests, in Dougga , and many lesser monuments elsewhere, are evidence of the importance of forests to local trade. Roman province The Roman provinces ( Latin : provincia , pl. provinciae ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by
4773-405: The proconsuls of Africa Proconsularis and Asia through those governed by consulares and correctores to the praesides . The provinces in turn were grouped into (originally twelve) dioceses , headed usually by a vicarius , who oversaw their affairs. Only the proconsuls and the urban prefect of Rome (and later Constantinople) were exempt from this, and were directly subordinated to
4902-433: The 1981–2010 period. The average amount of sunshine received annually was 2,715 hours in the period 2008–2016. The island is divided into four major ecological zones, by altitude. Below 600 metres (2,000 ft) is the coastal zone's mild Mediterranean climate , with hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. The area's natural vegetation is sparse Mediterranean forest, scrubland, and shrubs. The coastal lowlands are part of
5031-519: The Christians Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage, and Arnobius of Sicca and his pupil Lactantius; the angelic doctor Augustine of Thagaste, the epigrammatist Luxorius of Vandal Carthage, and perhaps the biographer Suetonius, and the poet Dracontius. The prosperity of most towns depended on agriculture. Called the "granary of the empire", Northwest Africa, according to one estimate, produced one million tons of cereals each year, one-quarter of which
5160-585: The French Empire, many Corsicans retained a sense of community by establishing organizations where they would meet regularly, keep one another informed of developments in Corsica, and come to one another's aid in times of need. After the collapse of France to the German Wehrmacht in 1940, Corsica came under the rule of the Vichy French regime, which was collaborating with Nazi Germany . In November 1942
5289-507: The French government. Ever since, Corsican nationalism has been a feature of the island's politics, with calls for greater autonomy and protection for Corsican culture and the Corsican language , or even full independence. Some groups supporting independence, such as the National Liberation Front of Corsica , have carried out a violent campaign that includes bombings and assassinations targeting buildings and officials representing
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5418-453: The French government; periodic flare-ups of raids and killings culminated in the assassination of Prefect Claude Érignac in 1998. Lately, the drive towards independence has taken a more electoral approach, where Corsicans elected pro-autonomist, or pro-independence parties overwhelmingly in the past few elections. In 2018, Corsica had the highest murder rate in France. In March 2022 Corsica saw large protests and riots after Yvan Colonna ,
5547-531: The French state. Despite the presence of a middle class in Bastia and Ajaccio, Corsica remained an otherwise primitive place, whose economy consisted mainly of subsistence agriculture, and whose population constituted a pastoral society, dominated by clans and the rules of vendetta . The code of vendetta required Corsicans to seek deadly revenge for offences against their family's honor. Between 1821 and 1852, no fewer than 4,300 murders were perpetrated in Corsica. During
5676-553: The Italian experience. The following 150 years were a period of conflict, when the Genoese rule was contested by Aragon, the local lords, the comuni and the Pope: finally, in 1450 Genoa ceded the administration of the island to its main bank, the Bank of Saint George , which brought peace. In the 16th century, the island entered into the fight between Spain and France for supremacy in Italy. In 1553,
5805-512: The Latin word provincia . The Latin term provincia had an equivalent in eastern, Greek-speaking parts of the Greco-Roman world . In the Greek language, a province was called an eparchy ( Greek : ἐπαρχίᾱ , eparchia ), with a governor called an eparch ( Greek : ἔπαρχος , eparchos ). The Latin provincia , during the middle republic, referred not to a territory, but to a task assigned to
5934-751: The Maghrib , said that "What made the Berbers accept the Roman way of life all the more readily was that the Romans, though a colonizing people who captured their lands by the might of their arms, did not display any racial exclusiveness and were remarkably tolerant of Berber religious cults , be they indigenous or borrowed from the Carthaginians . However, the Roman territory in Africa was unevenly penetrated by Roman culture. Pockets of non-Romanized Berbers continued to exist throughout
6063-446: The Mediterranean basin along well-established and heavily trafficked trade routes. Northwest Africa's economy flourished as its products were dispersed and demand for its products dramatically increased. Initially, the ARS lamp designs imitated the simple design of 3rd- to 4th-century courseware lamps, often with globules on the shoulder or with fluted walls. More ornate designs appeared before
6192-630: The Northwest African creations began to rival their Italian and Grecian models and eventually surpassed them in merit and in demand. The innovative use of molds around the 1st century BC allowed for a much greater variety of shapes and decorative style, and the skill of the lamp maker was demonstrated by the quality of the decoration found typically on the flat top of the lamp, or discus, and the outer rim, or shoulder. The production process took several stages. The decorative motifs were created using small individual molds, and were then added as appliqué to
6321-442: The Northwest African provinces to increase artisan production in rapidly developing cities, making them highly organized urban centers. Many Roman cities shared both consumer and producer model city aspects, as artisanal activity was directly related to the economic role cities played in long-distance trade networks. The urban population became increasingly engaged in the craft and service sectors and less in agrarian employment, until
6450-522: The Roman Empire brought an unparalleled degree of urbanization to vast areas of territory, particularly in Northwest Africa. This level of rapid urbanization had a structural impact on the town economy, and artisan production in Roman cities became closely tied to the agrarian spheres of production. As Rome's population grew, so did her demand for Northwest African produce. This flourishing trade allowed
6579-514: The Roman period, even such as in the rural areas of the deeply romanised regions of Tunisia and Numidia." By the end of the Western Roman Empire nearly all of the Maghreb was fully romanised , according to Mommsen in his The Provinces of the Roman Empire . Roman Africans enjoyed a high level of prosperity. This prosperity (and romanisation) touched partially even the populations living outside
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#17328440444336708-511: The Roman philosopher Seneca . Corsica was integrated into Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletian ( r. 284–305 ). Administratively, the island was divided into pagi , which in the Middle Ages became the pievi , the basic administrative units of the island until 1768. In the fifth century, the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, and the island was invaded by the Vandals and
6837-435: The Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire . Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as governor . For centuries, it was the largest administrative unit of the foreign possessions of ancient Rome. With the administrative reform initiated by Diocletian , it became a third level administrative subdivision of the Roman Empire, or rather a subdivision of the imperial dioceses (in turn subdivisions of
6966-579: The arrangements during this period is contained in the Notitia Dignitatum (Record of Offices), a document dating from the early 5th century. Most data is drawn from this authentic imperial source, as the names of the areas governed and titles of the governors are given there. There are however debates about the source of some data recorded in the Notitia , and it seems clear that some of its own sources are earlier than others. Some scholars compare this with
7095-583: The cheeses is brocciu (similar to ricotta), which is used as a fresh ingredient in many dishes, from first courses ( sturzapreti ) to cakes ( fiadone ). Other cheeses, like casgiu merzu ("rotten cheese", the Corsican counterpart of the Sardinian casu martzu ), and casgiu veghju , are made from goat or sheep milk. Chestnuts are the main ingredient in the making of pulenta castagnina and cakes ( falculelle ). A variety of alcohol also exists, ranging from aquavita (brandy), red and white Corsican wines ( Vinu Corsu ), muscat wine (plain or sparkling), to
7224-429: The commanders; only extraordinarily did the senate assign a command extra sortem (outside of sortition). But in 123 or 122 BC, the tribune Gaius Sempronius Gracchus passed the lex Sempronia de provinciis consularibus , which required the senate to select the consular provinces before the consular elections and made this announcement immune from tribunician veto. The law had the effect of, over time, abolishing
7353-467: The consulship in exchange for a general proconsulship – with a special dispensation from the law that nullified imperium within the city of Rome – over the imperial provinces. He also gave himself, through the senate, a general grant of imperium maius , which gave him priority over the ordinary governors of the public provinces, allowing him to interfere in their affairs. Within the public and imperial provinces there also existed distinctions of rank. In
7482-567: The country as a warrior-elite but faced strong resistance from the native Berbers. The Vandals also persecuted Chalcedonian Roman Africans and Berbers, as the Vandals were adherents of Arianism (the semi-trinitarian doctrines of Arius , a priest of Egypt). Towards the end of the 5th century, the Vandal state fell into decline, abandoning most of the interior territories to the Mauri and other Berber tribes of
7611-401: The demands of the provincial inhabitants for authoritative settlement of disputes. In the absence of opportunities for conquest and with little oversight for their activities, many praetorian governors settled on extorting the provincials. This profiteering threatened Roman control by unnecessarily angering the province's subject populations and was regardless dishonourable. It eventually drew
7740-551: The early 5th century as demand spurred on the creative process. The development and widespread distribution of ARS finewares marks the most distinctive phase of Northwest African pottery-making. These characteristic pottery lamps were produced in large quantities by efficiently organized production centers with large-scale manufacturing abilities. They can be attributed to specific pottery-making centers in northern and central Tunisia by way of chemical analysis, allowing archeologists to trace distribution patterns from their source through
7869-465: The early Northwest African lamps that have been excavated, especially those of high quality, have the name of the manufacturer inscribed on the base, which gives evidence of a highly competitive and thriving local market that developed early and continued to influence and bolster the economy. After a period of artisanal, political, and social decline in the 3rd century AD, lamp-making revived and accelerated. The introduction of fine local red-fired clays in
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#17328440444337998-421: The early development of fine Ancient Roman pottery , especially African Red Slip terra sigillata tableware and clay oil lamp manufacture, as a crucial industry. Lamps provided the most common form of illumination in Rome. They were used for public and private lighting, as votive offerings in temples, lighting at festivals, and as grave goods. As the craft developed and increased in quality and craftsmanship,
8127-461: The eastern plains, and continuing chemical pollution ( Fanghi Rossi ) from mainland Italy increased tensions between the indigenous inhabitants and the French government. Tensions escalated until an armed police assault on a pieds-noirs-owned wine cellar in Aleria , occupied by Corsican nationalists on 23 August 1975. This marked the beginning of the Corsican conflict , an armed nationalist struggle against
8256-507: The eastern side. It is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean, a "mountain in the sea". The island is 183 km (114 mi) long at its longest, 83 km (52 mi) wide at its widest, has 1,000 km (620 mi) of coastline, with more than 200 beaches such as Paraguano . Corsica is very mountainous, with Monte Cinto as the highest peak at 2,706 m (8,878 ft), and around 120 other summits of more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Mountains comprise two-thirds of
8385-487: The emperor. The emperor Diocletian introduced a radical reform known as the tetrarchy (AD 284–305), with a western and an eastern senior emperor styled Augustus , each seconded by a junior emperor (and designated successor) styled caesar . Each of these four defended and administered a quarter of the empire. In the 290s, Diocletian divided the empire anew into almost a hundred provinces, including Roman Italy . Their governors were hierarchically ranked, from
8514-651: The end of the Pisan rule and the beginning of the Genoese influence in Corsica: this was contested initially by the King of Aragon , who in 1296 had received from the Pope the investiture over Sardinia and Corsica. A popular revolution against this and the feudal lords, led by Sambucuccio d'Alando , got the aid of Genoa. After that, the Cismonte was ruled as a league of comuni and churches, after
8643-451: The end of the republic and was regardless in inferior status to a proconsul. More radically, Egypt (which was sufficiently powerful that a commander there could start a rebellion against the emperor) was commanded by an equestrian prefect, "a very low title indeed" as prefects were normally low-ranking officers and equestrians were not normally part of the elite. In Augustus' "second settlement" of 23 BC, he gave up his continual holding of
8772-484: The end of the republic, all governors acted pro consule . Also important was the assertion of popular authority over the assignment of provincial commands. This started with Gaius Marius , who had an allied tribune introduce a law transferring to him the already-taken province of Numidia (then held by Quintus Caecilius Metellus ), allowing Marius to assume command of the Jugurthine War . This innovation destabilised
8901-545: The famous "Cap Corse" apéritif produced by Mattei. The herbs which are part of Maquis ( Corsican : machja ), and the chestnuts and acorns of the Corsican forests are eaten by local animals, resulting in a noticeable flavour in the food there. Corsica has produced a number of known artists: Most Corsican football clubs are currently littered through the top 5 tiers of French football. AC Ajaccio and SC Bastia play in Ligue 2 in 2024–25, although both have played in Ligue 1 in
9030-440: The first half of the century, the people of Corsica were still immersed in the Italian cultural world: the bourgeoisie sent children to Pisa to study, official acts were enacted in Italian and most books were printed in Italian. Moreover, many islanders sympathised with the national struggle which was taking place in nearby Italy in those years: several political refugees from the peninsula, like Niccolò Tommaseo , spent years on
9159-489: The foreign immigrants in Corsica come from the Maghreb (particularly Moroccans , who made up 29.0% of all immigrants in Corsica at the 2019 census) and from Southern Europe (particularly Portuguese and Italians , 23.9% and 12.5% of immigrants on the island respectively). French ( Français ) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island. Italian was the official language of Corsica until 9 May 1859, when it
9288-691: The general insurrection of the island against Genoa. The island became known for the large number of mercenary soldiers and officers it produced. In 1743, over 4,600 Corsicans, or 4% of the entire population of the island, were serving as soldiers in various armies (predominantly those of Genoa, Venice, and Spain), making it one of the most militarized societies in Europe. In 1729, the Corsican Revolution for independence from Genoa began, first led by Luiggi Giafferi and Giacinto Paoli, and later by Paoli's son, Pasquale Paoli . After 26 years of struggle against
9417-459: The government of the island and oppressed the inhabitants with a heavy tax burden. On the other hand, they introduced the chestnut tree on a large scale, improving the diet of the population, and built a chain of towers along the coast to defend Corsica from the attacks of the Barbary pirates from North Africa. The period of peace lasted until 1729, when the refusal to pay taxes by a peasant sparked
9546-551: The humid zone, the northeast of modern Tunisia (the areas known as the Tell and parts of the Dorsal mountains ). Many areas are described as saltus , land used for non-agricultural exploitation. Timber, pitch (used to line amphorae and waterproof ships), firewood, pine nuts , and charcoal would all have been produced. Grazing was also practiced on forested land. Olive plantations were also widespread, usually on land previously forested, and
9675-629: The imperial capital from Constantinople to Carthage. After 640, the exarchate managed to stave off the Muslim Conquest, but in 698, the Muslim Umayyad army from Egypt sacked Carthage and conquered the Exarchate , ending Roman and Christian rule in Northwest Africa. The Roman military presence of Northwest Africa was relatively small, consisting of about 28,000 troops and auxiliaries in Numidia and
9804-519: The interior. The northwest African provinces, together with the Roman possessions in Spain , were grouped into the Praetorian prefecture of Africa , this time separate from Praetorian prefecture of Italy , and transferred to Exarchate of Africa by Emperor Maurice . The Exarchate prospered, and from it resulted the overthrow of the emperor Phocas by Heraclius in 610. Heraclius briefly considered moving
9933-436: The island drastically, and – last but not least – Napoleon himself, whose existence alone constituted an indissoluble link between France and Corsica. Thanks to all these factors by around 1870 Corsica had landed in the French cultural world. From the 19th century into the mid-20th century, Corsicans also grew closer to the French nation through participation in the French Empire. Compared to much of Metropolitan France, Corsica
10062-472: The island from the threat of Arab invasion. After that, the island came under the influence of the Republic of Pisa . Many polychrome churches which adorn the island date from this period. Corsica also experienced a massive immigration from Tuscany, which gave to the island its present toponymy and rendered the language spoken in the northern two-thirds of the island very close to the Tuscan dialect . This led to
10191-465: The island has retained many Italian cultural elements, and many Corsican surnames are rooted in the Italian peninsula . French ( Français ) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island with Corsican , the native language and an Italo-Dalmatian language , also recognized as one of France's regional languages . Corsica is the third-least populated region of France after Mayotte and French Guiana . Corsica has been occupied since
10320-492: The island in an action called Opération Corse that led to the collapse of the government; the second phase of the coup attempt, occupying Paris , was cancelled following the establishment of a transitional government under Charles de Gaulle . Between the late 1950s and the 1970s, proposals to conduct underground nuclear tests in the Argentella mines , the immigration of 18,000 former settlers from Algeria (" Pieds-Noirs ") in
10449-800: The island was occupied by Italian and German forces following the Anglo-American landings in North Africa . After the Italian armistice in September 1943, Italian and Free French Forces pushed the Germans out of the island, making Corsica the first French Department to be freed. During the May 1958 crisis , the French military command in Algeria mutinied against the French Fourth Republic and on 24 May occupied
10578-414: The island, forming a single chain. Forests make up 20% of the island. It is also the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily , Sardinia and Cyprus . Corsica has nature reserves covering about 3,500 km (1,400 sq mi) of the total surface area of 8,680 km (3,350 sq mi), primarily located in its interior is Parc naturel régional de Corse . Corsica contains
10707-461: The island, while some Corsicans, like Count Leonetto Cipriani [ fr ] , [ it ], took active part in the fights for Italian independence. Despite all that, during those years the Corsicans began to feel an increasingly strong attachment to France. The reasons for that are manifold: the knowledge of the French language, which thanks to the mandatory primary school started to penetrate among
10836-400: The late 4th century triggered this revival. African Red Slip ware (ARS), or African Terra Sigillata, revolutionized the pottery and lamp-making industry. ARS ware was produced from the last third of the 1st century AD onwards, and was of major importance in the mid-to-late Roman periods. Famous in antiquity as "fine" or high-quality tableware, it was distributed both regionally and throughout
10965-431: The list of military territories under the duces , in charge of border garrisons on so-called limites , and the higher ranking Comites rei militaris , with more mobile forces, and the later, even higher magistri militum . Justinian I made the next great changes in 534–536 by abolishing, in some provinces, the strict separation of civil and military authority that Diocletian had established. This process
11094-406: The local youth, the high prestige of French culture, the awareness of being part of a big, powerful state, the possibility of well-paid jobs as civil servants, both in the island, in the mainland and in the colonies, the prospect of serving the French army during the wars for the conquest of the colonial empire, the introduction of steamboats , which reduced the travel time between mainland France and
11223-687: The lower Middle Ages: as a result, the Cismuntanu became very similar to the Tuscan dialects, being part of the Italo-Dalmatian language group , while the Ultramuntanu maintained its original characteristics which make it much more similar to a Southern Romance language , such as Sardinian ( Sardu ). Therefore, due to the differences between the main dialectal varieties, many linguists classify Corsican as an Italo-Dalmatian language, while others consider it
11352-414: The murderer of Claude Érignac , was murdered in prison. The August 2022 Corsica derecho swept across the island and killed six people, injured dozens of others, and caused significant damage. Corsica was formed about 250 million years ago with the uplift of a granite backbone on the western side. About 50 million years ago sedimentary rock was pressed against this granite, forming the schists of
11481-473: The name Africa Proconsularis , as it was governed by a proconsul ) in the north, Africa Byzacena (corresponding to eastern Tunisia ) to its south, and Africa Tripolitania (corresponding to southern Tunisia and northwest Libya ) to the south and southeast of Africa Byzacena , all of which were part of the Dioecesis Africae . Old Africa ( Africa Vetus ), which generally includes the areas mentioned,
11610-427: The other hand normally served several years before rotating out. The extent to which the emperor exercised control over all the provinces increased during the imperial period: Tiberius, for example, once reprimanded legates in the imperial provinces for failing to forward financial reports to the senate; by the reign of Claudius, however, the senatorial provinces' proconsuls were regularly issued with orders directly from
11739-426: The park. The Corsican red deer was re-introduced after it was extinct due to overhunting . This Corsican subspecies was the same that survived on Sardinia, so it is endemic . There are other species endemic to Corsica especially in the upper mountain ranges, i.e. Corsican nuthatch , Corsican fire salamander and Corsican brook salamander and many plant subspecies. Corsica, like all the other Mediterranean islands,
11868-477: The permanent seat of the government. In Italy itself, Rome had not been the imperial residence for some time and 286 Diocletian formally moved the seat of government to Mediolanum (modern Milan ), while taking up residence himself in Nicomedia . During the 4th century, the administrative structure was modified several times, including repeated experiments with Eastern-Western co-emperors. Detailed information on
11997-402: The powerful men to amass disproportionate wealth and military power through their provincial commands, which was one of the major factors in the transition from a republic to an imperial autocracy . The senate attempted to push back against these commands in many instances: it preferred to break up any large war into multiple territorially separated commands; for similar reasons, it opposed
12126-471: The province continued under the emperor Augustus, with conflicts recorded through to AD 6. By 27 BC, Africa was assigned as one of the senatorial provinces in the Augustan settlements and eventually became known as Africa proconsularis , as it was ruled by a proconsul rather than a legate of the emperor. After Diocletian 's administrative reforms, it was split into Africa Zeugitana (which retained
12255-447: The province were Hadrumetum (modern Sousse , Tunisia), the capital of Byzacena , and Hippo Regius (modern Annaba , Algeria ). Rome's first province in northern Africa was established by the Roman Republic in 146 BC, following its conquest of Carthage by Scipio Aemilianus in the Third Punic War . Utica , which had fought on the side of the Romans in the war, was formed as the administrative capital. The remaining territory
12384-450: The provinces had been assigned to sitting praetors in the earlier part of the second century, with new praetorships created to fill empty provincial commands, by the start of the first century it had become uncommon for praetors to hold provincial commands during their formal annual term. Instead they generally took command as promagistrate after the end of their term. The use of prorogation was due to an insufficient number of praetors, which
12513-406: The public provinces, the provinces of Africa and Asia were given only to ex-consuls; ex-praetors received the others. The imperial provinces eventually produced a three-tier system with prefects and procurators, legates pro praetore who were ex-praetors, and legates pro praetore who were ex-consuls. The public provinces' governors normally served only one year; the imperial provinces' governors on
12642-486: The region occurred for nearly thirty years and what administration occurred was ad hoc and emerged from military necessities. In the middle republic, the administration of a territory – whether taxation or jurisdictrion – had basically no relationship with whether that place was assigned as a provincia by the senate. Rome would even intervene on territorial disputes which were part of no provincia at all and were not administered by Rome. The territorial province, called
12771-536: The region. In AD 533, Emperor Justinian , using a Vandal dynastic dispute as pretext, sent an army under the general Belisarius to recover Africa. In a short campaign , Belisarius defeated the Vandals, entered Carthage in triumph and re-established Roman rule over the province. The restored Roman administration was successful in fending off the attacks of the Amazigh desert tribes, and by means of an extensive fortification network managed to extend its rule once again to
12900-402: The regional government. From the mountains to the plains and sea, many ingredients play a role. Game such as wild boar ( Cingale , Singhjari ) is popular. There also is seafood and river fish, such as trout . Delicacies, such as figatellu (also named as ficateddu ), made with liver, coppa , ham ( prizuttu ), lonzu , are made from Corsican pork ( porcu nustrale ).Characteristic among
13029-562: The regions and across the Mediterranean. Some major ARS centers in central Tunisia are Sidi Marzouk Tounsi, Henchir el-Guellal (Djilma), and Henchir es-Srira, all of which have ARS lamp artifacts attributed to them by the microscopic chemical makeup of the clay fabric as well as macroscopic style prevalent in that region. Local pottery markets fueled the economy of not only the towns, but the entire region and supported markets abroad. Certain vessel forms, fabrics, and decorative techniques like rouletting, appliqué, and stamped décor, are specific for
13158-413: The remaining provinces, largely demilitarised and confined to the older republican conquests, became known as public or senatorial provinces , as their commanders were still assigned by the senate on an annual basis consistent with tradition. Because no one man could command in practically all the border-regions of the empire at once, Augustus appointed subordinate legates for each of the provinces with
13287-578: The romanisation of Africa was firmly rooted. During Caesar's civil war , Caesar created a new African province from territory taken from the Numidians. The original province was called Africa vetus with the newer province suffixed nova . But during the Second Triumvirate , the two provinces were unified, possibly in 35 BC, in consequence of border conflicts: governors of the province won three triumphs between 34 and 28 BC. Further expansion of
13416-597: The senate settled affairs in the region by abolishing Macedonia and replacing it with four client republics. Macedonia only came under direct Roman administration in the aftermath of the Fourth Macedonian War in 148 BC. Similarly, assignment of various provinciae in Hispania was not accompanied by the creation of any regular administration of the area; indeed, even though two praetors were assigned to Hispania regularly from 196 BC, no systematic settlement of
13545-596: The senate, likely by declaring that the task assigned to him either by the lex Titia creating the Triumvirate or that the war on Cleopatra and Antony was complete. In return, at a carefully-managed meeting of the senate, he was given commands over Spain, Gaul, Syria, Cilicia, Cyprus, and Egypt to hold for ten years; these provinces contained 22 of the 28 extant Roman legions (over 80 per cent) and contained all prospective military theatres. The provinces that were assigned to Augustus became known as imperial provinces and
13674-504: The sensitive Hermann's tortoise , which are found at A Cupulatta at Vero and Moltifao Regional Natural Park. Corsican brook and fire salamanders , leaf-toed gecko , and yellow and green grass snakes are also common. The European pond turtle can be seen, especially in the waters of Fango Estuary, southern Calvi , Biguglia Lagoon and Pietracorbara . The island has a natural park ( Parc Naturel Régional de Corse , Parcu di Corsica), which protects rare animal and plant species. The park
13803-510: The system of assigning provincial commands, exacerbated internal political tensions, and later allowed ambitious politicians to assemble for themselves enormous commands which the senate would never have approved: the Pompeian lex Gabinia of 67 BC granted Pompey all land within 50 miles of the Mediterranean; Caesar's Gallic command that encompassed three normal provinces. In the late Republican period, Roman authorities generally preferred that
13932-410: The temporary provinciae , as it was not always realistic for the senate to anticipate the theatres of war some six months in advance. Instead, the senate chose to assign consuls to permanent provinces near expected trouble spots. From 200 to 124 BC, only 22 per cent of recorded consular provinciae were permanent provinces; between 122 and 53 BC, this rose to 60 per cent. While many of
14061-486: The tetrarchs. Although the Caesars were soon eliminated from the picture, the four administrative resorts were restored in 318 by Emperor Constantine I , in the form of praetorian prefectures , whose holders generally rotated frequently, as in the usual magistracies but without a colleague. Constantine also created a new capital, named after him as Constantinople , which was sometimes called 'New Rome' because it became
14190-451: The title legatus Augusti pro praetore . These lieutenant legati probably held imperium but, due to their lack of an independent command, were unable to triumph and could be replaced by their superior (Augustus) at any time. These arrangements were likely based on the precedent of Pompey's proconsulship over the Spanish provinces after 55 BC entirely through legates, while he stayed in
14319-493: The traditional division of Corsica into two parts, along the main chain of mountains roughly going from Calvi to Porto-Vecchio : the eastern Banda di dentro , or Cismonte , more populated, developed, and open to the commerce with Italy, and the western Banda di fuori , or Pomonte , almost deserted, wild and remote. The crushing defeat experienced by Pisa in 1284 in the Battle of Meloria against Genoa had among its consequences
14448-421: The two Mauretanian provinces. Starting in the 2nd century AD, these garrisons were manned mostly by local inhabitants. A sizable Latin -speaking population developed that was multinational in background, sharing the northwest African region with those speaking Punic and Berber languages . Imperial security forces began to be drawn from the local population, including the Berbers. Abun-Nasr, in his A History of
14577-477: The vicinity of Rome. In contrast, the public provinces continued to be governed by proconsuls with formally independent commands. In only three of the public provinces were there any armies: Africa , Illyricum , and Macedonia ; after Augustus' Balkan wars , only Africa retained a legion. To make this monopolisation of military commands palatable, Augustus separated prestige from military importance and inverted it. The title pro praetore had gone out of use by
14706-402: The word referred something akin to a modern ministerial portfolio: "when... the senate assigned provinciae to the various magistrates... what they were doing was more like allocating a portfolio than putting people in charge of geographic areas". The first commanders dispatched with provinciae were for the purpose of waging war and to command an army. However, merely that a provincia
14835-554: Was able to return to Corsica from exile in Britain. In 1794, he invited British forces under Lord Hood to intervene to free Corsica from French rule. Anglo-Corsican forces drove the French from the island and established an Anglo-Corsican Kingdom . Following Spain's entry into the war, the British decided to withdraw from Corsica in 1796. Despite being the birthplace of the Emperor, the island
14964-504: Was also known by the Romans (Pliny) as Africa propria , of which Carthage was the capital. The region remained a part of the Roman empire until the Germanic migrations of the 5th century. The Vandals crossed into Northwest Africa from Spain in 429 and overran the area by 439 and founded their own kingdom, including Sicily , Corsica , Sardinia and the Balearics . The Vandals controlled
15093-567: Was assigned did not mean the Romans made that territory theirs. For example, Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus in 211 BC received Macedonia as his provincia but the republic did not annex the kingdom, even as Macedonia was continuously assigned until 205 BC with the end of the First Macedonian War . Even though the Second and Third Macedonian Wars saw the Macedonian province revived,
15222-608: Was continued on a larger scale with the creation of extraordinary Exarchates in the 580s and culminated with the adoption of the military theme system in the 640s, which replaced the older administrative arrangements entirely. Some scholars use the reorganization of the empire into themata in this period as one of the demarcations between the Dominate and the Byzantine (or the Later Roman) period. Cisalpine Gaul (in northern Italy )
15351-597: Was created in 1972 and includes the Golfe de Porto, the Scandola Nature Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage Site ), and some of the highest mountains on the island. Scandola cannot be reached on foot, but people can gain access by boat from the village of Galéria and Porto (Ota). Two endangered subspecies of hoofed mammals, the European mouflon ( Ovis aries musimon ) and Corsican red deer ( Cervus elaphus corsicanus ) inhabit
15480-425: Was exported. Additional crops included beans, figs, grapes, and other fruits. By the 2nd century, olive oil rivaled cereals as an export item. In addition to the cultivation of slaves, and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals, the principal production and exports included the textiles, marble, wine, timber, livestock, pottery such as African Red Slip , and wool. The incorporation of colonial cities into
15609-425: Was for two reasons: more provinces needed commands and the increased number of permanent jury courts ( quaestiones perpetuae ), each of which had a praetor as president, exacerbated this issue. Praetors during the second century were normally prorogued pro praetore , but starting with the Spanish provinces and expanding by 167 BC, praetors were more commonly prorogued with the augmented rank pro consule ; by
15738-535: Was home to endemic mammals during the Late Pleistocene , most or all of these are shared with Sardinia (as Sardinia was joined to Corsica for much of the Pleistocene). After the arrival of humans during Mesolithic around 8000 BC, these began to disappear. Some of the smaller mammals managed to survive until at least the early Iron Age, but are now all extinct. Extinct mammals formerly native to Corsica include
15867-400: Was incorporated by Augustus after the death of Cleopatra and was ruled by a governor of only equestrian rank, perhaps as a discouragement to senatorial ambition. That exception was unique but not contrary to Roman law, as Egypt was considered Augustus's personal property, following the tradition of the kings of the earlier Hellenistic period . The English word province comes from
15996-660: Was left in the domain of the Berber Numidian client king Massinissa . At this time, the Roman policy in Africa was simply to prevent another great power from rising on the Northwest Africa . In 118 BC, the Numidian prince Jugurtha attempted to reunify the smaller kingdoms. However, upon his death, much of Jugurtha's territory was placed in the control of the Berber Mauritanian client king Bocchus ; and, by that time,
16125-543: Was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC and became considered geographically and de facto part of Roman Italy , but remained politically and de jure separated. It was legally merged into the administrative unit of Roman Italy in 42 BC by the triumvir Augustus as a ratification of Caesar 's unpublished acts ( Acta Caesaris ). Corsica Corsica ( / ˈ k ɔːr s ɪ k ə / KOR -sik-ə ; Corsican: [ˈkorsiɡa, ˈkɔrsika] ; Italian : Corsica ; French : Corse [kɔʁs] )
16254-602: Was poor and many Corsicans emigrated. While Corsicans emigrated globally, especially to many South American countries, many chose to move within the French Empire which acted as a conduit for emigration and eventual return, as many young Corsican men could find better job opportunities in the far corners of the Empire where many other French hesitated to go. In many parts of the Empire, Corsicans were strongly represented, such as in Saigon where in 1926 12% of Europeans were from Corsica. Across
16383-409: Was replaced by French. Corsican ( Corsu ), a minority language that is closely related to medieval Tuscan ( Toscano ), has a better prospect of survival than most other French regional languages : Corsican is the second most widely spoken language after French. However, since the annexation of the island by France in the 18th century, Corsican has been under heavy pressure from French, and today it
16512-530: Was reserved for conventional scenes of gods, goddesses, mythological subjects, scenes from daily life, erotic scenes, and natural images. The strongly Christian identity of post-Roman society in Northwest Africa is exemplified in the later instances of Northwest African lamps, on which scenes of Christian images like saints, crosses, and biblical figures became commonly articulated topics. Traditional mythological symbols had enduring popularity as well, which can be traced back to Northwest Africa's Punic heritage. Many of
16641-475: Was slightly neglected by Napoleon's government. In 1814, near the end of the Napoleonic Wars , Corsica was briefly occupied again by British troops. The Treaty of Bastia gave the British crown sovereignty over the island, but it was later repudiated by Lord Castlereagh who insisted that the island should be returned to a restored French monarchy . After the restoration, the island was further neglected by
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