Misplaced Pages

#846153

111-452: The hills, especially around the shores of the lakes, have been popular since prehistoric times. From the 9th to 7th century BC, there were numerous villages (see the legendary Alba Longa and Tusculum ). The area was inhabited by the Latini during the 5th to 3rd centuries BC. The ancient Romans called Monte Cavo Albanus Mons . On the summit was the sanctuary of Jupiter Latiaris, in which

222-644: A cave on the Palatine Hill (the Lupercal ) after they had been thrown into the river Tiber on the orders of their wicked uncle, Amulius . The latter had usurped the throne of Alba from the twins' grandfather, king Numitor , and then confined their mother, Rhea Silvia , to the Vestal convent. They were washed ashore by the river, and after a few days with the wolf, were rescued by shepherds. Mainstream scholarly opinion regards Romulus as an entirely mythical character, and

333-455: A centre which may well have been Castel Gandolfo, whose significantly larger necropolis suggests a larger town. In the later republican period the territory of Alba (the Ager Albanus ) was settled once again with many residential villas , which are mentioned in ancient literature and of which remains are extant. Since the 16th century, the site has been at various times identified as that of

444-593: A daughter of king Priam of Troy ), Ascanius , founded a new city, Alba Longa in the Alban Hills, which replaced Lavinium as capital city. Alba Longa supposedly remained the Latin capital for some 400 years under Aeneas' successors, the Latin kings of Alba , until his descendant (supposedly in direct line after 15 generations) Romulus founded Rome in 753 BC. Under a later king Tullus Hostilius (traditional reign-dates 673–642 BC),

555-471: A decisive Roman victory. The other Latin states were either annexed or permanently subjugated to Rome. The name Latium has been suggested to derive from the Latin word latus ("wide, broad"), referring, by extension, to the plains of the region (in contrast to the mainly-mountainous Italian Peninsula). If that is true, Latini originally meant "men of the plain". The Latins belonged to a group of Indo-European -speaking (IE) tribes, conventionally known as

666-548: A dispute erupted between a group of Romans and Albans, he seized upon the mutual accusations of robbery as a pretext for conflict. Both sides sent emissaries to demand redress. When the Alban delegation arrived in Rome, Tullus purposefully gave them such a warm greeting that they delayed making their demand. The Roman delegates, however, immediately addressed the Albans and were refused. By virtue of

777-593: A genetic mixture of Imperial-era inhabitants of the city of Rome and populations from central or northern Italy. In the following Early Medieval period, invasions of barbarians may have brought central and/or northern European ancestry into Rome, resulting in the further loss of genetic link to the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. By the Middle Ages , the people of Rome again genetically resembled central and southern European populations. As regards to

888-495: A mixture of local Iron Age ancestry and ancestry from an Eastern mediterranean population. Among modern populations, four out of six were closest to Northern and Central Italians , and then Spaniards, while the other two were closest to Southern Italians. Overall, the genetic differentiation between the Latins, Etruscans and the preceding proto-Villanovan population of Italy was found to be insignificant. Examined individuals from

999-578: A number of extinct volcanoes and 5 lakes, of which the largest are lacus Nemorensis ( Lake Nemi ) and lacus Tusculensis ( Lake Albano ). These hills provided a defensible, well-watered base. Also the hills on the site of Rome, certainly the Palatine and possibly the Capitoline and the Quirinal , hosted permanent settlements at a very early stage. The Latins appear to have become culturally differentiated from

1110-510: A phase of migration and invasion of the lowland areas by Italic mountain tribes in the period after 500 BC. The Latins faced repeated incursions by the Hernici , Aequi and Volsci , whose territories surrounded Latium Vetus on its eastern and southern sides. The new Romano-Latin military alliance proved strong enough to repel the incursions of the Italic mountain tribes in the period 500–400 BC. During

1221-412: A powerful state in the area of the Alban Hills at this time". It is unlikely, in the opinion of classicist Tim Cornell, that there was any urbanised city-state capable of holding hegemony in the region at the time. Nor is there any convincing evidence to connect the modern town of Albano Laziale with the ancient Alba Longa. Much of the prominence of Alba Longa in the ancient world was due to its status as

SECTION 10

#1732844875847

1332-624: A pre-IE survival, a Paleo-European language part of an older European linguistic substratum, spoken long before the arrival of proto Indo-European speakers. Some scholars have earlier speculated that Etruscan language could have been introduced by later migrants. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus preserves the tradition that the Tyrrhenoi (Etruscans) originated in Lydia in Anatolia , but Lydians spoke an Indo-European language, completely different from

1443-503: A religious centre, as it hosted the annual Latin Festival on the mons Albanus in honour of Jupiter Latiaris . Archaeological data show the existence of a string of villages in the Iron Age , each with its own necropolis , along the south-western shore of Lake Albano. At the time it was destroyed by Rome, these villages must have still been in a pre-urban phase, beginning to group around

1554-637: A ridge. Dionysius of Halicarnassus repeated the story, but added that Ascanius, following an oracle given to his father, collected other Latin populations as well. Noting that alba means "white" and longa means "long", he translated the name into the Greek language as "long white town". Dionysius placed the town between the Alban Mount and the Alban Lake , thus beginning a long controversy about its location. There is, however, "no archaeological evidence of

1665-667: A vassal state of Rome. Not long afterwards, war did indeed break out with Veii and also with the Fidenates. Mettius and the Albans were ordered to march to battle with Tullus and the Romans, and they met the Etruscans on the far side of the Anio , on the banks of the Tiber . However, when the battle commenced, Mettius led his troops away from the battle, leaving the Romans to fight the Etruscans alone. Rome

1776-459: A volcanic event and instead the account is considered to be a description of a forest fire . The volcano emits large amounts of carbon dioxide which can potentially reach lethal concentrations if it accumulates in depressions in the ground in the absence of wind. The asphyxiation of 29 cows in September 1999 prompted a detailed survey, which found that concentration of the gas at 1.5 m above

1887-425: Is 9% blond or dark blond and 91% dark brown or black. The skin color is intermediate for 82%, intermediate or dark for 9% and dark or very dark for the remaining 9%. By contrast, the following results were obtained for Medieval/Early Modern period: the eye color is blue in 26% of the examined and dark in the remaining 74%. Hair color is 22% blond or dark blond, 11% red and 67% dark brown or black. The skin color

1998-516: Is Rome itself, which was originally a group of separate settlements on the various hills. It appears that they coalesced into a single entity around 625 BC, when the first buildings were established on the site of the later Roman Forum . According to the mainstream Kurgan hypothesis, the earliest Indo-European speakers were a nomadic steppe people, originating in the Eurasian steppes (southern Russia, northern Caucasus and central Asia). Their livelihood

2109-509: Is apparently confirmed by the text of the first recorded Romano-Carthaginian treaty, dated by the ancient Greek historian Polybius to 507 BC, a date accepted by Cornell (although some scholars argue a much later date). The treaty describes the Latin cities of Lavinium and Ardea, among others, as "Roman subjects". Although the text acknowledged that not all the Latin cities were subjects of Rome, it clearly placed them under Rome's hegemony, as it provided that if Carthage captured any Latin city, it

2220-486: Is connected with the early Roman traditions, for Silvia the mother of Romulus was a priestess. They were finally established in Rome during the reign of Numa , where they would remain until the institution was disestablished with the rise of Christianity during the late Roman Empire. On the top of the Monte Cavo (Mons Albanus) was a very ancient shrine consecrated to Jupiter Latiaris. Florus (2nd century) states that

2331-417: Is disputed among scholars). Instead of restoring their previous hegemony, the Romans apparently settled for a military alliance on equal terms with the Latins. According to the sources, the foedus Cassianum (Cassian treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the Romans on one side and the other Latin city-states combined. It provided for a perpetual peace between the two parties; a defensive alliance by which

SECTION 20

#1732844875847

2442-581: Is further confirmed by the fact that the subsequent Latial culture , Este culture and Villanovan culture , which introduced iron-working to the Italian peninsula , were so closely related to the Central European Urnfield culture ( c.  1300 –750 BC), and Hallstatt culture (which succeeded the Urnfield culture), that it is not possible to tell them apart in their earlier stages. Furthermore,

2553-541: Is implausible, likely anachronistic, and "cannot be historically true in a literal sense". Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of small villages in the area of the Alban hills during the late Bronze and early Iron Ages, but they failed to develop into cities and "are certainly unlikely to have founded Rome". Silver serrate denarius struck by C. Sulpicius C. f. Galba in Rome 106 BC. ref.: Sulpicia 1., Sydenham 572., Craw. 312/1 According to Roman mythology , after

2664-541: The Italic tribes , that populated central and southern Italy during the Italian Iron Age , which began around 900 BC. The most widely accepted theory suggests that Latins and other proto-Italic tribes first entered Italy in the late Bronze Age proto-Villanovan culture, then part of the central European Urnfield culture system. In particular various authors, such as Marija Gimbutas , had noted important similarities between

2775-579: The Julii , Servilii , Quinctii , Geganii , Curiatii and Cloelii . Tullus built a new senate house, the Curia Hostilia , to house the enlarged Roman senate . He also recruited ten new turmae of equites from amongst the Albans, and new legions. The Alban immigrants lived on the Caelian Hill in Rome. The temple of Vesta which stood at the foot of the Palatine hill outside Rome presumably predated

2886-674: The Latial culture . The most distinctive feature of Latial culture were cinerary urns in the shape of miniature tuguria ("huts"). In Phase I of the Latium culture ( c.  1000 –900 BC) these hut-urns only appear in some burials, but they become standard in Phase II cremation burials (900–770 BC). They represent the typical single-roomed hovels of contemporary peasants, which were made from simple, readily available materials: wattle-and-daub walls and straw roofs supported by wooden posts. The huts remained

2997-573: The Latials or Latians , were an Italic tribe that included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome (see Roman people ). From about 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small region known to the Romans as Old Latium (in Latin Latium vetus ), the area in the Italian Peninsula between the river Tiber and the promontory of Mount Circeo 100 km (62 mi) southeast of Rome. Following

3108-623: The Latin language (specifically Old Latin ), a member of the western branch of the Italic languages , in turn a branch of the Indo-European (IE) family of languages in Europe The oldest extant inscription in the Latin language is believed to be engraved on the Lapis Niger ("Black Stone") discovered in 1899 in the Roman Forum , dating from around 600 BC: in the mid- Roman kingdom , according to

3219-591: The consuls celebrated the Feriae Latinae , and several generals celebrated victories here during times when they were not accorded regular triumphs in Rome. The foundations and some of the architectural fragments of the temple were still in existence until 1777, when they were used to build the Passionist monastery by Cardinal York , but the Via Triumphalis leading up to it can still be seen. In Roman times,

3330-508: The fall of Troy in 1184 BC, Aeneas led a group of surviving Trojans through the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily , Carthage , and eventually the Italian Peninsula . On landing in Italy he was welcomed by Latinus , king of the early Latins . Soon, Aeneas married king Latinus' daughter, Lavinia , and founded the city of Lavinium in her name. Latinus later fell in war, making Aeneas king of

3441-513: The proto-Villanovan culture that appeared in parts of the Italian peninsula in the first half of the 12th century BC. The Latins maintained close culturo-religious relations until they were definitively united politically under Rome in 338 BC, and for centuries beyond. These included common festivals and religious sanctuaries. The rise of Rome as by far the most populous and powerful Latin state from c. 600 BC led to volatile relations with

Alban Hills - Misplaced Pages Continue

3552-575: The proto-Villanovan culture , the South-German Urnfield culture of Bavaria - Upper Austria and Middle-Danube Urnfield culture . According to David W. Anthony proto-Latins originated in today's eastern Hungary , kurganized around 3100 BC by the Yamna culture , while Kristian Kristiansen associated the proto-Villanovans with the Velatice-Baierdorf culture of Moravia and Austria. This

3663-507: The "Sanctuary of the 13 altars" discovered in the 1960s at Lavinium was the site of the Penates cult. Since each of the altars differ in style and date, it has been suggested that each was erected by a separate Latin city-state. Under the ever-growing influence of the Italiote Greeks , the Romans acquired their own national origin myth sometime during the early Republican era (500–300 BC). It

3774-563: The 14 Alban kings an average reign of 30 years' duration, an implausibly high figure. The false nature of the Aeneas-Romulus link is also demonstrated by the fact that, in some early versions of the tradition, Romulus is denoted as Aeneas' grandson, despite being chronologically separated from Aeneas by some 450 years. Romulus himself was the subject of the famous legend of the suckling she-wolf ( lupa ) that kept Romulus and his twin Remus alive in

3885-481: The Alban's first refusal, Tullus was justified in declaring war. Livy describes the war as being akin to a civil war because the Romans were said to be descended from the Albans. The king of the Albans, Cluilius, marched with his army into Roman territory, established a camp, and dug a huge trench around Rome, which became known as the Cluilian trench . However, Cluilius died in the camp of unspecified causes, whereupon

3996-450: The Albans appointed Mettius Fufetius as dictator to lead the army in his place. Tullus emerged from Rome with his army, passed the Alban camp at night and marched into Alban territory. Mettius followed, camped near the Roman army, and then sent a representative to invite Tullus to confer before any engagement. Tullus accepted the invitation. However, both sides were drawn up for battle while

4107-574: The Convent of St. Paul at Palazzola near Albano , Coste Caselle near Marino , and Castel Gandolfo . The last named of these places in fact occupies the site of the Villa of Domitian which, according to Juvenal , was situated on the arx of Alba. The Roman tradition held that Alba Longa was an urbanised city-state which founded a number of Latin colonies which it then organised into a Latin League . This narrative

4218-684: The Etruscan language. Despite, a possible support for an eastern origin for Etruscan may be provided by two inscriptions in a language closely related to Etruscan found on the island of Lemnos in the northern Aegean Sea (see Lemnian language ), even though some scholars believe that the Lemnian language might have arrived in the Aegean Sea during the Late Bronze Age, when Mycenaean rulers recruited groups of mercenaries from Sicily, Sardinia and various parts of

4329-448: The Etruscans and have supported a deep, local origin. A 2019 Stanford genetic study, which has analyzed the autosomal DNA of Iron Age samples from the areas around Rome, has concluded that Etruscans were similar to the Latins from Latium vetus . According to British archeologist Phil Perkins, "there are indications that the evidence of DNA can support the theory that Etruscan people are autochthonous in central Italy". The tribe spoke

4440-568: The Greek cities of southern Italy, especially Taras (mod. Taranto ) in the period ending 275 BC. The figure of Aeneas as portrayed in the Iliad lent itself to his adoption as the Roman "Abraham": a mighty warrior of (minor) royal blood who personally slew 28 Achaeans in the war, he was twice saved from certain death by the gods, implying that he had a great destiny to fulfil. A passage in Homer's Iliad contains

4551-471: The Italian peninsula. Other scholars, however, argue that the presence of a language similar to Etruscan in Lemnos was due to Etruscan commercial adventurers arrived from the west shortly before 700 BC. The archaeological evidence available from Iron Age Etruria shows no sign of any invasion, migration, or arrival of small immigrant-elites from the Eastern Mediterranean who may have imposed their language. Between

Alban Hills - Misplaced Pages Continue

4662-421: The Latins and his son Ascanius (also called Iulus) his successor. A few years later, Aeneas was killed in battle, like Latinus, and Ascanius became king of the Latins . Ascanius is said to have built Alba Longa as his capital on the slope of Mount Alba, resettling six hundred families there as a colony of Lavinium in 1151 BC, only thirty years after Lavinium itself was founded. His descendants then ruled

4773-552: The Latins for another five hundred years. According to Festus , these kings were considered the source of the red or Tyrian purple calceus mulleus later worn by the Roman patricians . Alba Longa was reportedly the leading city of the roughly thirty cities, its colonies, that it led in the Latin League . The league's conferences were held by the Ferentine spring , in the scenic part of

4884-464: The Latins occupied Latium Vetus not earlier than around 1000 BC. Initially, the Latin immigrants into Latium were probably concentrated in the low hills that extend from the central Apennine range into the coastal plain (much of which was then marshy and malarial, and thus uninhabitable). A notable area of early settlement were the Alban Hills , a plateau about 20 km (13 mi) SE of Rome containing

4995-778: The Light " takes place in Alba Longa at the crucial time of Rome's founding. Alba Longa is described as seen by Flavia Herosilla, a well-educated woman who lived in Imperial Rome and was hurled a thousand years back in time, and who is concerned to ensure that Rome will be founded on schedule – for which purpose she successfully instigates a bloody regime change in Alba Longa. 41°44′49″N 12°39′01″E  /  41.74691°N 12.65026°E  / 41.74691; 12.65026 Latins (Italic tribe) The Latins ( Latin : Latinus (m.), Latina (f.), Latini (m. pl.)), sometimes known as

5106-487: The Proud bound the Latin city-states into a military alliance under Roman leadership. Reportedly, Tarquin also annexed Pometia (later Satricum ) and Gabii ; established control over Tusculum by a marriage alliance with its leader, Octavus Mamilius; and established Roman colonies at Signia and Circeii . He was engaged in besieging Ardea when the revolt against his monarchy broke out. Rome's political control over Latium Vetus

5217-459: The Roman expansion, the Latins spread into the Latium adiectum , inhabited by Osco-Umbrian peoples. Their language, Latin , belonged to the Italic branch of Indo-European. Speakers of Italic languages are assumed to have migrated into the Italian Peninsula during the late Bronze Age (1200–900 BC). The material culture of the Latins, known as the Latial culture , was a distinctive subset of

5328-439: The Romans called Penates . Roman mythology claims that the Penates were Trojan gods first introduced to Italy by Aeneas. Among these household gods must have been Vesta who has been referred to as Vesta Iliaca (Vesta of Troy), with her sacred hearth being named Iliaci foci (Trojan hearth). The priestesses of Vesta, known as Vestal Virgins , administered her temple and watched the eternal fire. Their existence in Alba Longa

5439-505: The Romans razed Alba Longa to the ground and resettled its inhabitants on the mons Caelius ( Caelian Hill ) in Rome. There is controversy about how and when Aeneas and his Trojans were adopted as ethnic ancestors by the Romans. One theory is that the Romans appropriated the legend from the Etruscans, who in turn acquired themselves the legend from the Greeks. There is evidence that the Aeneas legend

5550-684: The Romulus legend of the suckling she-wolf is a genuine indigenous Latin myth. The traditional number of Latin communities for the purposes of the joint religious festivals is given as 30 in the sources. The same number is reported, probably erroneously, as the membership of the Romano-Latin military alliance, labelled the " Latin League " by modern scholars. But it appears that c.  500 BC there were just 15 independent Latin city-states in Latium Vetus, including Rome itself (the other 15 were annexed by

5661-469: The Tiber. Initially, King Latinus attempted to drive them out, but he was defeated in battle. Later, he accepted Aeneas as an ally and eventually allowed him to marry his daughter, Lavinia. Aeneas supposedly founded the city of Lavinium (Pratica di Mare, Pomezia ), named after his wife, on the coast not far from Laurentum. It became the Latin capital after Latinus' death. Aeneas' son (by his previous Trojan wife,

SECTION 50

#1732844875847

5772-756: The Volsci. Finally, in 341 BC, all the Latin city-states combined in what proved to be a final effort to regain/preserve their independence. The so-called Latin War ended in 338 with a decisive Roman victory, following which Rome annexed most of Latium Vetus . A few of the larger Latin states, such as Praeneste and Tibur, were allowed to retain a degree of political autonomy, but only in a subordinate status as Roman socii ("allies"), tied to Rome by treaties of military alliance. A genetic study published in Science in November 2019 examined

5883-554: The area was often used by the rich as a way to escape the heat and crowds of Rome, as it is today as shown by the many villas and country houses present. The towns and villages in the Alban Hills are known as the Castelli Romani . Examination of deposits have dated the four most recent eruptions to two temporal peaks, around 36,000 and 39,000 years ago. The area exhibits small localised earthquake swarms, bradyseism , and release of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide into

5994-532: The arrival of Aeneas. Roman tradition held that Rome itself was founded as a colony of Alba Longa, by Romulus and Remus, two of the city's princes, who had been banished at birth in a dynastic struggle. The ancient Romans dated this event to the middle of the eighth century BC. In the seventh century BC, the Roman king Tullus Hostilius succeeded Numa Pompilius . During his reign, Rome's attitude toward its neighbours no longer reflected Numa's peaceful nature. Now it reflected Tullus's own predilection for war. When

6105-424: The atmosphere. The uplift and earthquake swarms have been interpreted as caused by a slowly growing spherical magma chamber 5-6 kilometres below the surface; some think that it may erupt again; if so, there is risk to Rome , which is only 25 to 30 km away. There is documentary evidence which may describe an eruption in 114 BC, but the absence of Holocene geological deposits has largely discredited it as

6216-403: The bloodline of Aeneas , a son of Venus . According to Livy , Roman patrician families such as the Julii , Servilii , Quinctii , Geganii , Curiatii and Cloelii originated in Alba Longa. Livy said of Alba Longa that it was founded by Ascanius to relieve crowding at Lavinium . He placed it at the foot of the Alban Mount and said that it took its name from being extended along

6327-410: The city of Rome during the time of the Roman Empire (27 BCE – 300 CE) bore far less genetic resemblance to Rome's founding populations, and were instead shifted towards the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East . The Imperial population of Rome was found to have been extremely diverse, with barely any of the examined individuals being of primarily local, central Italian ancestry. It was suggested that

6438-417: The city, which at the time of its founding only occupied the top of the hill: the hearth of Vesta would not ordinarily be built outside a city's walls. Worship of Vesta in Italy began in Lavinium , the mother-city of Alba Longa. From Lavinium worship of Vesta was transferred to Alba Longa. Upon entering higher office, Roman magistrates would go to Lavinium to offer sacrifice to Vesta and the household gods

6549-437: The consul Gaius Flaminius , who, in his eagerness to join his army at its assembly-point of Arretium , failed to attend the Latin Festival. Latin cultural-religious events were also held at other common cult-centres e.g. the major common shrine to Diana at Aricia . This may be the sacred grove to Diana which a fragment of Cato's Origines recorded dedicated, probably c.  500 BC , by various Latin communities under

6660-780: The contemporary Canegrate culture of Northern Italy represented a typical western example of the western Hallstatt culture, whose diffusion most probably took place in a Celtic -speaking context. Similarly, several authors have suggested that the Beaker culture of Central and Western Europe was a candidate for an early Indo-European culture , and more specifically, for an ancestral European branch of Indo-European dialects, termed "North-west Indo-European", ancestral to Celtic, Italic, Germanic and Balto-Slavic branches. All these groups were descended from Proto-Indo-European speakers from Yamna-culture, whose migrations in Central Europe probably split off Pre-Italic, Pre-Celtic and Pre-Germanic from Proto-Indo-European. Leaving archaeology aside,

6771-408: The data on the pigmentation of eyes, hair and skin, the following results were obtained from the study on ancient DNA of the 11 individuals of the Iron Age/Republican period, coming from Latium and Abruzzo, and the 27 individuals of Medieval/Early Modern period, coming from Latium. For Iron Age/Republic period, the eye color is blue in 27% of the examined and dark in the remaining 73%. Hair color

SECTION 60

#1732844875847

6882-422: The earliest phase of Latial culture also occur at Rome at the same time ( c.  1000 BC ), so archaeology cannot be used to support the tradition that Rome was founded by people from Alba Longa. If Alba Longa did not exist, then nor did the "Alban kings", whose genealogy was almost certainly fabricated to "prove" Romulus' descent from Aeneas. The genealogy's dubious nature is shown by the fact that it ascribes

6993-545: The end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, Etruria shows above all contacts with Central Europe and the Urnfield culture , as there is great consensus that the subsequent orientalizing period was an artistic-cultural phenomenon not exclusively Etruscan, also spread to other areas of Italy and the Greek world, and that can be better explained by trade and exchange rather than by migrations. Genetic studies on samples of Etruscan individuals, both on mitochondrial and autosomal DNA, are also against an eastern origin of

7104-400: The former as they expanded, especially Rome). The size of the city-state territories in c.  500 BC were estimated by Beloch (1926): The table above shows the tiny size of Latium Vetus - only about two-thirds the size of the English county of Kent . Rome was by far the largest state, controlling some 35% of the total land area. The next four largest states ranged from just under half

7215-423: The geographical distribution of the ancient languages of the peninsula may plausibly be explained by the immigration of successive waves of peoples with different languages, according to Cornell. On this model, it appears likely that the "West Italic" group (including the Latins) were the first wave, followed, and largely displaced by, the East Italic (Osco-Umbrian) group. This is deduced from the marginal locations of

7326-401: The ground in a residential area on the northwestern flank sometimes exceeded the occupational health threshold of 0.5%. Eight sheep were killed in a similar incident in October 2001. Writers and artists who have produced work about this area include: Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy in

7437-443: The historical era, scholars have reconstructed elements of proto-Indo-European culture. Relics of such elements have been discerned in Roman and Latin customs. Examples include: Despite their frequent internecine wars, the Latin city-states maintained close culturo-religious relations throughout their history. Their most important common tribal event was the four-day Latiar or Feriae Latinae ("Latin Festival"), held each winter on

7548-507: The inscription contains the word recei , the word for "king" in the dative singular in archaic Latin - regi in classical Latin, or to the rex sacrorum , rather than the political king of Rome. There is no archaeological evidence at present that Old Latium hosted permanent settlements during the Bronze Age . Some very small amounts of Apennine culture pottery shards have been found in Latium, most likely belonging to transient pastoralists engaged in transhumance . It thus appears that

7659-453: The lead in organising an anti-Roman alliance. One ancient source names Egerius Baebius, the leader of Tusculum, as the "Latin dictator" (i.e. commander-in-chief of the Latin forces). It appears that Baebius dedicated a sacred grove to Diana at lucus Ferentinae (a wood near Aricia) in c.  500 BC in the presence of representatives of Latin states, including Tusculum, Aricia, Lanuvium, Lavinium, Cora, Tibur, Pometia and Ardea. This event

7770-408: The leaders met between the two forces. At the conference, Mettius proposed that the dispute be resolved by some means other than mass bloodshed, citing the concern that the nearby Etruscans would fall upon the two Latin states if these were weakened by war and unable to defend themselves. It was agreed that a set of triplets from each side, three brothers Horatii and three Curiatii, would battle for

7881-429: The leadership of the dictator of Tusculum , Egerius Baebius. Cornell argues that the temple of Diana reportedly founded by the Roman king Servius Tullius on the Aventine hill at Rome was also a common Latin shrine, as it was built outside the pomerium or City boundary. There was also an important Latin cult-centre at Lavinium . Lavinium hosted the cult of the Penates , or Latin ancestor-gods. Cornell suggests that

7992-412: The legend fictitious. On this view, Romulus was a name fabricated to provide Rome with an eponymous founding hero, a common feature of classical foundation-myths; it is possible that Romulus was named after Rome instead of vice versa . The name contains the Latin diminutive -ulus , so it means simply "Roman" or "little Roman". It has been suggested that the name "Roma" was of Etruscan origin , or that it

8103-566: The main form of Latin housing until about 650 BC. The most famous exemplar was the Casa Romuli ("Hut of Romulus ") on the southern slope of the Palatine Hill, supposedly built by the legendary founder of Rome with his own hands and which reportedly survived until the time of emperor Augustus (ruled 30 BC - AD 14). Around 650 BC began a period of urbanisation, with the establishment of political city-states in Latium. The most notable example

8214-633: The mainstream view that Etruscan was not Indo-European: he argues that Etruscan was closely related to the Indo-European Hittite and Lydian languages. Georgiev's thesis hasn't received support from other scholars. Excavations at Troy have yielded a single written document, a letter in Luwian . But as Luwian (which certainly is closely related to Hittite) was used as a kind of diplomatic lingua franca in Anatolia, it cannot be argued conclusively that Luwian

8325-622: The nature of the Tarquinian hegemony over the Latins is unknown, it is impossible to tell how the terms of the Cassian treaty differed from those imposed by the Tarquins. But it is likely that Tarquin rule was more onerous, involving the payment of tribute, while the Republican terms simply involved a military alliance. The impetus to form such an alliance was probably provided by the acute insecurity caused by

8436-609: The observed genetic shift in the city's founding populations was a result of heavy migration of merchants and slaves from the populous urban centres of the Middle East and Greece. During late antiquity, after the Imperial era, Rome's population was drastically reduced as a result of political instability, epidemics and economic changes. In this period, more local or central Italian ancestry is evident in Rome; its inhabitants started to again approximate present-day Italians, and can be modeled as

8547-413: The origin of the legend, it is clear that the Latins had no historical connection with Aeneas and none of their cities were founded by Trojan refugees. Furthermore, Cornell regards the city of Alba Longa itself as probably mythical. Early Latial-culture remains have been discovered on the shore of the Alban lake, but they indicate a series of small villages, not an urbanised city-state. In any case, traces of

8658-452: The other Latin states, which numbered about 14 in 500 BC. In the period of the Tarquin monarchy ( c. 550–500 BC), Rome apparently acquired political hegemony over the other states. After the fall of the Roman monarchy around 500 BC, there appears to have been a century of military alliance between Rome and the other Latin states to confront the threat posed to all Latium by raiding by

8769-438: The parties pledged mutual assistance in case of attack; a promise not to aid or allow passage to each other's enemies; the equal division of spoils of war (half to Rome, half to the other Latins) and provisions to regulate trade between the parties. In addition the treaty probably provided for overall command of the allies' joint forces to alternate between a Roman and a commander from one of the other Latin city-states each year. As

8880-504: The plebs: others become Latin cities. The others were ceded to the Latins to maintain a consistent thirty townships, thirty being of great importance among the Latin kingdoms as twelve was to the Ionians (or 4 divided into 3 parts each). Accordingly, the Latin kingdom of Latinus , and the Rutulian kingdom of Turnus must have had thirty cities each with Laurentum as the Latin capital prior to

8991-502: The prophecy that Aeneas and his descendants would one day rule the Trojans. Since the Trojans had been expelled from their own city, it was speculated that Aeneas and other Trojan survivors must have migrated elsewhere. The legend is given its most vivid and detailed treatment in the Roman poet Virgil 's epic, the Aeneid (published around AD 20). According to this, the Latin tribe's first king

9102-749: The relative chronology between the Italic IE languages and the non-IE languages of the peninsula, notably the Etruscan , which is considered related to the Raetic spoken in the Alps . Other examples of non-IE languages in Iron Age Italy are the Camunic language , spoken in the Alps, and the unattested ancient Ligurian and Paleo-Sardinian languages . Most scholars consider that Etruscan is

9213-451: The remains of six Latin males buried near Rome between 900 BC and 200 BC. They carried the paternal haplogroups R-M269 , T-L208 , R-P311 , R-PF7589 and R-P312 (two samples), and the maternal haplogroups H1aj1a , T2c1f , H2a , U4a1a , H11a and H10 . These examined individuals were distinguished from preceding populations of Italy by the presence of 30% steppe ancestry . Two out of six individuals from Latin burials were found have

9324-438: The sacred mons Albanus ( Monte Cavo , Alban Hills, SE of Rome), an extinct volcano. The climax of the festival was a number of sacrifices to Jupiter Latiaris ("Jupiter of Latium"); the sacrificed meat was shared by the representatives of the Latin communities. These elaborate rituals, as did all Roman religious ceremonies, had to be performed with absolute precision and, if any procedural mistakes were made, had to be repeated from

9435-545: The site was selected by Ascanius , who, having founded Alba, invited all the Latins to celebrate sacrifices there to Jupiter , a custom which eventually led to the annual celebration there of the Feriae Latinae , at which all the cities that belonged to the Latin Confederation would gather under the aegis of Alba, sacrificing a white bull, the flesh of which was distributed among all the participants. After Alba Longa

9546-406: The size of Rome down to a fifth of the size; the remaining ten ranged from a tenth of the size down to less than a twentieth. From an early stage, the external relations of the Latin city-states were dominated by their largest and most powerful member, Rome. The vast amount of archaeological evidence uncovered since the 1970s has conclusively discredited A. Alföldi's once-fashionable theory that Rome

9657-561: The start. The Latin Festival continued to be held long after all Latium Vetus was integrated into the Roman Republic after 338 BC (from then on, the Roman consuls presided over them) and into the Roman imperial era . The historian Livy , writing around AD 20, ascribed Rome's disastrous defeat by the Carthaginian general Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene in 217 BC to the impiety of

9768-597: The succeeding century, after Rome had recovered from the catastrophic Gallic invasion of 390 BC, the Romans began a phase of expansionism. In addition to the establishment of a series of Latin colonies on territories annexed from the mountain tribes, Rome annexed a number of neighbouring Latin city-states in steady succession. The increasing threat posed by Roman encroachment led the more powerful Latin states, such as Praeneste , to attempt to defend their independence and territorial integrity by challenging Rome, often in alliance with their erstwhile enemies, mountain-tribes such as

9879-503: The surrounding Italic mountain tribes, especially the Volsci and Aequi . This system progressively broke down after roughly 390 BC, when Rome's aggressive expansionism led to conflict with other Latin states, both individually and collectively. In 341–338 BC, the Latin states jointly fought the Latin War against Rome in a final attempt to preserve their independence. The war ended in 338 BC with

9990-612: The surrounding Osco-Umbrian Italic tribes from c.  1000 BC onwards. From this time, the Latins exhibit the features of the Iron Age Latial culture found in Etruria and the Po valley. In contrast, the Osco-Umbrian tribes do not exhibit the same features of the Latins, who thus shared the broadly same material culture as the Etruscans. The variant of Villanovan found in Latium is dubbed

10101-570: The surviving West Italic niches. Besides Latin, putative members of the West Italic group are Faliscan (now regarded as merely a Latin dialect), and perhaps Siculian , spoken in eastern Sicily . The West Italic languages were thus spoken in limited and isolated areas, whereas the "East Italic" group comprised the Oscan and Umbrian dialects spoken over much of central and southern Italy. The chronology of Indo-European immigration remains elusive, as does

10212-414: The theory that Romulus was a historical figure who indeed founded the city in c.  753 BC , as related by the ancient chroniclers, by ploughing a symbolic sacred furrow to define the city's boundary. But Carandini's views have received scant support among fellow scholars. In contrast to the legend of Aeneas, which was clearly imported into the Latin world from an extraneous culture, it appears that

10323-413: The time of the revolution, was probably distorted for propaganda reasons by later Roman chroniclers. Livy claims that Porsenna aimed to restore Tarquin to his throne, but failed to take Rome after a siege. Tacitus suggests that Porsenna's army succeeded in occupying the city. The fact that there is no evidence of Tarquin's restoration during this occupation has led some scholars to suggest that it Porsenna

10434-456: The traditional Roman chronology, but more likely close to its inception. Written in a primitive form of Archaic Latin , it indicates that the Romans remained Latin-speakers in the period when some historians have suggested that Rome had become "Etruscanised" in both language and culture. It also lends support to the existence of the Kings of Rome in this era, whom some historians regarded as mythical:

10545-402: The valley between Albano and Marino , until the middle of the fourth century. The sacrifices of the league were offered on the Alban mountain from which all the country of Latium might be seen. The colonies of Alba Longa were distinct from the Alban townships which must have consisted of Albani plebs , as the genuine Albans were the populus . Among the Alban colonies some become part of

10656-515: The vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills . The ancient Romans believed it to be the founder and head of the Latin League , before it was destroyed by the Roman Kingdom around the middle of the 7th century BC and its inhabitants were forced to settle in Rome. In legend, Romulus and Remus , founders of Rome, had come from the royal dynasty of Alba Longa, which in Virgil 's Aeneid had been

10767-519: The victory of the two states. Livy refers to conflict amongst his own sources as to which set of brothers represented which state, but prefers the view that the Horatii were the Romans, and the Curiatii Albans. Vows were entered into in a most solemn form by each of the Romans and the Albans as to this agreement by which the future of each state would be bound by the outcome of the fight. Marcus Valerius

10878-399: Was Latinus , who gave his name to the tribe and founded the first capital of the Latins, Laurentum , whose exact location is uncertain. The Trojan hero Aeneas and his men fled by sea after the capture and sack of their city, Troy , by the Greeks in 1184 BC, according to one ancient calculation. After many adventures, Aeneas and his Trojan army landed on the coast of Latium near the mouth of

10989-530: Was an insignificant settlement until about 500 BC, and thus that the Republic was not established before about 450, and possibly as late as 400 BC. There is now no doubt that Rome was a unified city (as opposed to a group of separate hilltop settlements) by c.  625 BC and had become the second-largest city in Italy (after Tarentum , 510 hectares) by around 550 BC, when it had an area of about 285 hectares (1.1 sq mile) and an estimated population of 35,000. Rome

11100-427: Was appointed Fetial , and Spurius Fusius Pater Patratus , for the purposes of binding Rome by the treaty. The combat commenced. Two of the Romans were the first to fall. Then the remaining Roman, Publius Horatius, slew the three Albans, and thus won victory for Rome. Afterwards, Tullus ordered Mettius to return with his army to Alba, but to be prepared in the event of war with Veii . The Albans became, in substance,

11211-579: Was based on horses and herding. In the historical era, the same socio-cultural lifestyle was maintained, in the same regions, by peoples descended from the Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIEs) known to the Greco-Romans as Scythians , Sarmatians and Alans , whose languages belonged to the Iranian branch of IE. On the basis of common steppe-nomadic features in the cultures of the various Indo-European peoples in

11322-580: Was centred on the figure of Aeneas , a supposed Trojan survivor of the destruction of Troy by the Achaean Greeks , as related in the poet Homer 's epic the Iliad (composed c.  800 BC ). The legend provided the Romans with a heroic "Homeric" pedigree, as well as a (spurious) ethnic distinctiveness from the other Latins. It also provided a rationale (as poetic revenge for the destruction of Troy) for Rome's hostilities against, and eventual subjugation of,

11433-547: Was derived from the Latin word ruma ("teat"), presumably because the shape of the Palatine Hill and/or Capitoline Hill resembled a woman's breasts. If the city was named after Romulus, it is plausible that he was historical. Nevertheless, Cornell argues that "Romulus probably never existed... His biography is a complex mixture of legend and folk-tale, interspersed with antiquarian speculation and political propaganda". In contrast, Andrea Carandini , an archaeologist who has spent most of his career excavating central Rome, advanced

11544-482: Was destroyed and her leadership role was assumed by Rome, tradition records the building of a full-scale temple to Jupiter Latiaris on the Alban Mount in the reign of Tarquinius Superbus ; of which only a few courses of perimeter wall remain today, now removed off site. There are, however, substantial remains of the paved road that connected it to the Via Appia near Aricia . Much of the science fiction story " To Bring

11655-412: Was obliged to hand it over to Rome's control. Rome's sphere of influence is implied as extending as far as Terracina , 100 km to the south. The fall of the Roman monarchy was probably a more lengthy, violent and international process than the swift, bloodless and internal coup related by tradition. The role of the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna , of Clusium , who led an invasion of Roman territory at

11766-478: Was probably contemporaneous with, and connected with, the launch of the Latin alliance. The Latins could apparently count on the support of the Volsci Italic tribe. In addition, they were joined by the deposed Roman king Tarquin the Proud and his remaining followers. The Romans apparently prevailed, scoring a notable victory over the Latin forces at Lake Regillus sometime in the period 499-493 BC (the exact year

11877-585: Was the everyday language of Troy. Cornell points out that the Romans may have acquired the legend directly from the Italiote Greeks. The earliest Greek literary reference to Rome as a foundation of Aeneas dates to c.  400 BC . There is also much archaeological evidence of contacts between the cities of archaic Latium and the Greek world e.g. the archaic sanctuary of the Penates at Lavinium, which shows "heavy Greek influence in architectural design and religious ideology", according to Cornell. But whatever

11988-469: Was the real agent of the Tarquin's downfall, and that he aimed to replace him as king of Rome. Any danger of an Etruscan takeover of Rome was removed by Porsenna's defeat at Aricia in 504 BC. There followed a war between Rome and the other Latin city-states, which probably took advantage of the political turmoil in Rome to attempt to regain/preserve their independence. It appears that Tusculum and Aricia took

12099-433: Was thus about half the size of contemporary Athens (585 hectares, including Piraeus ) and far larger than any other Latin city. The size of Rome at this time lends credence to the Roman tradition, dismissed by Alföldi, that in the late regal period (550–500 BC), traditionally the rule of the Tarquin dynasty, Rome established its political hegemony over the other city-states of Old Latium. According to Livy, king Tarquin

12210-413: Was victorious against the Etruscans. After the battle, Tullus executed Mettius for his perfidy. Then, on Tullus' orders, the Roman soldiers demolished the 400-year-old city of Alba Longa, leaving only the temples standing, and the entire population of Alba Longa was transported to Rome, thereby doubling the number of Roman citizens. Tullus enlisted the leading families of Alba amongst the patricians , namely

12321-471: Was well known among the Etruscans by 500 BC: excavations at the ancient Etruscan city of Veii discovered a series of statuettes portraying Aeneas fleeing Troy carrying his father on his back, as in the legend. Indeed, the Bulgarian linguist Vladimir Georgiev argued that the original Etruscans were in fact descendants of those Trojan refugees and that the Aeneas legend has a historical basis. Georgiev disputes

#846153