Pompeii

A History of the City and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Fergus Mason, HistoryCaps

• Publisher: Golgotha Press, Inc.
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781629179162
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Roman Ancient History
• Index: History

Pompeii was one of most advanced cities of its time; it had a complex water system, gymnasium, and an amphitheater. Despite it's advancements, there was one thing it wasn't ready for: Mount Vesuvius—the volcano that led to its ultimate doom. The 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius was one of the worst disasters in all of European history. In a near instant, over 15, 000 people were dead and a city was completely destroyed. This book looks at the rise, fall, and rediscovery of the great city of Pompeii.

[1]

Part One: Early History

 

 

 

In the centuries before the rise of Rome Italy was a crazy patchwork of kingdoms. The population was a mixture of Italic peoples and others from outside Europe, such as the Etruscans. The kingdoms were often hostile to each other but at the same time they traded widely, with each other and with tribes outside Italy. The map was never static for long, as peoples emerged, split and faded away. Early in the first millennium BC an Italic group known as the Osci arose in the southern half of the Italian mainland. Their origins aren’t well known, but relics of their settlements have been found throughout what’s now the Campania region, and together with later records it’s possible to piece together a lot of details. Some time in the 7th or 8th century BC a group of Osci founded a settlement on the west coast, in a magnificent bay where Greek and Phoenician ships sometimes sheltered in bad weather. It was an ideal place for a port. It lay at a crossroads between Nola, Stabiae and the Greek enclave of Cumae, so the inhabitants could trade for goods with foreign sailors then market them to the surrounding towns.

The port seems to have prospered over the next couple of centuries, but in the hostile political environment of Italy that prosperity attracted attention from outsiders. The Etruscans conquered it in the 6th century,3 and ruled it long enough to create their own cemetery and leave inscriptions. Within a few decades, it was captured again, this time by the Greeks from Cumae, and in the 5th century BC it fell to the Samnites. The Samnites were closely related to the Osci and spoke the same language; it’s likely that the town, by then known as Pompeia, returned to something close to its original culture despite being enlarged by its new rulers.

 

 

 

Rome

Things were changing in Italy though. One of the region’s many city-states, Rome had been founded near a ford on the Tiber River in the mid-8th century BC and had been growing slowly ever since. The Etruscans had dominated it from the late 7th century, but they never imposed direct rule; Rome had its own king and was left undisturbed to develop a distinctive political system. The Senate was founded almost as soon as Rome became large enough to need a government, and consisted of a panel of the town’s most respected citizens. It had remarkably little real power as that was mostly concentrated in the hands of the king, but it at least looked like a real system of government.

The influence of the Etruscans slowly faded while Rome continued to grow. The seventh king of the city, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, launched a series of successful wars against neighboring states. He also ordered several large public works projects, including the city’s sewer system and an expansion of what would eventually become the largest sports stadium in human history - the Circus Maximus. Tarquinius had few friends though, and he quickly created a large number of enemies for himself. He’d seized the throne of Rome from his predecessor (and father in law) Servius Tullius, then had him murdered. He had favored the rich over the ordinary people of Rome, and used violence and intimidation to stay in power. He also ignored the city’s traditions, disregarded the Senate and broke the law with impunity. Finally, his son Sextus raped Lucretia Collatina, a woman from a powerful family, then tried to threaten her into keeping silent. Instead, she called her family together, told them what had happened then committed suicide with a dagger.4

Lucretia’s relatives were outraged at the crime but knew the king would protect his son. The king was out of the city, though, and the government was vulnerable. Lucretia’s husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus and his cousin Lucius Junius Brutus – both of whom were also relatives of the king – led a group of four who barred the city gates, expelled Sextus and formed a republican government based on the Senate. The new government was led by two consuls, each elected by the Senate and each able to cancel any instruction given by the other. It was an early form of checks and balances, designed to prevent any one man being able to hold absolute power, and it would be in place for over 450 years. The Roman Republic had been born.

The Republic was more stable than its neighbors, and more able to follow a long-term goal. It was also able to defend itself effectively as a trained citizen army began to emerge. Gradually Rome began to have more of an influence on the constant wars that erupted throughout central Italy, even when its opponents looked far stronger on paper. In 343 BC the Samnites, by this time a large and powerful confederation who controlled much of central Italy, launched an attack on several tribes in northern Campania. They quickly overran several small kingdoms of the Campani and finally besieged the wealthy city state of Capua. The Campani, out of options, turned to Rome for help. The Romans had a treaty with the Samnites, however, which set the Liris River as a boundary between their areas of influence, and the Campani were on the other side of the river. The Senate were tempted by the thought of an alliance with the wealthy Campani but to honor the treaty they had to refuse the request. The refusal ended the Campani’s last hope of victory against the Samnites, so now they played their final card – they surrendered unconditionally. To Rome.

That changed everything. By surrendering the Campani had become subjects of Rome and their land was the Republic’s property. Roman honor would not let the Samnites continue their attack whatever the treaty said, so envoys were sent to the Samnites to explain the new situation and request that, in view of the friendship between the two powers, the Campani lands be left alone. The message ended with four letters that probably meant nothing to the invading tribesmen, but would come to be the symbol of ultimate power through most of the ancient world. Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and People of Rome, were making the request. As the Samnites would soon learn, any demand marked SPQR could not be lightly ignored.

Rome wasn’t what it would become though. It was a small state centered around a single city, and while its neighbors were learning that the well drilled Roman troops could be a useful ally nobody seriously feared the tiny Republic. In fact the Falerii had been maintaining an uneasy truce with Rome for 40 years, refusing to sign a permanent peace agreement, and the Latins were actually planning to attack the Republic. Now the Samnites thought they could ignore the bluster of the Senate and People; their magistrates ordered a renewed attack on Capua, and made sure the Roman envoys heard them do it.

Rome might have been small but it was determined, and the Samnite refusal spurred the Republic into action. Both consuls took command of armies and marched against the Samnites. One headed into Campania to break the siege of Capua; the other invaded Samnium itself. The Samnites were happy to accept the challenge but it didn’t turn out the way they expected. The Romans defeated the attacker’s armies in a series of three battles and the Samnites backed off. The Campani became a Roman ally and the Falerii, startled at Rome’s military performance, hastily agreed to a formal peace treaty. The Latins decided to find an easier target and attacked the Paeligni instead. Suddenly Rome was a notable force in central Italy and other states began to tread more warily around them. They still weren’t a dominant power, or even first among equals, but their neighbors began to take them seriously. Rome’s influence had expanded too and many towns which had been loyal to the Samnites were adjusting to the new reality. One of them was Pompeia. The city – and the rest of Campania – remained largely independent, but their paths were increasingly tied to Rome. That had benefits for a cash-rich but militarily weak state, but it brought dangers too. When a second war erupted between Rome and Samnium in 310 BC a party of Roman marines landed near Pompeia and looted the town.5

The Sea People

Rome was gaining power on the Italian peninsula but the undisputed superpower of the western Mediterranean was Carthage. Founded in 814 BC as a dependency of the state of Tyre, it became independent around 650 BC. Like Tyre it was a Phoenician city and that shaped its future rise. The Phoenicians were descended from the Canaanites who had inhabited the southeastern shores of the Mediterranean since around 8,000 BC. In the late second millennium BC the Canaanites started to diverge into distinct peoples. The Israelites emerged around 1,300 BC and dominated the area that is now Israel and the West Bank. The kingdoms of Aram-Damascus, Ammon, Moab and Edom occupied the higher ground between the Jordan River and the borders of the Assyrian empire. These were all land powers and their constant squabbles prevented any of them from becoming extremely significant. The Phoenicians controlled only a tiny strip of land on what’s now the Lebanese coast and to make up for their shortage of territory they turned to the sea. Once on a ship they weren’t hemmed in by jealous kings and aggressive priests, and they ranged the length of the Mediterranean. Carthage, although founded by Tyre, lay 1,400 miles to the west of it.

Carthage broke with Tyre in the 7th century BC and set about some expansion of its own. Tingis (now Tangier), established in the late 6th century BC, marked the western limit of Phoenician civilization – it’s on the Straits of Gibraltar, 900 miles from Carthage. After founding Tingis the Carthaginians looked out into the cold Atlantic, decided it looked too threatening for their elegant, fast rowing galleys and turned north instead. Crossing the Straits was easy for them and their expansion picked up speed once more. This time they moved back east, trading with the peoples they met and establishing their own cities as they went. By the 4th century BC their possessions included the whole southern coast of Spain, all the greatest western Mediterranean islands – the Balearic Islands, Corsica and Sardinia – and most of Sicily. It was Sicily that finally led to their downfall.

After the war with the Samnites Carthage had sent Rome a gold crown to congratulate them on their victory. Over the 80...

Table of contents

• Title Page Content
• About HistoryCaps
• Introduction
• Part One: Early History
• Part Two: First Century Pompeii
• Part Three: Death in August
• Discovery and Conservation
• Conclusion
• Footnotes