{"id":6184,"date":"2020-03-25T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T19:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/?p=6184"},"modified":"2022-08-06T17:16:46","modified_gmt":"2022-08-07T00:16:46","slug":"sulcis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/25\/sulcis\/","title":{"rendered":"Sulcis, Sardinia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Latin<\/a>
Latin and Punic inscription displayed at the Museo Archeologico \u2018Ferruccio Barreca\u2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
History<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Referred to as Plumbaria during Roman times, due to the lead deposits mined on the island, the present-day Isola di Sant\u2019Antioco seems to have been inhabited by the Nuragic culture as early as the middle of the 2nd<\/sup> millennium BCE, and the pre-Nuragic Ozieri even earlier. Sometime around 750-740 BCE, the settlement of Sulcis (or Sulky as it was originally known) was established on the east side of the island by Phoenician traders from Tyre as part of the Western Mediterranean trade network being established by the city. Sulcis seems to have been the earliest permanent Phoenician colony established on Sardinia, with the goal of controlling trade routes and the extraction of resources from the island. In particular, Sulcis seems to have had especially strong trade contact with the Greek colony of Pithekoussai (modern Ischia) and Phoenician colonies in Iberia. Sulcis itself established an inland satellite settlement 13 kilometers away at Monte Sirai<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By the 6th<\/sup> century BCE, the power of Tyre had waned and the Phoenician colonies in the west were left to operate largely independently, with Carthage emerging as the preeminent among them. Carthage sent military expeditions to Sardinia throughout the 6th<\/sup> century BCE, and a treaty concluded with Rome in 509 BCE established Carthaginian hegemony over the island, including Sulcis. The pre-Punic Phoenician settlement seemed to have integrated with the local populations to some degree, but the increasing Carthaginian control over the Phoenician colonies in Sardinia lead to a more uniform culture emerging. <\/p>\n

\"Section<\/a>
Section of the Roman road along the causeway connecting Sulcis with Sardinia proper.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 258 BCE, during the First Punic War, a naval battle was fought near Sulcis between Gaius Sulpicius Paterculus and Hannibal Gisco. The Romans were victorious in the battle, sinking most of the Punic ships, but with Hannibal Gisco and others escaping and seeking refuge in Sulcis. Shortly thereafter, the remaining Carthaginian troops mutinied against Gisco and executed him. Shortly after the conclusion of the First Punic War, Sulcis was annexed along with the rest of Sardinia by the Romans. Under Roman administration, an artificial causeway was built linking the island with Sardinia proper. During the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, Sulcis sided with Pompey and was punished by Caesar with penalties and confiscations in 46 BCE.<\/p>\n

The city seemed to have recovered quickly, and by the time of Strabo was noted as being the second most important city in Sardinia. Also sometime in the 1st<\/sup> century CE, Sulcis was granted municipium<\/em> and enrolled in the Quirina tribe. The city served as an important embarkation point for minerals mined in the area. A number of large building projects continued through the 1st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup> centuries CE, as attested to by inscriptions found. Sulcis maintained strong trade contact with Africa throughout the Roman period.<\/p>\n