{"id":7101,"date":"2020-12-30T23:51:32","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T06:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/?p=7101"},"modified":"2022-08-06T17:29:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-07T00:29:21","slug":"brixia-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/30\/brixia-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Brixia, Venetia – Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Capitolium<\/a>
Capitolium of Brixia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The modern town of Brescia is situated in Northern Italy at the foot of the Alps, between Lake Iseo and Lake Garda (Lacus Sebinus and Lacus Benacus in antiquity, respectively) and along the Mella River (seemingly retaining it\u2019s ancient name). In the Roman period, the settlement was called Brixia, seeming to derive from the Celtic or Ligurian word \u2018brik,\u2019 meaning a high point or rise, likely referring to the Cidnus Hill. The Cidnus Hill gets its name from a supposed Ligurian king, Cidnus, who legendarily founded a settlement on the hill.<\/p>\n

A settlement does seem to have existed as early as about 1200 BCE, perhaps by the Ligures or Etruscans, though the Roman sources attribute it to the Cenomani when they migrated to the area in the 7th<\/sup> century BCE. Strabo mistakenly gives credit for the settlement of Brixia to the Cenomani allies and fellow 7th<\/sup> century migrants, the Insubres. Roman hegemony came to Brixia following the Battle of Telamon in 225 BCE in which a confederation of Gallic tribes in Northern Italy were subjugated by the Romans, though the Cenomani aided Rome in that conflict. The people of Brixia are noted as continuing to assist the Romans against a Boii insurrection in 218 BCE and remaining loyal to Roman even though most of the other Cenomani settlements joined in a general rebellion in Cisalpine Gaul during the Second Punic War. Brixia also seems to have been loyal in the Gallic uprisings following the Second Punic War, and so enjoyed some degree of autonomy following the episode.<\/p>\n

\"Fresco<\/a>
Fresco and mosaic decoration of the Republican sanctuary, constructed in the years after the Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brixia was granted Latin Rights as part of the Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis<\/em> in 89 BCE and became a civitas<\/em> responsible for a rather large territory in its vicinity. Catullus, who was born in nearby Verona a few years later, mentions Brixia in Carmen 67, naming the geographic features of the Cidnus hill (called Cycneae) and Mella River. He also alludes to Brixia being the \u2018mother\u2019 of Verona and beloved by the people of Verona. This is perhaps an allusion to Brixia being the capital city of the Cenomani, who also settled the area of Verona.<\/p>\n

The Lex Roscia<\/em> in 49 BCE gave the region, and the people of Brixia Roman citizenship. Augustus founded a civic colony, the Colonia Civica Augusta<\/em>, there sometime during his reign. The city was damaged during the civil wars of 69 CE, but benefited from a reconstruction project launched by Vespasian. A battle was fought between Constantine and supporters of Maxentius near Brixia in 312 AD, resulting in a victory for Constantine. The city was besieged and sacked twice in the 5th<\/sup> century CE, first by Alaric I in 402 CE and then by Attila in 452 CE.<\/p>\n