Sicilia (Roman province)
Encyclopedia
Sicilia was the first province
acquired by the Roman Republic
, organized in 241 BC
as a proconsul
ar governed territory, in the aftermath of the First Punic War
with Carthage
. It included Sicily
and Malta
. Very important during the republican period for its role in supplying grain to the city of Rome, the island started to lose importance with the conquest of Africa and especially with the annexation of the Ptolemaic kingdom. Nevertheless the province was to regain its importance centuries later, when Rome lost control over these areas and was forced to turn back to Sicily for her needs.
Sicilia remained a province of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire
for six centuries. It was regarded as something of a rural backwater, important chiefly for its grainfields which were a mainstay of the food supply of the city of Rome
. The empire did not make much effort to Romanize
the region, which remained largely Greek. A notable event affecting Sicilia in the Late Republic was the notorious misgovernment of Verres
, as prosecuted by Cicero
in 70 BC in his speech In Verrem
.
The historian Diodorus Siculus
and the poet Calpurnius Siculus came from Sicilia, as indicated by the surname Siculus. The most famous archeological remains of this period are the mosaic
s of a nobleman's villa
in present-day Piazza Armerina
.
Sicilia was home to one of the earliest Christian
communities and some of the earliest Christian martyrs
, including Saint Agatha of Catania
and Saint Lucy
of Syracuse.
In 440, Sicilia fell to the Vandal
King Geiseric. After the Byzantine
conquest of the Vandal Kingdom, it became again a Roman province.
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
acquired by the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, organized in 241 BC
241 BC
Year 241 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Atticus and Cerco...
as a proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
ar governed territory, in the aftermath of the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
with Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. It included Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Very important during the republican period for its role in supplying grain to the city of Rome, the island started to lose importance with the conquest of Africa and especially with the annexation of the Ptolemaic kingdom. Nevertheless the province was to regain its importance centuries later, when Rome lost control over these areas and was forced to turn back to Sicily for her needs.
Sicilia remained a province of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
for six centuries. It was regarded as something of a rural backwater, important chiefly for its grainfields which were a mainstay of the food supply of the city of Rome
Grain supply to the city of Rome
In classical antiquity, the grain supply to the city of Rome could not be met entirely from the surrounding countryside, which was taken up by the villas and parks of the aristocracy and which produced mainly fruit, vegetables and other perishable goods...
. The empire did not make much effort to Romanize
Romanization (cultural)
Romanization or latinization indicate different historical processes, such as acculturation, integration and assimilation of newly incorporated and peripheral populations by the Roman Republic and the later Roman Empire...
the region, which remained largely Greek. A notable event affecting Sicilia in the Late Republic was the notorious misgovernment of Verres
Verres
Gaius Verres was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. It is not known what gens he belonged to, though some give him the nomen Licinius.-As governor:...
, as prosecuted by Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
in 70 BC in his speech In Verrem
In Verrem
In Verrem is a series of speeches made by Cicero in 70 BC, during the corruption and extortion trial of Gaius Verres, the former governor of Sicily...
.
The historian Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
and the poet Calpurnius Siculus came from Sicilia, as indicated by the surname Siculus. The most famous archeological remains of this period are the mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s of a nobleman's villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
in present-day Piazza Armerina
Piazza Armerina
Piazza Armerina is an Italian comune in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily.-History:...
.
Sicilia was home to one of the earliest Christian
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
communities and some of the earliest Christian martyrs
Christian martyrs
A Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness."...
, including Saint Agatha of Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
and Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...
of Syracuse.
In 440, Sicilia fell to the Vandal
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
King Geiseric. After the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
conquest of the Vandal Kingdom, it became again a Roman province.
See also
- History of SicilyHistory of SicilyThe history of Sicily has seen Sicily usually controlled by greater powers—Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Norman, Hohenstaufen, Catalan, Spaniard—but also experiencing short periods of independence, as under the Greeks and later as the Emirate then Kingdom of Sicily...