History of Taranto

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The history of Taranto ( Latin Tarentum , Italian Taranto ) begins historically in the late 8th century BC. With the founding of the Spartan Apoikie Taras ( Greek  Τάρας ). But the place of the later Taranto was settled for the first time in the Neolithic . In the course of the Middle Bronze Age , a settlement that was permanently used for centuries developed into one of the most important trading centers in the central Mediterranean area. a. was in permanent contact with Mycenaean Greece . There are also finds from the centuries of the early Iron Age that date from the settlement of the later Taranto in the 10th to 8th centuries BC. Chr. Witness.

In the 5th century BC Taranto became the most powerful city in Greater Greece and took part in the Peloponnesian War on the side of Sparta . From the 2nd half of the 4th century BC At first it came under pressure from the Italian peoples , from the 3rd century BC onwards. Especially Rome , which was the city in 272 BC. Conquered and 123 BC. Under Gaius Sempronius Gracchus to the Roman colony colonia Neptunia . During the Roman Empire , Taranto was a thriving city famous for its wealth.

From the 5th century onwards, the city came under changing rule, was destroyed by the Saracens in 927 and only rebuilt forty years later. In 1080 the Norman Robert Guiskard founded the Principality of Taranto , which was annexed to the Kingdom of Naples in 1465 and shared its history. In 1861 Taranto became part of the Kingdom of Italy . An important naval base during the World Wars of the 20th century, the Allies occupied Taranto in Operation Slapstick on September 9, 1943. After the end of the Second World War , Taranto developed into an important industrial and commercial center.

prehistory

The oldest traces of settlement date back to the Neolithic Age and were discovered in 1990 during the excavations near San Domenico, in the west of the old town of Tarento.

In the course of the Italian Bronze Age , a number of often fortified settlements emerged in Apulia and other regions of southern Italy. Some of them already had protourban character. Finds of Eastern Mediterranean origin, especially Mycenaean ceramics , in many places show contacts with the Eastern Mediterranean. Several such settlements have also been discovered in and near Taranto, the most important of which (Scoglio del Tonno) was located in the splendid natural port of Taranto.

A few hundred meters away, at Chiesa San Domenico in the old town ( cità vecchia ) above the Neolithic layer (see above), settlement structures from the Middle Italian Bronze Age were discovered. According to the finds, there was permanent settlement up to the time when the Greek colony was founded around 700 BC. To go out. In the Bronze Age layers there were u. a. also fragments of Mycenaean pottery.

Scoglio del Tonno

Significant finds were made as early as 1899 on a strategically favorable hill, the Punta Tonno - usually called Scoglio del Tonno in technical literature - a few hundred meters from the old town and only separated from it by a narrow arm of the Mar Piccolo. When the hill was to be removed for the construction of a train station and the reconstruction of the port, prehistoric finds were found. The emergency excavations that were then carried out under the direction of Quintino Quagliati brought to light the remains of an important Bronze Age settlement that dates from the 18th to at least the 11th century BC. Existed. Among other things, remains of some rectangular and a much larger apsidal building were discovered, which was approx. 20 meters long and 15 meters wide. The settlement had a defensive wall, the exact age of which is unclear. The chronological sequence of the buildings within the walling is also uncertain due to the mostly missing stratigraphy or imprecise information from Quagliati. In addition to local Impastokeramik the Apennine and Subapennin culture and local gray hub goods (often called pseudo-Minyan called ceramics), a large number of fragments was Mycenaean pottery found. These date between approx. 1400 and the 11th century BC. Chr. ( SH III A - C). Except for three fragments from the Middle Helladic period (= Middle Bronze Age of mainland Greece, approx. 2000–1600 BC), no older Aegean imports were discovered. Two Mycenaean terracotta statuettes were also found, which in Greece mostly served cultic purposes. In addition to Mycenaean ceramics from Argolida , Crete and Rhodes , possibly also from Cyprus, there were also many locally produced vessel fragments painted in Mycenaean style - so-called Italo-Mycenaean ware - that began in the second half of the 13th century BC. Was produced. The large number of Mycenaean finds and the long period of time for which they can be proven even induced some archaeologists to assume a Mycenaean settlement or at least a "Mycenaean quarter" within a local trading center. The assumption of larger proportions of the population of Aegean origin is controversial. Objects made of metal, such as daggers, knives or brooches have predominantly parallels in Italy, sometimes even in the northern Italian Terramare culture ; their number increases in the 14th and 13th centuries BC. Chr. Strong too. East Mediterranean bronze objects, on the other hand, are hardly detectable. Due to the large number of bronze objects discovered, the settlement is also an important center for metal processing.

Research agrees that the Bronze Age settlement began around 1400 BC. Was an important trading center, an "international port" or ( indigenous ) Emporion , which existed until at least 1100 BC. Was called by merchant ships from the eastern Mediterranean, but at the same time played an important role in trade within Italy and with Sicily.

It is believed that the place was also in the 10th to 8th centuries BC. BC, possibly until after 700 BC Was continuously settled. However, this cannot be clearly proven on the basis of the finds published by Quagliati. The relationship between the settlement and the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age finds in the old town of Taranto is also unclear. Since two independent settlements in such close proximity are unlikely, it is assumed that both places belonged to one settlement and were possibly inhabited by different social classes.

Establishment of the Taras colony

Ancient written sources and founding legends

Taras was named after Eusebius in 706 BC. Founded as a Spartan colony or apoikia . Sparta only successfully founded this single colony, otherwise it shifted to territorial expansion through the military conquest of neighboring states. The process of founding the colony is described above all by Strabo and Pausanias , who mostly refer to much earlier authors such as Antiochus of Syracuse and Ephorus . Accordingly, the city was founded by Parthenians , illegitimate sons of Spartan women, whose husbands took part in the First Messenian War , from Laconia . These were disadvantaged in Sparta and had to leave their homes after a failed uprising. Many other ancient authors also report that the reason for the departure of Spartan refugees from their homeland was their illegitimate birth or their rebellion against those who held power in the city (see Stasis ). According to the version of Antiochus reproduced by Strabo, Phalantos , the leader of the Parthenians, questioned the oracle of Delphi before leaving , which predicted that he would take possession of Satyrion , today's Saturo (near Leporano and belonging to this community) and Taras will drive out the Japygers living there:

“ Taras' lush corridor and satyrion I give you to reside, but you may bring ruin and death to the Japygians. "

- Strabo, geography 6,3,2

Following the oracle, the Parthenians went to Messapien . In the version of Antiochus it goes on:

“So the Parthenians came there with the Phalanthos, and both the barbarians and the Cretans, who had owned the place earlier, took them in. But these are said to be those Cretans who sailed with Minos to Sicily and after his death at Kamici at Kokalus left Sicily, but were thrown here on the return voyage [...]. But Japygians are said to have called all residents of Japyx as far as Daunia, of whom it is said that he was born to Daedalus by a Cretan woman and led those Cretans. "

- Strabo VI, 3.2

Herodotus also reports of Cretans who settled in Apulia and founded Hyria (possibly today's Oria ) after a storm hit them on their way back from Sicily to Crete . After him, however, they were the ancestors of the Japygian Messapians. Strabo then reproduces a similar version, which comes from Ephoros: Here, too, Phalantos is the leader of the Parthenians and some helots , after a failed uprising they have to leave Laconia. Arrived in the land of the Japygians, you meet Achaeans who are at war with the Japygians. The Spartans immediately take part in the war and settle in Taras. In research, this point is interpreted to mean that the Parthenians support the Achaeans in battle and thereby were given the opportunity to found Taras.

An anecdotal account of the events can be found in Pausanias. According to this, the oracle of Delphi prophesied Phalantos that he would conquer land there and found a city where it would rain out of the blue (Greek: ethra ). So Phalantos went on trips, fought several times successfully against locals, but never succeeded in taking a city or ruling a larger territory, so that he was desperate and believed that the oracle could never come true. When he came to the mouth of the Tara River, he put his head between his wife's knees. She thought of the oracle's dark prediction and the hardships suffered and wept. Her tears fell on her husband's head. So the oracle had come true: it was raining under a clear sky - the tears of his wife Ethra. The riddle was solved and the hero launched a successful attack on Taranto that night, which he conquered and took possession of.

The tradition that Taras was founded by the Parthenians under the leadership of Phalantos, albeit presented somewhat differently in detail, is also dealt with by Aristotle Theopompus , Diodor , Polybius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus , who in turn often refer to Antiochus and Ephorus, a Western Greek Historian, called.

Silver coin with Taras rescued by a dolphin

According to a local myth, the city was founded by Heracles .

Another mythical representation about the origin of Taranto goes from a year of foundation 2019 BC. BC (1266 years before the founding of Rome) from: Taras , son of the sea god Poseidon , was the founder of the city . Taras was miraculously rescued by a dolphin in a storm and landed at the mouth of the Tara River . According to legend, Taras founded two cities:

  • Taras (later Taranto) and
  • Saturo (the name comes from his wife Satyrion)

One day Taras disappeared in the river and was taken up as a hero by his father. The god Poseidon was worshiped in ancient Taranto. The city built a temple for him.

In summary, it can be said that ancient authors - apart from a few mythical stories that place the foundation in the time of the heroes or earlier - consistently name Phalantos as Oikists, who also on two base inscriptions Tarentine consecration gifts in Delphi from the early 5th century BC . And who led the Parthenians. According to most sources, the choice of the emigration destination was given by the oracle of Delphi. According to some authors, Satyrion was founded or conquered in addition to Taras. Concerning. The sources differ significantly as to the exact course of the land grabbing - forcible displacement of the previous population or peaceful settlement, by consensus at least in part of the local population. Some report of the Greek or Cretan population in the region, who settled there long before the laconic colonists. However, the native Japyger (or Messapier) are generally described as enemies of the colonists who had to be defeated.

Archaeological evidence

Since the old town of Tarent, on the soil of which the Taras colony was founded, is still populated and densely built up without interruption, there are so far relatively few archaeological relics from the time of Taras' founding, most of which were carried out at short notice - and partly not published - (Emergency) excavations were brought to light by chance discoveries. Unpublished excavations in 1960 near San Domenico in the west of the old town revealed, such as the finds from settlement contexts from the 9th to the late 8th century, carried out not far in 1990 and indigenous under the Doric temple in the east of the old town. At Scoglio del Tonno, west of the old town, the finds go back to around 700 BC. BC, the Iron Age settlement possibly existed well into the 7th century BC. Into it. West of the old town, during construction work in Via Cavour, numerous, often intact or very well-preserved, predominantly native vessels were found dating from the 9th century to the late 8th century BC. To date. Yntema assumes that they come from a necropolis that was originally in the area of ​​the old town. The grave goods were therefore in the course of the 7th century BC. Chr. Carefully reburied in this place. So far there are no clear traces of early Greek colonists in settlement contexts, apart from a few imports that testify to pre-colonial trade. The oldest known Greek grave is dated to the end of the 8th or the first years of the 7th century. It is a cremation, which was not used by the local population at the time. Grave finds from the first half of the 7th century are so far rare, only in the last third of the century does the number of Greek burials increase sharply.

interpretation

The traditional founding date 706 BC. Does not contradict the previous archaeological findings, which show that around 700 BC In fact, Greeks settled permanently in the strategically located old town of Tarento. An at least extensive displacement of the local population and the destruction of the settlements found cannot be proven. The strategically located settlement on Scoglio del Tonno could have existed for even longer. Due to the relatively small number of finds of Greek objects from the early phase of the colony, which were also made in different regions of Greece, the exact origin of the first colonists cannot be determined archaeologically with certainty, even if there are few laconic, late geometric fragments in research as evidence for the foundation to be led by the Parthenians. A strong increase in the Greek population as well as very clear Spartan elements can only be grasped for Taras from the last third of the 7th century, from which Paul Cartledge concludes that initially only a few enterprising laconic families settled in Taranto without this land grab being organized by the Spartan state was. This had only later politically approved the establishment of the colony. Massimo Nafissi also warns against transferring the very close ties between the Taras colony and the mother city of Sparta to the founding phase at a later date. Research suggests that the colonists met descendants of the Mycenaean population who continued to settle at Scoglio del Tonno. However, this would presuppose that 1. the Bronze Age settlement was at least partly inhabited by Mycenaean Greeks - which is disputed, see Sect. o. - and up to at least 700 BC Existed continuously, 2. a Greek part of the population was able to preserve its identity for about 500 years and has not merged into the indigenous population. Mischa Meier describes such theses, which want to reconcile the archaeological findings with the tradition of the Ephorus, as "pure speculation".

The Hellenic period

Remains of a Doric temple from the Magna Graecia in Taranto

After Taras was founded, an aristocratic dominated culture developed over time, the wealth of which probably came from the use of the resources of the fertile surrounding area. This area was populated and defended by a series of small fortifications in strategic positions. As in other Greek cities in southern Italy, in Taranto were in the late 6th and 5th centuries BC. The Pythagoreans active. Around the middle or in the second half of the 5th century there were violent unrest in several cities, which were directed against the political influence of the Pythagoreans and led to their at least temporary expulsion. In Taranto they were later successful again.

Around 500 BC Taranto was a monarchy . According to the Greek historian Herodotus, reigned around 492 BC. The king Aristophilides . The sphere of influence of the Tarentines was limited to the coastal region because of the resistance of native Italian tribes, their traditional opponents. 472 BC Taranto formed an alliance with Rhegion to resist the Messapians (present-day Taranto ), Peuketeers (present-day Bari ), and Lucanians (present-day Basilicata ), but the combined armies of Taranto and Rhegion were established near Kailìa (dem today's Ceglie Messapica ) defeated. According to Herodotus, this defeat was one of the worst of the Greeks in southern Italy against the Italians. 466 BC Taranto was defeated again by the Japygians . According to Aristotle , so many aristocrats fell in the process that the democratic party could take power and change the form of government.

In the first half of the 5th century BC The city was redesigned. A new defensive wall was built and the built-up area was increased. The climax was reached with the magnificent construction of the Doric Temple on the Acropolis .

432 BC BC, after several years of war - it was about the possession of Siritide (land around the city of Siris ) - Taranto concluded a peace treaty with the Panhellenic colony Thurii ; both cities contributed to the foundation of the Herakleia colony , which quickly fell under the control of Taranto.

The rise of the democratic party did not weaken the union between Taranto and the mother city of Sparta. Taranto supported Sparta and Syracuse against Athens in the Peloponnesian War , refused in 415 BC. After the Athenian catastrophe in Sicily, Athens even sent ships to fight Athens in Greece. Athens allied with the Messapians to limit Tarent's power.

After the end of the Peloponnesian War (404) Taranto continued to take a friendly attitude towards Syracuse and stayed out of the military conflicts between the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse and a league of southern Italian cities formed in 393. After the tyrant had conquered the leading city of the league, Kroton , in 379/378 , Taranto took over the leadership of the league, probably in agreement with Dionysius, and developed into the leading power in the mainland part of Magna Graecia . Now the city began to flourish, while the power of Syracuse declined after Dionysius' death (367). The leading figure in Taranto at that time was the statesman and general, philosopher and mathematician Archytas . At that time Taranto was also the main commercial port of southern Italy. The city traded with Greece, including its own products. It had the largest army and the largest fleet in southern Italy.

The well-informed philosopher Aristoxenus reports that at that time Archytas was the only one who was elected general ( strategist ) by his fellow citizens seven times - that is, seven times in a row - although the law actually did not allow immediate re-election. This fact illustrates the extraordinary confidence that he enjoyed. As a leading statesman and general in Tarent, he was also supreme commander of the armed forces of the league. His campaigns, all of which were successful, were directed against the Italians.

Archytas met Plato on his first trip to Italy (around 388 BC). He became Plato's guest friend ( xénos ). When Plato fell out of favor with the tyrant Dionysius II of Syracuse in 361 and was threatened with death, Archytas saved his life, according to a report by Diogenes Laertios . That Archytas intervened when Plato asked him for help and made it possible for the beleaguered philosopher to leave, is evident from Plato's seventh letter .

“ If someone asks you how Taranto grew up and how it remains,
or how you can increase
your wealth, you can answer with a clear conscience and with joy in your heart:
with good agriculture, with better agriculture,
with the best agriculture. "

- Archytas of Taranto : a dedication to the Taranto

367 BC Chr. Joined Carthage and the Etruscans a pact to the power of Taranto in southern Italy limit.

After Archytas' death around the middle of the 4th century, the city began a slow but unstoppable decline. The first sign of decline was that the Tarentines, instead of going into battle themselves, used their wealth to recruit mercenaries.

In the year 343 BC Sparta followed Taranto's call to help her against the attack of the Italian population. Archidamos III. , (King of the Spartans), arrived in Italy with a fleet and an army and fought against the Lucanians , but was defeated in 338 BC. Defeated and killed at Manduria . 333 BC Taranto still had difficulties with its Italian neighbors. So the Epirean king Alexander Molossus was recruited to lead mercenary armies against the Bruttians , Samnites , and Lucanians, but in 331 BC. He was defeated and killed in the battle of Pandosia (near Cosenza ). 320 BC The peace treaty between Taranto and Samnium came about .

In 304 BC BC Tarent was attacked by Lucania. Agathocles , tyrant of Syracuse , king of Sicily , was asked for help. Agathocles arrived in southern Italy, took grossium under his control, but was later recalled to Syracuse. 303 BC Chr.-302 BC Chr. Closed Cleonymus of Sparta an alliance with Taranto against the Lucanians, and fought against it.

At the beginning of the 3rd century BC The poet Rhinton , the inventor of the hello tragedy , which is probably to be regarded as the forerunner of satire , worked in Taranto . Individual scenes of his works are likely to be depicted on the well-known red-figure Apulian vases.

In 240 BC BC Andronikos , who was born in Tarentino, performed the first Greek tragedy in Latin in Rome ("the hour of the birth of Roman literature").

The war against Rome

Magna Graecia, 280 BC Chr.

At the beginning of the 3rd century BC BC Rome's power began to increase. Taranto was concerned about the surveillance of the sea and the control of the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia. After the surrender of the Samnites in 290 BC BC the Romans founded many colonies in Apulia and Lucania . Some of the Magna Graecia city-states such as Rhegion , Kroton and Locri asked Rome for military aid because of the wars they were having with their neighbors. After an attack by the Lucanians, the city of Thurii , which was under the rule of Taranto on the Gulf of Taranto, asked Rome in 282 BC. For help. This situation of Rome's interference in the affairs of the Greek colonies in southern Italy inevitably led to the conflict between Taranto and Rome.

At that time there were two political parties in Taranto. The Democrats, led by Philocharis or Ainesias, were dominant; they were against Rome. They knew that the Greeks would lose their independence if the Romans invaded Taranto. The second interest group were the aristocrats , led by an agis elected strategist with absolute power. They had lost their power when Taranto became a democracy, and so they did not refuse to surrender to Rome as it would have increased their influence over the city. But they did not want to surrender so easily because direct submission would have made them unpopular.

At the time Taranto had the most powerful fleet in Italy and was keen to come to an agreement with Rome. A treatise was drawn up with Rome in which they agreed that the Roman ships were not allowed to approach further than Cape Lacinio (near Crotone).

282 BC BC, under Admiral Lucius Valerius , Rome sent a fleet of ten ships to Thurii, which was occupied by Lucanians; to do this, the Romans had to pass Cape Lacinio, and so they demanded to moor in the port of Taranto. Taranto celebrated its festival of Dionysus and the population was in the amphitheater , which was near the port. The Taranto hated the Romans for their expansionist goals and for the help they had repeatedly given to aristocratic governments, and so they viewed the appearance of Roman ships on the horizon as a violation of the treaty of 303 BC. The Taranto fleet attacked the Romans: four Roman ships were sunk, one was captured, and many Romans were captured.

Taranto army and fleet were moved to Thurii and helped the local democrats to banish the aristocrats. The Roman garrison stationed in Thurii withdrew. Despite the insult, Rome did not want to start a war, as this would certainly have lured Greek or Carthaginian military to the peninsula. So the Romans sent diplomats to Taranto, but negotiations were broken off by the Taranto. The Roman ambassador Lucius Postumius was insulted by Philonides, a member of the popular party. It is said that Philonides smeared Postumius' toga. Postumius' answer was: "You will shed much blood and tears to clean this stain." The Senate declared war on Taranto and the Taranto asked Pyrrhus , King of Epirus , for help.

281 BC Roman legions under the command of Lucius Aemilius Barbula conquered Taranto and plundered it. Subsequently, Taranto lost a battle against the Romans despite the help of the Samnites and Salentines . Agis was tasked with signing a ceasefire and initiating peace talks, which were broken off the moment 3,000 soldiers from Epirus entered the city under the command of Cineas . The Roman consul withdrew and suffered losses from attacks by Greek ships.

Pyrrhus decided to help the Tarents because he owed them: they had previously helped him to conquer the island of Korkyra . He also knew that he could count on the support of the Samnites, Lucanians, Bruttians and some Illyrian tribes. His goal was to conquer Macedonia , but he didn't have enough money to pay mercenaries. He therefore planned to help Taranto, then cross over to Sicily and attack Carthage - after a victory and the conquest of southern Italy he would have had enough money to raise an army strong enough to conquer Macedonia. Pyrrhus dispatched his governor Milon with an army of 20,000 phalangites , 500 slingshots, 2,000 archers, 3,000 elite cavalrymen from Thessaly , 20 war elephants , and the most capable men of Taranto were called up.

Pyrrhic War - 280–275 BC Chr.

After hearing of Pyrrhus' landing, the Romans mobilized eight legions and auxiliary troops under the command of Publius Valerius Laevinus , a total of around 30,000 soldiers, including cavalry, slingers and spear throwers. The battles between Epireans and Romans were very hard. The famous battle of Heraclea (280 BC) cost the Romans 7,000 dead, 2,000 prisoners and 1,500 wounded - while among the Greeks around 4,000 dead and a large number of injuries were counted. The successes of the Epireans were achieved through the impressive war elephants, unknown to the Romans.

Despite the initial victories, Pyrrhus never gave up the desire to conclude peace negotiations, being aware of the power of his opponents. In the meantime, the Romans had learned that the elephants were frightened at the sight of the fire and built wagons armed with fire especially for this purpose. The following battles turned out more and more in favor of Rome, so that Pyrrhus decided to conclude a treaty in which he undertook to leave Italy if Taranto was left in peace. But Rome did not hesitate long to attack the south again, and Pyrrhus was soon asked for help again. The defeats of Pyrrhus had more serious consequences this time, so that after the defeat of Benevento , Pyrrhus withdrew to Greece , where he died shortly afterwards. In Taranto he left a small garrison under the command of Milon .

The Tarentines called in a Carthaginian fleet to free themselves from the Epirean garrison. Milon handed the city over to the Roman consul L. Papirius Cursor [II. Consulate after 293], and so Taranto fell in 272 BC. In the hands of the Romans. Papirius had the city walls torn down, imposed a war tax on the city and confiscated all weapons and ships. Everything that adorned Taranto (statues of Greek art, valuables, valuable paintings) and all valuables were transported to Rome. So do mathematicians , philosophers , and writers like Livius Andronicus , who translated Homer's Odyssey from Greek. Rome abstained from imposing penalties on Taranto, accepted the city into the circle of the Allies , but forbade it to mint coins.

In the Second Punic War Taranto was contested again. The commander of the Roman garrison had prevented a first attack after the battle of Cannae . The Romans had therefore contracted hostages, but when they tried to escape, they were sentenced to death and thrown from the Tarpian rock at the Capitol . Thereupon some leading Tarentines agreed to contact Hannibal in order to play their city into the hands of the Carthaginians. With the help of the conspirators, Hannibal surprised in 212 BC. The Roman defenders who only woke up when 10,000 enemy soldiers were already standing in the walls. The Roman commander, Marcus Livius, was able to keep his garrison in the fortress, where he blocked the port. In order to free the warships in the harbor, Hannibal built a canal that transformed the previous headland with the Acropolis into an island. Only three years later, in 209 BC. BC, Taranto was recaptured by the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus , who sold 30,000 citizens into slavery and carried away rich booty, including the colossal Heracles statue of Lysippus . 3000 talents of silver flowed into the Roman treasury.

In 123 BC . Founded BC Gaius Gracchus a Roman colony in the territory, which had been confiscated by the Roman state ( colonia Neptunia ). After 89 BC In BC the Greek community and the Roman colony were united in one administrative structure, which meant the complete integration of Taranto into the Roman Republic. Pompey settled after he died in 67 BC. Chr. Had successfully eliminated piracy, subjugated pirates, among others, also in Taranto (PROB. Georg. 4.125 according to KL.P. V 520). 37 BC BC Augustus and Mark Antony made an agreement according to which the city received an aqueduct and an amphitheater . In the 1st century BC BC, life was very difficult and only much later did there be an upswing.

The Roman Empire

Taranto is possibly the place of origin of the Iunii Silani family, which was important in the 1st century AD . Iunia Silana , the second daughter of the consul M. Iunius, had been ousted from her marriage to Gaius Silius by Messalina in 47. She was "distinguished by origin, beauty and licentiousness", rich and childless, as well as a rival of Agrippina, who thwarted her marriage to Sextius Africanus. Around the year 55 she was exiled and in early 59 she returned to Taranto from her distant exile, where she died shortly afterwards. In the summer of 60 Nero settled veterans in Taranto. In the resulting this time Satyricon of Petronius Taranto - completely insignificant in his time - the most frequently mentioned place, mythical blown up to the size of Troy. Presumably the place Taranto as Satyra is the ideal starting and ending point for Petron's satire. In Trajan's time , thermal baths were built and the city maintained a certain urban life.

Virgil called Taranto , probably in allusion to Satyrion ( Latinized Saturum ), saturum Tarentum , ie the "full", "full", "rich Taranto"; hence the adjective satureianus " tarentine ". “The ager Tarentinus produces the best honey,” says Varro in the 1st century BC. In addition, Taranto was known for its cattle, sheep and goat breeding. For Horace the Tarentines are noble riding horses, which is probably why horses are depicted on many of the city's coins. At that time, Taranto was also a popular wine region. An anecdote that is said to have occurred at the time of Pyrrhus alludes to the Tarentine wine: “Pyrrhus once asked a few people who had uttered words at a banquet in Tarentum, almost without paying respectful attention to him, about what he heard of them was true. To which one of them replied, 'If our wine hadn't been poured, the things you were told would be a joke and a breeze compared to the things we would have told otherwise.' That witty excuse to be drunk, and such simple admission of the truth, turned the tyrant's wrath into laughter. " Oysters were considered a Tarentine delicacy. During this time, Taranto was a popular resting place for all those who came from Greece and Asia and went ashore in Brundisium to travel to Rome via the Appian Way. A son of Herod the Great once stayed in Taranto.

In Taranto, the otherwise rare donkey sacrifices were carried out to appease the wind demons.

The early middle ages

Map of Europe, migration of peoples marked with arrows

With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Taranto began a long and inevitable period of decline. One of the reasons was the progressive development of the competitive port in Brindisi, the other was the frequent change of rulers: Byzantines , Goths and Longobards . Belisarius (Byzantine general) occupied the city and repopulated it (546 renewal of the old fortifications). But Totila with his Goths conquered them in 549 and created a strong garrison . The Greek general Narses , successor to Belisarius, defeated Totila and made Taranto Byzantine again. In the 570s, the Lombards invaded and conquered the city. In the spring of 663, Constans II landed in Taranto with his fleet and wrested the city, the Murge , the Salento and the Gargano from the Longobards . When the emperor returned to Constantinople , the Lombards resumed the fight, first with Duke Grimoald and then with his son Garibald , who recaptured Taranto and Brindisi in 686.

The beginning of the 9th century was marked by internal struggles that weakened the power of the Lombards.

In 840 a Lombard prince from Benevento was imprisoned in Taranto. He was freed from his followers and brought to Benevento, where he was proclaimed prince. At the same time, Taranto came under the control of the Saracens , who took advantage of the Lombards' weaknesses and founded an Islamic emirate in southern Italy . Taranto became an important naval and naval base for 40 years. Fully loaded ships with prisoners who were destined for the slave market departed from here. In the same year a Venetian fleet of 60 ships under the command of Emperor Theophilos II was defeated by a Saracen fleet in the Gulf of Taranto . As the Saracens continued north on the Adriatic coast, they plundered the coastal cities.

In 850 four Saracen columns left Taranto and Bari to plunder Campania , Apulia, Calabria , Abruzzo and Molise . In 854 Taranto was again the base of a Saracen raid led by Abbas-ibn-Faid and sacked the Lombard province of Salerno .

In 871 and 875 Taranto received Saracen troops destined for the sack of Campania and Apulia.

In 880, Emperor Basil I of Byzantium, called the Macedonian , decided to withdraw the Apulian land from the Saracens and sent two armies under the command of Generals Prokopio and Leone Apostyppes and a fleet under the command of Admiral Nasar. Since the sea was cut off from the Byzantine fleet, the Saracens, under the command of Othman, had to withdraw after forty years of Saracen rule. With the new Byzantine government of General Apostyppes, there was a decrease in slavery among the Roman-Longobard residents who had meanwhile converted to Islam, and the arrival of Greek peasants to repopulate the city.

The Saracen raids

Nikephorus II.

On August 15, 927, the Saracens, led by the Slav Sabir , finally destroyed the Greco-Roman city. They raged in the city and slaughtered the residents, enslaved the survivors and brought them to Africa . Few escaped and hid in the Murge .

Taranto remained uninhabited for 40 years. In 967, Emperor Nikephorus II gave in to pressure from the survivors and decided to rebuild the city. Nikephorus II is considered to be the second founder of the city of Taranto: today's Borgo Antico was founded, the ruins of the old town and the acropolis were removed, the city along the Mar Piccolo was leveled to make the fishermen's work easier. In addition, a bridge with seven arches was built and the Roman aqueduct , which carried the water from near the Murge over the bridge into the city, was rebuilt. The fishermen who had emigrated returned and populated the leveled area at Mar Piccolo.

In 976 Taranto suffered another attack by the Saracens led by Abū 'l-Qāsim. The city, which had been rebuilt a few years ago, was looted and set on fire. In 982, Emperor Otto II moved from Saxony with an army to Taranto to expand his sphere of influence in southern Italy. He arrived on March 16, 982 and on the same day took on his new title "Romanorum Imperator Augustus". Negotiations followed with the Byzantines, who came under Taranto at that time. After the negotiations had failed, Otto II finally conquered Taranto from the Byzantines in the summer of 982. The Saracens simultaneously advancing from the south under the leadership of the Emir of Sicily Abū 'l-Qāsim finally met Otto II's troops on July 13, 982 in the Battle of Cape Colonna . They were defeated by the Saracens, while Otto II flee Abū 'l-Qāsim but died in battle.

In 1063 the Norman Robert Guiskard from the House of Hauteville occupied the city with the help of his captain Francesco Orsini, after Pope Nicholas II gave him a papal title in the Synod of Melfi (1059) on condition that he was reconquered from the Saracens and made him his Lehnsmann had made. Robert was raised to the rank of Duke of Apulia, Calabria and the future Sicily, had to pay an annual fee and from then on carried the Pope's banner.

The subsequent occupation of Bari (1071) marked the end of Byzantine rule and the beginning of Norman power in Apulia. The Church of Apulia, which had undergone a transformation with the Greeks, also returned to the Latin area.

The Principality of Taranto (1088–1465)

Taranto remained Byzantine until 1080. Then the Norman Robert Guiskard conquered it . He made Taranto a principality and gave it to his son Bohemond I. After more than 100 years of Norman rule, a new era began, that of the Hohenstaufen and Henry VI.

Frederick II gave the principality to his son Manfred , who was defeated by Charles I of Anjou in the Battle of Benevento (1266) . Charles II gave the principality to his son Philip in 1292, who received the title of Emperor of Constantinople through his third wife Catherine, the daughter of Emperor Karl von Valois . With his grandson Philip II , who died in 1368, the male line of the Princes of Taranto from the House of Anjou ended .

His heiress and sister Margaret, widow of King Edward of Scotland, married Francesco del Balzo, Duke of Andria. Through her, the Principality of Taranto came to the House of del Balzo, and first to Giacomo del Balzo, her and Francesco's son. He died in Taranto in 1383, where his father built a mausoleum for him in the Cathedral of San Cataldo .

In the confusion of the time when the Kingdom of Naples was shaken by feudal and dynastic revolutions, the Principality of Taranto passed from the del Balzo to the Orsini . Raimondello , a son of Nicola Orsini di Nola and Maria del Balzo, received the principality at the end of the 14th century; his house was called Balzo-Orsini. He married the heiress of the county of Lecce , Maria von Enghien , and through this marriage united most of the Terra d'Otranto ; so he became the most powerful feudal lord in the kingdom. When he died in Lecce in 1405, King Ladislaus of Naples tried to obtain this great fiefdom . He made a treaty with Maria: she gave him Taranto and herself. So she became Queen of Naples. Her and Raimondello's son Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo was the last Prince of Taranto from this famous family. He died in Altamura in 1463 without a legitimate heir, whereupon his lands and treasures were confiscated by the King of Naples, Ferdinand of Aragon , his close relative. In 1465 King Ferdinand I, after the death of his wife Isabella of Clermont, niece of Giovanni Antonio, united the Principality of Taranto with the Kingdom of Naples .

In its 377-year history, the Principality of Taranto was at times a powerful and almost independent feudal rule of the Kingdom of Sicily and later the Kingdom of Naples. At times, however, "Prince of Taranto" was just a title bestowed on the heir to the throne or the husband of a ruling queen.

From Aragon to the Bourbons

In 1465 the Principality of Taranto was annexed to the Kingdom of Naples and became part of Aragon . Because of the constant threats from the Turks and the Venetians , the Aragonese decided to secure the city and built the Aragonese Castle with its moat.

In 1495 Charles VIII of France forced the Aragonese troops to flee and, with the help of the nobility, took the city and the castle without difficulty. He was crowned king in Naples while Ferdinand II fled to Ischia . But when Charles VIII left Naples with most of the army, Ferdinand, after the formation of an Italian unit, returned and defeated the French garrisons. After the terrible behavior of the French during the occupation of the city, the population welcomed him with enthusiasm. He died on September 7, 1496. As he had no heirs, he was replaced by his uncle Frederick IV of Aragón , who was crowned King Frederick I of Naples on March 1, 1502 . But in 1501 he was betrayed by his cousin Ferdinand II , the Catholic , King of Spain. He sent the Spanish General Consalvo de Cordoba, also known as Gran Capitano , to the Kingdom of Naples under the pretext of a crusade against the Turks and occupied it. Friedrich I allied with King Ludwig XII. of France, surrendered to him and left him his rights of the empire. But the Spaniards beat the French at Cerignola .

Fortification of the Borgo Antico in Taranto
(Giambatista Albrizzi, 1761)

The city was fortified and numerous observation towers were built on the coast of the Mar Grande , because the danger of a Turkish attack persisted: in 1554 they stayed undisturbed on the Cheradi islands for about six months , taking advantage of the current weakness of the Spaniards. They tried several times to attack the castle, but were first repulsed and then finally defeated by the Taranto near the Tara River .

During the riots in Naples (1649), King Philip IV of Spain asked for the youth to be recruited. That is why an uprising broke out in Taranto under the leadership of Giandonato Altamura, but thanks to the intervention of Duke Francesco Caracciolo, it was suppressed by Martina Franca. The Spaniards had asked him for help: Caracciolo pretended to attack Taranto from the Ponte di Porta Napoli bridge , but the greater part of his army crossed the Aragonese Castle from the opposite part through the "Porta Paterna", which from the The Spaniards had been opened and thus surprised the people in the uprising. Altamura surrendered and was hanged on a watchtower in the castle. From the second half of the 17th century, Spain began to be more interested in its colonies in South America , from which it won gold and silver.

Fortification of the Borgo Antico in Taranto
(16th century)

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Austrians came to Naples and the Taranto received the news of the accession of the Habsburgs with enthusiasm . Nevertheless, the Spaniards occupied Naples again in 1734 with Charles III. von Bourbon and the mayor of Taranto Luigi Galeota, was appointed royal governor and lord of the castle. This title was given to Duke Petraccone Caracciolo a few months later. In those years the city's fortifications were neglected. Repairs to Aragonese Castle did not begin until 1755, while a garden with fruit trees was laid out in the moat that stretched from the Torre Sant'Angelo to the Torre della Bandiera. A few years later, the new Archbishop of Taranto, Monsignor Giuseppe Capecelatro , began to collect the numerous scattered archaeological finds that can be found throughout the city at his villa and to found the first museum.

Taranto later belonged to the Bourbons again and was then incorporated into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ; In 1799 Taranto joined the Parthenopean republic until Ferdinand IV of Bourbon , King of Naples, came to power. In the Napoleonic era , the city owed its new prosperity as a military and port city to Joseph Bonaparte and his successor Joachim Murat . New barracks and fortifications, such as Fort Laclos on the island of San Paolo in the Gulf of Taranto , were built. But with the return of the Bourbons , who never gave Taranto enough importance, the city again faced a long period of neglect until Giuseppe Garibaldi's troops liberated the city in 1860.

The floods of the 19th century

There have been two unusual events during the new century. On September 9, 1827, a flood caused damage to many houses and the city wall, surrounding countries were inundated, herds of animals were thrown into the sea and the entire mussel garden was destroyed, causing a long famine. On September 15, 1883, a second, even worse flood occurred, which hit the "Ancient Borgo". In a report from the newspaper "Rinnovamento di Taranto" at the time, it says:

“ Tonight, after a very strong thunderstorm that lasted several hours, the sea level rose by almost 3 meters. The Piazza Grande, the Via Garibaldi, the houses and the shops on the ground floor were more than a meter in the water; Lifeboats had to be used. The damage was very great. The force of the current, which poured out with unspeakable force, tore the Ponte di Napoli and the citadel; the city had to be evacuated immediately. Porta Lecce is also dilapidated and the inhabitants have not been allowed to pass through. This sudden catastrophe threw the city into desolation. It seems like there are many victims. All the surrounding fields on the Mar Piccolo have been devastated, flooded and have become unrecognizable. It seems that the oyster and mussel culture has suffered greatly if it was not completely destroyed. How much misery! How Much Poverty Will Prepare! The local council has held a permanent meeting. A boat service was organized. Pumps are used to remove the water from Via Garibaldi. As far as one can think, something like this has never happened before - that means either the laws of nature have changed or the year 1883 is said to go down in history as the unlucky year. "

The world wars

With the incorporation of Taranto into the empire of Victor Emanuel II of Savoy in 1861 , the Taranto Cataldo Nitti and Nicola Mignogna tried to boost the city's economy and gave Taranto a new look. The naval base with the naval arsenal was founded. The western part of the Aragonese Castle was demolished and the old moat was turned into a navigable canal , the banks of which were connected by the swing bridge . That was the beginning of the expansion to the other side of the canal, the Neustadt. The colonial shipments to Africa initiated by Italy were seen by the city as a great opportunity for economic recovery, as the oyster and mussel culture experienced a crisis due to the cholera epidemic in 1910.

During the First World War , Taranto played a very important role with its naval arsenal and the new Franco Tosi shipyards for building and repairing warships . The workers were better paid, and the march of thousands of soldiers to the front improved the economic conditions of the traders. But the war also brought about an increase in inflation, so that the Regia Marina (Italian Navy until 1946) had to ration and distribute the food. The city only experienced the real war on the night of August 2, 1916, when the warship Leonardo da Vinci exploded in an ammunition explosion caused by cordite propellant charges that had become chemically unstable and self-ignited. However, the Italian Navy long insisted that Austrian saboteurs had sunk the ship with detention mines. At the end of the war, economic conditions turned out to be dramatic, which then worsened with the closure of the shipyards in 1920. This economic crisis sparked demonstrations that ended in violent clashes with the police.

The rise of Benito Mussolini and fascism led to the resumption of work in the naval arsenal and shipyards for the repair and construction of ships destined for the colonial wars. In addition, the city experienced a new urban development. In 1929 the “Alhambra” theater was demolished and the government palace, inaugurated by Benito Mussolini, was built on its ruins . In 1937 the post office and the house of the Fascho , today the tax office, were completed. Numerous social houses were built in the Borgo Antico, new seaside resorts were built on the beach promenade and a memorial to the fallen of the First World War was built on the Piazza della Vittoria.

Italy entered World War II on June 10, 1940 . The concentration of warships of the Italian Navy in the Mar Piccolo brought new work to the naval arsenal . The other economic sectors, however, experienced another crisis. Fearing bombing raids, the population left the city and found refuge in the provincial villages .

On the night of November 12, 1940 , the torpedo planes launched by the British aircraft carrier Illustrious bombed the Italian fleet in Mar Piccolo ( attack on Taranto ). While the battleship Conte di Cavour was sunk, the battleships Littorio and Caio Duilio were badly damaged. 59 dead and 600 injured were counted. Only two British Swordfish aircraft were shot down. Later the Italian navy had to withdraw from Taranto and was distributed to the ports of Naples , La Spezia and Genoa .

After Mussolini's deposition and the ensuing armistice , the German troops fled and the city was occupied by the Allies ( Operation Slapstick ). Numerous public buildings were confiscated and turned into military accommodation. The end of the war on April 25, 1945 marked the beginning of a new era. On June 2nd, 1946, the Italian Republic was founded and in the following years Taranto, thanks to its strategic position in the Mediterranean , established itself as an industrial and commercial center. In 1965 the Italian President Giuseppe Saragat established the “IV. Italsider Steel Center "opened. It is one of the largest industrial groups for steel processing and processing in Europe . On June 25, 2004, a new naval station of the Italian Navy with some NATO infrastructure was opened in the Mar Grande .

Photo gallery

  • Raimondello Orsini Tower (around 1880)

  • Taranto - Moat with Aragonese Castle (1880)

  • Aragonese Castle with moat (1880)

  • Taranto - Fish Shop - Customs (1904)

  • Taranto - Omnibus (1905)

literature

  • Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri - Claudio Giardino - Mariantonia Gorgoglione: Metal finds at the Middle and Late Bronze Age settlement of Scoglio del Tonno (Taranto, Apulia): results of archeometallurgical analyzes , Trabajos de Prehistoria, 67 (2), 2010, p. 457 -468. online version as PDF
  • Giacinto Peluso: Storia di Taranto. Scorpione Editrice, Taranto 1991, 1998.
  • Nicola Caputo: Taranto com'era. Edizioni Cressati, Taranto 2001, 2005, ISBN 88-8099-136-1 .
  • Mario Lazzarini: La Magna Grecia. Scorpione Editrice, Taranto 1990, 1995, ISBN 88-8099-027-6 .
  • Luigi Madaro: Le origini del Principato di Taranto. Industria Grafica O. Ferrari & Co., Alessandria 1926.
  • Maria Melucci: La città antica di Taranto. Mandese Editore, Taranto 1989.
  • Lord William Taylour: Mycenaean Pottery in Italy and adjacent areas . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1958, ISBN 978-0-521-06613-6 , pp. 81 ff . (English, online version in the Google book search).
  • Conrad M. Stibbe : Sparta and Taranto . In: Mededelingen van het Nederlands Instituut . tape 37 . Nederlands Instituut te Rome, Rome 1975, p. 27-46 .
  • Douwe Yntema: Mental landscapes of colonization: The ancient written sources and the archeology of early colonial-Greek southeastern Italy. In: BaBesch 75 (2000), pp. 1-49 (especially pp. 18ff.).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Marco Bettelli, Italia meridionale e mondo miceneo. Ricerche su dinamiche di acculturazione e aspetti archeologici, con particolare riferimento ai versanti adriatico e ionico della penisola italiana. Florence 2002, p. 28
  2. ↑ Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri, Claudio Giardino, Mariantonia Gorgoglione, p. 459
  3. ↑ a b Lord William Taylour, p. 81 ff.
  4. ↑ on this, see Riccardo Guglielmino: Minyan, Minyanizing, and Pseudominyan Wares from Southern and Insular Italy , in: Giampaolo Graziadio u. a. (Ed.), Φιλική Συναυλία - Miscellaneous Studies in Mediterranean Archeology offered to Mario Benzi , BAR International Series 2012, Oxford (2013) pp. 177–192.
  5. ↑ Hans-Günter Buchholz: Late Bronze Age Relations between the Aegean and the West . Hans-Günter Buchholz, Darmstadt 1987, p. 242 . , Fig. 69
  6. ^ Gert Jan van Wijngaarden : Use and appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (1600-1200 BC) . Amsterdam University Press, 2002, ISBN 90-5356-482-9 , pp. 11 (English, online version in Google book search).
  7. ↑ Lord William Taylou, pp. 81ff.
  8. ↑ Hans-Günter Buchholz, p. 250: "... that a Mycenaean settlement was located there can be considered certain."
  9. ↑ a b c Mischa Meier : Aristocrats and Damods: Investigations into the inner development of Sparta in the 7th century BC And on the political function of the poetry of Tyrtaios . Steiner-Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 978-3-515-07430-8 , pp. 137 ( online version in Google Book Search). (with detailed references in note 86.)
  10. ^ David and Ruth Whitehouse: Archaeological World Atlas , Corvus-Verlag Cologne 1990, p. 100.
  11. ↑ For this and the bronze objects, see Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri, Claudio Giardino, Mariantonia Gorgoglione, p. 457 ff.
  12. ^ Massimiliano Marazzi: The Mycenaeans in the Western Mediterranean (17th - 13th c. BC) , in: Nicolas Chr. Stampolidis (ed.): Sea Roues. From Sidon to Huelva. Interconnections in the Medeterranean 16th - 6th c. BC , Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens 2003, p. 109.
  13. ^ Maria Bietti Sestieri: The Bronze Age in Sicily , in: Harry Fokkens, Anthony Harding (Ed.): The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age , Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 640.
  14. ↑ a b c Mischa Meier, p. 139, with evidence ibid, note 98
  15. ↑ U. a. Gert Jan van Wijngaarden, pp. 254f.
  16. ↑ Geoepoche, Das antike Greece , Issue No. 13, 06/04, p. 100
  17. ↑ Ephoros in Strabo, Geography 6,3,3; Antiochus at Strabo, geography 6,3,2.
  18. ^ Translation by Albert Forbiger
  19. ↑ Herodotus: Historien 7. In: Sacred-texts.com. P. 170 , accessed on September 22, 2017 (English).
  20. ^ Strabon, Stefan Radt: Strabons Geographika: Book V-VIII: Text and translation . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 978-3-525-25951-1 , p. 203 ( online version in the Google book search).
  21. ↑ Conrad M. Stibbe , p. 30f.
  22. ↑ Pausanias 10:13, 10
  23. ^ Aristotle, Politics 5, 6.
  24. ↑ on these Conrad M. Stibbe, p. 28.
  25. ↑ Douwe Yntema, p. 18ff. (with further literature) The following summary of the finds in Taranto, unless otherwise stated, after this one.
  26. ↑ Douwe Yntema, p. 21.
  27. ^ Paul Cartledge: Sparta and Lakonia. A Regional History 1300 to 362 BC . Routledge, London, pp. 107 (English, online version in the Google book search).
  28. ↑ Mischa Meier, p. 137 (with further evidence, but even p. 140f. Carefully)
  29. ^ Paul Cartledge, p. 108.
  30. ↑ Massimo Nafissi: From Sparta to Taras. Nomima, Ktiseis ans relationship between Colony and Mother City. In: Hodkinson – Powell (ed.): Sparta: New Perspectives. London 1999, pp. 245-276.
  31. ↑ Conrad M. Stibbe, p. 34f., Who, at least as far as the finds are concerned, refers to Felice Gino Lo Porto: Topografia antica di Taranto. In: Taranto nella civilta della Magna Grecia. Atti del decimo convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia. Taranto, 4-11 ottobre 1970. , Naples 1974, p. 357ff.
  32. ↑ see Gerardus Joannes Vossius: Poeticarum Institutionum Libri Tres . Amsterdam 1647, II p. 105 f .; Erich Otto Völker: Rhintonis fragmenta Halle 1887 passim, Der Kleine Pauly IV 1416.
  33. ^ Cicero Brut . 71 ff .; Little Pauly III 692 ff.
  34. ^ Tacitus : Annalen 11, 12. In: Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved September 22, 2017 (English).
  35. ↑ Tac. ann . 13, 19
  36. ↑ Tac. ann . 14, 12
  37. ↑ Tac. ann . 14, 27
  38. ↑ Petronius Satyricon 5:10; 38.2; 59.4; 61.6 u. 100.7
  39. ↑ Virgil Georg. II 197
  40. ↑ Varro de rer. hum . 11 according to Macrobius satellite . 3, 16.12-16., Cf. Joh. V. Salisbury polycr . 8, 7
  41. ↑ Virgil Georg . 2, 195-97, cf. Petronius satellite . 38.2
  42. ↑ Horace satellite . 1, 6.59
  43. ↑ See Petronian Soc. Newsletter Vol. 27 (April 1997)
  44. ↑ Joh. V. Salisbury, polycr . VII 25
  45. ↑ See Klußmann 1920, note on Ovid fasti VI 173 ff.
  46. ↑ Josephus bello 1,31.3, ant . 17.5.1
  47. ↑ Der Kleine Pauly, Vol. 2, Col. 372
  48. ^ Regesta Imperii II n. 871. and Monumenta Germaniae Historica DD O II n. 272.
  49. ↑ Thietmari Mersebrugensis Episcopi Chronicon. Lib. III. In: MGH SS rer. Germ. NS 9. Ed. Robert Holtzmann. Berlin 1935. p. 123.
  50. ↑ Wolf, Gunther: Kaiser Otto II. (973-983) and the battle of Cotrone on July 13, 982. In: Kaiserin Theophanu. Princess from abroad - the great empress of the western empire. Edited by Gunther Wolf. Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1991. pp. 155–161.

Remarks

  1. ↑ the classification of individual sherds as sub-Mycenaean (around the middle of the 11th century BC) is disputed, s. Alan M. Greaves: Miletos, A History , Routledge, London - New York 2002, pp. 106f., ISBN 0-415-23846-3 . Already Taylour formulated assignments to the Sub-Mycenaean style very carefully.
  2. ↑ whose presumptions of origin Argolis, Rhodes and Crete have meanwhile been confirmed on the basis of stylistic investigations by petrographic clay analyzes, saw parallels with Cypriot-Mycenaean comparative pieces in some fragments; s. also A. Bernard Knapp: The Archeology of Cyprus. From earliest Prehistory through the Bronze Age . Cambridge University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-521-89782-2 , pp. 426 (English, online version in Google Book Search). , who mentions Cypriot ceramics from Scoglio, but does not prove whether he follows Taylour in this or other analyzes.
  3. ↑ cf. also Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri, Claudio Giardino, Mariantonia Gorgoglione p. 467, who regards Scoglio del Tonno as a primarily indigenous trading center and evidently rejects the permanent settlement of Mycenaean Greeks in larger numbers - in contrast to the settlement of Roca Vecchia.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on March 16, 2006 .