50MINUTES.COM - The Eruption of Vesuvius

The city of Pompeii, located in the Italian Bay of Naples, is famous for the remarkable preservation of its remains and the exceptional testimony it provides of ancient life. Ironically, that which caused the disappearance of the city is also what protected it from the ravages of time. The eruption of Vesuvius on 24th August 79 indeed covered all the plains that lie between the slopes and the Mediterranean with a protective gangue, preserving it for over 1500 years. However, although Pompeii is the symbol of this catastrophe, its inhabitants were not the only victims, and the land classified by UNESCO since 1997 exceeds the limits of this one city. There were actually five cities that were engulfed in the pyroclastic flow in this region of Campania: Herculaneum, a maritime town of 5000 inhabitants, the northernmost, Oplontis, a seaside city, Pompeii, the largest with about 20,000 inhabitants, Boscoreale, and finally to the south, the small port of Stabiae, where Pliny the Elder died on 25th August 79. Rediscovered in the 17th century, with the great advantage of being located in a very undeveloped area and therefore being accessible for excavations, there are now over 98 hectares that provide archaeologists, historians and visitors with an understanding of an intense life, but also the story of a terrible tragedy.

Overview of Pompeiis ruins, Vue densemble des ruines de Pompi, engraving from Die Gartenlaube, Leipzig, Ernst Keil Edition, 1856.

When Vesuvius erupted, the plains surrounding it were populated. In fact, there were a total of four cities. The most active, from an economic and political point of view, was Pompeii. Totaling 20,000 inhabitants, it was located on a plateau at the mouth of the river Sarno. Its position allowed it to monitor the coast that extended from its feet. Oplontis was not strictly a town, but a residential and seaside neighborhood of Pompeii. Herculaneum, further north, was a port that accommodated both luxurious residences and fishermens houses. Stabiae was a wealthy seaside resort. The hinterland had numerous villas, and agricultural land extended almost to the top of Vesuvius.

Settlement in this territory was ancient. Despite the risks from volcanic areas, the particular fertility of the soil there was attractive. Although remains from the end of prehistory have been found in Pompeii, the first installation of a real village seems to date back to the 7th century B.C., with the installation of Oscan people (people that came from the Apennines). First under Greek influence, Pompeii then passed to the Etruscans who gained the south of Italy from Tuscany during the 6th century B.C., founding new cities as they went. The citys position was strategic for the Etruscans, who faced the powerful Greek colonies. Indeed, the site allowed for both control of the sea and of the fertile valley of the Sarno, a navigable river that leads to another Etruscan city, Nucera, thus connecting the Mediterranean maritime trade with the interior of Campania. Therefore, the Etruscans seem to have united the local people in organized cities.

However, in the 5th century B.C., first the Greeks, after the naval victory of Cuma (474 B.C.), then the Samnites arrived in Campania from the Appenines, undermining the Etruscan civilization. The Samnites then took possession of Pompeii. The city spread, surrounded by impressive fortifications, and the countryside was organized into farms. But the Romans, whose power began to exceed the Latium (central Italian region), became formidable opponents. During the second war between the Romans and the Samnites, at the end of the 4th century B.C. (327-302), the Samnites were forced to hand over control of Campania to their opponents. The Samnite Pompeii became the ally of Rome and remained its ally during the second Punic War (218-201 B.C.), against the Carthaginian Hannibal (general and statesman, 247-183 B.C.). This loyalty enabled it to thrive throughout the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. The city was growing, both within its fortifications and across its territory, where agricultural properties thrived. But in 90 B.C., the social war (from socii, Latin, meaning allies) between Rome and its allied cities broke out.

At the dawn of our era, Italy was composed of a mosaic of peoples (Samnites, Marsi, Apulians, Lucanians, Gauls, etc.), whose cities had, over the years of conflicts and defeats, allied with Rome. But in the early 1st century B.C., tensions were rising. Indeed, while using the armed forces supplied by allies to conquer new territories, Rome still considered these allies to be its vassals and did not hesitate to interfere in their political and economic life. When a bill was established aiming to allow only Roman citizens to benefit from public land obtained by the Romans during their conquests, the tribune Livius Drusus (died in 91 B.C.) was against this idea and advocated the granting of Roman citizenship to all inhabitants of allied cities before the Senate. The refusal of this idea, as well as his assassination, added fuel to the fire.

The allied cities then tried to meet in a confederation (the Italic confederation, after the name of the peoples of the peninsula), under the direction of the Marsi Quintus Pompedius Silo (died 88 B.C.) and Samnite Claudius Papius Mutilis. In 90 B.C., under Julian law, Rome finally agreed to extend Roman citizenship to all the cities which did not rebel against its authority.