| Government
Primarily, the province was governed by a
praetor based in Caligaria, Sardinia, and a legate of his in Corsica.
As Romanization ensued there is still little formation, or knowledge
thereof, of local governments, in the cities of both islands.
Not too many Italians
colonized the islands, and because of the numerous triumphs awarded to
consuls, the natives never seemed to be happy about Rome's occupation.
People
The natives of both islands were mixed
of Etruscan and Punic ancestry. It took along time for the
islanders to get used to Rome, if they ever did. They grew to resent Rome and Rome
them. When Seneca was banished to Corsica he was quoted as saying,"Prima est ulcisci lex, altera vivere raptu, tertia mentiri,
quarta negare deos;" which translated is: "Their first law is
vengeance; second, to live by stealing; third, to lie; fourth, to deny
the gods." Their response was,"Seneca era un birbone"; "Seneca is
a scoundral."1
Very few historians speak of the
cities, but we do have some archaeological evidence of the extent of
Romanization. One religious note is that the Sardus Pater, the god of
Sardinia, comparable to the Semitic god Sid, was coined opposite the
praetor Atius Babus and enjoyed a temple in his name in Antas.
Primary Sources
Most of what we know about these islands, in
antiquity, comes from the writings of Seneca, Cicero, Strabo, J. Caesar,
and Polybius. Not all had extensive first hand knowledge like
exiled Seneca, but rather relied on information from legates or friends
that visited.
1 Karl Baedeker,
Southern France, 6th ed. (New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1914), 597. |
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