The second most important city in Italy ?

[Theodosius the Great]

Avete,

Apparently, Capua was Rome's second highest ranking city in Italy during the Republic.

When did this change? And which Italian cities were the first to displace Capua's status as second?

~Theo

[Eleatic Guest]

I'd venture to say that Syracuse was still more populous and more developed than Rome until sacked in the 2nd Punic War. It's city perimeter was certainly larger, although much of it was not used for housing.

[Epictetus]

I knew that different cities competed amongst themselves for various official titles of supremacy under the Empire, but I didn't know that this was done during the Republic, and in Italy itself, no less. Just out of curiousity, what was your source for Capua holding this designation?

[Theodosius the Great]

I'd venture to say that Syracuse was still more populous and more developed than Rome until sacked in the 2nd Punic War. It's city perimeter was certainly larger, although much of it was not used for housing.

I'm sure that's probably true but for simplicity's sake I'd rather put aside Syracuse since it was firmly situated in the Greek-speaking world and not part of the Italian mainland anyway. It's an interesting observation though :grin:

Just out of curiousity, what was your source for Capua holding this designation?

Oh, I did not mean to imply that the city held any official status or designation affirming it's importance. Sorry I can't cite the exact sources but having run a quick check online I found that Cicero refered to Capua as altera Roma ("a second Rome") in a speech about colonizing the city. And Livy seems to have said it was urbis maxima opulentissima que Italiae ("the biggest and richest city in Italy").

So, my question is about the decline of Capua and it's successor as the biggest and richest city in Italy after Rome.

~Theo

[M. Caecilius]

The quote from Livy dates to 343 B.C. when Capua appealed for aid against the Samnites (VII.31.1). In between this date and Cicero, the city was famously sacked and virtually annihilated by Rome for having gone over to Hannibal (211 B.C.).

Cicero, in the de Lege Agraria, First Oration, 1.18ff, has the following to say:

"They wish settlers to be conducted to Capua. They wish again to oppose that city to this city. They think of removing all their riches thither of transferring thither the name of the empire. That place which, because of the fertility of its lands and its abundance of every sort of production, is said to be the parent of pride and cruelty—in that our colonists [...] Our ancestors removed from Capua the magistrates, the senate, the general council, and all the ensigns of the republic, and left nothing there except the bare name of Capua;[...] the city itself might be able to afford a home to supreme power. [...] No new Rome or opposition seat of empire, will be allowed to exist while we are consuls;.

The "altera Roma" part thus appears to be a possibility which Cicero, who is against the Agrarian Law, holds up before the Senate. It is thus a rhetorical device, designed to scare. It does not necessarily reflect reality; even to Cicero, it is conditional on the agrarian law actually going through, which it didn't.

Still, Capua was prosperous enough to make the list of the top cities mentioned by Ausonius (along with Milan and Aquileia in what is now Italy). It was able to entertain famous gladiatorial schools such as that which produced Spartacus, and had fertile land, in Campania, which was probably the wealthiest district of Italy.

Considering it made Ausonius' list, as already mentioned, I only see Mediolanum and Aquileia as replacing it, though neither city was in what a Republican Roman would have considered Italy. Incidentally, Ausonius mentions Capua between Mediolanum and Aquileia, so the ranking (in Italy) would be 1. Rome, 2. Milan, 3. Capua, 4. Aquileia.

During the Republic, Corfinium, the capital of the Italians in the Social War, very briefly attained some importance, but seems to have been more of a project than reality. Possibly other cities in Campania, such as Naples, could have tried to compete; the Sicilian cities certainly, but they are - by Roman geography - Sicilian, not Italian.

Another possibility might be Ostia. If you consider it a separate city rather than an extension of Rome, it could claim the second rank. For population size, some of the cities in the Po-Valley might be considered, though I haven't really done any research to support an argument either way.

[Theodosius the Great]

Wow, Caecilius!

That's a very thorough answer :grin:

It sure helps to know that Capua was going through a transition during Cicero's life. Strange to think that even as Capua was being dismembered it still probably was the most valued city in the peninsula until the very end of the Republic.

Your list is very helpful. I forgot about Aquileia. Even though it wouldn't have been technically considered to be part of Italy it was certainly seen as a major 'gateway' into the peninsula.

I've come up with additional candidates who could be among the first to supplant Capua as the most valued city in Italy.

1. Misenum: A western coastal city which was developed into a major naval base during the early empire. It was where Nero raised a new legion, Adiutrix I, from the marines stationed there.
   
2. Ravenna: Another major naval base on the eastern coast but was probably considered outside of Italy.
   
3. Brundusium: A large, Greek-speaking city which was also an important trading port and the main point of sailing to the east. (located on the 'heal' of Italy)
   

During the reign of Augustus many of the Praetorian cohorts were billeted in certain towns outside of Rome. Knowing which towns had a Praetorian cohort might give further clues to other candidates.

Thanks, everyone, for your answers!

~Theo