History of Sardinia Summary
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History of Sardinia Summary Prehistory It was Giovanni Lilliu, in the third edition of his text “La Civilità dei Sardi”,entitled “dal Paeolitico all’età dei nuraghi” who confirmed the presence of man in Sardinia in the Paleolithic era. This is a classic text, which is still today the most complete synthesis of the pre and proto- history events in Sardinia. The nuragica civilization – there are about 8000 nuraghi buildings on the Is- land- gave life to its most ancient monuments, the nuraghs. These were built from the mid Bronze Age (around 1600 BC), while after the end of the Bronze Age (after 900BC) no new buildings of this type were constructed. Phoenician-Punics The beginning of Sardinian history can be dated back to the arrival of the Phoenician- Punics around the 9th century BC. Their presence on the island started via the founding of commercial emporiums, especially along the south-west coast of the Island, later becoming established with the founding of cities such as Sulki (Sant’Antioco), Karali (Cagliari), Nora (Pula), Tharros (Cabras), Bithia (Domus de Maria), Othoca (Santa Giusta). The Phoenician-Punic presence, which was also marked by conflicts with the indigenous Sardin- ians, concluded at the end of the first punic war (264 BC-241 BC) when Rome, on defeating Car- thage, took control of Sardinia in 238BC, making it a province to which, 2 years later, Corsica was joined. Romans Despite the tenacious resistance of the indigenous people, barricaded in the mountainous interior of the Island, the Island became progressively and deeply Romanised. Some cities developed, in particolar Karalis, Nora, Olbia while others such as Forum Traiani (For- dongianus) e Turris Libisonis (Porto Torres) were founded. Sardinia also saw the development of road networks, a noteable exploitation of mining, especially in the south-west and agricultural use of the flat areas for cereal production. For this reason Sardinia was commonly known as the “granary of Rome”. 4 The traces of the Roman presence in Sardinia, other than archeological ones such as aqueducts, amphitheatres, thermal baths etc, are found, above all, in the Sardinian language which, from a genetic viewpoint, belongs to the Neo-latin or Romance group. The Vandals to 1000 The end of the Roman presence dates to around 455AD, when the Vandals of Genseric occupied the Island for about 80 years until 533 AD. In fact this was the year when Sardinia fell into the hands of the Byzantines under Emperor Gi- ustiniano. In Cagliari the figure of praeses carried out civil duties while in Forum Traiani (which corresponds to the present day Fordongianus) the iudex o dux had responsibility for the military. In this period the indigenous people of Sardinia were evangelised under Pope Gregory the Great. However the ties with the capital of Constantinople progressively weakened, mainly due to the continual Arab raids in the seas surrounding the island starting in 910AD. For defensive reasons Sardinia was divided into four parts, from which, presumably, the four “Giudicati” or four king- doms were developed. These four entities of medieval Sardinia were Cagliari, Oristano, Logudoro or Torres and Gallura and were already formed and autonomous around the year 1000AD. From 1016 -1478 From 1016, following a short-lived Arabic conquest, there was progressively more powerful pres- ence of Pisa and Genoa. Through able political strategies these two powers managed to deeply integrate in the complex events of the Giudicati, obtaining commercial, fiscal and general economic privileges. In 1297 Pope Boniface VIII, strengthened by papal rights over Sardinia which had been in place for centuries, conceeded the investiture of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica to Giacomo II of Aragon in exchange for the disen- gagement from Sicily and the payment of an an- nual census. However it was not until some years later (1323) that Giacomo’s son, Alfonso, led the military occupation of the Island thus starting the Ara- gonese rule which was strengthened in 1409 with the battle of Sanluri and in 1478 with the battle of Macomer. 5 Ruling Houses and Outside Influences The Hispanic-Catalan presence lasted until 1718, when Sardinia passed definitively under the rule of the House of Savoy after a brief parenthesis when the Island was under Austrian control. A series of Piemontese Viceroys governed the island in the 18th century, initiating various projects for the renewal of the economy: the re-organisation of the “cereal mountains”, the re-opening of the universities of Sassari and Cagliari and improvement of the road network. Nevertheless none of these brought the hoped for results and the public dissatisfaction resulted in various protest movements, above all after 1789, thanks to the spread of the ideals of the French Revolution. In fact the three years of 1793-1796 is known as the “ Sardinian Three Year Revolution” and on the 28th of April the “Sa die de sa Sardigna” is celebrated in memory of the rebellion and overthrow of the Piemontese by the Sardinian population. 19th and 20th Centuries During the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s Sardinia was affected by the difficulties which afflicted the South of Italy in general. A consequence of these considerable economic problems were various phenomena such as gang- sterism and the organisation of trades union leagues, especially on the part of miners, which re- sulted in blood soaked strikes as in the infamous massacre of Buggerru in 1904. 6 WWI and the Early 20th Century The experience of Sardinian soldiers at the front during the First World War, led to political unrest resulting in the founding in 1921 of the “Partito Sardo d’Azione” which utilized the symbol of the “Quattro Mori” (four defeated arab: symbol of the Sardinian flag). The “Partito” was dissolved dur- ing the Fascist period. With the so called “Legge del miliardo” in 1924 Sardinia obtained buget appropriations which were used for the reclamation of marshes, dam building, hydroelectric and irrigation works. Min- ing activities were increased and cities such as Carbonia, principally devoted to mining , along with the agricultural cities Arborea and Fertilia were founded. The 20th Century After the end of the Second World War, in February 1948 Sardinia was recognised as a Special Ad- ministrative Region, publishing the Special Statute of Autonomy. After World War II malaria was eradicated thanks to the Rockefella Foundation, and the so called renewal plans concerning the industrialisation of Sardinia were implemented. So began the industrial plants of Porto Torres, Ottana, Portovesme and Sarroch. At the same time the progressive tourist development of the coast was initiated. The larger cities such as Cagliari attracted a considerable influx of people, who moved away from the smaller towns hoping to find better employment and economic opportunities in the larger cit- ies. On one hand this caused a radical depopulisation of the towns in the interior and on the other a chaotic urban development. 7 La Storia della Sardegna Età preistorica “Giovanni Lilliu nel suo testo La civiltà dei Sardi, un classico che costituisce a tutt’oggi la sin- tesi più completa delle vicende della preistoria e della protostoria in Sardegna, nella terza edizione titola: “dal Paleolitico all’Età dei nuraghi”, a confermare la presenza dell’uomo in Sar- degna già dal Paleolitico. La civiltà nuragica – sono circa 8000 i nuraghi edificati sull’Isola – dà vita ai suoi più antichi monumenti, i nuraghi, nella media Età del Bronzo (intorno al 1600 a.C), mentre pare che dopo il Bronzo Finale (dopo il 900 a.C.) non si siano più messe in opera nuove costruzioni. Periodo fenicio- punico L’inizio della storia in Sardegna può essere fatto risalire all’arrivo dei Fenicio-Punici, attorno al IX a.C. La loro presenza, verosimilmente, ebbe inizio attraverso la fondazione di empori com- merciali specialmente lungo le coste sud-occidentali dell’isola, concretizzandosi in seguito con la fondazione di città quali Sulky (Sant’Antioco), Karali (Cagliari), Nora (Pula), Tharros (Ca- bras), Bithia (Domus de Maria), Othoca (Santa Giusta). La presenza fenicio-punica, che attraversò anche fasi conflittuali con le genti sarde indigene, si concluse al termine della Prima guerra punica (264 a.C. – 241 a.C.) quando Roma, vincitrice su Cartagine, si impadronì della Sardegna nel 238 a.C., facendone una provincia a cui due anni dopo si aggiunse la Corsica. Periodo romano Nonostante le tenaci e prolungate resistenze delle genti indigene, asserragliate nelle zone interne e montagnose dell’isola, questa venne progressivamente e profondamente roma- nizzata. Alcune città si svilupparono, in particolare Karalis, Nora, Olbia mentre altre vennero fondate, come Forum Traiani (Fordongianus) e Turris Libisonis (Porto Torres). La Sardegna vide anche lo sviluppo della rete viaria, un notevole sfruttamento minerario, so- prattutto nel settore sud-occidentale e l’utilizzo agricolo delle aree pianeggianti per la pro- duzione cerealicola. Per tale ragione la Sardegna venne comunemente definita “granaio di Roma”. 8 Le tracce della presenza di Roma in Sardegna, oltre che di carattere archeologico come acquedotti, anfiteatri, edifici termali, ecc., sono soprattutto rintracciabili nella lingua sarda che dal punto di vista genetico appartiene al gruppo neolatino o romanzo. I vandali (periodo fino all’anno 1000) La fine della presenza romana si situa attorno al 455 d.C., quando i Vandali di Genserico la occuparono per circa un ottantennio, sino al 533 d.C.. In tale anno infatti, sotto l’imperatore Giustiniano, la Sardegna cade nelle mani dei Bizantini. Presso Cagliari risiedeva la figura del praeses, svolgente mansioni di tipo civile mentre presso Forum Traiani, corrispondente all’odierna Fordongianus, risiedeva lo iudex o dux, avente re- sponsabilità di tipo militare. In tale periodo avvenne l’evangelizzazione delle genti indigene sarde, operazione portata avanti da papa Gregorio Magno. Tuttavia il legame con la capitale Costantinopoli si indebolì progressivamente, soprattutto per via delle continue scorrerie degli arabi nei mari attorno all’isola, a partire dal 910 d.C.