Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/108

 92 ITALIA. bishop, and the limits of the diocese in general co- incided wth those of the municipal territory.* But in the period of decay and confusion that followed, the episcopal see often remained after the city had been ruined or fallen into complete decay : hence the ecclesiastical records of the early ages of Chris- tianity are often of material assistance in enabling us to trace the existence of ancient cities, and identify ancient localities. 4. Political and Administrative Division under the Roman Empire. — It is not till the reign of Augustus that any division of Italy for adminis- trative purposes occurs, and the reason is obvious. So long as the different nations of Italy preserved the semblance of independence, which they main- tained till the period of the Social War, no uniform system of administration was possible. Even after that period, when they were all merged in the condition of Roman citizens, the municipal insti- tutions, which were still in full force, appear to have been regarded as sufficient for all purposes of in- ternal management; and the general objects of the State were confided to the ordinary Roman magis- trates, or to extraordinary officers appointed for particular purposes. The first division of Italy into eleven regions by Augustus, appears to have been designed in the first instance merely to facilitate the arrangements of the census ; but, as the taking of this was closely coupled with the le'ying of taxes, the same di- visions were soon adopted for financial and other administrative purposes, and continued to be the basis of all subsequent arrangements. The divisions established by Augustus, and which have fortunately been preserved to us by Pliny (the only author who mentions their institution), were as follows; — I. The First Region comprised Latium (in the more extended sense of that name, including the land of the Hernicans and Volscians), together with Campania, and the district of the Picentini. It thus extended from the mouth of the Tiber to that of the Sihirus ; and the Anio formed its boundary on the N. II. The Second Region, which adjoined the pre- ceding, on the SE., included Apulia, Calabria, and the land of the Hirpini, which was thus separated from the rest of Samnium. III. The Third Region contained Lucania and Bruttium: it was bounded by the Silarus on the NW. and by the Bradanus on the NE. IV. The Fourth Region contained all Samnium, except the Hirpini, together with the Frentani, Jhirrucini, Marsi, Peligni, Aequiculi, Vestini, and Sabini. It thus extended from the Anio to the frontiers of Picenum,and from the boundary of Ura- bria on the N. to Apulia on the S. It was sepa- rated from the latter district by the river Tifernus, and from Picenum by the Aternus. V. The Fifth Region was composed solely of the ancient Picenum (including under that name the ten-itoiy of Hadria and of the Praetutii), and ex- tended along the Adriatic from the mouth of the Aternus to that of the Aesis. any of the provinces of Central Italy (Etruria, for instance, or Umbria), as compared with the names of the towns enumerated by Pliny in the same dis- trict, will at once show the connection between the two. (Bingham's Ecclesiastical Antiquities, book is. chap. v. ITALIA. VI. The Sixth Region contained Umbria, to- gether with the land N. of the Apennines, once occupied by the Senonian Gauls, and which ex- tended along the coast of the Adriatic from the Aesis to the Ariminus. On the W. it was sepa- rated from Etniria by the Tiber, along the left bank of which it extended as far as Ocriculum. VII. The Seventh Region consisted of the ancient Etruria, and preserved the ancient limits of that country: viz. the Tiber on the E., the Apennines on the N., and the Tyrrhenian sea on the W., from the mouth of the Tiber to that of the Macra. VIIL The Eighth Region, or Gallia Cispadana, extended from the frontiers of Liguria near Pla- centia, to Ariminum on the Adriatic, and was bounded by the Apennines on the S., and by the Padus on the N. IX. The Ninth Region comprised Liguria, ex- tending along the sea-coast from the Macra to the Varus, and inland as far as the Padus, which formed its northern boundary from the confluence of the Trebia to its sources in JIt. Vesulus. X. The Tenth Region was composed of Venetia, including the land of the Carni, with the addition of Istria, and a part of Gallia Cisalpina, previously occupied by the Cenomaui, extending as far W. as the Addua. XI. The Eleventh Region comprised the re- mainder of Gallia Transpadana, or the whole tract between the Alps and the Padus, from the sources of the latter river to its confluence with the Addua. It is probable, both from the silence of Pliny, and from the limited scope with which these divisions were first instituted, that the regions had origi- nally no distinctive names applied to them : but these would be gradually adopted, as the division acquired increased political importance. No diffi- culty could arise, where the limits of the Region coincided (or nearly so) with those of a previously existing people, as in the cases of Etruria, Liguria, Picenum, &c. In other instances the name of a part was given to the whole : thus, the first region came to be called Regio Campaniae; and hence, in the Liber Coloniarum, the " Civitates Campaniae" include all Latium also. [Cajipania.] The name of Regio Samnii or Samnium was in like manner given to the fourth region, though perhaps not till after the northern part of it had been separated from the rest under the name of Valeria. The division introduced by Augustus continued with but little alteration till the time of Con- stantino. The changes introduced by Hadrian and il. Aurelius regarded only the administration of justice in Italy generally (Spartian. Eadr. 22 ; Capit. M. Ant. II); but in this, as well as in various other regulations, there was a marked ap- proach to the assimilating the government of Italy to that of the provinces ; and the term " Consu- laris," applied to the judicial oflBccrs appointed by Hadrian merely to denote their dignity, soon came to be used as an official designation for the governor of a district, as we find it in the Notitia. But the distinction between Italy and the provinces is still strongly marked by Ulpian, and it was not till the fourth century that the term " Provincia " came to be applied to the regions or districts of Italy (Mommsen, ad Lib. Col. pp. 193, 194.) The changes introduced into the divisions of Augustus, either before the time of Constantine or under that emperor, were the following: — 1. The fourth region was divided into two, the southern
 * A glance at the list of bishoprics existing in