Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/187

 AQUILEIA. fbandaiioD (Julian. Or. JL de gesL ContL; Eustath. | ad Diam. Per. 378), qnicklj ruHO to great wealth and ivoapeci^r, and becsuoe an important oommeidal em- porium; for which it was mainly indebted to its £ei- TtMinble porftion, as it were, at ^e entrance of Italy, and at the fint rfthe pass of Moont Ociv, which mnst alaavs faaT« been the easieBt passage fhnn the NE. into the Italian phuns. The accidental discovery of laloable goU mines in the neighbouring Alps, IB the tmie of PolyUus, doubtless oontribntel to its l«<jfcp e iiiy (PoL cip. S^b. ir. p. 208) f bnt a more pennanent source of wealth was the trade carried oo there with the baiharian tribes of the mountains, anl especially with the lUyrians and Pamumians on the Danube and its tributaries. These brought ikres, cattle and hides, which they exchanged for the wine and oil of Italy. All these productions were transported by land carriage as fkr as Nau- pnrtus, and thence by the Save into the Danube. (StabLir. p. 207, t. p. 2 14.) After the provinces of Uljria and Fanxionia had been permanently united to the Soman Empire, the increased intercoune bcCwTcn the east and west necessarily added to the nmmeroal prosperi^ of Aquileia. Nor was it less iaipcrtant in a military point of view. Caesar made it the head-4{nartcrs of bis legions in Cisalpine Gaul, pmbahly with a view to operations against the Dlvriana (Caea. K G. L 10^ and we afterwards fifld it repeatedly mentioned as ihe post to whidi the anpemrs, or their gmerals, repaired for the defence of the NE. fimntier of Italy, or the first pbcc which was occupied by the armies that en- tered it from that quarter. (Suet. Avg, 20, Tib, 7, Vap. 6 ; Tac ffisL ii. 46, 85, iii. 6, 8.) The same d i c uui&la nee exposed it to repeated dangers. Under the reign of Augustus it was atta^ed, though vithoBt saooeaa, by the lapodes (Appian. lilyr, 18); and at a later period, having had the courage to shut its gates against the tyrant Maximin, it was exposed to the first brunt of his fury, but was able to defy an his effivts during a protracted siege, whicfa was at lei^gth terminate by the assassination ef the onp ror by his own soldiers, A. d. 238. (Ha«)£an. tuL2 — 5; CapitoL Maxwdn. 21—23.) At this time Aquileia was certainly one of the most iapartant and floorishing cities of Italy, and during the next two centuries it continued to enjoy the same prosperity. It not only retained its colonial nak, hot hecame the acknowledged capital of tho pconnee of Venetia; and was the only city of Italy, beades Boine itself, that had the privilege of a mint (oL Digo. ii. p. 48.) Auaonius, about the middle ef the fboith century, ranks Aquileia as the ninth of the great cities q£ the Boman empire, and inferior aouog those of Italy only to MUan and Capua. (Ordo Nob. Urb. 6.) Though situated in a plain, it was strongly fortified with walls and towers, and seems to have enjoyed the reputation of an impreg- nable fijftress. (Amm. Marc. zxL 12.) During the later yean of the empire it was the scene of several decisire events. Thus, in a. d. 340, the Tt^ngcr Cottstantine was defeated and slain on the banks of the river Alsa, almost beneath its walls. ('ictDr. EpiL 41. § 21; Eutropw x. 9; Hieron. Ourm, ad arm. 2356.) In 388 it witnessed the drfeat and death of the usurper Maximus by Theo- dooss the Great (Zoeim. iv. 46; Victor. EpiL 48; UaL Ckrotu p. 11 ; Auson. I c); and in 425, tlwt of Joannrs by the generals of Theodosius II. (Prooop. B. K. i. 2 ; Philoetorg. xii. 14.) At length in ^ D. 452 it was bet^ieged by Attila, king of tlie AQUILONU. 171 Huns, with a formidable host, and after timintaining an obstinate defence for above three months, was finally taken by assault, plundered, and burnt to the ground. (Cassiod. Chron, p. 230; Jomand. GtL 42 ; Prooop. B, V, i. 4. p. 330 ; Marcellin. Chron, p. 290; Hist. MiscelL xv. p. 549.) So complete was its destruction, that it never rose again from its ashes; and later writere speak of it as having left scarcely any ruins as vestiges of its existence. (.Tomand. /. c. ; Liutprand. iii. 2.) But these ix- pressions must not be construed too strictly; it never became again a place of any importance, but was at least partially inhabited; and in the sixth century was still the residence of a bishop, who, (m the invasion of the Lombards, took refuge with all the other inhabitants of Aquileia in the neighbour- ing island of Gradus, at the entrance of the lagunes. (Cassiodor. Var. xii. 26; P. Diac. ii. 10.) The bishops of Aquileia, who assumed the Oriental title of Patriarch, continued, notwithstanding the decay of the dty, to maintain their pretrasions to the highest ecclesiastical rank, and the city it&elf cer- tainly maintained a sickly existence throughout the middle ages. Its final decay is probably to be attributed to the increasing unhealthiness of the situation. At the present day Aquileia is a mere straggling village, with about 1400 inhabitants, and no public buildings except the cathedraL No ruins of any ancient edifice are visible, but the site abotmds with remains of antiqui^, c(uns, oi- graved stones, and other minor objects, as well as shafts and cajntals of columns, fira^ents of friezes, &C., the splendour and beauty of which suf- ficiently attest the magnificence of the ancient dty. Of the numerous inscriptions discovered there, the most interesting are those which rdate to the wor- ship of Belenus, a local deity whom the Romans identified with Apollo, and who was believed to have oo-operated in the defence of the city against Maxi- min. (Orell./iwer.l967,1968,&c.; Herodian.viii. 3 ; CapitoL Maximm, 22 ; Bertoli, AnUchiUi di Aqm^ feia, Venice, 1739, p. 86 — 96.) Besides its commercial and mOitary importance, Aquileia had the advantage of possessing a territory of the greatest fertility; it was especiaUy noted for the abimdance of its wine. (Herodian. viii. 2.) Nor was the situation, in ancient times, considered un- healthy, the neighbouring lagunes, like those of Altinum and Bavenna, bong open to the flux and reflux of the tides, which are distinctly sensible in this part of the Adriatic. (Vitruv. L 4. § 11; Strab. V. p. 212 ; Procop, B, (7. 1 I. p. 9.) Strabo speaks of the rivor Natiso as navigable up to the very walls of Aquilda (v. p. 2 14); but this could never have been adapted for large vessels, and it is probable that there existed from an early period a port or emporium on the little island of Gradus, at the month of the river, and entrance of the lagunes. We even learn that this island was, at one time, joined to the mainland by a paved causeway, which must certainly have been a Koman work. But the name of Gradus does not occur till after the fall of the Western Emjare (P. Diac. ii. 10, iii. 25, v. 17), when it became, for a time, a considerable ci^, but afterwards fell into decay, and is now a poor place, with about 2000 inhabitants; it is still called Grado, [E. H. B.] AQCJILO'NIA ('AifauiA«y(a, Ptol.). The exist- ence of two dties of this name, both situated in Samnium, appears to be clearly established; though they have been regarded by many writers as iden*