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Perusia (Perousia: Eth. Perusinus: Perugia), one of the most important
and powerful cities of Etruria, situated nearly on the eastern frontier of that
country, on a lofty hill on the right hank of the Tiber, and overlooking the lake
of Thrasymene which now derives from it the name of Lago di Perugia. It closely
adjoins the frontiers of Umbria, and hence the tradition reported by Servius,
that it was originally an Umbrian city, inhabited by the tribe called Sarsinates,
is at least a very probable one. (Serv. ad Aen. x. 201.) The same author has,
however, preserved to us another tradition, which ascribes the foundation of Perusia
to a hero named Auletes, the brother of Ocnus, the reputed founder of Mantua.
(Ib. x. 198.) Justin's assertion that it was of Achaean origin (xx. 1) may be
safely rejected as a mere fable; but whatever historical value may be attached
to the statements of Servius, it seems probable that Perusia, in common with the
other chief places in the same part of Etruria, was in the first instance an Umbrian
city, and subsequently passed into the hands of the Etruscans, under whom it rose
to be a powerful and important city, and one of the chief members of the Etruscan
confederacy. It is not till B.C. 310, when the Romans had carried their arms beyond
the Ciminian forest, that the name of Perusia is heard of in history; but we are
told that at that period it was one of the most powerful cities of Etruria. (Liv.
ix. 37.) The three neighbouring cities of Perusia, Cortona, and Arretium, on that
occasion united in concluding a peace with Rome for thirty years (Liv. l. c.;
Diod. xx. 35); but they seem to have broken it the very next year, and shared
in the great defeat of the Etruscans in general at the Vadimonian lake. This was
followed by another defeat under the walls of Perusia itself, which compelled
that city to sue for peace; but the statement that it surrendered at discretion,
and was occupied with a Roman garrison, is one of those obvious perversions of
the truth that occur so frequently in the Roman annals. (Liv. ix. 40.) When we
next meet with the name of Perusia, it is still as an independent and powerful
state, which in B.C. 295, in conjunction with Clusium, was able to renew the war
with Rome; and though their combined forces were defeated by Cn. Fulvius, the
Perusians took the lead in renewing the contest the next year. On this occasion
they were again defeated with heavy loss by Fabius, 4500 of their troops slain,
and above 1700 taken prisoners. (Id. x. 30, 31.) In consequence of this disaster
they were compelled before the close of the year to sue for peace, and, by the
payment of a large sum of money, obtained a truce for forty years, B.C. 294. (Id.
x. 37.) At this time Livy still calls the three cities of Perusia, Volsinii, and
Arretium (all of which made peace at. the same time) the three most powerful states
and chief cities of Etruria. (Id. l. c.)
We find no other mention of Perusia as an independent state; and we
have no explanation of the circumstances or terms under which it ultimately became
a dependency of Rome. But during the Second Punic War it figures among the allied
cities which then formed so important a part of the Roman power: its cohorts were
serving in her armies (Liv. xxiii. 17), and towards the end of the contest it
was one of the populi of Etruria which came forward with alacrity to furnish supplies
to the fleet of Scipio. Its contribution consisted of corn, and timber for shipbuilding.
(Id. xxviii. 45.) With this exception, we meet with no. other mention of Perusia
till near the close of the republican period, when it bore so conspicuous a part
in the civil war between Octavian and L. Antonius, in B.C. 41, as to give to that
contest the name of Bellum Perusinum. (Suet. Aug. 9; Tac. Ann. v. 1; Oros. vi.
18.) It was shortly after the outbreak of hostilities on that occasion that L.
Antonius, finding himself pressed, on all sides by three armies under Agrippa,
Salvidienus, and Octavian himself, threw himself into Perusia, trusting in the
great natural strength of the city to enable him to hold out till the arrival
of his generals, Ventidius and Asinius Pollio, to his relief. But whether from
disaffection or incapacity, these officers failed in coming to his support, and
Octavian surrounded the whole hill on which the city stands with strong lines
of circumvallation, so as to cut him off from all supplies, especially on the
side of the Tiber, on which Antonius had mainly relied. Famine soon made itself
felt in the city; the siege was protracted through the winter, and Ventidius was
foiled in an attempt to compel Octavian to raise it, and drew off his forces without
success. L. Antonius now made a desperate attempt to break through the enemy's
lines, but was repulsed with great slaughter, and found himself at length compelled
to capitulate. His own life was spared, as were those of most of the Roman nobles
who had accompanied him; but the chief citizens of Perusia itself were put to
death, the city given up to plunder, and an accidental conflagration having been
spread by the wind, ended by consuming the whole city. (Appian, B.C. v. 32-49;
Dion Cass. xlviii. 14; Vell. Pat. ii. 74; Flor. iv. 5; Suet. Aug. 14, 96.) A story
told by several writers of Octavian having sacrificed 300 of the prisoners at
an altar consecrated to the memory of Caesar, is in all probability a fiction,
or at least an exaggeration. (Dion Cass. l. c.; Suet. Aug. 15; Senec. de Clem.
i. 11 ; Merivale's Roman Empire, vol. iii. p. 227.)
Perusia was raised from its ashes again by Augustus, who settled a
fresh body of citizens there, and the city assumed in consequence the surname
of Augusta Perusia, which we find it bearing in inscriptions; but it did not obtain
the rank or title of a colony; and its territory was confined to the district
within a mile of the walls. (Dion Cass. xlviii. 14; Orell. Inscr. 93-95, 608.)
Notwithstanding this restriction, it appears to have speedily risen again into
a flourishing municipal town. It is noticed by Strabo as one of the chief towns
in the interior of Etruria, and its municipal consideration is attested by numerous
inscriptions. (Strab. v. p. 226; Plin. iii. 5. s. 8; Ptol. iii. 1. § 48; Tab.
Peut.; Orell. Inscr. 2531, 3739, 4038.) From one of these we learn that it acquired
under the Roman Empire the title of Colonia Vibia; but the origin of this is unknown,
though it is probable that it was derived from the emperor Trebonianus Gallus,
who appears to have bestowed some conspicuous benefits on the place. (Vermiglioli,
Iscriz. Perug. pp. 379-400; Zumpt, de Colon. p. 436.) The name of Perusia is not
again mentioned in history till after the fall of the Roman Empire, but its natural
strength of position rendered it a place of importance in the troubled times that
followed; and it figures conspicuously in the Gothic wars, when it is called by
Procopius a strong fortress and the chief city of Etruria. It was taken by Belisarius
in A.D. 537, and occupied with a strong garrison: in 547 it was besieged by Totila,
but held out against his arms for nearly two years, and did not surrender till
after Belisarius had quitted Italy. It was again recovered by Narses in 552. (Procop.
B. G i. 16, 17, iii. 6, 25, 35, iv. 33.) It is still mentioned by Paulus Diaconus
Hist. Lang. ii. 16) as one of the chief cities of Tuscia under the Lombards, and
in the middle ages became an independent republic. Perugia still continues a considerable
city, with 15,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of one of the provinces of the
Roman states.
The modern city of Perugia retains considerable vestiges of its ancient
grandeur. The most important of these are the remains of the walls, which agree
in character with those of Chiusi and Todi, being composed of long rectangular
blocks of travertine, of very regular masonry, wholly different from the ruder
and more massive walls of Cortona and Volterra It is a subject of much doubt whether
these walls belong to the Etruscan city, or are of later and Roman times. The
ancient gates, two of which still exist, must in all probability be referred to
the latter period. The most striking of these is that now known as the Arco d'Augusto,
from the inscription Augusta Perusia over the arch: this probably dates from the
restoration of the city under Augustus, though some writers would assign it to
a much more remote period. Another gate, known as the Porta Marzia, also retains
its ancient arch; while several others, though more or less modernised, are certainly
of ancient construction as high as the imposts. It is thus certain that the ancient
city was not more extensive than the modern one; but, like that, it occupied only
the summit of the hill, which is of very considerable elevation, and sends down
its roots and underfalls on the one side towards the Tiber, on the other towards
the lake of Thrasymene. Hence the lines of circumvallation drawn round the foot
of the hill by Octavian enclosed a space of 56 stadia, or 7 Roman miles (Appian,
B.C. v. 33), though the circuit of the city itself did not exceed 2 miles.
The chief remains of the ancient Etruscan city are the sepulchres
without the walls, many of which have been explored, and one - the family tomb
of the Volumnii - has been preserved in precisely the same state as when first
discovered. From the inscriptions, some of which are bilingual, we learn that
the family name was written in Etruscan Velimnas, which is rendered in Latin by
Volumnius. Other sepulchres appear to have belonged to the families whose names
assumed the Latin forms, Axia, Caesia, Petronia, Vettia, and Vibia. Another of
these tombs is remarkable for the careful construction and regular masonry of
its arched vault, on which is engraved an Etruscan inscription of considerable
length. But a far more important monument of that people is an inscription now
preserved in the museum at Perugia. which extends to forty-six lines in length,
and is the only considerable fragment of the language which has been preserved
to us. Numerous sarcophagi, urns, vases, and other relics from the various tombs,
are preserved in the same museum, as well as many inscriptions of the Roman period.
(Vermiglioli, Iscrizioni Perugine, 2 vols. 4to., Perugia, 1834; Id. Il Sepolcro
dei Volunni, 4to., Perugia, 1841; Dennis's Etruria, vol. ii. pp. 458-489.)
We learn from ancient authors that Juno was regarded as the tutelary
deity of Perusia till after the burning of the city in B.C. 40, when the temple
of Vulcan being the only edifice that escaped the conflagration, that deity was
adopted by the surviving citizens as their peculiar patron. (Dion Cass. xlviii.
14; Appian. B.C. v. 49.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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