page_title: Ancient Corsica
section_title: Roman Republic (259 - 27 BC)
hierarchical_section_title: Ancient Corsica / Roman Republic (259 - 27 BC)
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of ancient roman Corse, own Work, based upon Image:Corse.jpg (12.08.06)
context_page_description: The history of Corsica in ancient times was characterised by contests for control of the island among various foreign powers. The successors of the neolithic cultures of the island were able to maintain their distinctive traditions even into Roman times, despite the successive interventions of Etruscans, Carthaginians or Phoenicians, and Greeks. A long period of Roman rule was followed by renewed conflict for control of the island by the Vandals, Byzantines and Saracens.
context_section_description: The Roman conquest of Corsica began in 259 BC, when Lucius Cornelius Scipio captured Aleria (Greek 'Alalia') and several Corsican tribes, in the course of the First Punic War. The Roman invasion of the island marked the expansion of the war beyond Sicily to the entire western Mediterranean. In the subsequent peace treaty in 241 BC between the Romans and the defeated Carthaginians, there was no indication that Corsica or Sardinia would pass into the Roman sphere of influence. But, since the Carthaginians were occupied with the Mercenary War, they had no ability to defend them, even when the unrest spread to the nominally Carthaginian island of Sardinia. In the end, the Romans retained both islands. It is not entirely clear whether this control began in 241 BC, but it is certain that the consul for 238/7, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, expanded their dominion over both Corsica and Sardinia, at least in theory.
  Both islands were treated as a single military region and were administered by a military government. A rebellion in 231 BC was defeated by Gaius Papirius Maso, for which he received the first triumph in monte Albano. In 227 BC, the two islands became the province of Sardinia et Corsica. Control of the two islands functioned as a kind of buffer zone, protecting the Italian mainland from attacks from the west. Sardinia et Corsica was one of the first two provinces, along with Sicilia, to be founded by the Romans, signifying the final stage in Rome's transformation from a city state to a territorial empire. Unlike with their acquisitions in Italy, the Romans did not bring Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily into their alliance system. Instead, they established a governor, with civil and military responsibilities and the rank of praetor. For the management of the two new provinces, two new praetorships were created, which had not existed previously and the system for the expansion of the empire was established. Originally, this was a military administration for when there was conflict on the island only, but the administration simultaneously gained control of civil government as well and became a permanent fixture. The administration of the province was based in the Sardinian city of Cagliari and the first governor was Marcus Valerius Laevinus. The establishment of the province was contrary to the wishes of the local inhabitants, who had maintained their independence up to this time from both Greeks and Carthaginians. In the following decades, there were multiple rebellions and the conquest of the interior of the island claimed much Roman time and energy. The first colonia, Colonia Mariana, was founded by Gaius Marius around 104 BC and further coloniae followed in the course of the 1st century BC. Marius founded his colonia in the northeast of the island, in the land of the Vanacini tribe. Between December 82 and 1 January 80 BC, Sulla also settled colonists on the island, at Aleria, which he named Colonia Veneria Alaria.
  During the Civil War, the island initially belonged to the sphere of Pompey, but was subsequently taken by Julius Caesar. Between 40 and 38 BC, Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey, and his legate Menas occupied the island and terrorised Sardinia, Sicily and even the Italian mainland with a great pirate fleet. Along with the three Triumvirs, Sextus Pompey was one of the four most significant contenders in the warfare after Julius Caesar's death. His fleet largely consisted of thousands of slaves and he also held many strongholds on Corsica. With it, he seriously threatened the Roman grain supply, such that Octavian had to make peace with Sextus Pompey since it was not possible to beat him at the time. In the Pact of Misenum (39 BC), Sextus Pompey was assigned the three islands and Achaia, in return for ending the blockade of the mainland and remaining neutral in the conflict between Octavian and Marc Antony. But Octavian was not satisfied with the area assigned to him and initiated a betrayal which insured that Corsica and Sardinia came into his hands. The conflict erupted anew in 38 BC and Pompey again blockaded the 
caption: Corsica in Roman times. Praesidium was the seat of the governors, but Aleria was the largest and most important city.
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