Hey guys, it's Darius for Ancient Rome Live. We're traveling along the Via Apia, and in this episode, we're going to be exploring a pivotal city along the Via Apia Venevento. It's an epic adventure, and of course we're going all the way to Brindisi, so be sure to subscribe to hit every single episode. From Capua, the Via Apia continues 28 miles first to Caldium, the site of the famous Battle of the Caldium Forks, with a Roman suffered a humiliating defeat in 321 BC to the Caldini tribe of the Second Samnight War. Then the Via Apia advances, still hiring up an elevation to the next major city, Ben Eventham, just 12 miles away. The city is located on the mountainous Apia region of Campagna, in the Samnight region in the midway point, between the Adriatic and the Tyrion Sea. It was a critical location that the Romans conquered sometime in the Third Samnight War. Ben Eventham was originally founded by the Samnites, the Herapini or Wolf tribe, and they called their city Maloentum, or Malaventum. It was here that the Romans won the final battle against Pyrrhus of the Pyrrhus in 275 BC. Pyrrhus was the Greek king who had been invited by the Greek city Tarantum, Rome's chief rival in southern Italy. And as a result of their victory, the Romans renamed Malaventum Ben Eventham, and established a colony which grew large and prosperous. A lot of that prosperity depended upon its connection to Rome through the Via Apia, which passed right through the city. And this town remained a commercial and strategic stronghold throughout Roman history. Two major battles were fought here during the Second Punic War, Ben Eventham remained loyal to Rome and became a municipium by 86 BC. It would become one of the most prosperous cities in the Campagna region after Capua. One incredible opportunity to walk across this ancient bridge. Today it's known as Ponte Lebroso referring to a hospital for people with leprosy. But we can take it back probably to an original bridge of the Samnites. And by the Third Samnite War, Malaventum is conquered by the Romans and they change its name forever to Ben Eventham, which in the Middle Ages becomes a bastion of the Lombards. But in its heyday, this is a fantastic city, an imperial city, sponsored by emperors. This bridge, originally probably one of wood on the Samnites, then becomes a stone bridge under Apius Claudius Caicos. When the Via Apia passed right over it, what we're working on is largely reconstructed by Caracalla. Now the bridge was largely destroyed by Tottila of the Goths in the 6th century when he sacked the city. And then the bridge was rebuilt and finally renovated after the devastating earthquake in 1702. Just outside the city center of Ben Eventham, there's so much history along the Via Apia. This is an extraordinary site to come and experience for yourself. The remains of the imperial city underline its reputation as the number two city of Roman Campagna. The brick arch, once lined in marble, stood in the area of the form. Today it is known as the Arch of the Sacramento, next to the Archbishop's palace. Decided is the recently restored remains of a sprawling imperial age bath complex. In the heart of Ben Eventham, imperial baths, doodle-free preserves within the neighborhood of the theater. It was constructed by Trajan, completed by Hadrian, and amplified by Caracalla. With a diameter of 90 meters, it would have held up to 10,000 spectators, and the remains are impressive, once lined with marble veneer, stuccoes, and statuary. This spectacular theater in Ben Eventham, imperial and date beautifully preserved, gives you a sense again of the imperial city. It gives you a sense of imperial Rome. Look at all this brick work. It's in use still today. The brick work and the restoration complements the original building material. It truly is a stunning setting for performance and antiquity, and performance just go on still today. Just a gorgeous, gorgeous location. It is just an incredible opportunity to explore and have many of these places to myself as I take you along this epic journey along the Via Apia. Thousands of years of history, and of course, so much of that history now, it's all about preserving the antiquity. They're doing a magnificent job here in Ben Eventham. We have the stage area, we have the seating, the two stories, and of course, we can go downstairs. We can go to this corridor, the same technologies that we have in the amphitheaters. We have right here in Ben Eventham in the theater. Extraordinary. Afterward, it was abandoned in the middle ages and was used as a foundation for later houses. And one portion was given over to the construction of Santa Maria de la Verita, which still stands. The impressive remains of the cult of Isis are visible throughout the city today, including this impressive oblisque. And many of the Roman ruins found their way into the later Lombard city, particularly prominent, are the reused tomb reliefs and inscriptions and the bell tower of the city's medieval Duomo. There's also an important fork in the Via Apia at Ben Eventham. The Via Apia continued south-east in the mountainous interior, tracing Rome's path of conquest of Maenia Grécia, past a climb, Venusia, and down to Tarantum, Rome's main southern rival. But as noted in Horus' famous travelogue along the Via Apia, it was at this juncture in Ben Eventham that there was another important route, the road less traveled, probably the Via Menucha. This route was coastal running along the Adriatic and inherently less torturous as the road quickly descended to the coastal level, taking less time but utilized mostly for goods in wagons rather than pedestrians. The Via Menucha was not a major thoroughfare like the Via Apia, but that would change with Trajan. Ben Eventham is a place where the Via Apia passes through, but it's also the start of a new branch created by the Emperor Trajan. And this arch signifies the beginning of the Via Triana, which is a shortened path to Brindisi. It's completed in 114 and it looks like a triumphal arch, but it's really about Trajan's great triumphs. And there are civil and military victories that are depicted throughout this arch. It's almost 16 meters high, 8 meters wide, and it is nearly perfectly preserved. It's giving us a blow-by-blow account of some of the greatest achievements of Trajan. It still stands here today beautifully preserved. The Via Apia passes right by here and deviates to its original path, but here is the start of the Via Triana that takes you down to Brindisi and addition to the original Via Apia in the second century CE. Be sure to join me next time as we continue our travel down the Via Apia in Tika. Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe. And of course you can support our efforts where a non-profit at HNROMLIVE.org.