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143-730: The Nuragic civilization , also known as the Nuragic culture , formed in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia , Italy in the Bronze Age . According to the traditional theory put forward by Giovanni Lilliu in 1966, it developed after multiple migrations from the West of people related to the Beaker culture who conquered and disrupted the local Copper Age cultures; other scholars instead hypothesize an autochthonous origin. It lasted from

286-604: A dux . During this time, Christianity took deeper root on the island, supplanting the Paganism which had survived into the early Middle Ages in the culturally conservative hinterlands. Along with lay Christianity, the followers of monastic figures such as Basil of Caesarea became established in Sardinia. While Christianity penetrated the majority of the population, the region of Barbagia remained largely pagan and, probably, partially non-Latin speaking. They re-established

429-652: A Carthaginian expedition led by Malchus in 540 BC against a still strongly Nuragic Sardinia. The expedition failed and this caused a political revolution in Carthage , from which Mago emerged. He launched another expedition against the island, in 509 BC, after the Sardinians attacked the Phoenicians' coastal cities. According to Piero Bartoloni, it was Carthage that attacked the Phoenician cities in

572-558: A combination of 43 different isobioclimates. During the year there is a major concentration of rainfall in the winter and autumn, some heavy showers in the spring and snowfalls in the highlands. The average temperature is between 11 and 18 °C (52 and 64 °F), with mild winters and warm summers on the coasts (9 to 16 °C (48 to 61 °F) in January, 23 to 31 °C (73 to 88 °F) in July), and cold winters and cool summers on

715-611: A federal Sardinian role, such as the sanctuary of Santa Vittoria near Serri , which was one of the biggest Nuragic sanctuaries, spanning over 20 hectares, including both religious and civil buildings.According to Italian historian Giovanni Lilliu, it was there that the main clans of the central island held their assemblies to sign alliances, decide wars, or to stipulate commercial agreements. Spaces for trades were also present. At least twenty of such multirole structures are known, including those of Santa Cristina at Paulilatino and of Siligo ; some have been re-used as Christian temples, such as

858-600: A hoard of ancient tin confirms local smelting as well as casting. The usually cited tin sources and trade in ancient times are those in the Iberian Peninsula or from Cornwall . Markets included civilizations living in regions with poor metal resources, such as the Mycenaean civilization , Cyprus and Crete , as well as the Iberian peninsula , a fact that can explain the cultural similarities between them and

1001-497: A hydraulic implant of lead pipes water was poured down from the ram shaped protomes inside the basin. Some archaeologists interpreted these buildings, with ritual and religious function, as thermal structures. Located in various parts of the Island and dedicated to the cult of the healthy waters, these unique buildings are an architectural manifestation that reflects the cultural vitality of the nuragic peoples and their interaction with

1144-728: A hypothetical regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae (" Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica ") in order to settle the War of the Sicilian Vespers diplomatically. This had broken out in 1282 between the Capetian House of Anjou and Aragon over the possession of Sicily. Despite the existence of the indigenous states, the Pope offered this newly created crown to James II of Aragon , promising him support should he wish to conquer Pisan Sardinia in exchange for Sicily. Western Europe Prior to

1287-580: A kind of round tower-fortress called nuraghe (usually pluralized as nuraghes in English and as nuraghi in Italian). These towers were often reinforced and enlarged with battlements. Tribal boundaries were guarded by smaller lookout Nuraghes erected on strategic hills commanding a view of other territories. Today, some 7,000 Nuraghes dot the Sardinian landscape. While initially these Nuraghes had

1430-518: A local noble family, the Lacon-Gunale , acceded to the power of Archon , still identifying themselves as vassals of the Byzantines, but de facto independent as communications with Constantinople were very difficult. Only two names of those rulers are known: Salusios ( Σαλούσιος ) and the protospatharios Turcoturios ( Tουρκοτούριος ) from two inscriptions), who probably reigned between

1573-486: A micro-continent. In the modern era, many travelers and writers have extolled the beauty of its long-untouched landscapes, which retain vestiges of the Nuragic civilization . The name Sardinia has pre-Latin roots. It comes from the pre-Roman ethnonym * s(a)rd- , later romanised as sardus (feminine sarda ). It makes its first appearance on the Nora Stone , where the word ŠRDN , or * Šardana , testifies to

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1716-835: A mild, generally humid climate, influenced by the North Atlantic Current . Western Europe is a heatwave hotspot, exhibiting upward trends that are three-to-four times faster compared to the rest of the northern midlatitudes. Western European languages mostly fall within two Indo-European language families: the Romance languages , descended from the Latin of the Roman Empire ; and the Germanic languages , whose ancestor language ( Proto-Germanic ) came from southern Scandinavia . Romance languages are spoken primarily in

1859-549: A mythological and religious significance. Another holy animal which was frequently depicted is the dove . Also having a religious role were perhaps the small chiseled discs, with geometrical patterns, known as pintadera , although their function has not been identified yet. A key element of the Nuragic religion was that of fertility, connected to the male power of the Bull- Sun and the female one of Water- Moon . According to

2002-427: A new historical turning point The widespread diffusion of bronze brought numerous improvements. With the new alloy of copper and tin ( or arsenic ), a harder and more resistant metal was obtained, suitable for manufacturing tools used in agriculture, hunting and warfare. At a later phase of this period (Bonnanaro A2) probably dates the construction of the so-called proto-nuraghe , a platformlike structure that marks

2145-588: A relatively simple structure, with time they became extremely complex and monumental (see for example the Nuraghe Santu Antine , Su Nuraxi , or Nuraghe Arrubiu ). The scale, complexity and territorial spread of these buildings attest to the level of wealth accumulated by the Nuragic Sardinians, their advances in technology and the complexity of their society, which was able to coordinate large numbers of people with different roles for

2288-929: A second time and came under Carthaginian rule. In 238 BC, taking advantage of Carthage having to face a rebellion of her mercenaries (the Mercenary War ) after the First Punic War (264–241 BC), the Romans annexed Corsica and Sardinia from the Carthaginians. The two islands became the province of Corsica and Sardinia . They were not given a provincial governor until 227 BC. The Romans faced many rebellions, and it took them many years to pacify both islands. The existing coastal cities were enlarged and embellished, and Roman colonies such as Turris Lybissonis and Feronia were founded. These were populated by Roman immigrants. The Roman military occupation brought

2431-400: A sepulchre; according to another theory, they could be a sort of Pantheon of the typical Nuragic divinities. Their finding proved that the Nuragic civilization had maintained its peculiarities, and introduced new ones across the centuries, well into the Phoenician colonization of part of Sardinia. In the ceramics, the skill and taste of the Sardinian artisans are manifested mainly in decorating

2574-568: A short-lived independent domain with Sardinian-heathen lay and religious traditions, one of its kings being Hospito . Pope Gregory I wrote a letter to Hospito defining him "Dux Barbaricinorum" and, being Christian, the leader and best of his people. In this unique letter about Hospito, the Pope prompts him to convert his people who "living all like irrational animals, ignore the true God and worship wood and stone" ( Barbaricini omnes, ut insensata animalia vivant, Deum verum nesciant, ligna autem et lapides adorent ). The dates and circumstances of

2717-573: A sizeable minority had also been found in Etruscan sites, particularly tombs, of central Italy ( Vulci , Vetulonia , Populonia , Magione ) and Campania ( Pontecagnano ) and further south in the greek colony of Crotone . The Giants of Mont'e Prama are a group of 32 (or 40) statues with a height of up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft), found in 1974 near Cabras , in the province of Oristano . They depict warriors, archers, wrestlers, models of nuraghe and boxers with shield and armed glove. Depending on

2860-427: A truncated cone shape; every Nuragic tower had at least an inner tholos chamber and the biggest towers could have up to three superimposed tholos chambers. They are widespread in the whole of Sardinia, about one nuraghe every three square kilometers. Early Greek historians and geographers speculated about the mysterious nuraghe and their builders. They described the presence of fabulous edifices, called daidaleia , from

3003-530: A very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow. Although some countries were officially neutral , they were classified according to the nature of their political and economic systems. This division largely defines the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe and its borders with Eastern Europe . The world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. West Germany peacefully absorbed East Germany , in

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3146-667: Is Lago di Baratz . A number of large, shallow, salt-water lagoons and pools are located along the coast. The climate of the island is variable from area to area, due to several factors including the extension in latitude and the elevation . It can be classified in two different macrobioclimates (Mediterranean pluviseasonal oceanic and Temperate oceanic), one macrobioclimatic variant (Submediterranean), and four classes of continentality (from weak semihyperoceanic to weak semicontinental), eight thermotypic horizons (from lower thermomediterranean to upper supratemperate), and seven ombrotypic horizons (from lower dry to lower hyperhumid), resulting in

3289-542: Is 1,849 km (1,149 mi) long. It is generally high and rocky, with long, relatively straight stretches, outstanding headlands, wide, deep bays, rias , and inlets with various smaller islands. The island has an ancient geoformation and, unlike Sicily and mainland Italy, is not earthquake-prone. Its rocks date in fact from the Palaeozoic Era . The Cambrian - Lower Ordovician succession of Sardinia reaches 1500–3000 m in thickness. Due to long erosion processes,

3432-735: Is a multilingual thesaurus maintained by the Publications Office of the European Union . In this thesaurus, the countries of Europe are grouped into sub-regions. The following countries are included in the sub-group Western Europe: The Western European and Others Group is one of several unofficial Regional Groups in the United Nations that act as voting blocs and negotiation forums. Regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from different regional groups. The European members of

3575-431: Is attested in some sites across the island since the late Bronze Age. Water management was essential for the Nuragic people, most complex Nuraghi were provided with at least a well; Nuraghe Arrubiu, for example, presented a complex hydraulic implant for the drainage of water Another testimony to the Nuragic prowess in the creation of hydraulic implants is the aqueduct of Gremanu, the only known Nuragic aqueduct yet. During

3718-533: Is bilingual in Italian and Sardinian : Regione Autonoma della Sardegna / Regione Autònoma de Sardigna . It is divided into four provinces and a metropolitan city . The capital of the region of Sardinia — and its largest city — is Cagliari . Sardinia's indigenous language and Algherese Catalan are referred to by both the regional and national law as two of Italy's twelve officially recognized linguistic minorities , albeit gravely endangered , while

3861-650: Is not uniform; in particular the East is drier, but paradoxically it suffers the worst rainstorms: in autumn 2009, it rained more than 200 mm (7.9 in) in a single day in Siniscola, and 19 November 2013, locations in Sardinia were reported to have received more than 431 mm (17.0 in) within two hours. The western coast has a higher distribution of rainfalls even for modest elevations (for instance Iglesias, elevation 200 m (656 ft), average annual precipitation 815 mm (32.1 in)). The driest part of

4004-605: Is situated between 38° 51' and 41° 18' latitude north (respectively Isola del Toro and Isola La Presa) and 8° 8' and 9° 50' east longitude (respectively Capo dell' Argentiera and Capo Comino). To the west of Sardinia is the Sea of Sardinia , a unit of the Mediterranean Sea; to Sardinia's east is the Tyrrhenian Sea , which is also an element of the Mediterranean Sea. The nearest land masses are (clockwise from north)

4147-602: Is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea , after Sicily , and one of the twenty regions of Italy . It is located west of the Italian Peninsula , north of Tunisia and 16.45 km south of the French island of Corsica . It is one of the five Italian regions with some degree of domestic autonomy being granted by a special statute . Its official name, Autonomous Region of Sardinia ,

4290-758: Is the largest religion in Western Europe. According to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center , 71.0% of Western Europeans identified as Christians. In 1054, the East–West Schism divided Christianity into Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity . This split Europe in two, with Western Europe primarily under the Catholic Church , and Eastern Europe primarily under the Eastern Orthodox Church . Ever since

4433-470: The praeses and apparently continued to manage military, judicial, and civil governmental functions via imperial procedures. The only Vandal governor of Sardinia about whom there is substantial record is the last, Godas , a Visigoth noble. In AD 530, a coup d'état in Carthage removed King Hilderic , a convert to Nicene Christianity , in favor of his cousin Gelimer , an Arian Christian like most of

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4576-612: The Agrigento area, along the sea route linking western to eastern Mediterranean; ceramics similar to those of late Bronze Age Sardinia have also been found in the Egyptian port of Marsa Matruh . The archaeologist Adam Zertal has proposed that the Harosheth Haggoyim of Israel , home of the biblical figure Sisera , is identifiable with the site of " El-Ahwat " and that it was a Nuragic site suggesting that he came from

4719-676: The Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe . Warsaw , Berlin , Prague , Vienna , Budapest , Belgrade , Bucharest and Sofia ; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to

4862-569: The Crown of the Realm . Each Judicate saw to its own defense, maintained its own laws and administration, and looked after its own foreign and trading affairs. The history of the four Judicates would be defined by the contest for influence between the two Italian maritime powers of Genoa and Pisa , and later the ambitions of the Kingdom of Aragon . The Judicate of Cagliari or Pluminos , during

5005-669: The Early Middle Ages , the island was ruled by the Vandals and the Byzantines . In practice, the island was disconnected from Byzantium's territorial influence, which allowed the Sardinians to provide themselves with a self-ruling political organization, the four kingdoms known as Judicates . The Italian maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa struggled to impose political control over these indigenous kingdoms, but it

5148-880: The German reunification . Comecon and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had been part of the Soviet Union regained full independence. In 1948 the Treaty of Brussels was signed between Belgium , France , Luxembourg , the Netherlands and the United Kingdom . It was further revisited in 1954 at the Paris Conference , when

5291-612: The Gibraltar strait , and in the Protovillanovan , Villanovan and later Etruscan centers of the Italian peninsula such as Vetulonia , Vulci and Populonia (known in the 9th to 6th centuries from Nuragic statuettes found in their tombs). Sardinia Sardinia ( / s ɑːr ˈ d ɪ n i ə / sar- DIN -ee-ə ; Italian : Sardegna [sarˈdeɲɲa] ; Sardinian : Sardigna [saɾˈdiɲːa] )

5434-666: The Greeks and Romans , such as Pseudo-Aristotle and Diodorus Siculus , and may be considered more mythical than historical. In the Stone Age the island was first inhabited by people who had arrived there in the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages from Europe and the Mediterranean area. The most ancient settlements have been discovered both in central and northern Sardinia ( Anglona ). Several later cultures developed on

5577-508: The Iberian Peninsula , France , Italy , Sardinia and North Africa , a second, Hispano-Caucasian substrate, which would explain the similarities between Basque and Paleo-Sardinian, and, finally, a Ligurian substrate. The Nuragic economy, at least at the origins, was mostly based on agriculture (new studies suggest that they were the first to practice viticulture in the western Mediterranean) and animal husbandry, as well as on fishing. Alcoholic beverages like wine and beer were also produced,

5720-824: The Reformation in the 16th century, Protestantism has also been a major denomination in Europe, with Eastern Protestant and Eastern Catholic denominations also emerging in Central and Eastern Europe . During the four decades of the Cold War , the definition of East and West was simplified by the existence of the Eastern Bloc . A number of historians and social scientists view the Cold War definition of Western and Eastern Europe as outdated or relegating. During

5863-524: The Roman conquest, a large part of Western Europe had adopted the newly developed La Tène culture . As the Roman domain expanded, a cultural and linguistic division appeared between the mainly Greek -speaking eastern provinces, which had formed the highly urbanised Hellenistic civilisation , and the western territories, which in contrast largely adopted the Latin language. This cultural and linguistic division

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6006-610: The Sherden , one of the most important tribes of the sea peoples, are to be identified with the Nuragic Sardinians . This identification has been also supported by Antonio Taramelli , Vere Gordon Childe , Sebastiano Tusa , Vassos Karageorghis , and Carlos Roberto Zorea, from the Complutense University of Madrid . Another hypothesis is that they came to the island around the 13th or 12th century after

6149-462: The Soviet Union . With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain . This term had been used during World War II by German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and, later, Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk in the last days of the war; however, its use was hugely popularised by Winston Churchill, who used it in his famous "Sinews of Peace" address on 5 March 1946 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri : From Stettin in

6292-471: The Su Nuraxi at Barumini , Santu Antine at Torralba , Nuraghe Losa at Abbasanta , Nuraghe Palmavera at Alghero , Nuraghe Genna Maria at Villanovaforru , Nuraghe Seruci at Gonnesa and Arrubiu at Orroli . The biggest nuraghe, such as Nuraghe Arrubiu, could reach a height of about 25–30 meters and could be made up of 5 main towers, protected by multiple layers of walls, for a total of dozens of additional towers. It has been suggested that some of

6435-453: The Talaiotic culture of the Balearic Islands and the Torrean civilization of Southern Corsica . Evidence of trade with the other civilizations of the time is attested by several artefacts (e.g. pots), coming from as far as Cyprus , Crete , Mainland Greece , Spain and Italy, that have been found in Nuragic sites, bearing witness to the scope of commercial relations between the Nuragic people and other peoples in Europe and beyond. Around

6578-448: The Western European Union was established. It was declared defunct in 2011 after the Treaty of Lisbon , and the Treaty of Brussels was terminated. When the Western European Union was dissolved, it had 10 member countries. Additionally, it had 6 associate member countries, 7 associate partner countries and 5 observer countries. The United Nations geoscheme is a system devised by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) which divides

6721-407: The cumbessias of San Salvatore in Sinis at Cabras . Some ritual pools and bathtubs were built in the sanctuaries such as the pool of Nuraghe Nurdole, which worked through a system of raceways. Furthermore, there are evidences of cults practiced in the caves in honor of a chthonic deity , as attested by the artefacts found in the Pirosu Cave of Santadi . The holy wells were structures dedicated to

6864-443: The metallurgy of copper and silver began to develop. During the late Chalcolithic the so-called Beaker culture , coming from various parts of Continental Europe , appeared in Sardinia. These new people predominantly settled on the west coast, where the majority of the sites attributed to them had been found. The Beaker culture was followed in the early Bronze Age by the Bonnanaro culture which showed both reminiscences of

7007-445: The nuraghe , a tower-fortress type of construction the ancient Sardinians built in large numbers starting from about 1800 BC. Today, more than 7,000 nuraghes dot the Sardinian landscape. No written records of this civilization have been discovered, apart from a few possible short epigraphic documents belonging to the last stages of the Nuragic civilization. The only written information there comes from classical literature of

7150-437: The " Far West ". The term Far West became synonymous with Western Europe in China during the Ming dynasty . The Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci was one of the first writers in China to use the Far West as an Asian counterpart to the European concept of the Far East . In Ricci's writings, Ricci referred to himself as "Matteo of the Far West". The term was still in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Christianity

7293-417: The 10th and the 11th century. These rulers were still closely linked to the Byzantines, both for a pact of ancient vassalage, and from the ideological point of view, with the use of the Byzantine Greek language (in a Romance country), and the use of art of Byzantine inspiration. In the early 11th century, an attempt to conquer the island was made by Mujahid al-Amiri al-Ṣaqlabī was the ruler of Dénia and

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7436-464: The 10th century, the so-called "Judges" ( Sardinian : judikes / Latin : iudices , a Byzantine administrative title) had emerged as the autonomous rulers of Sardinia. The title of iudice changed with the language and local understanding of the position, becoming the Sardinian judike , essentially a king or sovereign, while Judicate ( Sardinian : logu ) came to mean 'state'. Early medieval Sardinian political institutions evolved from

7579-455: The 18th century BC to either 238 BC or the 2nd century AD in some parts of the island, and to the 6th century AD in that part of the island known as Barbagia . After a period in which the island was ruled by a political and economic alliance between the Nuragic Sardinians and the Phoenicians , parts of it were conquered by Carthage in the late 6th century BC, and by Rome in 238 BC. The Roman occupation lasted for 700 years. Beginning in

7722-417: The 18th century BC (Middle Bronze Age), up to the Iron Age or till the Roman colonization in 238 BC. Others date the culture as lasting at least until the 2nd century AD, and in some areas, namely the Barbagia , to the 6th century AD, or possibly even to the 11th century AD. Although it must be remarked that the construction of new nuraghi had already stopped by the 12th-11th century BC, during

7865-404: The 4th millennium BC. Remains from this period include hundreds of menhirs (called perdas fittas ) and dolmens , more than 2,400  hypogeum tombs called domus de Janas , the statue menhirs , representing warriors or female figures, and the stepped pyramid of Monte d'Accoddi , near Sassari , which show some similarities with the monumental complex of Los Millares ( Andalusia ) and

8008-470: The 9th century BC the Phoenicians began visiting Sardinia with increasing frequency, presumably initially needing safe overnight and all-weather anchorages along their trade routes from the coast of modern-day Lebanon as far afield as the African and European Atlantic coasts and beyond. The most common ports of call were Caralis , Nora , Bithia , Sulci , and Tharros . Claudian , a 4th-century Latin poet, in his poem De bello Gildonico , stated that Caralis

8151-489: The Balearic Islands based in the Iberian Peninsula . The only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles. The Christians won but, after that, the previous Sardinian kingdom was undermined and subsequently divided into four smaller states: Cagliari ( Calari ), Arborea ( Arbaree ), Gallura, and Torres or Logudoro. Whether this final transformation from imperial civil servant to independent sovereign bodies resulted from imperial abandonment or local assertion, by

8294-433: The Beaker and influences by the Polada culture . As time passed the different Sardinian populations appear to have become united in customs, yet remained politically divided into various small, tribal groupings, at times banding together against invading forces from the sea, and at others waging war against each other. Habitations consisted of round thatched stone huts. From about 1500 BC onwards, villages were built around

8437-452: The CIA classification a little more liberally and including "South-Western Europe", would give the following calculation of Western Europe's population. The Hague is the seat of government The climate of Western Europe varies from Mediterranean in the coasts of Italy , Portugal and Spain to alpine in the Pyrenees and the Alps . The Mediterranean climate of the south is dry and warm. The western and northwestern parts have

8580-448: The Corsi ... Throughout the second millennium and into the first part of the 1st millennium BC, Sardinia was inhabited by the single extensive and uniform cultural group represented by the Nuragic people. Centuries later, Roman sources describe the island as inhabited by numerous tribes which had gradually merged culturally. They however maintained their political identities and the tribes often fought each other for control of

8723-440: The Eastern Orthodox Church, by the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, and the gradual fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire (which had replaced the Carolingian Empire ), the division between Roman Catholic and Protestant became more important in Europe than that with Eastern Orthodoxy. In East Asia , Western Europe was historically known as taixi in China and taisei in Japan, which literally translates as

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8866-410: The Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as the Greek or Byzantine Empire , survived and even thrived for another 1000 years. The rise of the Carolingian Empire in the west, and in particular the Great Schism between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism , enhanced the cultural and religious distinctiveness between Eastern and Western Europe. After the conquest of the Byzantine Empire , center of

9009-411: The Final Bronze Age. It was contemporary with, among others, the Mycenaean civilization in Greece , the Apennine and Terramare cultures of the Italian peninsula , the Thapsos culture of Sicily , and the final phase of the El Argar culture in the Iberian peninsula . The adjective "Nuragic" is neither an autonym nor an ethnonym . It derives from the island's most characteristic monument,

9152-402: The Mesolithic hunter-gatherer populations, with a material culture including the widespread Cardium pottery style. In the mid-Neolithic period, the Ozieri culture , probably of Aegean origin , flourished on the island spreading the hypogeum tombs known as domus de Janas , while the Arzachena culture of Gallura built the first megaliths : circular tombs. In the early 3rd millennium BC,

9295-460: The Minoan civilizations) and many fighting men, which has led scholars to think of a warlike society, with precise military divisions ( archers , infantrymen ). Different uniforms could belong to different cantons or clans, or to different military units. The priestly role may have been fulfilled by women. Some small bronzes also give clues about Nuragic personal care and fashion. Women generally had long hair; men sported two long braids on each side of

9438-512: The Nuraghe civilization and the presence in Nuragic sites of late Bronze Age Mycenaean, west and central Cretan and Cypriote ceramics, as well as locally made replicas, concentrated in half a dozen findspots that seem to have functioned as "gateway-communities". The late Bronze Age (14th–13th–12th centuries BC) saw a vast migration of the so-called Sea Peoples , described in ancient Egyptian sources. They destroyed Mycenaean and Hittite sites and also attacked Egypt . According to Giovanni Ugas,

9581-403: The Nuragic civilization to an end, except for the mountainous interior of the island, which the Romans called Barbaria , meaning ' Barbarian land'. Roman rule in Sardinia lasted 694 years, during which time the province was an important source of grain for the capital. Latin came to be the dominant spoken language during this period, though Roman culture was slower to take hold, and Roman rule

9724-697: The Nuragic populations may have adopted an alphabet of the "red" (western) type , similar to that used in Euboea . According to Eduardo Blasco Ferrer , the Paleo-Sardinian language was akin to Proto-Basque and ancient Iberian with faint Indo-European traces, but others believe it was related to Etruscan . Giovanni Ugas theorize that there were actually various linguistic areas (two or more) in Nuragic Sardinia, possibly Pre-Indo-Europeans and Indo-Europeans . Several scholars, including Johannes Hubschmid , Max Leopold Wagner and Emidio De Felice , distinguished different pre-Roman linguistic substrates in Sardinia. The oldest, pan-Mediterranean, widespread in

9867-457: The Vandal Kingdom was overwhelmed when Justinian's own army under Belisarius arrived at Carthage in their absence. The Vandal Kingdom ended and Sardinia was returned to Roman rule. In 533, Sardinia returned to the rule of the Byzantine Empire when the Vandals were defeated by the armies of Justinian I under the General Belisarius in the Battle of Tricamarum , in their African kingdom Belisarius sent his general Cyril to Sardinia to retake

10010-441: The adjective " sardonic ". In classical antiquity , Sardinia was called a number of names besides Sardṓ ( Σαρδώ ) or Sardinia , like Ichnusa (the Latinised form of the Greek Ἰχνοῦσσα ), Sandaliotis ( Σανδαλιῶτις ) and Argyrophleps ( Αργυρόφλεψ ). Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus ), with an area of 24,100 km (9,305 sq mi). It

10153-403: The ancient Nuragic Sards with the Sherden , one of the Sea Peoples . It is suggested that the name had a religious connotation from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-god Sardus Pater ("Sardinian Father"; a common explanation that the term means "Father of the Sardinians" is incorrect, as that would be "Sardorum Pater"), as well as being the stem of

10296-546: The beginning of the conquest of Sicily in 827. Historian Corrado Zedda argues that the island hosted a Muslim presence during the Aghlabid period, possibly a limited foothold along the coasts that forcibly coexisted with the local Byzantine government. Historian Alex Metcalfe argues that the available evidence for any Muslim occupation or colonisation of the island during this period is limited and inconclusive, and that Muslim attacks were limited to raids. Communication with

10439-636: The central government became daunting if not impossible during and after the Muslim conquest of Sicily between 827 and 902. A letter by Pope Nicholas I as early as 864 mentions the "Sardinian judges", without reference to the empire and a letter by Pope John VIII (reigned 872–882) refers to them as principes ("princes"). By the time of De Administrando Imperio , completed in 952, the Byzantine authorities no longer listed Sardinia as an imperial province, suggesting they considered it lost. In all likelihood

10582-486: The coasts, rather than the natives who lived in those cities with the Phoenicians, for the Phoenician cities destroyed, such as Sulcis or Monte Sirai, he postulated as being inhabited mostly by native Sardinians . The Carthaginians, after a number of military campaigns in which Mago died and was replaced by his brother Hamilcar , overcame the Sardinians and conquered coastal Sardinia, the Iglesiente with its mines and

10725-451: The coeval mediterranean civilizations. In fact, many scholars see in these buildings foreign Aegean influences. They have a rectilinear form with the side walls that extend outwardly. Some, like that of Malchittu at Arzachena, are apsidal while others such as the temple of Sa Carcaredda at Villagrande Strisaili culminate with a circular room. They are surrounded by sacred precincts called temenos . Sometimes multiple temples are found in

10868-466: The complexity of its surviving buildings, but also in its artworks (e.g. the votive bronze statuettes found across Sardinia or the statues of Mont'e Prama). According to some scholars, the Nuragic people(s) are identifiable with the Sherden , a tribe of the Sea Peoples . The Nuragic civilization was linked with other contemporaneous megalithic civilization of the western Mediterranean, such as

11011-469: The control over the fortress of Castel di Cagliari founded by Pisan merchants in 1216–1217 east of Santa Igia; in the south-west the count Ugolino della Gherardesca promoted the birth of the town of Villa di Chiesa (today Iglesias ) to exploit the nearby rich silver deposits. The Judicate of Logudoro (also called Torres ) was also allied to the Republic of Genoa and came to an end in 1259 after

11154-604: The countries of the world into regional and subregional groups, based on the M49 coding classification . The partition is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories. In the UN geoscheme, the following countries are classified as Western Europe: The CIA classifies seven countries as belonging to "Western Europe": The CIA also classifies three countries as belonging to "Southwestern Europe": EuroVoc

11297-466: The cult of the water deity . Though initially assigned to the 8th–6th century BC, due to their advanced building techniques, they most likely date to the earlier Bronze Age, when Sardinia had strong relationships with the Mycenaean kingdoms of Greece and Crete, around the 14–13th century BC. The architecture of the Nuragic holy wells follows the same pattern as that of the nuraghe,

11440-503: The cultivation of melons, probably imported from the Eastern Mediterranean, proves the practice of horticulture. As in modern Sardinia, 60% of the soil was suitable only for breeding cattle and sheep. Probably, as in other human communities that have the cattle as traditional economic base, the property of this established social hierarchies. The existence of roads for wagons dating back to the 14th century BC gives

11583-467: The current Sardinian villages trace their origin directly from Nuragic ones, including perhaps those containing the root Nur-/Nor- in their name like Nurachi , Nuraminis , Nurri , Nurallao , and Noragugume . Soon Sardinia, a land rich in mines, notably copper and lead , saw the construction of numerous furnaces for the production of alloys which were traded across the Mediterranean basin. Nuragic people became skilled metal workers; they were among

11726-572: The death of the judikessa (queen) Adelasia . The territory was divided up between the Doria and Malaspina families of Genoa and the Bas-Serra family of Arborea , while the city of Sassari became a small republic , along the lines of the Italian city-states ( comuni ), confederated firstly with Pisa and then with Genoa. The Judicate of Gallura ended in the year 1288, when the last giudice, Nino Visconti (a friend of Dante Alighieri ),

11869-709: The different hypotheses, the dating of the Kolossoi – the name that archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu gave to the statues – varies between the 11th and the 8th century BC. If this is further confirmed by archaeologists, like the C-14 analysis already did, they would be the most ancient anthropomorphic sculptures of the Mediterranean area , after the Egyptian statues, preceding the kouroi of ancient Greece . They feature disc-shaped eyes and eastern-like garments. The statues probably depicted mythological heroes, guarding

12012-470: The earliest evidence of human presence on Sardinia, around 20,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum . However, other authors contend that there is no solid evidence for the occupation of the island until the early Mesolithic , around 10,000 years ago. The Neolithic began on Sardinia during the 6th millennium BC resulting from the migration of Early European Farmers , replacing

12155-410: The elite in his kingdom. Godas was sent to take charge and ensure the loyalty of Sardinia. He did the exact opposite, declaring the island's independence from Carthage and opening negotiations with Emperor Justinian I , who had declared war on Hilderic's behalf. In AD 533, Gelimer sent the bulk of his army and navy (120 vessels and 5,000 men) to Sardinia to subdue Godas, with the catastrophic result that

12298-583: The end of Byzantine rule in Sardinia are not known. Direct central control was maintained at least through c. 650, after which local legates were empowered in the face of the rebellion of Gregory the Patrician , Exarch of Africa and the first invasion of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb . There is some evidence that senior Byzantine administration in the Exarchate of Africa retreated to Caralis following

12441-534: The face, while their head hair was cut very short or else covered by a leather cap. The Nuragic civilization was probably based on clans, each led by a chief, who resided in the complex nuraghe, with common people living in the nearby villages of stone roundhouses with straw roofs, similar to the modern pinnettas of the Barbagia shepherds. In the late final Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age phases,

12584-611: The failed invasion of Egypt; however, these theories remain controversial. Simonides of Ceos and Plutarch spoke of raids by Sardinians against the island of Crete , in the same period in which the Sea People invaded Egypt. This would at least confirm that Nuragic Sardinians frequented the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Further proofs come from 13th-century Nuragic ceramics found at Tiryns , Kommos , Kokkinokremnos , Hala Sultan Tekke , Minet el-Beida and in Sicily , at Lipari , and

12727-650: The final fall of Carthage to the Arabs in 697. The loss of imperial control in Africa led to escalating raids by Arabs on the island, the first of which is documented in 703, forcing increased military self-reliance in the province. Elsewhere in the central Mediterranean, the Aghlabids conquered the island of Malta in 870. They also attacked or raided Sardinia and Corsica . Some modern references state that Sardinia came under Aghlabid control around 810 or after

12870-578: The final phase of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age Sardinia saw the development of proto urban settlements, with open spaces such as paved squares and streets, and structures devoted to specific functions such as metal workshops, the individual houses were provided with storing facilities and were served by infrastructures. The most celebrated peoples of this island are the Ilienses, the Balari, and

13013-732: The final stages of World War II , the future of Europe was decided between the Allies in the 1945 Yalta Conference , between the British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , the U.S. President , Franklin D. Roosevelt , and the Premier of the Soviet Union , Joseph Stalin . Post-war Europe was divided into two major spheres: the Western Bloc , influenced by the United States , and the Eastern Bloc , influenced by

13156-467: The first phase of the Nuragic Age. These buildings are very different from the classical nuraghe having an irregular planimetry and a very stocky appearance. They are more numerous in the central-western part of Sardinia, later they spread in the whole Island. Dating to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, the nuraghe, which evolved from the previous proto-nuraghe, are megalithic towers with

13299-619: The flourishing of trade, metallurgical products and other manufactured goods were exported to every corner of the Mediterranean, from the Near East to Spain and the Atlantic. The huts in the villages increased in number and there was generally a large increase in population. The construction of the nuraghes stopped, as many were abandoned or partially dismantled starting from 1150 BC, and individual tombs replaced collective burials (Giant's Tombs). According to archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu ,

13442-481: The giant tombs of Madau or at Iloi. The bronzetti ( brunzittos or brunzittus in Sardinian language ) are small bronze statuettes obtained with the lost-wax casting technique; they can measure up to 39 cm (15 in) and represent scenes of everyday life, characters from different social classes, animal figures, divinities, ships etc. Most of them had been discovered in various sites of Sardinia; however,

13585-600: The group are: In addition, Australia , Canada , Israel and New Zealand are members of the group, with the United States as observer. Using the CIA classification strictly would give the following calculation of Western Europe's population. All figures based on the projections for 2018 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs . Using

13728-449: The houses were built with a more complex plan, with multiple rooms often positioned around a courtyard; in the Nuragic settlement of Sant'Imbenia, located by the coast, some structures were not used for living purposes, but for the storing of precious metals, food and other goods and they were built around a huge square, interpreted by archaeologists as a marketplace. The construction of rectangular houses and structures built with dried bricks

13871-489: The impression of a well organized society. The signs found in the metal ingots testify the existence of a number system used for accounting among the Nuragic people. Navigation had an important role: historian Pierluigi Montalbano mentions the finding of nuragic anchors along the coast, some weighing 100 kg (220 lb). This has suggested that the Nuragic people used efficient ships, which could perhaps reach lengths up to 15 meters (49 ft). These allowed them to travel

14014-479: The interior of the island, of Nuragic culture at least into the early Imperial period. Religion had a strong role in Nuragic society, which has led scholars to the hypothesis that the Nuragic civilization was a theocracy . Some Nuraghe bronzes clearly portray the figures of chief-kings, recognizable by their wearing a cloak and carrying a staff with bosses. Also depicted are other classes, including miners, artisans, musicians, wrestlers (the latter similar to those of

14157-472: The island is the coast of Cagliari gulf, with less than 450 mm (17.7 in) per year, the minimum is at Capo Carbonara at the extreme south-east of the island 381 mm (15.0 in), and the wettest is the top of the Gennargentu mountain with almost 1,500 mm (59.1 in) per year. The average for the entire island is about 800 mm (31.5 in) per year, which is more than enough for

14300-497: The island of Corsica , the Italian Peninsula , Sicily , Tunisia , the Balearic Islands , and Provence . The Tyrrhenian Sea portion of the Mediterranean Sea is directly to the east of Sardinia between the Sardinian east coast and the west coast of the Italian mainland peninsula. The Strait of Bonifacio is directly north of Sardinia and separates Sardinia from the French island of Corsica . The coast of Sardinia

14443-469: The island's highlands, formed of granite, schist , trachyte , basalt (called jaras or gollei ), sandstone and dolomite limestone (called tonneri or 'heels'), average at between 300 and 1,000 m (984 and 3,281 ft). The highest peak is Punta La Marmora ( Perdas Carpìas in Sardinian language) (1,834 m (6,017 ft)), part of the Gennargentu Ranges in the centre of

14586-463: The island, such as the Ozieri culture (3200−2700 BC). The economy was based on agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, and trading with the mainland. With the diffusion of metallurgy , silver and copper objects and weapons also appeared on the island. In 2014, early Chalcolithic period Sardinia was identified as one of the earliest silver extraction centres in the world. This took place during

14729-571: The island. Also found in the Italian peninsula, Sicily, in Spain and in Crete everything points to Sardinia being very well integrated in the ancient trade of the Mediterranean Sea . The language or languages spoken in Sardinia during the Bronze Age are unknown since there are no written records from the period, although recent research suggests that around the 8th century BC, in the Iron Age ,

14872-800: The island. Other mountain chains are Monte Limbara (1,362 m (4,469 ft)) in the northeast, the Chain of Marghine and Goceano (1,259 m (4,131 ft)) running crosswise for 40 km (25 mi) towards the north, the Monte Albo (1,057 m (3,468 ft)), the Sette Fratelli Range in the southeast, and the Sulcis Mountains and the Monte Linas (1,236 m (4,055 ft)). The island's ranges and plateaux are separated by wide alluvial valleys and flatlands,

15015-650: The island. Sardinia remained in Byzantine hands for the next 300 years aside from a short period in which it was invaded by the Ostrogoths in 551. Under Byzantine rule, the island was divided into districts called mereíai (μερείαι) in Byzantine Greek , which were governed by a judge residing in Caralis and garrisoned by an army stationed in Forum Traiani (today Fordongianus ) under the command of

15158-489: The island. The beakers arrived in Sardinia from two different regions: firstly from Spain and southern France , and secondly from Central Europe , through the Italian Peninsula . The Bonnanaro culture was the last evolution of the Beaker culture in Sardinia (c. 1800–1600 BC), and displayed several similarities with the contemporary Polada culture of northern Italy . These two cultures shared common features in

15301-461: The later talaiots in the Balearic Islands . According to some scholars, the similarity between this structure and those found in Mesopotamia is due to cultural influxes coming from the Eastern Mediterranean. The altar of Monte d'Accoddi fell out of use starting from c. 2000 BC, when the Beaker culture , which at the time was widespread in almost all western Europe , appeared on

15444-460: The main Nuragic divinities. A sacred pit similar to those of Sardinia has been found in western Bulgaria , near the village of Garlo . Starting from the late Bronze Age, a peculiar type of circular structure with a central basin and benches located all around the circumference of the room start to appear in Nuragic settlements, the best example of this type of structure is the ritual fountain of Sa Sedda e Sos Carros , near Oliena , where thanks to

15587-492: The main metal producers in Europe, and produced a wide variety of bronze objects. New weapons such as swords, daggers and axes preceded drills, pins, rings, bracelets, statuettes and the votive boats that show a close relationship with the sea. Tin may have drawn Bronze Age traders from the Aegean where copper is available but tin for bronze-making is scarce. The first verifiable smelting slag has come to light, its appearance in

15730-779: The main ones being the Campidano in the southwest between Oristano and Cagliari and the Nurra in the northwest. Sardinia has few major rivers, the largest being the Tirso , 151 km (94 mi) long, which flows into the Sea of Sardinia , the Coghinas (115 km (71 mi)) and the Flumendosa (127 km (79 mi)). There are 54 artificial lakes and dams that supply water and electricity. The main ones are Lake Omodeo and Lake Coghinas . The only natural freshwater lake

15873-454: The main part consisting of a circular room with a tholos vault with a hole at the summit. A monumental staircase connected the entrance to this subterranean ( hypogeum ) room, whose main role is to collect the water of the sacred spring. The exterior walls feature stone benches where offerings and religious objects were placed by the faithful. Some sites also had sacrificial altars. Some scholars think that these could be dedicated to Sardus, one of

16016-424: The material culture such as undecorated pottery with axe-shaped handles. These influences may have spread to Sardinia via Corsica , where they absorbed new architectural techniques (such as cyclopean masonry ) that were already widespread on the island. New peoples coming from the mainland arrived on the island at that time, bringing with them new religious philosophies, new technologies and new ways of life, making

16159-591: The millennium-old Roman imperial structures with relatively little Germanic influence. Although the Judicates were hereditary lordships, the old Byzantine imperial notion that personal title or honor was separate from the state still remained, so the Judicate was not regarded as the personal property of the monarch as was common in later European feudalism . Like the imperial systems, the new order also preserved "semi-democratic" forms, with national assemblies called

16302-927: The most valuable land. The most important Nuragic populations mentioned include the Balares , the Corsi and the Ilienses , the latter defying the Romanization process and living in what had been called Civitatas Barbarie (now Barbagia ). The representations of animals, such as the bull , belong most likely to pre-Nuragic civilizations, however they kept their importance among the Nuraghe people, and were frequently depicted on ships, bronze vases, used in religious rites. Small bronze sculptures depicting half-man, half-bull figures have been found, as well as characters with four arms and eyes and two-headed deer: they probably had

16445-418: The mountains (−2 to 4 °C (28 to 39 °F) in January, 16 to 20 °C (61 to 68 °F) in July). Rainfall has a Mediterranean distribution all over the island, with almost totally rainless summers and wet autumns, winters and springs. However, in summer, the rare rainfalls can be characterized by short but severe thunderstorms , which can cause flash floods . The climate is also heavily influenced by

16588-414: The name of Daedalus , who, after building his labyrinth in Crete, would have moved to Sicily and then to Sardinia. Modern theories about their use have included social, military, religious, or astronomical roles, as furnaces, or as tombs. Although the question has long been contentious among scholars, the modern consensus is that they were built as defensible homesites, and that included barns and silos. In

16731-532: The name's existence when the Phoenician merchants first arrived. According to Timaeus , one of Plato 's dialogues, Sardinia (referred to by most ancient Greek authors as Sardṓ , Σαρδώ ) and its people as well might have been named after a legendary woman called Sardṓ ( Σαρδώ ), born in Sardis ( Σάρδεις ), capital of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia . There has also been speculation that identifies

16874-405: The nature and the warlike habit of the newcomers and the conflictual thrust that they give to life on the island. This is confirmed by the presence of stone and metal weapons (copper and bronze). The metal also spreads in objects of use (copper and bronze awls), and ornamental objects (bronze rings and silver foil) ... It seems to feel a fall of ideologies of the old pre-nuragic world corresponding to

17017-438: The needs of the population and vegetation. The Mistral from the northwest is the dominant wind on and off throughout the year, though it is most prevalent in winter and spring. It can blow quite strongly, but it is usually dry and cool. Sardinia has been inhabited by humans since the end of the Paleolithic era, around 20–10,000 years ago. The island's most notable civilization is the indigenous Nuragic , which flourished from

17160-461: The people of the Sherden of Sardinia. Influences of the Nuragic architecture at El-Ahwat have been noticed also by Bar Shay, from Haifa University . Archaeologists traditionally define the nuragic phase ranging from 900 BC to 500 BC ( Iron Age ) as the era of the aristocracies . Fine ceramics were produced along with more and more elaborate tools and the quality of weapons increased. With

17303-411: The presence of a holy pit. In some holy areas, such as Gremanu at Fonni , Serra Orrios at Dorgali and S'Arcu 'e Is Forros at Villagrande Strisaili , there were rectangular temples, with central holy room housing perhaps a holy fire . The deities worshipped are unknown but were perhaps connected to water, or to astronomical entities like Sun, Moon, and solstices. Some structures could have

17446-515: The previous ones obsolete or reinterpreting them. It is perhaps in virtue of stimuli and models (and - why not? - of some drop of blood) from the Central European and Polada-Rhone areas, that the culture of Bonnanaro I gives a jolt to the known and produces in step with the times. ... From the generally severe, practical character and essentiality of the material equipment (in particular in the ceramics without any decoration), we understand

17589-522: The protection of regional and minority languages are recognised political goals in Western Europe today. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe. Western Europe is one of the richest regions of the world. Germany has

17732-482: The purpose of building the monumental Nuraghes. The Nuraghes are not the only Nuragic buildings that stand in place, as there are several sacred wells around Sardinia and other buildings with religious purposes such as the Giants' grave (monumental collective tombs) and collections of religious buildings that probably served as destinations for pilgrimage and mass religious rites (e.g. Su Romanzesu near Bitti ). At

17875-520: The real breakthrough of that period was the political organization which revolved around the parliament of the village, composed by the heads and the most influential people, who gathered to discuss the most important issues. Around 900 BC the Phoenicians began visiting Sardinia with increasing frequency. The most common ports of call were Caralis , Nora , Bithia , Sulci , Tharros , Bosa and Olbia . The Roman historian Justin describes

18018-583: The regency of Torchitorio V of Cagliari and his successor, William III , was allied with the Republic of Genoa . Because of this it was brought to an end in 1258, when its capital, Santa Igia , was stormed and destroyed by an alliance of Sardinian and Pisan forces. The territory then was divided between the Republic of Pisa , the Della Gherardesca family from Italy, and the Sardinian Judicates of Arborea and Gallura. Pisa maintained

18161-511: The regional law provides some measures to recognize and protect the aforementioned as well as the island's other minority languages (the Corsican -influenced Sassarese and Gallurese , and finally Tabarchino Ligurian ). Owing to the variety of Sardinia's ecosystems , which include mountains, woods, plains, stretches of largely uninhabited territory, streams, rocky coasts, and long sandy beaches, Sardinia has been metaphorically described as

18304-412: The same location, such as in the case of the huge sanctuary of S'Arcu 'e Is Forros , where many megaron temples with a complex plant were excavated. The largest and best preserved Sardinian Mégara is that called Domu de Orgia at Esterzili . The "giant's graves" were collective funerary structures whose precise function is still unknown, and which perhaps evolved from elongated dolmens . They date to

18447-424: The scholars' studies, there existed a Mediterranean-type Mother Goddess and a God-Father ( Babai ). An important role was that of mythological heroes such as Norax , Sardus , Iolaos and Aristeus , military leaders also considered to be divinities. The excavations have indicated that the Nuragic people, in determinate periods of the year, gathered in common holy places, usually characterized by sitting steps and

18590-419: The second half of the 2nd millennium BC, archaeological studies have proved the increasing size of the settlements built around some of these structures, which were often located at the summit of hills. Perhaps for protection reasons, new towers were added to the original ones, connected by walls provided with slits forming a complex nuraghe . Among the most famous of the numerous existing nuraghe, are

18733-606: The southern and central part of Western Europe, Germanic languages in the northern part (the British Isles and the Low Countries ), as well as a large part of Northern and Central Europe . Other Western European languages include the Celtic group (that is, Irish , Scottish Gaelic , Manx , Welsh , Cornish and Breton ) and Basque , the only currently living European language isolate . Multilingualism and

18876-452: The southern plains. The Nuragic culture may have survived in the mountainous interior of the island. In 238 BC, the Carthaginians, after their defeat by the Romans in the first Punic War , surrendered Sardinia to Rome during the Mercenary War . Sardinia together with Corsica became a Roman province ( Corsica et Sardinia ), however the Greek geographer Strabo confirms the survival, in

19019-407: The surfaces of vessels, certainly used for ritual purposes in the course of complex ceremonies, perhaps in some cases even to be crushed at the end of the rite, as the jugs found in the bottom of the sacred wells. Ceramics also display geometric patterns on lamps, pear-shaped vessels (exclusive of Sardinia), and the askos . Imported (e.g. Mycenaeans) and local forms were found in several sites all over

19162-409: The time, Sardinia was at the centre of several commercial routes and it was an important provider of raw materials such as copper and lead, which were pivotal for the manufacture of the time. By controlling the extraction of these raw materials and by trading them with other countries, the ancient Sardinians were able to accumulate wealth and reach a level of sophistication that is not only reflected in

19305-639: The vicinity of the Gulf of Genoa (barometric low) and the relative proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. Low pressures in autumn can generate the formation of the so-called Medicanes , extratropical cyclones which affect the Mediterranean basin. In 2013, the island was hit by several cyclones, included the Cyclone Cleopatra , which dumped 450 mm (18 in) of rainfall within an hour and a half. Sardinia being relatively large and hilly, weather

19448-438: The whole Italian peninsula; their territory was so renamed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, and it was reconstituted as the present-day Italian Republic in 1946. Sardinia is one of the most geologically ancient bodies of land in Europe. The island was populated in various waves of immigration from prehistory until recent times. Remains from Corbeddu Cave in eastern Sardinia have been suggested by some authors to represent

19591-500: The whole Mediterranean, establishing commercial links with the Mycenaean civilization (attested by the common tholos tomb shape, and the adoration of bulls), Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lebanon. Items such as Cyprus-type copper ingots have been found in Sardinia, while bronze and early Iron Age Nuragic ceramics and other artifacts have been found in the Aegean region, Cyprus, in Spain ( Huelva , Tarragona , Málaga , Teruel and Cádiz ) up to

19734-491: The whole Nuragic era up to the Iron Age , when they were substituted by pit graves, and are more frequent in the central sector of the island. Their plan was in the shape of the head of a bull. Large stone sculptures known as betili (a kind of slender menhir, sometimes featuring crude depiction of male sexual organs, or of female breasts) were erected near the entrance. Sometimes the tombs were built with an opus isodomum technique, where finely shaped stones were used, such as in

19877-644: Was driven out by the Pisans, who occupied the territory. The Judicate of Arborea , having Oristano as its capital, had the longest life compared to the other kingdoms. Its later history is entwined with the attempt to unify the island into a single Sardinian state ( Republica sardisca 'Sardinian Republic' in Sardinian, Nació sarda or sardesca 'Sardinian Nation' in Catalan) against their relatives and former Aragonese allies. In 1297, Pope Boniface VIII established on his own initiative ( motu proprio )

20020-554: Was eventually reinforced by the later political east–west division of the Roman Empire . The Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire controlled the two divergent regions between the 3rd and the 5th centuries. The division between these two was enhanced during late antiquity and the Middle Ages by a number of events. The Western Roman Empire collapsed , starting the Early Middle Ages . By contrast,

20163-471: Was founded by people from Tyre , probably in the same time of the foundation of Carthage , in the 9th or 8th century BC. In the 6th century BC, after the conquest of western Sicily, the Carthaginians planned to annex Sardinia. A first invasion attempt led by Malchus was foiled by the victorious Nuraghic resistance. However, from 510 BC, the southern and west-central part of the island were invaded

20306-495: Was often contested by the Sardinian tribes from the mountainous regions. The east Germanic tribe of the Vandals conquered Sardinia in 456. Their rule lasted for 78 years up to 534, when 400 eastern Roman troops led by Cyril, one of the officers of the foederati , retook the island. It is known that the Vandal government continued the forms of the existing Roman Imperial structure. The governor of Sardinia continued to be called

20449-690: Was the Iberian Crown of Aragon which, in 1324, succeeded in bringing the island under its control, consolidating it into the Kingdom of Sardinia . This Iberian kingdom endured until 1718, when it was ceded to the Alpine House of Savoy ; the Savoyards would politically merge their insular possession with their domains on the Italian Mainland which, during the period of Italian unification , they would go on to expand to include

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