Ancient period In class ic al an tiq u it y, it was in h ab it ed b y t h e Histri,[9] a Ve n e tic or Ill yr i a n tribe re cor ded by Str ab o in the 1st century AD T he Is t r i an pen ins u l a wa s c o n que red b y th e Ro ma ns in 1 77 B C,[9] sta rt in g a period o f R oman iz ati o n. T he to wn wa s ele vated t o c ol o n i al r an k be tween 4 6–4 5 B C as the te n t h re g i on o f the Ro ma n Emp i re, un d er Ju li us Cae sar.[9][10] Du ring t ha t ti me the to wn g re w a n d h ad a t its z en it h a pop u lation o f a bo ut 30,000. It be c a me a s ignific ant R oman p o rt w it h a large su rr o un din g ar ea un d e r its ju ri s dic t i on. Du ring t he civil w ar o f 4 2 B C o f the tri um v i rat e o f O ct avian, Ma rk An to ny a nd L e pidus against Caesars assassins Brutus and Cassius, the town took the side of Cassius, since the town had been founded by Cassius Longinus, brother of Cassius. After Octavians victory, the town was demolished. It was soon rebuilt at the request of Octavians daughter Iulia and was then called Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola Pollentia Herculanea. Great classical constructions were built of which a few remain. A great amphitheatre, Pula Arena was constructed between 27 BC – 68 AD,[11] much of it still standing to this day. The Romans also supplied the city with a water supply and sewage systems. They fortified the city with a wall with ten gates. A few of these gates still remain: the triumphal Arch of the Sergii, the Gate of Hercules (in which the names of the founders of the city are engraved) and the Twin Gates. During the reign of emperor Septimius Severus the name of the town was changed into Res Publica Polensis. In 354 AD the town was the site of Gallus Caesars execution. In 425 AD the town became the centre of a bishopric, attested by the remains of foundations of a few religious buildings.[9] Middle Ages After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the city and region were attacked by the Ostrogoths, Pula being virtually destroyed by Odoacer, a Germanic foederati general in 476 AD[12] The town was ruled by the Ostrogoths from 493 to 538 AD[12] When their rule ended, Pula came under the rule of the Exarchate of Ravenna (540–751). During this period Pula prospered and became the major port of the Byzantine fleet and integral part of the Byzantine Empire.[12][13] The Basilica of Saint Mary Formosa was built in the 6th century.[12] From 788 on Pula was ruled by the Frankish kingdom under Charlemagne, with the introduction of the feudal system.[13][14][15] Pula became the seat of the elective counts of Istria until 1077. The town was taken in 1148 by the Venetians and in 1150 Pula swore allegiance to the Republic of Venice, thus becoming a Venetian possession. For centuries thereafter, the citys fate and fortunes were tied to those of Venetian power. It was conquered by the Pisans in 1192 but soon reconquered by the Venetians.[16] In 1238 Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the Empire, and consequently against Pisa too. As Pula had sided with the Pisans, the city was sacked by the Venetians in 1243. It was destroyed again in 1267 and again in 1397 when the Genoese defeated the Venetians in a naval battle. Pula then slowly went into decline. This decay was accelerated by the infighting of local families: the ancient Roman Sergi family and the Ionotasi (1258–1271) and the clash between Venice and Genoa for the control of the city and its harbour (late 13th and 14th centuries). In 1291 – by the Peace of Treviso – Patriarch Raimondo della Torre gained the city as part of the secular realm of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, only to lose it to Venice in 1331, which then held it until its downfall in 1797. Pula is quoted by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who had visited Pula, in the Divine Comedy: Sì come a Pola, presso del Carnaro, chItalia chiude e i suoi termini bagna or As Pula, along the Quarnero, that marks the end of Italy and bathes its boundaries. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pula
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 04:26:33 +0000
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