Capua

Origins

• Located in the plain behind Naples, now called the Campania (after Capua; the ancient connected the name "Capua" to "campus", plain)
• Ninth-century Iron Age (Oscian) settlement between the Greek towns on the coast and the Samnites in the mountains; Velleius Paterculus (who was probably born in Capua) records its foundation in 801 BCE.^note[Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 1.7.2.]
• Etruscan dynasty in the second half of the sixth century: two parts, Oscian Albana and Etruscan Seplasia
• Fifth century: Etruscan dynasts expelled after defeat against Greek forces; cf. Rome
• Cato: Capua founded 471 BCE.^note[Mentioned by Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 1.7.3.] This ;may refer to Greek rebuilding.
• 445 VC = c.440 BCE: The "Campanian nation was formed" ^note[Diodorus, World History 12.31.1.]
• 424 VC = c.420 BCE: Samnites take a predominantly Etruscan city^note[Livy 4.37.1.]

Roman Republic

• 343 VC = 339/338 BCE: another group of Samnites attacks Capua, Capua ask Rome for help^note[Livy 7.39.1.]
• c.331 BCE: Civitas sine suffragio, cf. Caere^note[Livy 8.14.10; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 1.14.3.]
• 312 VC Creation of the Via Appia; today, the ancient city can still be recognized as a 1300 meter long "kink" in this road
• Via Appia continued to Beneventum, Tarentum, and Brundisium
• 216 Hanniballic War: Capua becomes pro-Hannibal, invites him^note[Livy 23.7; Strabo, Geography 5.4.13; Diodorus, World History 26.10.1.]
• 212-211 Besieged by the Romans, who take the town^note[Livy 26.11, Appian, Hannibalic War 43.]
• The skull of what may have been Hannibal's last elephant kept in nearby sanctuary Diana Tifata^note[Pausanias, Guide to Greece 5.12.3.]
• 211: land becomes ager publicus; city abolished, land governed by a praefectus Capuam Cumas^note[Livy 26.16; Cicero, On the Land Bill 1.19, 2.88; Velleius, Roman History 2.44.4.]
• sII: BCE: amphitheater and theater
• In 73, seventy-eight gladiators managed to escape from the fighting school of Gnaeus Lentulus Batiatus; they were led by Spartacus.
• 59 BCE: colonia with settlers and renewed rights as a city (20,000 plebeians resettled by Julius Caesar.^note[Velleius, Roman History 2.44.4; Suetonius, Caesar 20.3; Appian Civil War 2.10.]
• 43 BCE: settlers sent by Mar Antony^note[Cicero, Philipics 2.39.]
• Soldiers of Caesar's legions VII and VIII, who had been settled near Capua, support Octavian
• 36 BCE: more settlers, this time by Octavian^note[Velleius, Roman History, 2.81, cf. Cassius Dio, Roman History 49.14.2.]

Roman Empire

• In the western part of the city: forum with council house
• c.26 CE: Tiberius inaugurates a Capitol^note[Tacitus, Annals 4.57; Suetonius, Tiberius 40.1.] near curent church of Sant' Erasmo
• 91 CE Via Domitiana cuts off Capua from main road Rome-Cumae/Puteoli
• sII: Amphitheater (Hadrianic) / 165 meters long, cf.Colosseum 188) and temple Mithras
• Constantine: seat of the consularis Campaniae; builds a basilica or the apostles (=S.Pietro)
• Late fourth century: Ausonius describes the city as purely agricultural but the eighth city of the Empire^note[Ausonius, The order of the famous cities 8.]
• 456: captured by Gaiseric^note[Paulus Diaconus, Roman History 14.17.]
• Flourishing in the sixth century^note[Procopius, Gothic Wars 1.14.]
• 594: Langobard occupation
• Modern Capua is ancient Casilinum, ancient Capua is called Santa Maria di Capua Vetere

Capua, Head of one of the Dioscuri

Capua-Curti, Acroterion

Capua-Curti, Antefix (Silenus)

Capua, Etruscan Ritual Calendar