History of Rome | Page 3

naturally would lead us to believe that it was regarded as a whole,
and named as a single country, from the earliest ages. This opinion

would, however, be erroneous; while the country was possessed by
various independent tribes of varied origin and different customs, the
districts inhabited by each were reckoned separate states, and it was not
until these several nations had fallen under the power of one
predominant people that the physical unity which the peninsula
possesses was expressed by a single name. Italy was the name
originally given to a small peninsula in Brut'tium, between the
Scylacean and Napetine gulfs; the name was gradually made to
comprehend new districts, until at length it included the entire country
lying south of the Alps, between the Adriatic and Tuscan seas. 2. The
names Hespéria, Satúrnia, and Oenot'ria have also been given to this
country by the poets; but these designations are not properly applicable;
for Hespéria was a general name for all the countries lying to the west
of Greece, and the other two names really belonged to particular
districts.
3. The northern boundary of Italy, in its full extent, is the chain of the
Alps, which forms a kind of crescent, with the convex side towards
Gaul. The various branches of these mountains had distinct names; the
most remarkable were, the Maritime Alps, extending from the Ligurian
sea to Mount Vésulus, _Veso_; the Collian, Graian, Penine, Rhoetian,
Tridentine, Carnic, and Julian Alps, which nearly complete the crescent;
the Euganean, Venetian, and Pannonian Alps, that extend the chain to
the east.
4. The political divisions of Italy have been frequently altered, but it
may be considered as naturally divided into Northern, Central, and
Southern Italy.
The principal divisions of Northern Italy were Ligu'ria and Cisalpine
Gaul.
5. Only one half of Liguria was accounted part of Italy; the remainder
was included in Gaul. The Ligurians originally possessed the entire line
of sea-coast from the Pyrennees to the Tiber, and the mountainous
district now called _Piedmont_; but before the historic age a great part
of their territory was wrested from them by the Iberians, the Celts, and
the Tuscans, until their limits were contracted nearly to those of the

present district attached to Genoa. Their chief cities were Genúa,
_Genoa_; Nicoe'a, Nice, founded by a colony from Marseilles; and
As'ta, Asti. The Ligurians were one of the last Italian states conquered
by the Romans; on account of their inveterate hostility, they are grossly
maligned by the historians of the victorious people, and described as
ignorant, treacherous, and deceitful; but the Greek writers have given a
different and more impartial account; they assure us that the Ligurians
were eminent for boldness and dexterity, and at the same time patient
and contented.
6. Cisalpine Gaul extended from Liguria to the Adriatic or Upper Sea,
and nearly coincides with the modern district of Lombardy. The
country is a continuous plain divided by the Pa'dus, Po, into two parts;
the northern, Gallia Transpada'na, was inhabited by the tribes of the
Tauri'ni, In'subres, and Cenoma'nni; the southern, Gallia Cispada'na,
was possessed by the Boi'i, Leno'nes, and Lingo'nes. 7. These plains
were originally inhabited by a portion of the Etrurian or Tuscan nation,
once the most powerful in Italy; but at an uncertain period a vast horde
of Celtic Gauls forced the passage of the Alps and spread themselves
over the country, which thence received their name.
8. It was sometimes called Gallia Toga'ta, because the invaders
conformed to Italian customs, and wore the toga. Cisalpine Gaul was
not accounted part of Italy in the republican age; its southern boundary,
the river Rubicon, being esteemed by the Romans the limit of their
domestic empire.
9. The river Pa'dus and its tributary streams fertilized these rich plains.
The principal rivers falling into the Padus were, from the north, the
Du'ria, _Durance_; the Tici'nus, _Tessino_; the Ad'dua, _Adda_; the
Ol'lius, _Oglio_; and the Min'tius, _Minzio_: from the south, the
Ta'narus, Tanaro, and the Tre'bia. The Ath'esis, _Adige_; the Pla'vis,
_Paive_; fall directly into the Adriatic.
10. The principal cities in Cisalpine Gaul were Roman colonies with
municipal rights; many of them have preserved their names unchanged
to the present day. The most remarkable were; north of the Pa'dus,
Terge'ste, _Trieste_; Aquilei'a; Pata'vium, _Padua_; Vincen'tia, Vero'na,

all east of the Athe'sis: Mantua; Cremo'na; Brix'ia, _Brescia_;
Mediola'num, _Milan_; Tici'num, _Pavia_; and Augusta Turino'rum,
_Turin_; all west of the Athe'sis. South of the Po we find Raven'na;
Bono'nia, _Bologna_; Muti'na, _Modena_; Par'ma, and Placen'tia. 11.
From the time that Rome was burned by the Gauls (B.C. 390), the
Romans were harassed by the hostilities of this warlike people; and it
was not until after the first Punic war, that any vigorous efforts were
made for their subjugation. The Cisalpine Gauls, after a fierce
resistance, were