Until after the defeat of Cannae it remained faithful to Rome, but, after a vain demand that one of the consuls should always be selected from it or perhaps in order to secure regional supremacy in the event of a Carthaginian victory, it defected to Hannibal, who made it his winter quarters: he and his army were voluntarily received by Capua. Livy and others have suggested that the luxurious conditions were Hannibal’s “Cannae” because his troops became soft and demoralized by luxurious living in the rich Capua. The importance of Capua increased steadily during the 3rd century BC, and at the beginning of the Second Punic War it was considered to be only slightly behind Rome and Carthage themselves, and was able to furnish 30,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry. The gate by which it left the Servian walls of Rome bore the name Porta Capena the only case in which a gate of Rome bears the name of the place to which it led. In 312 BC, Capua was connected with Rome by the construction of the Via Appia, the most important of the ancient highways of Italy. In the second Samnite War with Rome, Capua proved an untrustworthy Roman ally, so that after the defeat of the Samnites, it became the capital of Campania Felix. Capua entered into alliance with Rome for protection against them. from the Latin Caput, because Capua was the most important city of the southern Italy.Ĭicero used to call Capua as “ Altera Roma” (the second Rome), because of its beauty and wealth.Įtruscan supremacy in Campania came to an end with the Samnite invasion in the latter half of the 5th century BC.Ībout 424 BC it was captured by the Samnites and in 343 BC besought Roman help against its conquerors.from Capys, Aeneas’ cousin, who is the legendary founder of Capua.from the Etruscan Capeva, that is “City of Marshes”.There are many hypothesis on the origin of the name of Capua: The remains of huts and grave-goods of its necropolises attest that the territory was occupied intensely and continuously from prehistoric times, as well as in the Bronze and the Iron Age. (50 years before Rome), on the site presently occupied by the modern town of S. This post is also available in: French, Italian, Spanish Ancient CapuaĬapua was one of the oldest, biggest, richest and most important cities in the ancient world.Īccording to the Roman historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus, Capua was founded by the Etruscans in 803 B.C.

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