Campus Esquilinus

Last updated October 31, 2022

Campus Esquilinus was an area on the Esquiline Hill in ancient Rome. It was the site of many extravagant buildings as well as baths and gardens. The Campus Esquilinus was also the site of executions and burials, though it was eventually turned into a park by Augustus.

Location

The Campus Esquilinus was the area of flat ground outside the Servian Walls and the double rampart of the Agger, between the Querquetulan Gate and the Colline gate. The name referred in particular to the area of the Esquiline Hill that lay outside the portas Esquilina during the end of the Republic and the rise of the Empire.^[1] Though its exact location is not known, it is likely that the Campus Esquilinus was located in via Labicana, and included present day Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and the area north of it.^[2] The part of the Esquiline Hill that contained the Campus Esquilinus was very decorative. The hill itself was covered with many elegant gardens, including the Horti Pallantiani, Horti Maecenatis and Horti Lamiani. Along with gardens, the hill was also the site of many lavish buildings.^[3]

Structures

During the Great Roman Fire of 64 AD, the imperial residence on the Palatine Hill, the Domus Transitoria, burned down. The emperor Nero, who never enjoyed the Domus Transitoria, took this opportunity to construct his elaborate Golden House (Domus Aurea), which was completed in 68 AD and stretched from the Palatine Hill to the Esquiline Hill.^[4] Because of the popularity of the Esquiline Hill, the Flavians decided to construct the Baths of Titus right by the Domus Aurea. Later, from 104 to 109 AD, the even more elaborate Baths of Trajan were built by the architect Apollodorus atop the hill. These public baths were not only used as a place for bathing, but also as a location for social gatherings. The baths contained much of the Domus Aurea, and together they were the largest Roman structures built at the time.^[5]

Functions

The main purpose of the Campus Esquilinus was as a burial site. A praetor's edict forbade cremation of bodies and dumping of manure or carcasses within the area of the Campus Esquilinus.(The carcasses mentioned in the edict were most likely from animals used for chariots, various Roman games, or simply wild beasts.^[6]) Because of these rules, the Campus Esquilinus became a location for human burials. The Campus Esquilinus contained part of early Rome's necropolis, which was mainly a place of burial for paupers, but was a burial site for wealthier Romans as well. Executions also took place at the Campus Esquilinus. Eventually though, the emperor Augustus took control of the Campus Esquilinus and remade it as a park.^[2]

Related Research Articles

The Palatine Hill, which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." The site is now mainly a large open-air museum while the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites.

The Domus Aurea was a vast landscaped complex built by the Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part of the city.

The Great Fire of Rome occurred in July AD 64. The fire began in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus, on the night of 19 July. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. In the aftermath of the fire, two thirds of Rome had been destroyed.

The Esquiline Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the Oppius.

The Baths of Titus or Thermae Titi were public baths (Thermae) built in 81 AD at Rome, by Roman emperor Titus. The baths sat at the base of the Esquiline Hill, an area of parkland and luxury estates which had been taken over by Nero for his Golden House or Domus Aurea. Titus' baths were built in haste, possibly by converting an existing or partly built bathing complex belonging to the reviled Domus Aurea. They were not particularly extensive, and the much larger Baths of Trajan were built immediately adjacent to them at the start of the next century.

Monti is the 1st rione of Rome, identified by the initials R. I, located in Municipio I. The name literally means "mountains" in Italian and comes from the fact that the Esquiline, the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal and the Caelian Hills belonged to this rione: currently, however, the Esquiline Hill belongs to the rione Esquilino.

In 7 BC, Augustus divided the city of Rome into 14 administrative regions. These replaced the four regiones—or "quarters"—traditionally attributed to Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome. They were further divided into official neighborhoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baths of Trajan</span> Ancient Roman baths in Rome, Italy

The Baths of Trajan were a massive thermae, a bathing and leisure complex, built in ancient Rome starting from 104 AD and dedicated during the kalendae of July in 109. Commissioned by Emperor Trajan, the complex of baths occupied space on the southern side of the Oppian Hill on the outskirts of what was then the main developed area of the city, although still inside the boundary of the Servian Wall. The architect of the complex is said to be Apollodorus of Damascus. The baths were being utilized mainly as a recreational and social center by Roman citizens, both men and women, as late as the early 5th century. The complex seems to have been deserted soon afterwards as a cemetery dated to the 5th century has been found in front of the northeastern exedra. The baths were thus no longer in use at the time of the siege of Rome by the Ostrogoths in 537; with the destruction of the Roman aqueducts, all thermae were abandoned, as was the whole of the now-waterless Mons Oppius. Early Christian writers misnamed the remains the "Baths of Domitian".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flavian Palace</span>

The Flavian Palace, normally known as the Domus Flavia, is part of the vast Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It was completed in 92 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus, and attributed to his master architect, Rabirius.

The Gardens of Maecenas, or Horti Maecenatis, constituted the luxurious ancient Roman estate of Gaius Maecenas, an Augustan-era imperial advisor and patron of the arts. The property was among the first in Italy to emulate the style of Persian gardens. The walled villa, buildings, and gardens were located on the Esquiline Hill, atop the agger of the Servian Wall and its adjoining necropolis, as well as near the Horti Lamiani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porta Esquilina</span>

The Porta Esquilina was a gate in the Servian Wall, of which the Arch of Gallienus is extant today. Tradition dates it back to the 6th century BC, when the Servian Wall was said to have been built by the Roman king Servius Tullius. However modern scholarship and evidence from archaeology indicate a date in the fourth century BC. The archway of the gate was rededicated in 262 as the Arch of Gallienus.

The Oppian Hill is the southern spur of the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven hills of Rome, Italy. It is separated from the Cispius on the north by the valley of the Suburra, and from the Caelian Hill on the south by the valley of the Colosseum. The Oppius and the Cispius together form the Esquiline plateau just inside the line of the Servian Wall.

The Temple of Minerva Medica is a ruined nymphaeum of Imperial Rome, lying between the Via Labicana and Aurelian Walls and just inside the line of the Anio Vetus. Once part of the Horti Liciniani on the Esquiline Hill, it now faces the modern Via Giolitti. It was once thought to be the temple to Minerva Medica mentioned by Cicero and other sources. In fact, it is a nymphaeum, a building devoted to the nymphs and often connected to the water supply, that dates to the 4th century.

The Domus Transitoria was Roman emperor Nero's first palace damaged or destroyed by the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, and then extended by his Domus Aurea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace of Domitian</span>

The Palace of Domitian was built as Roman emperor Domitian's official residence in 81–92 AD and was used as such by subsequent emperors. Its remains sit atop and dominate the Palatine Hill in Rome, alongside other palaces.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Rome:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regio III Isis et Serapis</span> Historical region of Rome

The Regio III Isis et Serapis was the third regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio III took its name from the double sanctuary of Isis and Serapis, in the area of the Via Praenestina, containing the valley that was to be the future site of the Colosseum, and parts of the Oppian and Esquiline hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regio V Esquiliae</span> Historical region of Rome

The Regio V Esquiliae is the fifth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio V took its name from the Esquiline Hill. It contains parts of the Oppian Hill and Cispian Hill and of the Esquiline, plus the plain just outside the Servian Wall.

References

↑ Bunson, Matthew (1994). "Hills of Rome". Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire . New York: Facts on File.
1 2 Platner, Samuel Ball. “Campus Esquilinus.” A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Completed and revised by Thomas Ashby. London: Oxford University Press, 1929.
↑ Bunson, Matthew."Mons Esquilinus." Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1994.
↑ Bunson, Matthew (1994). "Hills of Rome". Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York: Facts on File.
↑ Bunson, Matthew (1994). "Baths". Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York: Facts on File..
↑ "Notes On Supplementary Plates CV-CVIII." Greece & Rome 20 (1951): 95-97. JSTOR.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Bunson, Matthew (1994). "Hills of Rome". Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire . New York: Facts on File.

[platner-2] 1 2 Platner, Samuel Ball. “Campus Esquilinus.” A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Completed and revised by Thomas Ashby. London: Oxford University Press, 1929.

[3] Bunson, Matthew."Mons Esquilinus." Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1994.

[4] Bunson, Matthew (1994). "Hills of Rome". Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York: Facts on File.

[5] Bunson, Matthew (1994). "Baths". Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York: Facts on File..

[stone-6] "Notes On Supplementary Plates CV-CVIII." Greece & Rome 20 (1951): 95-97. JSTOR.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]