Ticinum
Ticinum, located in northern Italy at the confluence of the Ticinus and Padus rivers, is a historically significant city that played a crucial role in various military events throughout antiquity. Initially noted during the Second Punic War when Hannibal defeated Roman forces nearby in 218 BC, Ticinum saw a resurgence of importance during the Principate period, marked by the construction of an Arch of Augustus. By 274 AD, the city became an essential military fortress and the site of an imperial mint, further establishing its economic significance. Notably, in 408 AD, Ticinum was the location of a military mutiny that led to the downfall of the general Stilicho. The city faced destruction when Attila the Hun attacked in 452 AD, but it remained pivotal, serving as the winter headquarters for Theoderic the Ostrogoth during his invasion of Italy in 489/90 AD. The crypt of the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro houses the remains of Boethius, a famous Roman poet and philosopher executed by Theoderic in 524 AD. The modern name Pavia derives from the Lombards, who made Ticinum their capital around 570 AD, reflecting the city's enduring legacy through the centuries.
Subject Terms
Ticinum
(Pavia)
A city of Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) near the confluence of the rivers Ticinus (Ticino) and Padus (Po). At the outset of the Second Punic War Hannibal defeated the Romans in the neighborhood (218 BC), but the town remained unrecorded until the epoch of the Principate. An inscription bears witness to an Arch of Augustus.
In later imperial times Ticinum became a vitally important fortress within the northern Italian defence system, and began a long career as a major issuer of official coinage when Aurelian, in 274, installed an imperial mint, transferred from Mediolanum (Milan). It was at Ticinum in 408 that the military mutiny broke out that brought down Honorius' great general Stilicho. In 452 the garrison attempted to buy off the Huns led by Attila, but the fortress suffered partial destruction at their hands. In 489/90 the stronghold was the winter headquarters of Theoderic the Ostrogoth during his invasion of Italy. The crypt of the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro contains the remains of the Roman poet and statesman Boethius, whom Theoderic executed for treason (524). The place owes its modern name to the Lombards, who captured it c 570 and made it their capital, under the designation of Papia.