History of Sardinia

The history of Sardinia spans its prehistoric island societies, ancient Mediterranean connections, successive foreign rulers, and eventual incorporation into unified Italy.

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Pre-Nuragic Sardinia: The prehistoric cultures of Sardinia before the emergence of the Nuragic civilization. These societies built the island’s earliest monuments and preceded its best-known prehistoric culture.
Carthaginian Sardinia: The period when Carthage controlled much of Sardinia, beginning in the sixth century BCE. Carthaginian power followed Phoenician settlement and shaped the island before Rome conquered it.
Battle of Alalia: A naval battle around 540 BCE in which a Greek force fought an alliance of Etruscans and Carthaginians near Corsica. The battle illustrates competition among Mediterranean powers near Sardinia during the island’s early colonial era.
Sardinian nationalism: Political movements that advocate recognition, autonomy, or independence for Sardinia and its people. These movements respond to the island’s historical subordination and distinct cultural identity.
Nuragic civilization: A Bronze Age civilization on Sardinia, known for stone towers called nuraghes and distinctive material culture. Its towers and settlements define Sardinia’s most recognizable prehistoric archaeological record.
Roman Sardinia: The period of Roman rule over Sardinia, beginning after Rome took the island from Carthage in 238 BCE. Roman administration, settlement, and infrastructure transformed the island’s political and economic life.
Roman conquest of Sardinia: Rome’s seizure of Sardinia from Carthage in 238 BCE, after the First Punic War. This conquest began centuries of Roman rule over the island.
Sardinian autonomy: The special self-governing status granted to Sardinia within the Italian Republic under its 1948 statute. Autonomy contrasts with the centralized administrations that governed Sardinia in earlier periods.
Nuraghe: A prehistoric stone tower, usually conical, built in Sardinia during the Bronze Age and later periods. These structures anchor archaeological accounts of Nuragic society and its landscape.
Byzantine Sardinia: The period when Sardinia belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire after the reconquest of the western Mediterranean. Byzantine authority followed the collapse of Roman rule in the western empire.