CAPPOyflN. 



CARACA& 



The following is lint of the king* u they have been 

 in history : Artabaaes (an interval of perhaps 80 yean 

 then occur.*, Khodobata*, Mitlm.Utra I., AriobanalMS 1., Mithri'.lates 

 II.. MiihrMatn HI., Ariobanann U., Mithri.Ulr. IV., Mithridat* 

 V . i-harnaoaa L, Mithri<Ut VI.. MiUm-litm VII., .urnan, 

 Great, with whom MM Romans long waged war (he dim! B.C. 4) ; 

 . II.. Darraa. Polemon I_ I'oUtnon II. Pontu* wu then 

 ntirriy to a Rotnan province. (Tacit Hint, 1 iiL 47.1 



Coin of ArUrithn. 

 British Mucam. Actual ic. SUrer. 61 rmin.. 



CAPPOQUIK. [WATIRTOWX] 



i'ltl, the Roman Capmr, a rocky but beautiful inland in the 

 Mediterranean, utau.U at the southern entrance of the Bay of Naples. 

 It U S mile* from Cape Campanella, which terminates the promontory 

 of Sorrento ; about 10 mile* from Cape Miseno, on the other aide of 

 UM bay, and 82 milm from the mole of Naples. It is composed of 

 limestone rooks, which are disposed in two manes with a considerable 

 hollow between them. The highest of these two masses, which is to 

 the west, rises 1900 feet above the sea. It is called Monte Solaro, 

 and a pretty little town named Anacapri ( Upper Capri ), is situated 

 upon the table-land of the mountain. The inhabitants of Anacapri 

 communicate with the other town called Capri, and all the east of the 

 island by means of a steep flight of 535 steps, which is carried down the 

 lace of a precipice in a very curious manner. The eastern division of 

 the island is only 880 feet above the sen in its' highest part. The 

 circumference of the island is about 11 miles. There are only two 

 safe landing places on it. 



Capri stands on a shelving rock towards the eastern extremity of 

 the island : it contains from 300 to 800 small but neat houses, five or 

 six churches and chapels, and a confined piazza or square in the 

 middle. The population of the island is about 6000, of whom about 

 4000 are settled in the district of Capri, and 2000 in the western 

 district The inhabitants are almost all small farmers and fishermen. 

 By great industry the islanders have retained and secured patches of 

 good suil on steep hill sides and in the midst of rocks and cliffs : the 

 cultivable parts produce most kinds of vegetables and fruits, a small 

 quantity of excellent oil, and a considerable quantity of excellent 

 wine. This wine, which is much used at Naples, is of two sorts, red 

 and white. The red wine is called ' vino Tiberiano ' from the emperor 

 Tiberius. Another important item of exports consists of quails, which 

 are annually captured at their seasons of passage in vast numbers. 



The narrow area of this island is wonderfully crowded with a 

 variety of scenic beauty, remains of antiquity, and historical recol- 

 lections. Extensive ruins of the villas of Tiberius, who resided a long 

 time at Caprese, still exist. He erected not less than twelve villas on 

 different parts of the island. The ruins of the most considerable of 

 them are seen on a bold perpendicular cliff at the eastern end of the 

 island, opposite the Surreutine Promontory. Near it also are the 

 remains of a pharos, or lighthouse, which served to guide ships 

 through the strait between the island and the Surrentine Promontory. 

 One of the greatest attractions of Capri is the Grotto Azzurra, or Blue 

 Grotto, on the north-eastern coast 



CAPUA, a city in the kingdom of Naples, is finely situated in one 

 of the richest parts of the Terra di Lavoro, in a plain on the left 

 bank of the Volturno, 15 miles N.W. from Naples, on the high road to 

 Home, and has a population of 8700. The Volturno enters the sea 

 about 12 miles below Capua ; at the town itself it is a deep and rapid 

 nver, and makes such a bend as to sweep round at least two-thirds of 

 the inclosure of the city. Capua occupies the site of the ancient 

 CMMnsjs, celebrated for its noble stand against Hannibal. It was 

 built in the th century, and first fortified in 1281. In the 18th 

 century the fortifications were enlarged and reconstructed on the 

 principles of Vauban ; but in the French invasion of Italy it was 

 unable to mnke a long resistance to its assailants. The most note- 

 worthy object* in the town are the gothie cathedral, in which are 

 granite columns from ancient Caailimim ; and the church of the 

 nziaU, which u built on the site of an ancient temple, and 



**" peU<A in iu *" Under the arch of the v* 1 ** 



numerous ancient inscriptions are preserved. Capua 

 title to an archbishop. It is a pretty well-built town. There 

 is a railroad from Capua to Naples, which was completed about nine 

 years since. 



The site of ancient Capua is occupied by the large village or ' casole' 

 afStmta Mono di Capua, which, although it does not rank as a town, 

 contains nearly 10,000 inhabitants. Santa Maria is about 2 miles 

 rom the Volttirno, and about the same distance east of tho modern 

 Capua. The railroad above mentioned paases through it It is a 

 Y J*T interesting place on account of the ancient remains struwed 

 J~ul it Considerable portions of the ancient walls and encircling 

 ditch are Tiaiklr, ... that the circuit of the city may be traced with 



tolerable certainty. The ruins of the amphitheatre are extensive, and 

 bow that wlim perfect it must have been one of the most magnificent 

 structures of the kind in Italy. There are remains of n triumphal 

 arch near the amphitheatre ; and some traces are found of the theatre, 

 the existence of which is recorded by an inncri; 



Capua was one of the Etruscan cities founded in Campania. The 

 date of this Ktruscan foundation U much disputed, some referring it 

 with Cato t<> r.f. 471, and others assigning it to B.C. 800. There 

 seams little dmibt that before the Etruscan occupation there was an 

 Ocean town named Capua on the site. The Etruscan name, accord- 

 ing to Livy (iv. 37), was Voltiirnum. When it Ml into the hands of 

 the SanmiUii, B.C. 428, the original Oscan name seems to have been 

 restored. The name Capua is supposed to mean ' a plain,' and tho 

 adjective Campanus (Ager) is evidently formed from Capua. Capua 

 after this event became an essentially Oscan city, and soon rose to 

 great prosperity. Livy writing of it about B.C. 843, styles it the 

 greatest and most opulent city in Italy (vii. 81). It* wealth rendered 

 its inhabitants proverbial for luxury and effeminacy. 



Hannibal spent a winter in this town during his campaign in Italy. 

 In the course of this war the Romans formed the siege of Capua, 

 which adhered to tho side of Hannibal (Livy, xxv. 20) ; when the 

 place was taken by the consuls Fulvins and Appius Claudius, the 

 senators were put to death, about 300 nobles were shut up in prison, 

 and the bulk of the citizens sold for slaves. Capua at this time was 

 probably a larger and wealthier city than Rome. The Romans spared 

 the city, which they peopled with strangers, in order that the most 

 fertile lands in Italy might not be left without cultivators ; but its 

 political importance was annihilated. It soon however became again 

 a flourishing town, and distinguished for its attachment to Rome. 

 Though deprived of all political privileges and of its fertile territory, 

 which the Romans retained as the property of the state, tiic city is 

 characterised by Cicero aa distinguished for its extent and embellish- 

 ments. In B.C. 59 Capua became a Roman colony, and 20,000 Roman 

 citizens were settled in its territory under the Agrarian law passed 

 by Caesar in his consulship. From this time the city enjoyed a dignity 

 corresponding to its importance, and under the empire, although 

 little is said of it, it continued to be a flourishing, large, and populous 

 city. On the fall of the empire its prosperity attracted the bar- 

 barians who desolated Italy. The Vandals under Genseric took it, 

 A.I). 456, and utterly destroyed it In the wars of Belisarius it figures 

 again, but in a very reduced condition. In the 8th century it seems 

 to have recovered considerable prosperity, for it is termed by P. 

 Diacouus one of the three most populous cities in Campania. At last 

 the Saracens A.D. 840 took it and reduced it to ashes. Iu surviving 

 inhabitants abandoned its defenceless position and took refuge in the 

 mountains, but were soon after (A.D. 856) prevailed upon by their 

 bishop Landulfus to return and establish themselves on the site of 

 Casilimim, which they fortified and named from then* ancient city. 



In the outskirts of Santa Maria, and on the roads that branch off 

 from that town to Capua, Caserta, Naples, and Kola, there ara many 

 ancient tombs, and the whole district, taking a diameter of 10 miles, 

 abounds more than any part of Italy with those ancient vases so 

 vaguely called ' Etruscan,' but which ought to be called Capuan, or 

 Campanian. The coins of Capua are almost all of copper, and bear 

 the name of the city with Oseau legends. 



Coin of Capua. 

 British Mmcum. Actual lizc. Bronze. 225 grains. 



CARA'CAS, the capital of the republic of Venezuela, and of the 

 department of Caracas, in South America, is situated in 10 30' 15" N. 

 lat, 67* 4' 45" W. long., and about 20 miles by the road from its port, 

 Ln Guayra, and has a population of about 50,000. It in situated at 

 the west end of the plain of Chacao, which extends about 8 miles 

 towards tho east, and is about 6 or 6 miles wide. The ground on 

 which the town is situated is very uneven, and has a steep slope from 

 north-north-west to south-south-east The Placa Mayor is 2880 feet 

 above the level of the sea. On the south side of the town in the 

 small river Guayra ; and from the height! on which the town stands 

 the Anauco, the Caroata, and the Catucho flow into the Guayra near 

 the town. There ara several bridges over the three last-mention .1 

 rivers. The Catucho supplies many public and private fountains with 

 water. The streets, which are straight and generally paved, intersect 

 each other at right angles. The private houses ore good and well- 

 built ; some ore of brick, but the greater port of masonry, in frame- 

 work. They are arranged in the manner of the houses in .Spain, 

 presenting towards the street bore walls with one or two windows, 

 but containing iu tho middle large court-yards, into which the 

 n|KirtmenU op. n. 



