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CORDOBA (Town) ANDALUCIA
Corduba (Korduba, Kordube, Kordouba: Eth. and Adj. Cordubensis: Cordoba
or Cordova), one of the chief cities of Hispania, in the territory of the Turduli.
It stood on the right bank of the Baetis (Guadalquivir), a little below the spot
where the navigation of the river commenced, at the distance of 1200 stadia from
the sea. Its foundation was ascribed to Marcellus, whom we find making it his
headquarters in the Celtiberian War. (Strab. iii. p. 141; Polyb. xxxv. 2.) It
was occupied from the first by a chosen mixt population of Romans and natives
of the surrounding country; and it was the first colony of the Romans in those
parts. Strabo's language implies that it was a colony from its very foundation,
that is, from B.C. 152. It was regarded as the capital of the extensive and fertile
district of Baeturia, comprising the country between the Anas and the Baetis,
the richness of which combined with its position on a great navigable river, and
on the great high road connecting the E. and NE. parts of the peninsula with the
S., to raise it to a position only second to Gades as a commercial city. (Strab.
l. c., and p. 160 )
In the great Civil War Corduba suffered severely on several occasions,
and was at last taken by Caesar, soon after the battle of Munda, when 22,000 of
its inhabitants were put to the sword, B.C. 45. (Caes. B.C. ii. 19; Hirt. Bell.
Alex. 49, 57, 59, 60, Bell. Hisp. 32-34; Appian, B.C. ii. 104, 105; Dion Cass.
xliii. 32.)
Corduba was the seat of one of the four convents juridici of the province
of Baetica, and the usual residence of the praetor; hence it was generally regarded
as the capital of the province. (Plin. iii. 1. s. 3; Appian, Hisp. 65.) It bore
the surname of Patricia (Plin. l. c.; Mela, ii. 6. § 4), on account, as is said,
of the number of patricians who were among the colonists; and, to the present
day, Cordova is so conspicuous, even among Spanish cities, for the pride of its
nobles in their azure blood that the Great Captain, Gonzalo de Cordova, used to
say that other towns might be better to live in, but none was better to be born
in. (Ford, Handbook, p. 73.)
In the annals of Roman literature Corduba is conspicuous as the birthplace
of Lucan and the two Senecas, besides others, whose works justified the epithet
of facunda, applied to it by Martial (Ep. i. 62. 8):
Duosque Senecas, unicumque Lucanum Facunda loquitur Corduba. (Comp. ix.
61, and the beautiful epigram of Seneca, ap. Wernsdorf, Poet. Lat. Min. vol. v.
pt. 3, p. 1364.)
Numerous coins of the city are extant, bearing the names of Corduba,
Patricia, and Colonia Patricia. (Florez, Med. de Esp. vol. i. p. 373, vol. ii.
p. 536; Mionnet, vol. i. p. 11, Suppl. vol. i. p. 23; Sestini, p. 46; Eckhel,
vol, i. p. 18.) There are now scarcely any remains of the Roman city, except a
ruined building, which the people dignify with the title of Seneca's House. (Florez,
Esp. Sagr. vol. x. p. 132; Minano, Diccion. vol. iii. p. 170.) The city is one
of Ptolemy's places of recorded astronomical observations, having 14 hrs. 25 min.
for its longest day, and being distant 3 2/5 hrs. W. of Alexandria. (Ptol. ii.
4. § 11, viii. 4. § 4.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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