Editing Agrigento (section)

==History==
Akragas was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, the [[Sant'Anna (river)|Hypsas]] and the Acragas, after which the settlement was originally named. A ridge, which offered a degree of natural fortification, links a hill to the north called Colle di Girgenti with another, called Rupe Atenea, to the east. According to [[Thucydides]], it was founded around 582–580&nbsp;BC by [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] colonists from [[Gela]] in eastern Sicily, with further colonists from [[Crete]] and [[Rhodes]]. The founders ({{lang|grc-Latn|[[Oikistes|oikistai]]}}) of the new city were Aristonous and Pystilus. It was the last of the major Greek colonies in Sicily to be founded.{{sfn|de Angelis|2016|pp=72–73}}

===Archaic period ===
The territory under Akragas's control expanded to comprise the whole area between the [[Platani (river)|Platani]] and the [[Salso]], and reached deep into the Sicilian interior. Greek literary sources connect this expansion with military campaigns, but archaeological evidence indicates that this was a much longer-term process which reached its peak only in the early fifth century BC.<ref name=Adornato>{{cite journal |last1=Adornato |first1=Gianfranco |title=Phalaris: Literary Myth or Historical Reality? Reassessing Archaic Akragas |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=2012 |volume=116 |issue=3 |pages=483–506 |doi=10.3764/aja.116.3.0483 |s2cid=190232495}}</ref> Most other Greek settlements in Sicily experienced similar territorial expansion in this period.{{sfn|de Angelis|2016|pp=94–101}} Excavations at a range of sites in this region inhabited by the indigenous [[Sicani|Sican]] people, such as [[Monte Sabbucina]], [[Gibil-Gabil]], [[Vasallaggi]], San Angelo Muxano, and [[Mussomeli]], show signs of the adoption of Greek culture.{{sfn|de Miro|1962|pp=143–144}} It is disputed how much of this expansion was carried out by violence and how much by commerce and acculturation.{{sfn|de Miro|1962|pp=143–144}} The territorial expansion provided land for the Greek settlers to farm, native [[Slavery in ancient Greece|slaves]] to work these farms,{{sfn|de Angelis|2016|pp=56–60}} and control of the overland route from Acragas to the city of [[Himera]] on the northern coast of Sicily.{{sfn|de Waele|1971|p=6}} This was the main land route from the [[Straits of Sicily]] to the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] and Acragas' control of it was a key factor in its economic prosperity in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, which became proverbial. Famously, [[Plato]], upon seeing the living standard of the inhabitants, was said to have remarked that "they build like they intend to live forever, yet eat like this is their last day."<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwZpDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA307 |title=The Book of Greek and Roman Folktales, Legends, and Myths |date=14 February 2017 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400884674}}</ref> Perhaps as a result of this wealth, Acragas was one of the first communities in Sicily to begin minting its own coinage, around 520 BC.

Around 570 BC, the city came under the control of [[Phalaris]], a semi-legendary figure, who was remembered as the archetypal [[tyrant]], said to have killed his enemies by burning them alive inside a bronze bull. In the ancient literary sources, he is linked with the military campaigns of territorial expansion, but this is probably anachronistic. He ruled until around 550 BC.{{sfn|de Waele|1971|pp=68–69, 77–78}}<ref name=Adornato/> The political history of Acragas in the second half of the sixth century is unknown, except for the names of two leaders, Alcamenes and Alcander.{{sfn|de Waele|1971|p=166}} Acragas also expanded westwards over the course of the sixth century BC, leading to a rivalry with [[Selinus]], the next Greek city to the west. The Selinuntines founded the city of [[Heraclea Minoa]] at the mouth of the Platani river, halfway between the two settlements, in the mid-sixth century BC, but the Acragantines conquered it around 500 BC.{{sfn|de Miro|1962|pp=144–146}}

===Emmenid period===
[[File:Akragas-Didrachme.jpg|thumb|left|Didrachm of Acragas, 490–483&nbsp;BC]]
[[Theron of Acragas|Theron]], a member of the Emmenid family, made himself tyrant of Acragas around 488 BC. He formed an alliance with [[Gelon]], tyrant of Gela and Syracuse. Around 483 BC, Theron invaded and conquered Himera, Acragas' neighbour to the north. The tyrant of Himera, [[Terillus]] joined his son-in-law, [[Anaxilas]] of [[Rhegium]], and the Selinuntines in calling on the [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginians]] to come and restore Terillus to power. The Carthaginians did invade in 480 BC, the first of the [[Greco-Punic Wars]], but they were defeated by the combined forces of Theron and Gelon at the [[Battle of Himera (480 BC)|Battle of Himera]]. As a result, Acragas was affirmed in its control of the central portion of Sicily, an area of around 3,500&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.{{sfn|de Waele|1971|pp=52, 109–115}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asheri |first1=David |editor1-last=Boardman |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Hammond |editor2-first=N. G. L. |editor3-last=Lewis |editor3-first=D. M. |editor4-last=Ostwald |editor4-first=M. |title=The Cambridge Ancient History IV |date=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |pages=766–776 |edition=2 |chapter=Carthaginians and Greeks}}</ref>{{sfn|de Angelis|2016|pp=106–108}} A number of enormous construction projects were carried out in the [[Valle dei Templi]] at this time, including the [[Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agrigento|Temple of Olympian Zeus]], which was one of the largest Greek temples ever built, and the construction of a massive Kolymbethra reservoir. According to [[Diodorus Siculus]], they were built in commemoration of the Battle of Himera, using the prisoners captured in the war as slave labour. Archaeological evidence indicates that the boom in monumental construction actually began before the battle, but continued in the period after it. A major reconstruction of the city walls on a monumental scale also took place in this period.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fiorentini |first1=Graziella |last2=de Miro |first2=Ernesto |title=Agrigento V. Le fortificazioni. |date=2009 |publisher=Gangemi |location=Roma |isbn=978-88-492-1686-8 |pages=63–65}}</ref> Theron sent teams to compete in the [[Ancient Olympics|Olympic games]] and other Panhellenic competitions in mainland Greece. Several poems by [[Pindar]] and [[Simonides]] commemorated victories by Theron and other Acragantines, which provide insights into Acragantine identity and ideology at this time.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pavlou |first1=Maria |title=Pindar Olympian 3: Mapping Acragas on the Periphery of the Earth |journal=The Classical Quarterly |date=2010 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=313–326 |doi=10.1017/S0009838810000182 |s2cid=170885878}}</ref> Greek literary sources generally praise Theron as a good tyrant, but accuse his son [[Thrasydaeus]], who succeeded him in 472 BC, of violence and oppression. Shortly after Theron's death, [[Hiero I of Syracuse]] (brother and successor of Gelon) invaded Acragas and overthrew Thrasydaeus. The literary sources say that Acragas then became a democracy, but in practice it seems to have been dominated by the civic aristocracy.{{sfn|Westermark|2018|pp=14–15}}

===Classical and Hellenistic periods===
[[File:Akragas, tetradracma, 410 ac. ca.JPG|thumb|left|[[Tetradrachm]] of Acragas, c. 410 BC.]]
The period after the fall of the Emmenids is not well-known. An [[oligarchy|oligarchic]] group called "the thousand" was in power for a few years in the mid-fifth century BC, but was overthrown – the literary tradition gives the philosopher [[Empedocles]] a decisive role in this revolution, but some modern scholars have doubted this.{{sfn|de Angelis|2016|pp=210–211}} In 451 BC, [[Ducetius]], leader of a [[Sicel]] state opposed to the expansion of Syracuse and other Greeks into the interior of Sicily, invaded Acragantine territory and conquered an outpost called Motyum. The Syracusans defeated and captured Ducetius in 450, but subsequently allowed him to go into exile. Outraged by this comparatively light punishment, the Acragantines went to war with Syracuse. They were defeated in a battle on the Salso river, which left Syracuse the pre-eminent power in eastern Sicily. The defeat was serious enough that Acragas ceased to mint coinage for a number of years.{{sfn|Westermark|2018|pp=16–17}}

Ancient sources considered Acragas to be a very large city at this time. [[Diodorus Siculus]] says that the population was 200,000 people, of which 20,000 were citizens. [[Diogenes Laertius]] put the population at an incredible 800,000. Some modern scholars have accepted Diodorus' numbers,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74JI2UlcU8AC&q=akragas+in+population+size&pg=PA7 |title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe |first1=Trudy |last1=Ring |first2=Robert M. |last2=Salkin |first3=Sharon La |last3=Boda |date=1 January 1994 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781884964022 |access-date=19 September 2016 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDwDaDLjdyIC&q=akragas+in+population+size&pg=PA432 |title=A Commentary on Thucydides: Books IV-V.24 |first=Simon |last=Hornblower |date=6 January 2005 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=9780199276257 |access-date=19 September 2016 |via=Google Books}}</ref> but they seem to be far too high. Jos de Waele suggests a population of 16,000–18,000 citizens,<ref>{{cite book |title=Φιλίας χάριν: Miscellanea di studi classici in onore di Eugenio Manni. |date=1980 |publisher=G. Bretschneider |location=Roma |isbn=978-8885007390 |pages=747–760 |chapter=La popolazione di Akragas antica}}</ref> while Franco de Angelis estimates a total population of around 30,000-40,000.{{sfn|de Angelis|2016|p=197}}

When [[Athens]] undertook the [[Sicilian Expedition]] against Syracuse from 415 to 413 BC, Acragas remained neutral. However, it was [[Siege of Akragas (406 BC)|sacked]] by the [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] in 406&nbsp;BC. Acragas never fully recovered its former status, though it revived following the invasion of [[Timoleon]] in the late fourth century onwards and large-scale construction took place in the [[Hellenistic period]]. During the early 3rd century BC, a tyrant called [[Phintias of Agrigentum|Phintias]] declared himself king in Akragas, also controlling a variety of other cities. His kingdom was however not long-lived.

===Roman period===
The city was disputed between the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] and the Carthaginians during the [[First Punic War]]. The Romans laid [[Battle of Agrigentum|siege to the city]] in 262&nbsp;BC and captured it after defeating a Carthaginian relief force in 261&nbsp;BC and sold the population into slavery. Although the Carthaginians recaptured the city in 255&nbsp;BC the [[Treaty of Lutatius|final peace settlement]] gave Punic Sicily and with it Akragas to Rome. It suffered badly during the [[Second Punic War]] (218–201&nbsp;BC) when both Rome and Carthage fought to control it. The Romans eventually captured Akragas in 210&nbsp;BC and renamed it ''Agrigentum'', although it remained a largely Greek-speaking community for centuries thereafter. It became prosperous again under Roman rule.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} In the 2nd century BC, [[Scipio Aemilianus|Scipio Africanus Minor]] bestowed upon the city a statue of [[Apollo]] by [[Myron]], housed in the Temple of Asclepius as a symbol of their alliance during the [[Third Punic War]].<ref name=":02"/>

[[Cicero]] noted Agrigentum as a civitas decumana and socius, highlighting its loyal service in the Third Punic War. He ranked Agrigentum among Sicily's largest cities, emphasizing its pivotal port and role in Roman governance, including hosting the governor's assize circuit. Additionally, he mentioned a sizable population of [[Roman citizenship|Roman citizens]] coexisting harmoniously with the [[Magna Graecia|Greek populace]], likely engaged in commerce linked to the port.<ref name=":02" />

An inscription shows that the city was promoted to the status of [[Roman colony|colonia]] by [[Septimius Severus]] and renamed "Colonia Septimia Augusta Agrigentorum."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pfuntner |first1=Laura |date=2016 |title=Celebrating the Severans Commemorative Politics and the Urban Landscape in High Imperial Sicily |journal=Latomus |volume=75 |issue=2 |pages=437–438}}</ref>

A resilient Christian community endured into late antiquity, although archaeological evidence suggests a decline in activity after the 7th century, possibly due to disrupted trade routes following the [[Battle of Carthage (698)|Arab conquest of Carthage]] in AD 698.<ref name=":02" />

===Middle Ages===
After the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]], the city successively passed into the hands of the [[Vandalic Kingdom]], the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] of Italy, and then the [[Byzantine Empire]]. During this period the inhabitants of Agrigentum largely abandoned the lower parts of the city and moved to the former [[acropolis]], at the top of the hill. The reasons for this move are unclear but were probably related to the destructive coastal raids of the [[Saracens]] and other peoples around this time. In 828&nbsp;AD the Saracens captured the diminished remnant of the city; the Arabic form of its name became {{lang|ar|كِركَنت}} ({{transliteration|ar|ALA|Kirkant}}) or {{lang|ar|جِرجَنت}} ({{transliteration|ar|ALA|Jirjant}}).

Following the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy#Conquest of Sicily, 1061–1091|Norman conquest of Sicily]], the city changed its name to the [[Norman language|Norman]] version ''Girgenti''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esplorasicilia.com/guida-turistica/agrigento/storia-di-agrigento.php |title=La Storia di Agrigento - Sicilia |first=Esplora |last=Sicilia |access-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016124714/http://www.esplorasicilia.com/guida-turistica/agrigento/storia-di-agrigento.php |archive-date=16 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1087, [[Italo-Normans|Norman]] [[Roger I of Sicily|Count Roger I]] established a Latin bishopric in the city. [[Italo-Normans|Normans]] built the [[Castello di Agrigento]] to control the area. The population declined during much of the medieval period but revived somewhat after the 18th century.

===Jewish History===
The first record of Jews mentioned in Agrigento is when, under the pontificate of [[Gregory the Great]], several Jews in Agrigento were converted to Christianity. The community is mentioned in the [[Cairo Geniza]] circa 1060. The Jewish presence in Agrigento did not survive the [[expulsion of the Jews from Spain|expulsion of the Jews in 1492]], as at the time the territory was under Spanish rule.<ref>{{cite web |title=Agrigento, Italy |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/agrigento |website=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=2 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Agrigento |url=https://jguideeurope.org/en/region/italy/sicily/agrigento/ |website=JGuide Europe |access-date=2 July 2024}}</ref>

===Modern period===
[[File:Panorama Agrigento.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Viaduct Akragas, opened in 1970]]
In 1860, as in the rest of Sicily, the inhabitants supported the arrival of [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] during the [[Expedition of the Thousand]] (one of the most dramatic events of the [[Unification of Italy]]) which marked the end of [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Bourbon]] rule.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Expedition-of-the-Thousand |title=Expedition of the Thousand: Italian campaign |access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/346847 |title=Garibaldi and the 1,000 |access-date=19 September 2016 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> In 1927, Benito Mussolini through the "Decree Law n. 159, 12 July 1927",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://augusto.agid.gov.it/ |title=Augusto – Automazione Gazzetta Ufficiale Storica |access-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031123801/http://augusto.agid.gov.it/ |archive-date=31 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> introduced the current [[Italian language|Italianized]] version of the [[Latin language|Latin]] name.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agrigento_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/ |title=Agrigento |encyclopedia=Enciclopedia Italiana |access-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026015409/http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agrigento_(Enciclopedia-Italiana) |archive-date=26 October 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The decision remains controversial as a symbol of Fascism and the eradication of local history. Following the suggestion of [[Andrea Camilleri]], a Sicilian writer of Agrigentine origin, the historic city centre was renamed to the Sicilian name "Girgenti" in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.corriere.it/cronache/16_aprile_27/agrigento-ritorno-passato-sindaco-si-chiamera-girgenti-ma-solo-centro-storico-f5904060-0ca8-11e6-a4db-66a817deaada.shtml?refresh_ce-cp |title=Agrigento, ritorno al passatoIl sindaco: si chiamerà Girgenti (ma solo nel centro storico) |work=Corriere della Sera |access-date=2018-12-03 |language=it-IT}}</ref> The city suffered a number of destructive bombing raids during [[World War II]].