The ancient Sardinians had reached a high level of cultural complexity, building large federal sanctuaries, where the Nuragic communities gathered to participate in the same rituals during festivities.

[citation needed] In 231 BC, in light of the widespread tensions, a consular army was sent to deal with each island: one against the Corsicans, commanded by Gaius Papirius Maso, and the other one against the Sardinians, led by Marcus Pomponius Matho.

A mass revolt, known as Bellum Sardum, broke out during the Second Punic War in 216 BC: a massive Sardinian rebellion led by the landowner Hampsicora, a native of the city of Cornus, who commanded an army of natives and allied Carthaginians with the title of Dux Sardorum, and aided the Sardinian army with 15,000 foot soldiers and 1,500 knights.

Livy reports the inscription on the temple of the goddess Mater Matuta, in Rome, in which the winners exhibited a commemorative plaque that said: Under the command and the auspices of the consul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the legion and the army of the Roman people subjugated Sardinia.

Conducting things in the happiest way for the Roman State, freeing the friends, restoring the income, he brought back the army safe and sound and rich in booty; for the second time he entered Rome triumphant.

In memory of these events, he dedicated this panel to Jupiter.In 174 BC, another revolt broke out in Sardinia, resulting in a Roman victory by Titus Manlius Torquatus with a strage et fuga Sardorum, leaving an estimated 80,000 Sardinians dead on the battlefield.

Vowing to Juno Moneta to build a temple in case of success, Cicerius reported a victory, killing 7,000 Corsi and enslaving 1,700 of them.

The last major uprising happened in 111 BC, and was repressed by the consul Marcus Caecilius Metellus, who was able to defeat the armies of the coastal and highland Sardinians.

In the late Republic, Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix settled their veterans on Corsica and used the islands' grain supply to support their war efforts.

During the Second Triumvirate, Octavian received the islands as part of his share and used its grain supply to feed his armies against Brutus and Cassius.

In the Pact of Misenum (39 BC), Sextus Pompey was assigned Corsica and Sardinia, as well as Sicily and Achaia, in return for ending the blockade of the mainland and remaining neutral in the conflict between Octavian and Marc Antony.

The coastal regions of both islands were settled by Romans and adopted the Latin language and culture; however, the interior areas of Sardinia and Corsica resisted the invaders.

[2] A variety of revolts and uprisings occurred: however, since the interior areas were densely forested, the Romans avoided them and set them aside as Barbaria, i.e. the “land of the barbarians”.

A 2017 study has in fact demonstrated that malaria was already endemic at least to Sardinia over 2000 years ago, as proven by the presence of beta thalassemia in the DNA of a Sardinian individual buried in the Punic necropolis of Carales.

Strabo mentioned that the populations residing in the mountains were still not completely pacified during his time and eventually resorted to live off plunder, pillaging other Sardinian communities and sailing with their ships to raid the Etrurian shores; in particular, they often committed acts of piracy against the city of Pisa.

Gaius Cassius Longinus, the lawyer accused of conspiracy by Nero, was sent to the province, while Anicentus, murderer of the elder Agrippina, was specifically sent to Sardinia.

The Sardinian Marcus Erennius Severus became legatus of Judea and obtained the rank of praetor during the middle of the second century AD.

[26] Quintus Aurelius Symmachus mentions some senators of Sardinian origins in his epistles such as Ampelius, who were accused of having sided with Magnus Maximus against Theodosius.

No mention of it is found on the occasion of the Roman conquest of the island, but during the Second Punic War it served as headquarters to the praetor Titus Manlius Torquatus as he conducted his operations against Hampsicora and the Sardo-Carthaginian army.

[27] In 258 BC, a naval battle occurred between the Carthaginian and the Roman forces near the city: after his defeat the commander Hannibal Gisco took refuge in Sulci, but was captured and crucified by his own men.

Indeed, the Nora stone, an ancient Phoenician text that was found in the city, testifies the site's significance as a port already in the 9th century BC.

Turris Libisonis, situated in the northwest of the island, prospered thanks to the rich plains of the Nurra and its ideal position as a port; its majestic baths and mosaics are well preserved even today.

Forum Traiani was situated in the fertile plains of the Campidano area and became famous for its baths, which were believed to have therapeutic properties.

The most important city in Corsica was Aleria, founded in the 7th century BC by the Phocaean Greeks and later conquered by the Etruscans after the battle of Alalia.