Sexta etas Mundi

Title

Sexta etas Mundi

Representation of Tiburtina, a part of Rome/ Reverse shows figures, Latin text.

ca. 1495

Artist

Schedel (1440-1515)

Hartmann Schedel (1440–1515) from Nuremberg is best known for the 1493 publication of the Schedel’s World Chronicle (Liber chronicarum), a universal history featuring 1,809 woodcuts—making it the most richly illustrated book of early printing. The chronicle, written in Latin by Schedel for merchants Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, was translated into German by Georg Alt and printed by Anton Koberger. The illustrations came from the workshop of Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. The work covers world history up to 1492/93, divided into eight ages of the world, and draws on numerous sources, including Jacobus Foresta and Enea Silvio Piccolomini. Notably, it features highly accurate city views, many depicted in detail for the first time. Pleydenwurff introduced a new perspective by portraying cities from a fixed viewpoint, emphasizing their unique architectural and landscape features. The project was funded in part by the patron Sebald Schreyer.

Historical Description

According to the founding legend, Rome was founded by Romulus in 753 BC. According to this legend, Romulus later killed his twin brother Remus when the latter was amused by the city wall built by Romulus. According to the legend, the twins were the children of the god Mars and the vestal virgin Rhea Silvia. They were abandoned on the Tiber, suckled by a she-wolf and then found and raised by the shepherd Faustulus on the Velabrum below the Palatine. At the beginning of its history, according to later tradition, Rome was a kingdom; Titus Livius names Numa Pompilius as the first of the - largely legendary - successors of Romulus. Although Rome could hardly resist an invasion by the Celts in 390 B.C., the city nevertheless expanded steadily thereafter. To protect it from further invasions, the Servian Wall was built. In 312 BC, the first aqueduct was built and the Via Appia was constructed. By the 1st century AD, Rome was already a city of millions and both the geographical and political center of the Roman Empire. Under the rule of the Flavian dynasty (69-96 AD), extensive building activities began, financed by the emperors. These new public buildings include some of the most famous monuments such as the Colosseum and part of the Imperial Forums. Large thermal complexes, such as those built by Caracalla and Diocletian in the 3rd century, which even included libraries, had become an integral part of urban Roman life. Obsessed with the idea of surpassing their predecessors, the emperors built ever larger structures, such as the basilica of Maxentius. This is sometimes considered an indication of an incipient decline of the empire, but it shows above all that Rome was still the most important stage for rulerly self-expression until the early 4th century. Furthermore, the Aurelian Wall was built in the late 3rd century, as the city had long since outgrown the confines of the Servian Wall. After the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476, however, large urban facilities such as the Baths of Diocletian and the Colosseum were initially maintained; despite declining population, ancient life continued. In 550, the last chariot races took place in the Circus Maximus. Since Pippin, Rome gained new importance as the capital of the Papal States (Patrimonium Petri) and as the most important place of pilgrimage for Christianity, along with Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela. The tomb of the Apostle Paul, who was executed after the burning of Rome under Nero in 64, and numerous other relics, which the Catholic Church believed to be directly in Rome, promised pilgrims extraordinary graces and indulgences during the Holy Years from 1300 onwards. In particular, the assumption that Simon Peter was executed together with Paul and buried in Rome contributed to this. This assumption is extremely controversial among historians to this day. In Christian times, many important buildings were built which consisted mainly of churches, these still characterize the Roman cityscape. But also new streets with sight lines, palaces and squares with fountains and obelisks. Rome has remained in this state until today, which is why the Roman Old Town is one of the two World Heritage Sites in the city of Rome, along with the Vatican.