Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily). The area of Sardinia is . The island is surrounded (clockwise from north) by the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands. Sardinia is a constitutional part of Italy, with a special statute of regional autonomy under the Italian Constitution.

Around the beginning of the nuragic age circa 1500 BC the island was first called Hyknusa (Latinised Ichnusa) by the Mycenaeans, probably meaning island (nusa) of the Hyksosfix: text=citation needed, the people who had just been expelled by Ahmose I of Egypt circa 1540 BC. Sandalyon was another name, probably due to its shape, resembling a footprint. Its present name is Sardinia, after the Shardana (whose invasion of Egypt was defeated by Ramesses III circa 1180 BC).

History

main: History of Sardinia

Sardinia has been inhabited for many thousands of years. In 1979 human remains were found that were dated to the Paleolithic 150,000 BC. In 2004, in a cave in Logudoro, a human phalanx was found that was dated to circa 250,000 BC.

In prehistory the inhabitants of Sardinia developed a trade in obsidian, a volcanic glass used for the production of stone age tools, and this activity brought Sardinians into contact with most of the Mediterranean peoples. Dried grapes, recently found in several locations, have been DNA tested and proved to be the oldest grapes in the world, dating back to 1200 BC. The Cannonau wine is made from these grapes and may therefore qualify as the mother of all the European wines. Sardinia is the 2nd largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

However most theories regarding the original population of Sardinia were formulated prior to genetics research and in the traditional framework of east-west movements. Genetic studies show that the population of Sardinia is quite distant from their neighbours. This is partially due to genetic drift due to isolation, though other reasons, such as ties with pre-Indo-European Neolithic peoples, may also have contributed to this distance.

The density, extensiveness, and sheer size of the architectural remains from the Neolithic period all point to a considerable population of the island. Early contact with Crete is indicated from archaeological recovery on Sardinia. Beginning around 1000 BC, Phoenician mariners established several ports of trade on the Sardinian coast. In 509 BC, war broke out between the native Nuragic people and the Phoenician settlers. The settlers called for help from Carthage (themselves ultimately Phoenician settlers) and the island became a province in the Carthaginian Empire (to this day, Sardinia's capital Cagliari is still nicknamed 'Kartago' or 'Carthage' by the Catalan population in northern Alghero). In 238 BC, after being defeated by the Roman Republic in the First Punic War, Carthage was forced to fight an uprising against former mercenaries who had not received their promised pay in a conflict known as the Mercenary War. Rome jumped at this opportunity to annex Corsica and Sardinia without resistance from the overstretched Carthaginians.