nd Herculaneum joined a violent Italian rebellion against Roman domination. But they were apparently reduced by the Roman general Sulla, who, when he later became dictator, made Pompeii a 'colony,' injecting a draft of Roman settlers by leaving the place's autonomy intact under a new system of government" (Grant 9).
After that initial Roman conquest, Pompeii was able to remain relatively autonomous for another one-hundred fifty years. During that time the city enjoyed a great deal of domestic prosperity, and became one of the most wealthy cities of the Mediterranean coastline. Since Pompeii was also a harbor town located around the small river Sarnus, it bordered on a rich inland agricultural region and became one of the primary centers of wine and oil production. As well, its main industries included wool production and the weaving of a variety of woolen goods, fruit exportation, volcanic stone, and millstones (Mackenzie 1-21).
One of the main reasons for all this production was the incredibly rich soils produced by previous eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. It is ironic that one of the reasons Pompeii succeeded so well eventually became its downfall. In the history of Pompeii, however, Vesuvius has never erupted since the history of the region had been recorded. A vague warning was given in the reign of Nero, sometime during the month of February 62 A.D., when a rather extreme earthquake badly damaged several of the smaller towns around the mountain. During this disaster, Pompeii was hit the most severely. By the time Vesuvius again erupted seventeen years later, many of the town's public and private architectural structures had not been fully restored (Grant 9).
The fatal eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of Pompeii took place on August 24, 79 A.D. The Roman emperor Titus was in charge of the empire, and even as far away as Rome the contemporary accounts indicate that there had been light tremo...