It is probable that "Subura" was a corruption for the word "Sucusa", which was a district located on the Caelian. At some point it was given to the valley and used as an adjective in regio Suburana. [1]

There were only three voting tribes in very early Rome. The name of the tribe was usually abbreviated in writing and the word tribus was omitted in writing and inscriptions. The tribe Suburana was abbreviated SVC. [2]

In speaking of old spellings of various words, Quintilian listed "Subura" among those whose spelling is at variance with their pronunciation. He appears to have considered the old spelling of "subura" to have been "suc...." [1]

It lay to the east of the Forum Romanum in the declivity between the Oppian spur of the Esquiline Mount and the Viminal Hill. [3]

The valley between the southern end of the Viminal and the western end of the Esquiline (Oppius), which was connected with the Forum by the Argiletum and continued eastward between the Oppius and the Cispius by the Clivus Suburanus, ending at the Porta Esquilina.... Another depression extended from the Subura northward between the Viminal and the Quirinal, and a third northeast between the Cispius and the Viminal that was marked by the vicus Patricius. The beginning of the Subura was called primae fauces and was situated perhaps near the Praefectura Urbana. [4]

In modern Rome, the old Subura is part of the historical district known as Rione dei Monti (Rione I - Monti). It includes the old via Biberatica that crossed Trajan's forum. Its present look dates to the 15th -17th centuries, having been mostly spared by the 19th century alterations, with narrow lanes constantly sloping due to the hilly ground, crossed by a few long and perfectly straight streets opened by pope Sixtus V in the late 1580s. In old times, along one of these streets, a charity establishment offered the poor bread and ham (in Latin, panis et pernis), whence its name: via Panisperna. [5]

The nucleus of ancient Rome was likely the western part of the Palatine; then Romulus opened an asylum for fugitive slaves on the Capitoline. The Sabines and the Romans settled the Quirinal after the abduction of the Sabine women. The Saturnian hill was left in possession of the Sabines. It is said that Callius, who assisted Romulus, received the Caelian hill as a compensation. At the death of Romulus, Rome comprised the Palatine, the Quirinal, the Caelian, and the Capitoline hills. The Sabines thus occupied two of the seven hills, and furnished not only people for the infant city, but laws, customs, and manners, especially religious observances.

During the reign of Numa Pompilius, the Sacra via probably developed as he established his residence, the Regia, and a temple to Vesta between the Roman and Sabine towns. He also made improvements on the Palatine, Capitoline, and Quirinal.

During the reign of Tullus Hostilius, Alba Longa was captured and the inhabitants of the old capital of Latium were transferred to Rome and settled on the Caelian. Out of the spoils of Alba Longa, he improved the Comitium, the common meeting space of the Romans and Sabines, at the northwest end of the forum. He also built the Curia Hostilia, a senate chamber, to accommodate the noble Alban families.

During the reign of Ancius Martius, the city was greatly augmented by the inhabitants of various Latin cities which he subdued. These settled on the Aventine, and in the valley which separated it from the Palatine. The Janiculum, the hill on the western bank of the Tiber, was fortified for the protection of the city, but it was not much occupied by residences until the time of Augustus.

During the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, the Cloaca Maxima was constructed to drain the Forum and Velabrum. Along the southern side of the Forum, this enlightened monarch constructed a row of shops occupied by butchers and other tradesmen.

During the reign of Servius Tullius, the various elements of the population were amalgamated, and the seven hills, namely, the Palatine, the Capitoline, the Quirinal, the Caelian, the Viminal, the Esquiline, and the Aventine, were covered with houses, and inclosed by a wall about six miles in circuit. The settlement of the Subura was probably well established by this period. [6]

References to the character of this district are frequent in Latin literature and in inscriptions. It was seething, noisy, dirty, and wet, a resort of harlots, of dealers in provisions and delicacies and finery, and of tradesmen of various sorts: cobblers, blacksmiths, wool workers, booksellers, linen weavers. There were also dwellings of more distinguished persons. Julius Caesar once lived there and the consul L. Arruntius Stella. [4]

The Subura, the Sub Velia, and the Velabrum, built in the valleys, were choked up with tall houses, frequently more, and seldom less, than seventy feet in height. [6]

The Subura was the poorest and most densely populated part of Rome. Its people were notoriously polyglot and independent of mind; many Jews lived in the Subura, which in Caesar's time, contained Rome's only synagogue. [3]

In the valley which lay between the fora and the Quirinal was the celebrated Subura,-- the quarter of shops, markets, and artificers,--a busy, noisy, vulgar section, not beautiful, but full of life and enterprise and wickedness. [6]

The Roman hills, and in particular the Palatine, became the home of the wealthy. The poor huddled into the valleys, particularly the Subura, the low-lying area to the northeast of the Forum. [7]

As Rome prospered and expanded to become the capital of the entire known world ... the specialization of its shop keepers became more pronounced.... The Subura was a place to avoid. Crowded, noisy, dirty, smelly, it was also full of little shops where the poorer people went for their eggs, cabbages, bread and the few bare necessities of life, which was all they could afford. There were also to be found many barbers, cobblers, ironmongers, and shops selling cheaper fabrics, all thronged by a jostling motley crowd among which were many slaves on errands for their masters and mistresses. [8]

1. Platner, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, Sucusa
2. Adkins and Adkins, Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, p. 244
3. McCullough, Caesar, p. 657
4. Platner, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, Subura
5. Rome's Historical Districts, Rione I - Monti
6. Lord, The Old Roman World - The Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization, chapter III
7. Connolly and Dodge, The Ancient City, p. 109
8. Cowell, Life in Ancient Rome, p. 126