Forum Hadriani
Encyclopedia
Forum Hadriani, at the modern town of Voorburg
, was the northern-most Roman
city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province
Germania Inferior
and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana
, a Roman road map.
The site Forum Hadriani formed the nucleus of the civitas
of the Cananefates, who lived west of the Batavians
. It was situated along the Fossa Corbulonis or Corbulo-canal. This waterway was established about 47
C.E. by the Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
, forming an important shortcut between the rivers Rhine and Meuse. After the Batavian Rebellion
, in which they participated, the Cananefates became loyal allies of the Romans.
In 121
emperor Hadrian
made a long voyage along the northwestern border of the empire, during which he visited the Cananefate town. He gave the town his own name, Forum Hadriani (Hadrian’s Market). An alternate name, maybe the only official name, was Municipium Aelium Cananefatium (Aelius being the family name of Hadrian).
The shortened version of this name, MAC, has been found engraved in a couple of Roman milestones found in the neighbourhood.
About 270
C.E., after several plagues and attacks by Saxon
pirates, the Romans abandoned Forum Hadriani.
In 1771 a bronze right hand was excavated during garden work on the estate Arentsburg. This hand was used by Étienne Maurice Falconet
as model for the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, The Bronze Horseman. The first scientific excavations at the site of Forum Hadriani were carried out by Caspar Reuvens
, between 1827-1833. Reuvens held the first professorship Archaeology ever, worldwide. Reuvens died before he could publish his findings. More excavations were done between 1908 and 1915 by Jan Hendrik Holwerda, he published the results of Reuvens together with his own discoveries in a comprehensive monograph in 1923.
Voorburg
Voorburg is a Dutch town and former municipality in the western part of the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. As also Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has approximately 39,000 inhabitants....
, was the northern-most Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's Luxembourg, southern Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and North Rhine-Westphalia left of the Rhine....
and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana
Tabula Peutingeriana
The Tabula Peutingeriana is an itinerarium showing the cursus publicus, the road network in the Roman Empire. The original map of which this is a unique copy was last revised in the fourth or early fifth century. It covers Europe, parts of Asia and North Africa...
, a Roman road map.
The site Forum Hadriani formed the nucleus of the civitas
Civitas
In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...
of the Cananefates, who lived west of the Batavians
Batavians
The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe, originally part of the Chatti, reported by Tacitus to have lived around the Rhine delta, in the area that is currently the Netherlands, "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the...
. It was situated along the Fossa Corbulonis or Corbulo-canal. This waterway was established about 47
47
Year 47 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vitellius...
C.E. by the Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was a Roman general and a brother-in-law of the emperor Caligula.-Descent:Corbulo was born in Italy into a senatorial family...
, forming an important shortcut between the rivers Rhine and Meuse. After the Batavian Rebellion
Batavian rebellion
The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between 69 and 70 AD. It was an uprising against Roman rule by the Batavians and other tribes in the province and in Gaul...
, in which they participated, the Cananefates became loyal allies of the Romans.
In 121
121
Year 121 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Augur...
emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
made a long voyage along the northwestern border of the empire, during which he visited the Cananefate town. He gave the town his own name, Forum Hadriani (Hadrian’s Market). An alternate name, maybe the only official name, was Municipium Aelium Cananefatium (Aelius being the family name of Hadrian).
The shortened version of this name, MAC, has been found engraved in a couple of Roman milestones found in the neighbourhood.
About 270
270
Year 270 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antiochianus and Orfitus...
C.E., after several plagues and attacks by Saxon
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
pirates, the Romans abandoned Forum Hadriani.
In 1771 a bronze right hand was excavated during garden work on the estate Arentsburg. This hand was used by Étienne Maurice Falconet
Étienne Maurice Falconet
Étienne Maurice Falconet is counted among the first rank of French Rococo sculptors, whose patron was Mme de Pompadour.-Life:Falconet was born to a poor family in Paris...
as model for the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, The Bronze Horseman. The first scientific excavations at the site of Forum Hadriani were carried out by Caspar Reuvens
Caspar Reuvens
Caspar Jacob Christiaan Reuvens was a Dutch historian and archaeologist. He was the founding director of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, the world's first ever professor of archaeology , and conducted the first excavations at the Roman provincial site Forum Hadriani...
, between 1827-1833. Reuvens held the first professorship Archaeology ever, worldwide. Reuvens died before he could publish his findings. More excavations were done between 1908 and 1915 by Jan Hendrik Holwerda, he published the results of Reuvens together with his own discoveries in a comprehensive monograph in 1923.