Scupi
Encyclopedia
Scupi is an archaeological site located between Zajčev Rid (Зајчев Рид 'Rabbit Hill') and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

, in the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

. A Roman military camp was founded here in the second decade BC on the site of an older Dardani
Dardani
Dardania was the region of the Dardani .Located at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone, their identification as either an Illyrian or Thracian tribe is uncertain. Their territory itself was not considered part of Illyria by Strabo. The term used for their territory was , while for other tribes had...

an settlement. It became later Colonia Flavia Aelia Scupi and many veteran legionnaires were settled there. Roman town was founded in the time of Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...

 (81-96 AD) and Scupi became the chief center for romanizing Dardania. It was abandoned in 518 AD after an earthquake completely destroyed the city.

History

Scupi became the capital of Dardani
Dardani
Dardania was the region of the Dardani .Located at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone, their identification as either an Illyrian or Thracian tribe is uncertain. Their territory itself was not considered part of Illyria by Strabo. The term used for their territory was , while for other tribes had...

a, which extended from Naissus to Bylazora
Bylazora
Bylazora or Vilazora is a Paeonian city that was located on the Axius River at Veles in the Republic of Macedonia. Polybius tells us that "King Philip V captured Bylazora, the largest town of Paeonia, and very favourably situated for commanding the pass from Dardania to Macedonia: so that by this...

 in the second century BC. It is not clear when the Romans
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....

 conquered Dardania and it seems quite probable that the Dardani actually lost independence in 28 BC. Scupi grew up as colony of legionnaires, mainly veterans of the Legio IIV Claudia in the time of Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...

 (81-96 AD), even though several legions of the Crassus' army of 29-28 BC, may already have been stationed there, before the official imperial command in this area was instituted. Scupi was included in Moesia Superior after the province was formed in 6 AD. From 272 AD, it was colony inside the Roman province of Dardani
Dardani
Dardania was the region of the Dardani .Located at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone, their identification as either an Illyrian or Thracian tribe is uncertain. Their territory itself was not considered part of Illyria by Strabo. The term used for their territory was , while for other tribes had...

a after Dardania was established. Scupi was ravaged several times by barbarians, in 269 AD by the Goths, in 5th century AD by the Huns and finally in the year 518 AD was completely destroyed by an earthquake. The life in Scupi stopped after the earthquake and it is assumed that the people from Scupi moved to live on Kale, a hill in the center of Skopje. Coordinates: 42.0166,21.3920733

The moving of the city is often connected with the founding of Justiniana Prima
Justiniana Prima
Justiniana Prima is an archaeological site near today's Lebane in southern Serbia, It was a Byzantine city that served as the seat of an Archbishopric that had jurisdiction of the Central Balkans...

. Justiniana Prima was a legendary city founded by Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...

, who reigned with the Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...

 (the Eastern Roman Empire) in 527-565. The connection is based on the assumption that the village Taor which is located near Skopje is Tauresium
Tauresium
Tauresium or known as Gradište is an archaeological site in Macedonia, located approximately 20 km south-east of the capital Skopje. Tauresium is the birthplace of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and King Theodahad of the Ostrogoths .- Name :The ancient town of Tauresium is located on the...

, Justinian I's birthplace, and by the description of Justininiana Prima by Procopius that suits Skopje's fortress (Kale), the Old Bazaar
Old Bazaar
The Old Bazaar in Skopje is the largest bazaar in the Balkans outside Istanbul. Situated on the eastern bank of the Vardar River, the bazaar had been the city's centre for trade and commerce since at least the 12th century. It rapidly grew and reached its peak during Ottoman rule, evidenced by...

 and the aqueduct which are still landmarks of Skopje.
"He therefore built a wall of small compass about this place in the form of a square, placing a tower at each corner, and caused it to be called, as it actually is, Tetrapyrgia. And close by this place he built a very notable city which he named Justiniana Prima, thus paying a debt of gratitude to the home that fostered him. In that place also he constructed an aqueduct and so caused the city to be abundantly supplied with ever-running water. And many other enterprises were carried out by the founder of this city - works of great size and worthy of especial note. For to enumerate the churches is not easy, and it is impossible to tell in words of the lodgings for magistrates, the great stoas, the fine marketplaces, the fountains, the streets, the baths, the shops. In brief, the city is both great and populous and blessed in every way." (Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...

 description of Justiniana Prima in The Buildings)

Excavations

The excavations on the archaeological site started in the period between the two World Wars. Radoslav Gruić discovered the early Christian basilica in 1925 and the most important discovery was made by Nikola Vulić, a Serbian archeologist, when he found the antique Roman theater. Nikola Vulić was the archeologist that published most about Scupi.

Excavations on the site were done in 1959-61 by Duje Rendić-Miočević that were published in 1981 and by Ivan Mikulčić published in 1971 and 1973.

The Museum of the City of Skopje begun new excavation and conservation works on the site from 1966 led by Milutin Garašanin. From 1980 the responsible for the excavation and conservation works on the site is Dušanka Koraćević.

In July 2008, a well-preserved statue of the Roman goddess of love, Venus was found. The statue measures 1.7 meters in height.

Buildings

There are four building periods. The first is the time of the alleged camp of two legions from 168 BC. The second is the foundation of the Roman coloniae that ended with the Goths invasion in 269 A.C. The third period is most distinguished and represented by the remains of one civil basilica, complex of baths (thermae) and one townhouse. The last, the fourth period that begins roughly after the Ostrogoths invasion from 472 or 489 A.C. is represented by remains of an early Christian basilica and a townhouse with apse. Scupi is completely destroyed in 518 A.C.

Today, only the early Christian basilica, the civil basilica, the baths and townhouses along the road are recognizable. The Roman theatre is completely withered.

Roman theater

The theater is estimated to be built in the 2nd century AD by the signs Colonia Scupi Aelia on the seats. It is assumed that the theater was built for Hadrian, the Roman emperor, who was visiting the Balkan cities. The decoration of the Roman theater was on the highest level, comparable to the world metropolis from that time. Ivan Mikulčić writes that in the 1000 years of the antique period in Macedonia there is no building that has reached the refined level of art as it is in the Roman theater in Scupi.

Nikola Vulić claims that the theater in Scupi is larger than the one in Stobi and Duje Rendić-Miočević claim that is the largest on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.
The theater was used only for theater performances, comedies and tragedies. There is no architectural proof that the theater was used for gladiator games as it is the case in the theater in Stobi.

See also

Scupi marked as city on the Peutinger table 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...

 (image).
  • Stobi
    Stobi
    Stobi was an ancient town of Paeonia, later conquered by Macedon, and later turned into the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris . It is located on the main road that leads from the Danube to the Aegean Sea and is considered by many to be the most famous archaeological site in the...

  • Heraclea Lyncestis
    Heraclea Lyncestis
    Heraclea Lyncestis also spelled Herakleia Lynkestis was an ancient Greek city in the north-western region of the ancient kingdom of Macedon. It was founded by Philip II of Macedon in the middle of the 4th century BC in Lynkestis, after its conquest. The town was named in honor of the mythological...

  • Skopje
    Skopje
    Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...


External links

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