Viminacium
Encyclopedia
Viminacium was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman
province of Moesia
(today's Serbia
), and the capital of Moesia Superior. The archeological site occupies a total of 450 hectares. Viminacium is located 12 km from Kostolac
, was devastated by Huns
in the 5th century, but rebuilt by Justinian. It was completely destroyed with the arrival of Slovenes in the 6th century. The city had 40.000 habitants and was one of the biggest at that time. Thanks to his extraordinary geographic position, the economics was developed, and its citizens enjoyed wealth. In Viminacium there are emperor Hostelians mausoleum, temples, thermal baths, the north gate of the military camp, an aqueduct and recently discovered Roman pantheon and amphitheater, one of the biggest on Balkan Peninsula. More than 14.000 tombs had been found. In some of them one can see beautiful frescoes representing peacocks, reindeers or horsemen attacked by lions. Emperor Hostilian
was the son of the emperor Traian, who was killed in the ambush near ancient city of Abrutus located in present day Bulgaria. According to the old manuscript, emperor Hostilian and his mother came in Viminacium to supervise the organization of defense of northern borders, but both of them died of plague. Because of the distance and the fear of spreading the plague, he was buried with all honors in Viminacium. The remains such as marble sculptures, tombstones and sarcophagus, jewelry and pottery are in the National Museums in Požarevac
and Belgrade
.
The city dates back to the 1st century AD and contains archaeological remains of temples, streets, squares, amphitheatres, palaces, hippodromes and Roman baths. It lies on the Roman road Via Militaris
.
and about 90 miles southeast of Belgrade
. Viminacium was one of the most important Roman cities and military camps in the period from 1st to 4th century. His exceptional strategic importance was reflected both in the defense of the northern border of the Roman empire and in turn of communications and commercial transactions. No less appealing to the Romans was the hinterland of the valley Mlava
rich ore and grains. In Roman times the town on the northern side of relying directly on the branch of the Danube
, while the western side, touching the walls Mlava rivers. Only in the later period, Viminacium spread to the left bank Mlava. Thanks to the location, land and waterways, Viminacium represented one of those areas where the encounter of cultures between East and West was inevitable. Although these roads were the primary military and strategic function, they are taking place throughout antiquity very lively traffic and certainly contributed to the very Viminacium become prosperous and an important trading and business headquarters.
In Viminacium, Roman legion VII Claudia was stationed, and a nearby civilian settlement emerged from the military camp. It received city status in 117 during the reign of Hadrian
. In the camp, 6000 soldiers were stationed, and 30-40 lived nearby. In the first half of the 3rd century the city was in full development, as evidenced by the fact that at that time it acquired the status of a Roman colony, and the right to forge local money. Here, in 211, Septimius Severus
was proclaimed emperor by his son Caracalla
. In the mausoleum and the excavated tombs, the Roman emperor Hostilian
was buried, who died in 251.
A legion may have been stationed here as early as Augustus (27 BC-14 AD).
In 33/34 AD a road is linked between Viminacium and Ratiaria
. Claudius
(41-54) garrisoned Viminacium, Oescus
and Novae
as Camps for the Moesian legions.
The first legion attested at Viminacium was the VII Claudia that came there in 52 AD from Dalmatia.
Emperor Trajan (98-117) is headquartered here during the Dacian Wars
. It became a colonia with minting privilege in 239 AD during the rule of Gordian III
(238-244) and housed the Legion VII and Legion IV.
It was the provincial capital of Moesia Superior.
In the late spring of 293-294 Diocletian
journeyed through his realm and he re-organized Viminacium as capital of the new province of Moesia Superior Margensis. He registered that the people wrote in Latin, as opposed to Greek in the southern provinces.
Viminacium was the base camp of Legio VII Claudia
, and hosted for some time the IIII Flavia Felix. It had a Roman amphitheatre with room for 12,000 people.
In 382 it was the meeting place between Theodosius
and Gratian
amidst the Gothic Wars.
It was destroyed in 441 by the Attila the Hun
, but rebuilt by Justinian I
. During Maurice's Balkan campaigns
, Viminacium saw destruction by the Avars
in 582 and a crushing defeat of Avar forces on the northern Danube bank in 599, destroying Avar reputation for invincibility.
) a Serbia
n town on the Danube
river, east of Belgrade
.
Viminacium was a place where the first archaeological excavation in Serbia was made. It was in 1882, and it was started by Mihailo Valtrović, an architect by profession and first professor of archeology at the College in Belgrade
, with the help of 12 prisoners because the state did not have enough resources to provide him with a better work force. His research has continued Miloje Vasić, rebuilt in the seventies of the last century and intensified in the last ten years, and that the area of the Roman city of the Roman legionary camps and cemeteries. Many studies suggest that the camp had Viminacium rectangular plan, measuring 442 x 385 meters, and that is not far from its western wall of civilian settlement in an area of approximately 72 acres. Legionary camp in Viminacium is now in a layer of arable land, so that wealth Viminacium easily accessible to researchers, but, unfortunately, and the robbers.The National Museum in Belgrade
and Požarevac
kept some 40,000 items found in Viminacium, of which over 700 made of gold and silver. Among them are many objects that represent the European and world rarities invaluable.
It has been discovered and more than 13,500 graves. Tombstones and sarcophagi are often decorated with relief representations of scenes from mythology or daily life. We have found numerous grave masonry construction. Especially interesting are the frescoes of the 4th century tombs. Fresco
with the notion of young women in artistic value of the extreme range of late antique art. During the excavation, an amphitheater, which with its 12,000 seats was one of the largest in the Balkans
.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
province of Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
(today's Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
), and the capital of Moesia Superior. The archeological site occupies a total of 450 hectares. Viminacium is located 12 km from Kostolac
Kostolac
Kostolac is a small Serbian town on the Danube river in the Braničevo District. The remains of the Roman capital of the province of Moesia Superior Viminacium are located near Stari Kostolac some 2 km to the east of Kostolac. Kostolac is situated in the municipality of Požarevac...
, was devastated by Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
in the 5th century, but rebuilt by Justinian. It was completely destroyed with the arrival of Slovenes in the 6th century. The city had 40.000 habitants and was one of the biggest at that time. Thanks to his extraordinary geographic position, the economics was developed, and its citizens enjoyed wealth. In Viminacium there are emperor Hostelians mausoleum, temples, thermal baths, the north gate of the military camp, an aqueduct and recently discovered Roman pantheon and amphitheater, one of the biggest on Balkan Peninsula. More than 14.000 tombs had been found. In some of them one can see beautiful frescoes representing peacocks, reindeers or horsemen attacked by lions. Emperor Hostilian
Hostilian
Hostilian was Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born in Sirmium in Illyricum sometime after 230, as the son of the future emperor Decius by his wife Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla...
was the son of the emperor Traian, who was killed in the ambush near ancient city of Abrutus located in present day Bulgaria. According to the old manuscript, emperor Hostilian and his mother came in Viminacium to supervise the organization of defense of northern borders, but both of them died of plague. Because of the distance and the fear of spreading the plague, he was buried with all honors in Viminacium. The remains such as marble sculptures, tombstones and sarcophagus, jewelry and pottery are in the National Museums in Požarevac
Požarevac
Požarevac is a city and municipality in eastern Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Braničevo District of Serbia...
and Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
The city dates back to the 1st century AD and contains archaeological remains of temples, streets, squares, amphitheatres, palaces, hippodromes and Roman baths. It lies on the Roman road Via Militaris
Via Militaris
Via Militaris or Via Diagonalis was an ancient Roman road, starting from Singidunum , passing by Danube coast to Viminacium , through Naissus , Serdica , Philippopolis , Adrianopolis , and reaching Constantinople...
.
History
Remains of Viminacium, capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, located on the territory of the village of Stari Kostolac and Drmno, 12 km from KostolacKostolac
Kostolac is a small Serbian town on the Danube river in the Braničevo District. The remains of the Roman capital of the province of Moesia Superior Viminacium are located near Stari Kostolac some 2 km to the east of Kostolac. Kostolac is situated in the municipality of Požarevac...
and about 90 miles southeast of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. Viminacium was one of the most important Roman cities and military camps in the period from 1st to 4th century. His exceptional strategic importance was reflected both in the defense of the northern border of the Roman empire and in turn of communications and commercial transactions. No less appealing to the Romans was the hinterland of the valley Mlava
Mlava
The Mlava is the river in Serbia, 158 km long right tributary of the Danube.- Origin :Mlava originates as the Tisnica, from the Kučaj mountains in eastern Serbia, under the Veliki Krš peak. It flows to the north and curves around the eastern slopes of the mountain Beljanica, through an almost...
rich ore and grains. In Roman times the town on the northern side of relying directly on the branch of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, while the western side, touching the walls Mlava rivers. Only in the later period, Viminacium spread to the left bank Mlava. Thanks to the location, land and waterways, Viminacium represented one of those areas where the encounter of cultures between East and West was inevitable. Although these roads were the primary military and strategic function, they are taking place throughout antiquity very lively traffic and certainly contributed to the very Viminacium become prosperous and an important trading and business headquarters.
In Viminacium, Roman legion VII Claudia was stationed, and a nearby civilian settlement emerged from the military camp. It received city status in 117 during the reign of 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...
. In the camp, 6000 soldiers were stationed, and 30-40 lived nearby. In the first half of the 3rd century the city was in full development, as evidenced by the fact that at that time it acquired the status of a Roman colony, and the right to forge local money. Here, in 211, Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...
was proclaimed emperor by his son Caracalla
Caracalla
Caracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...
. In the mausoleum and the excavated tombs, the Roman emperor Hostilian
Hostilian
Hostilian was Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born in Sirmium in Illyricum sometime after 230, as the son of the future emperor Decius by his wife Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla...
was buried, who died in 251.
A legion may have been stationed here as early as Augustus (27 BC-14 AD).
In 33/34 AD a road is linked between Viminacium and Ratiaria
Ratiaria
Ratiaria was a city founded by Moesi, a Daco-Thracian tribe, in 4th century BC, along the river Danube. The city had a gold mine in the vicinity, which was exploited by the Thracians.It is located 2 km west of present village Archar in Vidin Province, northwestern Bulgaria...
. Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
(41-54) garrisoned Viminacium, Oescus
Oescus
Oescus, or Palatiolon Palatiolum, was an ancient town in Moesia, northwest of the modern Bulgarian city of Pleven, near the village of Gigen. It is a Daco-Moesian toponym. Ptolemy calls it a Triballian town, but it later became Roman...
and Novae
Novae
Archaeological site situated on the Danube in northern Bulgaria, about 4 kilometres east of the modern town Svishtov. A legionary base and late Roman town in the Roman province Moesia Inferior, later Moesia II.-Localisation and topography:...
as Camps for the Moesian legions.
The first legion attested at Viminacium was the VII Claudia that came there in 52 AD from Dalmatia.
Emperor Trajan (98-117) is headquartered here during the Dacian Wars
Dacian Wars
The Dacian Wars were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Emperor Trajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danubian Roman Province of Moesia and also by the increasing need for resources of the staggering economy of the...
. It became a colonia with minting privilege in 239 AD during the rule of Gordian III
Gordian III
Gordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...
(238-244) and housed the Legion VII and Legion IV.
It was the provincial capital of Moesia Superior.
In the late spring of 293-294 Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
journeyed through his realm and he re-organized Viminacium as capital of the new province of Moesia Superior Margensis. He registered that the people wrote in Latin, as opposed to Greek in the southern provinces.
Viminacium was the base camp of Legio VII Claudia
Legio VII Claudia
Legio septima Claudia Pia Fidelis was a Roman legion. Its emblem, like that of all Caesar's legions, was the bull, together with the lion....
, and hosted for some time the IIII Flavia Felix. It had a Roman amphitheatre with room for 12,000 people.
In 382 it was the meeting place between Theodosius
Theodosius
Theodosius is a name which might refer to one of several people:* One of three emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium:** Theodosius I , son of Count Theodosius...
and Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...
amidst the Gothic Wars.
It was destroyed in 441 by the Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun
Attila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...
, but rebuilt 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...
. During Maurice's Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Illyricum campaigns were a series of military expeditions conducted by emperor of Constantinopolis Maurice in an attempt to defend the Illyrian provinces of the East Roman Empire from Avars and Slavs...
, Viminacium saw destruction by the Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
in 582 and a crushing defeat of Avar forces on the northern Danube bank in 599, destroying Avar reputation for invincibility.
Location and excavation
It is located in Stari Kostolac (Old KostolacKostolac
Kostolac is a small Serbian town on the Danube river in the Braničevo District. The remains of the Roman capital of the province of Moesia Superior Viminacium are located near Stari Kostolac some 2 km to the east of Kostolac. Kostolac is situated in the municipality of Požarevac...
) a Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n town on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
river, east of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
Viminacium was a place where the first archaeological excavation in Serbia was made. It was in 1882, and it was started by Mihailo Valtrović, an architect by profession and first professor of archeology at the College in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, with the help of 12 prisoners because the state did not have enough resources to provide him with a better work force. His research has continued Miloje Vasić, rebuilt in the seventies of the last century and intensified in the last ten years, and that the area of the Roman city of the Roman legionary camps and cemeteries. Many studies suggest that the camp had Viminacium rectangular plan, measuring 442 x 385 meters, and that is not far from its western wall of civilian settlement in an area of approximately 72 acres. Legionary camp in Viminacium is now in a layer of arable land, so that wealth Viminacium easily accessible to researchers, but, unfortunately, and the robbers.The National Museum in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and Požarevac
Požarevac
Požarevac is a city and municipality in eastern Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Braničevo District of Serbia...
kept some 40,000 items found in Viminacium, of which over 700 made of gold and silver. Among them are many objects that represent the European and world rarities invaluable.
It has been discovered and more than 13,500 graves. Tombstones and sarcophagi are often decorated with relief representations of scenes from mythology or daily life. We have found numerous grave masonry construction. Especially interesting are the frescoes of the 4th century tombs. Fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
with the notion of young women in artistic value of the extreme range of late antique art. During the excavation, an amphitheater, which with its 12,000 seats was one of the largest in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.
Archeological site
- A 1,5 million year old mammoth skeleton was uncovered in the Viminacium site in June 2009.
- A remarkable find of a 35 centimetre jade sculpture. The work shows the possibility of a workshop existent under the Roman era.
See also
- Kostolac AirportKostolac AirportKostolac Airport is situated on the bank of the Danube river, built in 1998 on the power plant's reclaimed former ash yard. It is two kilometers from the Kostolac town centre and also near town of Požarevac....
- Archaeological Sites of Exceptional ImportanceArchaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance are the archaeological sites in the Republic of Serbia that have the highest level of the State protection, and some of them are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites....