Sirmium
Pannonia | |
| Coordinates | 44°57′58″N 19°36′38″E / 44.96611°N 19.61056°E |
|---|---|
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | Before 4th century BC |
| Abandoned | 582 |
| Cultures | Illyrian, Celt, Roman, Byzantine |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
archaeological Site of Exceptional Importance | |
| Designated | 1948 |
| Reference no. | АН 106 |
Sirmium was a city in the
Sirmium purportedly had 100,000[2] inhabitants and was one of the largest cities of its time. Colin McEvedy, whose estimates for ancient cities are much lower than the general consensus, however, put the population at only 7,000, based on the size of the archaeological site.[3] The amount of grain imported between 1 AD and 400 AD was enough to feed 700,000 to 1 million people.[4]
History
Remains of Sirmium stand on the site of the modern-day
With the Celtic tribe of
In 103, Pannonia was split into two provinces: Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior; Sirmium became the capital city of the latter.
In 296, Diocletian reorganized Pannonia into four provinces: Pannonia Prima, Pannonia Valeria, Pannonia Savia and Pannonia Secunda, with Sirmium becoming the capital of Pannonia Secunda. He joined them with Noricum and Dalmatia to establish the Diocese of Pannonia, with Sirmium as its capital also.
In 293, with the establishment of the
The city also had an imperial palace, a horse-racing arena, a
At the end of the 4th century Sirmium came under the sway of the
The city was also the location of the Battle of Sirmium that took place in 1167, where a Roman army dispatched by Manuel I Komnenos decisively defeated the forces of Hungary, turning the latter into a satellite state.
Roman emperors
Ten Roman emperors were born in this city or in its surroundings:
(367–383).The last emperor of the united Roman Empire, Theodosius I (378–395), became emperor in Sirmium. The usurpers Ingenuus and Regalianus also declared themselves emperors in this city (in 260) and many other Roman emperors spent some time in Sirmium, including Marcus Aurelius, who might have written parts of his famous work Meditations in the city. Sirmium was, most likely, the site of the death of Marcus Aurelius, of smallpox, in March of 180 CE.[12]
Christian bishopric
The city had a Christian community by the third century. By the end of the century, it had a bishop, who was probably the metropolitan of all the Pannonian bishops. The first known bishop was Irenaeus, who was martyred during the Diocletianic Persecution in 304. For the next century, the sequence of bishops is known, but in the fifth and sixth centuries the see falls into obscurity. An unnamed bishop is mentioned in 448. The last known bishop is mentioned in a papal letter of 594, after which the city itself is rarely mentioned and the see probably went into abeyance.[13]
From the time of the first synod of Tyre in 335, Sirmium became a stronghold of the Arian movement and site of much controversy. Between 347 and 358 there were four synods held in Sirmium. A fifth took place in 375 or 378. All dealt with the Arian controversy.[13]
Archeological findings
At Glac near Sirmium a palace is being excavated,[14] indicated by the luxurious construction materials coming from all over the Mediterranean, such as red and green porphyry from Egypt and the Peloponnese, and marble from Tunisia, Greece and Italy. Some say it is that of Emperor Maximian and according to Aurelius Victor built on the place where his parents worked as labourers on the estate.[15]
During the construction of the hospital in 1971, more than eighty altars were found in a monumental sanctuary to Jupiter, which is the second largest in Europe.[citation needed] Sirmium had two bridges with which bridged the river Sava, Ad Basanti and Artemida's bridges according to historical sources.[citation needed] After 313 Sirmium became an important Christian centre. So far revealed are eight early Christian churches dedicated to St. Irenaeus, St. Demetrius and Sv. Sinenot.[citation needed]
During work on the new Sremska Mitrovica trade centre in 1972, a worker accidentally broke into an old Roman pot, about 2m deep, over the site of an old Sirmium settlement. 33 gold Roman coins enclosed in a leather pouch were found inside a Roman house wall, probably the hidden savings of a wealthy Roman family stashed centuries ago. Of this extraordinary rare find of Sirmium minted coins were 4 Constantius II era coins, considered the most valuable examples from the late Roman Empire of the fourth century AD. Ironically, the worker's name was Zlatenko (meaning Golden, or Golden Man in Serbian, Aurelius in Latin).
Sirmium also had a Roman
Famous residents
List of emperors
- Marcus Aurelius (161–180), used Sirmium as a residence in between Pannonian military campaigns (170–180)
- Maximinus (235–238), ruled from residence in Sirmium
- Herennius Etruscus (251), born in Sirmium
- Hostilian (251), born in Sirmium
- Ingenuus (260), proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium
- Regalianus (260), proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium
- Claudius II(268–270), born in Sirmium and spent most of his life there
- Quintillus (270), born in Sirmium
- Aurelian (270–275), born in Sirmium and also proclaimed emperor there
- Probus(276–282), born in Sirmium
- Maximianus Herculius (285–310), born near Sirmium
- Galerius (305–311), ruled as caesar from Sirmium (293–296)
- Crispus, proclaimed caesar in Sirmium in 317
- Constantine II, proclaimed caesar in Sirmium in 317
- Vetranio, proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium in 350
- Constantius II (337–361), born in Sirmium
- Gratian (367–383), born in Sirmium
- Theodosius I the Great(378–395), became emperor in Sirmium
List of prefects
- Valerius Licinius, prefect of the Diocese of Pannonia with residence in Sirmium (308–314)
- Apricanus, prefect of Pannonia Secunda with residence in Sirmium (355)
- Mesala, prefect of the Pannonia Secunda province (373)
- Petronius Probus, prefect in Sirmium (374)
- Aurelius Victor, prefect of the Pannonia Secunda province (369), and author of a History of Rome until the reign of Julian
- Leontius, prefect in Sirmium (426)
List of bishops
- Irenaeus (died 304)
- Domnus(deposed c. 335), attended the First Council of Nicaea
- Eutherius (fl. 347)
- Photinus (c. 345–351), Arian bishop
- Germinius (351–c. 376)
- Anemius (c. 376–c. 392)
- Cornelius (c. 392 – after 404)
- Laurentius (in 401–17)
- Sebastianus (fl. 594)
List of saints
References
- ^ "Mesto Sremska Mitrovica, upoznaj Srbiju". Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ "SREMSKA MITROVICA IN ROMAN TIMES". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ McEvedy, Cities of the Classical World, (London: Allen Lane, 2011), p. 346.
- ISBN 978-0-954816-55-1
- ^ "SREMSKA MITROVICA IN ROMAN TIMES". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ "Mesto Sremska Mitrovica, upoznaj Srbiju". Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ Domić-Kunić, Alka (8 December 2006). "SRCE.hr". Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja U Zagrebu. 39 (1): 59–164. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ "VML.de". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ Papazoglu 1978, p. 74.
- ^ Ronald Syme, Anthony Birley, The provincial at Rome: and, Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14, p. 204 Google Books
- ^ Alan K. Bowman, Edward Champlin, Andrew Lintott, The Cambridge ancient history, 10, p. 551
- ^ McLynn, Frank, Marcus Aurelius, Da Capo Press (2009), p. 417
- ^ a b Jacques Zeiller, Les origines chrétiennes dans les provinces danubiennes de l'Empire romain (Paris: E. de Boccard, 1918), pp. 143–48, 598.
- ^ "Archaeological Site Glac".
- ^ Aurelius Victor, Historia Romana, De Caesaribus
- ^ Sirmium. 1971. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ISBN 9780520049215. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ISBN 9781841622033. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
Sources
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- ISBN 9781139428880.
- Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Daim, Falko (2019). "The Longobards in Pannonia". Prima e dopo Alboino: sulle tracce dei Longobardi. Napoli: Guida. pp. 221–241.
- Given, John (2014). The Fragmentary History of Priscus. Merchantville, New Jersey: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 9781935228141.
- Gračanin, Hrvoje (2006). "The Huns and South Pannonia". Byzantinoslavica. 64: 29–76.
- Janković, Đorđe (2004). "The Slavs in the 6th Century North Illyricum". Гласник Српског археолошког друштва. 20: 39–61.
- ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
- Kuzmanović, Zorica; Mihajlović, Vladimir D. (2015). "Roman Emperors and Identity Constructions in Modern Serbia". Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. 22 (4): 416–432.
- Милошевић, Петар (2001). Археологија и историја Сирмијума. Нови Сад: Матица српска.
- Mirković, Miroslava B. (2017). Sirmium: Its History from the First Century AD to 582 AD. Novi Sad: Center for Historical Research.
- Mócsy, András (2014) [1974]. Pannonia and Upper Moesia: A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781317754251.
- ISBN 9789025607937.
- Popović, Radomir V. (1996). Le Christianisme sur le sol de l'Illyricum oriental jusqu'à l'arrivée des Slaves. Thessaloniki: Institute for Balkan Studies. ISBN 9789607387103.
- Várady, László (1969). Das Letzte Jahrhundert Pannoniens (376–476). Amsterdam: Verlag Adolf M. Hakkert.
- Whitby, Michael (1988). The Emperor Maurice and his Historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan warfare. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-822945-2.
- Wozniak, Frank E. (1981). "East Rome, Ravenna and Western Illyricum: 454-536 A.D." Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 30 (3): 351–382.
- Zeiller, Jacques (1918). Les origines chrétiennes dans les provinces danubiennes de l'Empire romain. Paris: E. De Boccard.
External links
