Marcianopolis
The city of Marcianopolis (also Markianopolis ; Greek Μαρκιανούπολις Markianoupolis ; Bulgarian Марцианопол Marzianopol ) was the ancient capital of the Roman province of Moesia inferior (Lower Mossia) and temporarily the second capital of the Eastern Roman Empire .
location
It is located in present-day Bulgaria , in the city of Devnja , at the northeast end of the Dewnja valley, along the southern foothills of the Dobruja plateau, on the western bank of Lake Beloslav , into which the two rivers Dewnja and Prowadija flow. The Black Sea and the third largest Bulgarian city Varna are 25 km away.
Antiquity
The Roman Marcianopolis was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan (89–117) after the Second Dacian War (105–106) and named after his older sister Ulpia Marciana . In Roman inscriptions, the name of the city is also supplemented with Trajan's surname - Marcianopolis Ulpia . Also Civitas Marcianopolitanorum was in use as a name. The assumption of an identity of Marcianopolis with Parthenopolis , represented in older research literature, is erroneous.
From 187 to 193 Marcianopolis was part of the Roman province of Thrace with the capital Philippopolis ( Plovdiv ). After that the city belonged to the province of Moesia inferior.
Marcianopolis was an important strategic center. There the strategically and economically important roads from Dorostorum and Appiaria crossed on the Danube , and Zaldapa via Aquae Calidae and Debeltus to Adrianopolis (today Edirne ) and Constantinople , the great east-west connection through Moesia between Ratiaria , Montana , Melta and Nicopolis ad Istrum to Odessos .
The prosperity of the city under the dynasty of Severus ended with the invasion of the Goths (248-249) and the subsequent invasion of the barbarians from the north. In 248 the city was besieged by the Goths and other Germans. The defenders were able to repel this attack and inflict heavy losses on the attackers. Thus the claim of the historian Jordanes that the besieged bought the withdrawal of the enemy with money is not credible; it only served to gloss over the failure of the Goths. Another attack by the Goths under Emperor Claudius II in 269 also failed.
Under Emperor Diocletian , Marcianopolis became the center of the province of Moesia secunda and the diocese of Thrace. In the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, the city was fundamentally rebuilt. In the 4th century its importance grew at the expense of the neighboring city of Odessos (today: Varna ). The city was an important bishopric. During excavations, a basilica from this period was discovered.
Marcianopolis was temporarily the capital of the Roman Emperor Valens during the Gothic Wars in the 4th century . The Roman Emperor Valens stayed for a long time in Marcianopolis during his conflict with the Goths (366–369); his armed forces had their winter quarters there. Despite the frequent barbarian incursions, Marcianopolis remained an important center. In 447 the city was attacked and devastated by the Huns under Attila . It was not fully restored until the reign of Justinian .
The city was taken by the Avars in 587 , but later recaptured by the Eastern Romans. The Eastern Roman army had defeated the Slavs here in 594 during Maurikios' Balkan campaigns and maintained their camp there in 596, from where they operated against the Slavs on the other side of the Danube . Only a raid by the Avars 614-615 finally destroyed the city. But it was still mentioned on maps much later, especially since a Slavic settlement existed here. Around 678 the region fell to the Bulgarians who established their empire here.
swell
The historical sources (ancient Greek, Roman, Gothic, Byzantine) about Marcianopolis are scattered, but show that the city was an important military, administrative and Christian center. Some early saints come from Marcianopolis. In the Antonini Itinerary (3rd century AD) the name of the city is noted, also on the ancient map Tabula Peutingeriana (4th century AD). Historians Dexippos Atheniensis and Ammianus Marcellinus described Marcianopolis as a city surrounded by jagged walls and named after Trajan's sister. According to Theophanes , Marcianopolis was the capital of the province of Moesia inferior . Zosimos writes that Marcianopolis is the largest city in Thrace. The Menologium of Basil II localizes Marcianopolis also in Thrace. The city is also mentioned by Hieroclis Synecdemos and Theophylaktos Simokates .
Prokopios of Caesarea reports on the repair of the city wall during the time of Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD). The barbaric attack on Marcianopolis is described in the Chronicon Paschale , the Historia Augusta and the Hieronymi Chronicon , as well as by Dexippos Atheniensis , Zosimos , Jordanes , Theophanes .
In the Notitia dignitatum it is mentioned that the city had an imperial armory.
The city was the seat of the metropolitan of the diocese (bishopric) Moesia secunda (325-431) and later the diocese Haemimontus , which was under the patriarch of Constantinople. The Menologium of Basil II gives hagiographic information about Marcianopolis.
Philostorgios reports on the stay of Emperor Valens (reign 364-378 AD) in Marcianopolis.
The last time Marcianopolis is mentioned in 596 by Theophylactus Simokates, in connection with the invasion of the Slavs during the reign of Emperor Maurikios (582-602 AD).
Coins
Under Emperor Commodus (reign 180 to 192 AD) Marcianopolis received the right to mint and has minted coins since that time. The coins showed images of temples, a triumphal arch surrounded by 4 figures on a pedestal (Emperor Macrinus , reigned 217-218 AD). After the destruction by the Goths (238 AD), three city gates were depicted on the coins (Emperor Gordian III , reigned 238-244 AD). One of the city gates had three arches, the other was flanked by two conical towers with a roof. The third city gate was crenellated. The coins also showed the massive city walls from a bird's eye view. The bronze coins that were minted in the city bore Greek inscriptions. The name of the city was also written in Greek: MARKIANOΠOΛEITΩN, MARKIANOΠOΛITΩN or MARKIANOΠOΛIC, as the official language of the city was Greek.
Mosaic Museum
The mosaic museum in Marcianopolis / Devnja is unique in Bulgaria. It shows well-preserved, colored Roman and early Byzantine mosaics . The museum is built on the foundations of an excavated late Roman building ( Villa Urbana ) with mosaics from the late 3rd to early 4th centuries (reign of Constantine the Great ). The exposed mosaics were left in their original place. A few more mosaics were restored and put on a new base. Archaeological excavations began in 1976 and the museum opened in 1986.
The late Roman building was already built on the foundations of an earlier building (more precisely: one or more earlier buildings) - "the house of Antiopes". These were destroyed during the Goths incursions in 250-251. The later Roman building stood after some modifications until the beginning of the 7th century.
With an area of 37 × 37 m, the Roman building took up the area of an entire block of flats ( insula ). The inner courtyard ( atrium , 11 × 6 m) is paved with stone slabs, with a fountain in the middle (0.67 cm diameter) and is surrounded on three sides by a covered gallery ( arcade (architecture) ?; Also peristile or cryptoporticus ) . Towards the inner courtyard are 21 rooms for residential, commercial and storage purposes with a total area of 1,400 m². The walls of the living rooms were covered with colored wall paintings and plaster stucco. Five of the rooms in the building and the portico have polychrome floor mosaics. Three of these floor mosaics can be viewed in the museum in their original location, the others were applied to a new surface after restoration.
The mosaics were made using the classic techniques Opus tessellatum and Opus vermiculatum from small stones in 16 different colors of marble, limestone, baked clay and colored glass. They mainly depict people and scenes from Greco-Roman mythology, exotic animals and birds, birds and geometric figures.
- Opus tessellatum - with larger terracotta and mineral stones, the tesser with dimensions over 1 cm²; typical for mosaics with an ornamental character
- Opus vermiculatum - mainly used in figure compositions; smaller stones;
- Opus sectile - rare technique; With larger slabs of differently colored marble or a different type of stone with diverse shapes, composite geometric compositions are formed
- Opus signinum
The two techniques opus tessellatum and opus vermiculatum are mostly used in combination.
Mosaics:
- Gorgon / Medusa (Greek "the terrible") - 8 × 8 m
- Satyr and Antiope - 5.60 × 4.40 m
- Ganymede and the eagle - 5.60 × 13.40 m
- Seasons - 8.60 × 7.80 m
- Pannonian volutes
The mosaic museum extends over two floors. In addition to mosaics, it also shows stone slabs with inscriptions and antique vessels and objects (vases, amphorae, bronze and self-made coins, rings, jewelry)
Titular bishopric
The Roman Catholic titular Archdiocese of Marcianopolis still exists today .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Michael Wendel: The war expedition of the Avars in the year 586/87 AD through northern Thrace. in Pontos Euxeinos. Contributions to the archeology and history of the ancient Black Sea and Balkan regions, ZAKSSchriften 10, Verlag Beier & Beran, Langenweissbach 2006, p. 449ff.
- ↑ Edith Schönert-Geiß : Bibliography on ancient numismatics of Thrace and Moesia. from the series: Greek Mint; Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 978-3-05-003286-3 ; P. 205
Web links
- Page about the Mosaic Museum (German) - with pictures of the mosaics (PDF file; 1.19 MB)
- Page about the Mosaic Museum (Bulgarian) - with pictures of the mosaics
Coordinates: 43 ° 13 ′ 30 ″ N , 27 ° 35 ′ 6 ″ E