Mediana
Mediana is an important archaeological excavation site of the late Roman era in Serbia . The excavation site is located in an eastern suburb of Niš , the ancient Naissus in Moesia superior . Mediana was an imperial residence, in the center of which was the late antique villa , a peristyle and the thermal baths from the time of Emperor Constantine the Great . Mediana was the exclusive residence of the emperor and his family in Naissus.
Constantine the Great was born in Naissus and grew up there. The construction of the residence in Mediana goes back to him, where, according to historical sources, he also stayed in the years 315, 319, 324 and 334. After his death in 337, the residence in Mediana was used by various other emperors. Constantine's sons Constantius II and Constans stayed in Naissus in the winter of 340. Constans later used the villa as a temporary residence. After Vetranio , commander of the Danube Army, was proclaimed emperor in Sirmium , he handed over the imperial insignia to Constantius II in Naissus in 350. At the end of the year 361, Emperor Julian unexpectedly found himself in Naissus during his campaign against Constantius II. During the two months he wrote from Naissus to the Roman Senate, to Athens and Corinth to secure support. Valentinian I stayed in Naissus in 364, which is evident from various imperial edicts. Naissus was the hometown of another Roman emperor, Constantius III. (425), husband of Galla Placidia , father of Valentinian III. The residence was abandoned after the invasions of the Huns under Attila in 442.
Mediana is located on the tourist route " Road of the Roman Emperors ", which connects all important Roman and late antique excavation cities in Serbia.
Web links
- Pages about Mediana on the website of the city of Niš (English, Serbian)
- Max Fluß : Mediana . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XV, 1, Stuttgart 1931, Col. 68.
Coordinates: 43 ° 18 ′ 37 ″ N , 21 ° 56 ′ 56 ″ E