a guide to roman bulgaria

8/19/2019 A Guide to Roman Bulgaria

1/24

Dimana Trankova M

ROMA

Front cover : A mosaic of a stag at the Small Basilica in Plovdiv

Title page: A bronze mask-helmet from the 1st-2nd centuries AD discovered in an

ancient villa now under the Chatalka Dam, near Stara Zagora. Stara Zagora Regional

History Museum © Krasimir Georgiev

ISBN 978-619-90319-4-0

Всички права запазени.Без ограничения на правата, под които е установено авторското

право,нито една част от това произведение не може да бъде възпроизвеждана,

съхранявана или въвеждана в система за циркулация, или препредавана под каквато и да

била форма (електронна,м еханична,фотокопиране или друга) без писмено съгласие на

издателя.

All rights reserved.Without limiting the copyright reserved above,no par t of this publication

may be reproduced,stored in,or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form

or by any means (electronic, mechanical,photocopying or otherwise), without the prior written

consent of the publisher.

The publication of this book is supported by the America for BulgariaFoundation. The statements and opinions expressed herein are thoseof the authors and do not necessarily reect the opinion of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and its partners.

A GUIDE TO ROMAN BULGARIA

by Dimana Trankova, Milena Raycheva, Anthony Georgieff

© Dimana Trankova (text)

© Milena Raycheva (text)

© All photography by Anthony Georgieff except where marked

Subedit ed by Vassil Yovchev

Edited by Anthony Georgieff

Graphic design by Gergana Shkodrova

Printed by Janet-45 Print & Publishing, Plovdiv

© FSI Foundation, 2016

First published in January, 2016


2/24

CO

R

P

L

G

D

T

SS

P

N

A

D

TThe main entrance of the ancient theatre in Plovdiv


3/24

6

Rome in Bulgaria

One of the most remarkable tales

of history concerns a city on seven hills

which rose from its humble origins to

become one of the greatest empires of

all time and the cradle of a civilisation. Its

science and philosophy, architecture and art,

bloodshed and law, politics and language s till

reverberate throughout the modern world.

The nature of the city of Rome was

dened by uidity. It started as a kingdom,

but while it was swelling and conquering, it

grew to a republic and ended up an empire.

In the times of its greatest expansion,

the 2nd Century AD, Rome incorporated

large parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, and its

citizens proudly called the Mediterranean Sea

Mare Nostrum, or Our Sea, as if it was nothingmore than an internal thoroughfare. In the

lands around, Rome spread not only its way

of governance, but also its art and fashions, its

language, gods and lifestyle – from gladiator

games and theatre plays to public baths and

temples of the imperial cult.

What is today Bulgaria was part of

this amalgamation for at least six centuries.

This timespan covers the grandeur and

expansion of Rome during the Principate,

or the so- called Imperial Period, between

the 1st and 3rd centuries, and the

tumultuous times between the 4th and 6th

centuries, or Late Antiquity. The period saw

signicant social and economy changes,

the moving of the capital from Rome to

Constantinople, the rise of Christianity as

ofcial religion, the division of the once

mighty empire into Western and Eastern

parts, and of massive invasions of the so-

called Barbarians.

The Romans set their eyes on Europe's

southeast as early as the 2nd Century BC

while their state was still a republic and theBalkans were a colourful map of H ellenistic

kingdoms. There were a legion things which

lured them thither. The Balkans were a crucial

crossroads between Europe and Asia Minor,

and were rich in mines, thick forests and

arid land. The rst to fall u nder the Roman

sandal were ancient Greece and Macedonia,

but the Thracians, their neighbours living in

what is today Bulgaria, continued with their

lives mostly undisturbed in a handful of

small, dependent kingdoms.

Rome was wise and careful in its advance

into the unexplored Thracian territory.

Instead of exerting direct political authority

on the population, it bribed and seduced

some of the Thracian rulers and kept them

close and dependent, using the bond of the

relation between a patronus, or protector

and benefactor, and a cliens, or a subservient

person.

Being neighbours with the Romans was

not easy. The Thracians saw some precarious

interactions, like the campaign of 72 BC,

when M . Terrentius Varro Lucullus, govern or

of the province of Macedonia, marchedagainst the Greek cities on the Black Sea

coast to punish them for helping Rome's

then archenemy, Mithridates VI, the king

of the Pontic kingdom. The Balkans saw

another Roman military intervention in

26 AD, set by the revolt of some Thracians

against King Rhoemetalces II, a Roman

pawn.

The mostly peaceful coexistence with

Rome at the border was short-lived. The

Romans sought control over the Lower

Danube and the lands north of the Stara

Planina and the Thracian plain on its south.

The inevitable conquest followed different

patterns in the north and south, but both

regions had become parts of the empire by

the mid-1st Century AD.

The conquest of Central Europe had

convinced the Romans of the importance

of the Danubian border. So they put all

their effort rst on mastering the river and

the lands north of the Stara Planina. After

a short campaign against local tribes, M.

Licinius Crassus set up a military prefecture

(a form of pre-provincial government) in thearea as early as 29 BC. There the Romans

stationed legions and started building camps

which would later turn into cities. Soon

afterwards, sometime in 12-15 AD, the

province of Moesia was ofcially established.

By the end of the century it had already

been split in two – Moesia Inferior included

what is today northern Bulgaria and Mo esia

Superio

When i

defeate

and est

was no

withdre

develop

military

The

Planina

and in a

ruling t

of Rom

the coin

the Thr

the stro

BC – 14death o

for his s

the killi

that tim

over th

AD. The

Unlike t

was les


4/24

8

Philippopolis were no more than redesigned

so as to t Roman fashions, governance and

lifestyle.

Some of the newly established

settlements evolved from former legionary

camps along the Danube after 106 AD –

Ratiaria (modern Archar) and Oescus

(modern Gigen). Others, like Nicopolis ad

Istrum ( near Veliko Tarnovo), Augusta Traiana

(modern Stara Zagora) and Marcianopolis

(modern Devnya) appeared as new civic

settlements. By the beginning of the 2nd

Century AD the map of Roman Bulgaria had

been dotted with new towns.

Cities in Moesia were under greater

Roman inuence than the ones in Thrace. It

was the result of a signicant military presence:Some soldiers were of Italic origin and after

the end of their service settled in what is

today Bulgaria. The cities in Moesia looked like

the ones in the western realms of the empire,

and the language of administration was Latin.

On their part, the cities in the south were

inuenced by Greece and Asia Minor – they

had a distinctly Eastern look and used Greek.

This was how Bulgaria became a rare

blend of the traditions of the empire's

western and eastern worlds.

All the cities reected the Graeco-

Roman concept of u rbanism. They had

squares (called forums in the north and

agoras in the south) to accommodate vital

civic and religious buildings, and people

would gather there to trade, gossip, pray

or have fun. Crucial elements of cityscape

included basilicas (before the advent of

Christianity these were covered public

spaces which hosted a number of activities),

temples, theatres and stadiums. The towns

had water supply and drainage systems, and

a street network of avenues intersectingat right angles. Statues of gods, emperors

and notables adorned public buildings. The

private sphere was affected as well. Most

city dwellers lived in street blocks called

insulae. The wealthier possessed large houses

with courtyards and pools, decorated with

mosaics and marble statues.

The Roman rule boosted the economy –

production was more or less c entralised

and standardised, and usually concentrated

in the cities. Private initiative was welcomed

and large establishments such as pottery

workshops appeared in villas outside cities.

The Romans were highly organised,

and the developed administration they

introduced in the Balkans was a novelty for

the Thracians, who had been u sed to a social

structure no more complex than a king and

a small military aristocracy. Under Rome, the

locals had to adjust to the new territorial

and scal management of a centralised

state. Provinces were governed by imperial

ofcials, who resided in the provincial

capitals. There was also a team of nancial

and other supervisors which took care ofprovincial matters.

Each city enjoyed a bit of autonomy, with

a body of magistrates, which functioned as a

miniature copy of the Senate in Rome. These

positions were unpaid, and magistrates

were expected to nance from their own

pocket the organisation of public events

and the construction of public buildings.

Male citizens over a certain age participated

regularly in the meetings of the city cou ncil

and discussed current issues. Each year, two

of them were elected counc il leaders, whose

authority was similar to those of modern-

day mayors.

A variety of institutions existed in the

cities as well. There were several collegia

dealing with religious matters. Many of these

were involved in practising the imperial

cult – that is, venerating the emperor as a

deity. Other institutions resembled social

clubs, and there were also professional

associations. Some were responsible for the

sports life, which was considered essential

for the education of the young. City

governments also provided opportunitiesfor the people who donated generously

with the aim to boost their career. It was

an expensive effort, but usually it paid off –

such benefactors were held in high esteem

and were often honoured with statues.

Women participated actively in the

public life. Although they were excluded

from the sessions of the city council, they

were no

Many w

associat

cults, an

priestes

rank of

prestige

money

organis

too, we

public s

Life in

2nd cen

notable

wars an

reign ofnext ce

with th

the tum

Centur

too sho

Empero

the gam

reorgan


5/24

10

390s he decreed Christianity the ofcial

(and only) state religion, and divided the rule

of the empire between his sons – Honorius

took the West, Arcadius the East.

Southeastern Europe found itself in

what today historians call the Eastern Roman

Empire, the heir of the mighty Augustan state

and predecessor of what would become

mediaeval Byzantium. No review of RomanBulgaria would be complete without this

period of transition. The region was now next

door to the imperial capital and was rather

susceptible to its economic and intellectual

inuence. This brought about prosperity,

and it's no wonder that some of the nest

monuments of late Roman culture appeared

precisely in the Balkans.

While in the 5th and 6th centuries the

Western Roman Empire shrank and suffered

heavy defeat from the Barbarians, the sister

on the east did well. It enjoyed a fair share

of architectural magnicence and military

success under some talented emperors like

the wise reformer Anastasius I (491-518)

and Justinian the Great (527–565), who

restored much of the empire's territory and

cultural power.But troubles were not far away. Wars

and Barbaric invasions were not uncommon

between the 4th and early 7th centuries, and

they heavily affected life in Roman Bulgaria.

The strict administration of the past started

to crack. The settlement pattern changed.

The old Roman cities, located in the plains,

began to decline as even their mighty walls

all lived there. The streets teemed with

magistrates and matrons, prostitutes and

slaves, merchants and gladiators. Some of

these were Roman citizens by birthright –

enjoying the privileges this brought them –

while others acquired citizenship after

doing military or administrative service.

But it no longer mattered after 212 AD,

when Emperor Caracalla (211-217) issued

a decree which made every free man in the

empire a Roman citizen.

Between the 4th and 6th centuries

the empire started to crumble under the

invasions of the Barbarians. Among the most

devastating were the ones by the Goths in

the 4th Century, the Huns in the 5th, andSlavs and Avars in the 6th. The instability

they brought combined with the deepening

political and military crisis, which ultimately

led to the collapse of the ancient Roman

civilisation. But while the Western Roman

Empire fell under the Barbarians, its eastern

sister survived, morphing into what came to

be known as Byzantium.

could not stop the Barbarians. Instead,

people moved to new, heavily fortied places

in the easily defensible hills.

Economy and social life changed too.

Production became even more centralised,

and the state became a b ig investor and

owner of a number of workshops. Many

small-time freemen found themselves

so heavily in debt that they p ractically

became the property of their creditors: The

foundations of feudal society were laid.

Meanwhile, by the end of the 4th

Century, Christianity became the dominant

religion, with all the consequences not

only for art and architecture, but also for

social life. The Church gradually gained

political power and bishops took over citygovernance.

Social and ethnic diversity was a

crucial part of life in the cosmopolitan

empire, and Roman Bulgaria was no

exception. Local Thracians, Greeks from

the mainland o r Asia Minor, Romans,

and veterans of various backgrounds

Reenactments of the Roman past are increasingly

popular in Bulgaria. One such company is the Cabyle

Antiquity Reenactment Group

Perched over a high plateau overlooking an important trade

route, the Ovech fortress, in Provadia,

was used by the Romans since the 3rd Century.

Today's remains date back to the Middle Ages

But

Balkans

Proto-B

south o

the cen

Bulgaria

In th

the Rom

Untend

streets,of once

overgro

whose

their pr

column

for mor

ruins in

original


6/24

12

YOU ARE HERE

The province of Thrace with the Danube, the Black

Sea and modern Bulgaria, were depicted on the Tabula

Peutingeriana, a 13th-Century copy of an illustrated map

of the Roman Empire. The original was compiled from

Roman maps dating from the 1st to the 5th centuries,

which explains why it includes toponyms that didn't exist in

the same time, like Pompeii, the cit y destroyed by Mount

Vesuvius in 79 AD.

The Tabula Peutingeriana was made to facilitate

travellers. It covered t he roads throughout the empir e,

all the major cities and road stations and the distances

between them. It included almost the complete territory of

the empire (with the exception of Spai n, Morocco and the

British Isles which were probably on a lost part of the map)

as well as some lands outside the Roman realm: the MiddleEast, India, Sri Lanka and even a bit of China.

The map was discovered in Worms, Germany, and is

now in the Еsterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Hofburg,

Vienna.


7/24

18

Life


8/24

20

commemorate his victory over the Dacians.

Others transformed gradually from the

military camps along the Danube, growing

steadily with veterans' families and engulng

the satellite Thracian villages and the

settlements with motley crowds of itinerant

merchants, prostitutes and soldiers' wives.

This was h ow, for example, Ulpia Oescus

and Novae, both on the Danube, arose.

The imperial administration recognised

these changes and throughout the years

granted these settlements more and more

rights. The trend was at its most intensiveunder Emperor Trajan, who promoted many

settlements to the rank of real cities, and

in recognition gave them his family name,

Ulpius.

In Thrace most of the Roman cities,

with the exception of the ones along the

Danube, lacked proper defences. According

to common wisdom, they were far from

Left : The names of the different phylai , or neighbourhoods,

of Philippopolis were written on the seats of the local

theatre, indicating w hich seat belonged to whom

Gold necklaces of a wealthy lady from Philippopolis,

the 2nd Century. These were found buried al ongside their

owner, in the eastern necropolis of the city, and are now

on display at the Plovdiv Archaeology Museum

the bor

This wa

in 166-

the Mar

against

In 170-

the pro

prompt

during t

his Med

fortica

which e

After thin in the

cities su

followe

that no

no wall

Roads

of the c


9/24

22

the emperor's domain or to be turned into

military camps. Rural communities kept their

relative economic and social independence,

and many producers of agricultural goods

sold directly to the market.

In the co untry, big villa rusticae, owned by

the wealthiest of the population, produced

large quantities of wheat, wool, fruit, timber

and honey. And not only food – near the

modern city of Pavlikeni, for example, a big

ceramics workshop churned out tiles and

bricks for the public and private buildings;

pipes for the water system; lamps and pots

for cooking; and even wheeled toys.

The import was mainly of luxury goods:

gold and silver jewellery, candelabra and

expensive furniture, wine and olive oil,expensive metal and glass vessels, and

pottery. Even sarcophagi were purchased

from the best workshops in Greece.

Spacious markets in places like

Discoduraterae (modern-day Gostilitsa);

Pizos, near Chirpan; and Skaptopara, near

Blagoevgrad were also opened and the local

economy made the most of this opportunity.

An architectural fragment from the basilica of Ulpia

Oescus, depicting an actor. Now in the Pleven Regional

History Museum

An amphora with an erotic scene,

Plovdiv Archaeology Museum

were impressed by the sturdy boulders of

the old Roman road. These, however, were

dislodged to such an extent that it was

preferable to walk in the deep mud b eside

them. Today, preserved sections of ancient

Roman roads can be seen around Kalofer, in

the Stara Planina, and near the stone circle

at Dolni Glavanak, in the eastern part of the

Rhodope.

A restored section is exhibited by the

Sostra fortress, near Troyan.

Along the roads the Romans created

road stations, where travellers could spend

the night and envoys would get a fresh

change of horses. Remains of such stations

have been discovered all over modern

Bulgaria, including Sostra and Cillae, nearPlovdiv. Something close to a reconstruction

of such a station can be seen at Castra

Rubra, near Harmanli, in the southeast.

Fortresses were also built by the roads,

a measure which became vital after the 3rd

Century, when Barbarian attacks from the

north of the Danube had become part of

everyday life.

Economic life changed, too. Thrace

became part of the vast imperial market

and both local aristocrats and new settlers

invested their money in large farms and

workshops. In the cities, craftsmen produced

mass-market and luxurious pottery, and

blacksmiths were busy making everything

imaginable – from nails to knives to bronze

lamps and decorative pins. Stonemasons and

sculptors caved basalt and marble, creating

columns for buildings, statues, inscriptions,

tombstones. Goldsmiths meticulously

wrought ne gold and silver necklaces, rings

and earrings. On the outskirts of the cities,

solvent-stinking leather workshops supplied

shoemakers with raw materials. There

were even beauticians, providing serviceswhich a modern woman would look upon

as a recent invention – from hair curling to

epilation with resin.

Unlike other parts of the empire, local

agriculture was almost untouched by the

Roman authorities. Only small plots of land,

as well as all the mines and most of the

lakes, were expropriated to become part of


10/24


11/24

26

what they saw on the arena, as evidenced

by the game of draughts cut into one of

the upper rows of the stadium by bored

spectators seeking alternative amusement.

Gladiator games were also a popular

form of entertainment – in Philippopolis

even the theatre was used as an arena for

the blood sport. Organisers didn't shy from

making these events as interesting as they

could. A stone relief from Serdica (modern

Soa) is a good example for what the

shows offered: Besides a range of exoticanimals, there is an over-life-size model of

a crocodile spurred on by men. Sadly, only

scant remains of the amphitheatre of Serdica

can be s een today, in the subterranean level

of a downtown hotel. In Nicopolis ad Istrum

and Philippopolis, fragments of gladiator

games ads have been found, listing the

gladiators and the organisers.

Games of all sorts, as well as festivals

of the old gods were banned in 393 by

Emperor Theodosius. Christianity became

the ofcial religion, leaving its mark

on everyday life. Sunday Mass became

the central event of the week. Idle talk

about actors and their antics in pubs

was replaced by the then fashionable

arguments about the nature of Christianity

and if Nestorianism and Arianism were

heresies. Yet certain topics were always

on people's minds and conversations –the gossip from the imperial palace; the

rumours of yet another Barbaric invasion;

the soaring prices and the increasing

number of small-time villagers and

artisans, who were b ecoming increasingly

dependent on their masters. Later these

so-called coloni would form the base of

the feudal society.

The wealthiest people in Roman Bulgaria could afford

expensive imported vessels made of bronze, Plovdiv

Archaeology Museum

One of the very few surviving petition from

ordinary people to the emperor in Rome was

found in Bulgaria in 1868, on a stone s lab in Gorna

Dzhumaya, today's Blagoevgrad. It is captivatingreading. In 238 the villagers complained to the

emperor that both the imperial administration

and the army abused their power. They slept in

the villagers' houses, used the famed local baths,

and took goods from the local fair without

paying. Such was the pressure over the villagers

that they were now strugg ling to pay their taxes.

The p

comp

consid

betteTh

his an

He or

autho

empe

W

Scapt

Barbaric invasions, revolts and

internecine conicts would often bring life

in Roman Bulgaria to a halt in the 5th and

6th centuries. Cities were sometimes taken

by invaders and would remain silent for

some time, with walls ruined, houses burnt,

streets lled with rubble and the b odies of

slaughtered citizens.

But people would always return to their

destroyed homes, start rebuilding and continue

living and doing business behind the protection

of new and stronger walls. Yet by the end of the

6th Century the empire was completely unable

to defend its citizens. People abandoned many

of the vulnerable towns and sought the security

of the hills, where they built strong fortresses.

The Middle Ages had begun and the

Roman way of life in Thrace was slowly

forgotten until archaeologists started

excavating it at the end of the 19th Century.

THE VILLAGERS OF SCAPTOPARATO CAESAR MARCUS ANTONIUSGORDIAN PIUS FELIX AUGUSTUS


12/24

44

The Danube Border


13/24

46

Previous spread : A Roman sarcophagus in front of the

Vidin History Museum. The museum is situated in an

opulent Ottoman period mansion

The surviving Roman fortications gave the name of

the modern town of Kula: in Bulga rian, kula means

"tower." The tower was nearly destroyed in the 19th

Century, when a local Ottoman administrator decided

to demolish it in a bid to give the tow n a more

modern look

A mountain is a better protection

than a river, but in 15 AD, when the Romans

took over the Thracian lands between the

Danube and the Stara Planina moun tain,

they had no choice: The mighty river, whose

upper course they had already mastered,

became the frontier of the expanding

empire, setting a clear line between the

civility of Pax Romana and the unruliness of

the independent people on the other side

of the river, the Barbarians, as the Romans

called them.

The Danubian limes, or border, was

one of the crucial fringes of the empire, a

giant line of fortications created to stop

invasions from the north. The section of

the river which is now in Bulgaria was

fully incorporated into it. To guard their

new border, the Romans created a set of

castra, or military c amps, castella, or small

fortresses, and watchtowers along the river.

Four legions were deployed in the camps

along the Danubian shore of present-day

Bulgaria: in Ratiaria, Oescus, Novae and

Durostorum. An estimated 60,000 soldiers


14/24

48

Marcus Aurelius's decision probably had

something to do with the fact that after long

decades of calm on the Danubian border

(bar the Dacian attacks of 85/86 AD and

the subsequent Dacian Wars), the enemy

was nally at the b order. In 170-171 the

Costoboci ravaged the Balkan provinces of

the empire.

Eventually the border was pacied, but

in the 3rd Century the so-called Barbarians

used the opportunity to make the most

of the economic and political crisis in the

empire, and crossed the Danube several

times, to disastrous effect. The tumult began

in 239, and peaked with the invasion in 250

of the Goths led by Cniva, who wreaked

havoc in the Danubian Plain, crossed the

Stara Planina mountain and captured

Philippopolis.

It was all downhill from then on . In 269

an estimated 300,000 Barbarians crossed

the Danube, and in the early 270s Rome

was forced to abandon the territories north

of the river, which it had controlled since

the times of Trajan. The settlements on the

protected the porous river border, helped

by a developed infrastructure net. A river

eet, probably stationed in the castellum of

Sexaginta Prista (modern Ruse), patrolled

this part of the river. Along the sh ore ran a

military road ensuring secure connections.

The Romans knew the importance of roads

for military campaigns, and used to build

these almost immediately after establishing

their power over conquered lands. Sadly,

modern-day Bulgaria lacks a s imilar riverside

road along the Danube, and this leg of your

Roman journey will regularly lead your far

from the river and then back to it.

The Roman-built riverside infrastructure

included also a bridge over the river at

Oescus built in the early 4th Century.

The soldiers were not alone in

the Roman realms along the river. The

conquered Thracians were still there, and

many of them lived in their old settlements

close to the Roman camps and strongholds.

And there were the civilians who would

gather around each legion: merchants,

craftsmen and publicans, prostitutes and

soldiers' wives (legionaries were banned

from marrying before the end of their

20-plus years of s ervice; they would start

families though not legal ones). This motley

gathering of people from all corners o f

the empire would settle near the legion's

camp, in civic settlements the Romans called

canabae. After completing their service,

many veterans would move to the canabae

or would become landlords somewhere

nearby.

By the beginning of the 2nd Century the

military camps and their canabae had grown

to such an extent that Emperor Trajan

promoted some of them to the rank of

colonia, recognising them as representatives

of the imperial p ower. Being a colonia bore

both prestige and practical gains, among

them tax and judicial privileges. Happy with

their new status, Ratiaria and Oescus added

the emperor's family name, Ulpius, to theirs.

In the 160s Emperor Marcus Aurelius went

further, and promoted some lower Danube

settlements to the rank of municipia, which

granted them self-governance.

In Roman times, Ulpia Oescus was one of the major cities

in the region, standing at the one end of a bridge over the

Danube. Today its quiet ruins lie by a sleepy village, Gigen

Danube became frontier outposts. At the

end of the 3rd and in the early 4th centuries,

an administrative reform, the change of the

imperial capital to nearby Constantinople

and controlled settlements of Goths in the

Danubian Plain eased the pressure on the

border for some time. This didn't last. In the

360s the Goths c rossed the Danube again,

reaching, in 378, as far as Hadrianopolis

(today's Edirne, Turkey).

In the 5th Century a new horror crossed

the Danube: the Huns, led by a fearsome

man, Attila. The Hu ns eventually continued

westwards only to be replaced by another

menace – the Avars, the Slavs and, later, the

proto-Bulgarians. In the 6th Century the

empire tried to ease the pressure on the

Danubian border with military campaigns

and reinforcement of fortications, mainly

under the emperors Justinian I (527-565)

and Maurice (582-602).

But by the 580s the Avar destruction on

the Danubian towns and forts had proved

too much for the people there. Many forts

and towns along the lower Danube were


15/24

50

with the necropolis and the vicus, or civilian

village near the fortication, but there is little

to be seen in situ.

In the centre of the nearby town of Kula

you will nd the more sp ectacular remains

of a 16- metre circular tower. It belongs to

the Castra Martis castle, built in the 3rd

Century to secure the border after the

Roman withdrawal from the lands north of

the river. The fortication was reinforced

under Justinian I, but was completely

abandoned after the ruinous Avar invasion

of 586.

Vidin is the rst major stop on the

route of discovering Roman heritage along

the Danube. The city's modern name is a

derivation of its Roman one, Bononia, which

according to some historians stems from

Dunonia, the name of a 3rd-Century BC

Celtic settlement. Interestingly, Bononia is

also the old name of Bologna in Italy.

In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, Bononia

on the Danube was a major Roman outpost

Restorations of the central parts of Roman Novae

abandoned and the locals moved to the hills,

in easier to defend fortresses.

The remains of the Roman border

outposts, camps and cities dot the

lower Danube today and are fascinating

exploration sites. Sometimes they lie

hidden in overgrowth or under buildings

and streets from centuries of continuous

inhabitation, sometimes they are exhibited

and reconstructed. In the past few years

Bulgaria and Romania have been campaigning

for the inclusion of these sites in the

UNESCO World Heritage List, as a cross-

border monument of culture.

The rst remains of ancient Roman

fortication on the Bulgarian part of the

Danube are soon after the Serbian border and

the isthmus of the Timok River, near the village

of Vrav. Dorticum castellum was built in the

1st Century and soon grew to a local trade

and tax collection point. It was abandoned in

the 6th and 7th centuries. The remains of the

fortication have been preserved, together

as it controlled a crucial bend of the

river. In 320 its fortications were heavily

reconstructed, covering an area of over 20

ha. In the times since, most of the castrum

has been overbuilt with streets and bu ildings,

but the initial layout o f the later Baba Vida

Fortress, the city's most popular site, is from

the Roman era. The local history museum,

situated in a beautiful 18th-Century house,

has an interesting though not extensive

collection of artefacts from Roman Vidin.

Among them stands out the 2nd-Century

bronze portrait of a young man.

Some of the most interesting exhibits

in the museum, like the marble statue of

Hercules and the oor mosaic from a villa

rustica were found not in ancient Bononia

but in the biggest settlement in the region in

the Roman times.

Today one could hardly recognise

the muddy hills around the village of Archar,

about 27 km east of Vidin, as Ulpia Ratiaria,

the famed city which grew from the camp

of a succession of Roman legions stationed

in the 1

Danube

Rati

from th

ship) ap

Vespasi

became

of settle

city was

the trad

leading

Crafts

surroun

mansio

Yet

586 Ava

Rati

of most

Bulgaria

A stone inscription with the name of the Roman

predecessor of modern Ruse: Sexaginta Prista.

Ruse History Museum


16/24


17/24

54

during excavations, is the small museum,

partly based in a Cold War-era bunker. A

reconstructed wooden watchtower and

a scaled model of a Roman river ship are

the exposition's main attractions. For

more, visit the excellent Regional History

Museum. There, besides looking at Roman-

era artefacts, you can experience history

rsthand, learning, for example, how much

a soldier's half-yearly salary weighed.

From the end of the 1st up to the 6th

centuries, the Transmarisca castellum near

modern-day Tutrakan, was the h ome of

an auxiliary military unit and served as an

important road station. Its remains are far

from impressive, but were lavishly restored

recently.

The ruins of another castellum and

road station, Tegulcium, by the village of

Vetren, were not that lu cky. The Danub e

destroyed a signicant part of the once

lively settlement, and the hostilities during

the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 and the

First World War obliterated muc h of

what had remained.

The Roman remains of Durostorum,

in Silistra, the last Bulgarian city on the

Danube, are worthy of special attention.

Durostorum was the seat of the Legio XI

Claudia, and was promoted to a municipium

by either Marcus Aurelius or Caracalla. In

the following centuries Durostorum became

the major imperial outpost in this part of

the Danube. The city's remains are a national

archaeological reserve which effectively

covers about two-thirds of the area of the

modern town.

The massive fortications of the ancient

town are partially exhibited in the city park.

In 2015 major repairs led to the discovery

of fragments of murals which decorated a

2nd-Century ofcial building, and parts of

the early-6th-Century fortications. Sadly,

some of the city's archaeological heritage

was lost recently, when a ashy hotel was

built over it. The citadel of Durostorum has

also fallen prey to new construction – a

shopping centre was built over it, leaving

visible only bits of the ancient structure.

Long before Christianity became the

ofcial religion in the Roman Empire, it had a

strong following in Durostorum. During the

anti-Christian persecutions which marked

the reign of Emperor Diocletian at the end

of the 3rd Century, 12 Durostorum citizens

were martyred because of their faith. In the

5th and 6th centuries the city became the

centre of a bishopric and a large basilica

was built in it to correspond to the newly

acquired status. Its ruins can be seen in the

city garden.

Ancient Durostorum's most astonishing

Roman site is far from the riverbank. It is a

lavishly painted tomb from the 4th or 5th

Century. An array of birds covers the ceiling,

and on the central wall is the portrait a

man, probably a high-ranking magistrate, and

his wife. To the left and right of the couple,

several servants carry clothes and expensive

objects, giving us an idea of the everyday life

in the Balkans in the Late Antiquity.

Besides the owners in the main scene,

The Silistra Tomb is arguably the most astonishingly

decorated tomb in Roman Bulgaria. Birds and owers cover

the low ceiling and the owner together wit h his family,

servants and some of his riches (a pair of trousers included)

are depicted on the walls

two of the persons depicted in the tomb are

of particular interest. A man carrying a pair

of trousers for his master sports the typical

hairstyle of the Goths, a clear indication that

a man from this Germanic people was living

in Roman Silistra at the time. The other is a

beautiful girl, thought by some to have been the

master's mistress,holding a heavy incense burner.

The

beautifu

was fou

owners

during a

to leave

mystery

Roman


18/24

128

Philippopolis


19/24

130

Roaring crowds of spectators cheer

on their favourite runner. In the arena,

a gladiator dies in a pool of blood. Two

wealthy ladies inspect ne fabrics at a shop

run by a Jewish merchant. In the forum,

slaves are busy erecting a statue of the

current emperor while others outside the

city are busy repairing an aqueduct. The

people around the Eastern Gate make way

for a chariot carrying a provincial ofcial

from his rural villa to his city mansion.

The lives of the residents of Plovdiv in

the Roman era were as varied, busy and

interesting as those of their modern-day

successors. Philippopolis was one of the

largest cities in the empire's Balkan domains.

Situated on the then navigable Maritsa River,

it lay at the intersection of the roads linking

the Bosphorus and Central Europe and the

Danube and the Aegean. Fertile lands spread

around it, and the nearby Rhodope mountains,

with their dense forests and quick rivers,

supplied the city's 100,000 citizens with water

and its merchants with timber, wool and honey.

A cluster of three hills offered protection.

The theatre of ancient Plovdiv was also the meeting place

of the League of the Thracian Cities

Right : A mosaic with Narcissus used to decorate the oor

of a local mansion, Plovdiv Archaeology Museum


20/24

132

struggles which ravaged the empire, but it

always rose from the ashes of destruction.

In the 6th Century, unlike many Roman

cities which had been abandoned forever,

Philippopolis entered the Middle Ages and

continued its eternal transformation.

Most of the public buildings, the houses

of the poor and the wealthy, the temples and

the riches of Roman Plovdiv are lost forever,

destroyed by invaders and built on by later

inhabitants. Yet Plovdiv is probably the

Bulgarian city boasting the richest and best-

preserved Roman archaeological heritage.

The marble theatre of Philippopolis

is the tastiest piece of all. Believed to be

built between 108 and 114 in the crevice

between two hills of the city acropolis and

in techniques harking back to Greek andRoman fashions, it seated more than 5,000

people and had an astonishing vista opened

of the Thracian Plain and the Rhodope.

Popular tragedies and comedies, song

competitions and gladiator games attracted

people there. The theatre was used also as

the meeting place of the delegates of the

Pedestrians walk on Roman-era streets at the Archaeology

Underpass in Central Plovdiv

Right : Spot the Romans: Ancient and medieval fortications

form the base of 18th-19th-centuries mansions, at Atanas

Krastev Square

League of the Thracian Cities. The different

neighbourhoods, the followers of the

imperial cult and the important families inPhilippopolis all had their names inscribed

on the seats, a miniature replication of the

city's social order. Even today the most

telling example of its continuing fascination

is right before your eyes – the theatre

steps have been worn down by the feet of

thousands of spectators.

The

hatched

forticaoverbu

Centur

best spo

the diffe

in an in

Hisar K

metres

The place where Plovdiv stands was

considered ideal for living millennia before

the Romans' arrival. There was a Neolithic

settlement here, and in the 2nd Millennium

BC the Thracians fortied the three hills.

In 342 BC the Thracian city of Pulpu deva,

or Eumolpis, was taken by King Philip II

of Macedon, Alexander the Great's father.

According to a popular legend, he renamed

it Philippopolis, after himself. Macedonian

control was soon shaken off, but the

name stuck, only to be modied over thegenerations, ending up as today's Plovdiv.

Alternating diplomacy with war, it

took the Romans almost a century to gain

control of Thrace and Philippopolis. In 44-46

AD Emperor Claudius (41-54) established

the province of Thrace. Philippopolis

was not its capital, but the empire began

investing money, people and effort in the city,

and by the end of the 1st or at the beginning

of the 2nd centuries it became the seat of

the League of the Thracian Cities. The 2nd

Century was a good time for Philippopolis.

The economy and the city ourished, and

the city minted its own c oins. People from

all corners of the vast empire mingled on its

streets and the entire city expanded onto

the plain, spreading far from the protective

shadow of the three hills. Its location

and importance were acknowledged byemperors who paid visits – among them

Hadrian, Septimius Severus, Caracalla and

Elagabalus. The city hon oured the arrivals of

the latter two by organising special sports

games.

Philippopolis was not spared the Barbaric

invasions, economic crises and power


21/24

134

calmed them with the news that help was

on the way and that s tability would return.

The stadium survived until the 1 1th Century,

but was later built over and forgotten until

1923, when it was rediscovered. Today its

semicircular end is nicely restored and

exhibited at Dzhumaya Square, next to the

15th-Century Cuma Mosque.

The entire length of the stadium is still

underground and only sections are on view

on the underground levels of two shopping

centres. But it's easy to follow it in your

mind. The pedestrian shopp ing street follows

the ancient track for more than 20 0 metres,

with the end recently marked.

The agora, or the main administrative and

commercial centre, of Roman Plovdiv was a

huge open area where trade was con ducted,people congregated, and the ofcial imperial

cult received the obligatory veneration.

In its heyday the agora in Plovdiv spread

over 10 ha. Today a portion can be seen

near the Central Post Ofce. For now, best

preserved are the partially restored remains

of the so-called Odeon, a small semicircular

building which hosted the meetings of the

city council. A recent reconstruction and an

upcoming series of excavations are about to

make the visible parts stand out from the

ancient square.

The remains of some marvellous mosaics

from the houses of wealthy Philippopolis

families are now in the Archaeology

Museum, along with a collection of

tombstones and sculptures. But a more vivid

experience is in the Archaeology Underpass.

The facility is built over the preserved and

exhibited remains of a Roman crossroads

and on the premises of a modern art gallery

and a section of a rich local family house

from the period between the 3rd and 6 th

centuries is exhibited in situ. Its centrepiece

is a beautiful mosaic of Eirene, the Greekpersonication of peace.

In the rst century of the Roman rule,

Philippopolis was far from the tumultuous

borders of the empire, so the houses and

buildings had no defences. The situation

changed during the rule of Marcus Aurelius.

Barbarian attacks threatened these parts of

the state, and this caused a strong wall to

be built to protect the city. The remains of

the most important entrance in the fortress

wall, the Eastern Gate, from which the road

to Constantinople started, are preserved on

Aleksandar Malinov Square.

Roman Philippopolis was a place of many

temples and deities, with local and imported

cults attracting thousands of believers. The

main temple, devoted to Apollo Kendrisos

and later to the emperor, stood outside

the city walls, on one of the hills. When

Christianity took over, the temple of Apollo

was turned into a church.

The city also had a synagogue. It was in

the wealthiest neighbourhoods and sported

lavish decorations. The local Jews used it

between the 2nd and the 6 th centuries,and excavations have revealed two layers

of mosaics from that period. Today an

apartment block rises over the remains of

the synagogue; the mosaics are in the city's

Archaeology Museum.

But a more lucky place is near the now

defunct synagogue, giving a better insight

into Roman Plovdiv's religious past. The

Small Basilica on Maria Louisa Boulevard

operated in the 5th and 6th centuries andwas discovered in 1988-89. It astounded

archaeologists with its exquisite mosaics

rich in early Christian symbolism. In 2013,

with help from the America for Bulgaria

Foundation, the mosaics and the church

were turned into a museum.

At the time of writing the renewed

excavat

Philippo

underwAmeric

at the b

next to

the bas

oor de

exhibite

premise

A Philippopolis coin from the end of the 1st Century

AD with a goddess who was the city's divine protector.

Local coinage was a sign of the economic prosperity of

Philippopolis during the rst centuries of Roman rule

Right: A partial reconstruction of the so-called odeon,

or small covered theatre. The agora of Philippopolis

was nearby, a huge space of 10 ha, now mostly under

the Central Square of moder n Plovdiv and the Central

Post Ofce


22/24


23/24

138

A stag and a couple of doves decorate the church's

baptistry

Before it was restored and turned into a museum

the basilica was cover ed in vegetation and debris

The gra

the East

to com

So f

name o

inscript

which u

In 474 L

ascende

develop

the nex

and Bas

populacto Con

the nex

Zen

standar

die of t

erased

ofcial i

This part of the city was abandoned

at the end of the 6th Century, and during

the following centuries was plundered as a

source of building materials. By the 1980s,

when large-scale construction of apartment

blocks started in the area, the remains

of this once prosperous neighbourhood

were completely covered by earth and

developments.

Some houses and public buildings came

to light under the spades of archaeologists,

but only a handful of them were deemed

important enough to merit preservation.

One of these was the Small Basilica.

Discovered in 1988, it had a mosaics oor and

an elaborately decorated baptistry, which were

too precious to lose. Some of the mos aics

were removed and put into storage, andthe baptistry was covered with a protective

shroud of concrete. In 1995 the Small Basilica

was registered as a cultural monument.

But as happens to so many other

archaeological sites, chronic negligence

reduced the basilica to little more than

wasteland.

It was in 201 0 when things chan ged. The

America for Bulgaria Foundation began a

project to restore the mosaics and bring

them back to the church, with the site

becoming a museum of archaeology. In the

following four years 1.53 million leva was

spent on the revival of the basilica and its

mosaics, which were cleared, reinforced,

conserved and taken back to their original

places at the church's carefully restored

ruins and the nearby mansion, street,

fortication wall and tower.

The mosaics are visually arresting, but

their historical value exceeds their ocular

splendour. They have given a new lease of life

to one of the most thrilling footnotes in the

history of late Antiquity.

In front of the altar a partially destroyedinscription mentions "a victor and a

patrician." This was Basiliscus, a military

commander of the Roman province of

Thrace in the mid-5th Century and brother-

in-law of Emperor Leo I. In 471, when the

Goths in Thrace revolted, Basiliscus saved

Philippopolis from sacking and destruction.


24/24

140

The Solomon's Knot is an ancient symbol with many

meanings, among them as an image of eternity and faith

"... victor and patrician, together with their families" read the surviving lines of the inscription of Basiliscus

UNDERSTANDINGTHE SMALL BASILICA MOSAICS

The mosaics in the Small Basilica were made by

local craftsmen, who used marble, red, black,

green and yellow stone, and ceramic fragments

to create elaborat e designs and images. These

images had symbolical meaning, and if you know

how to read them, the mosaics will share their

secrets with you.

The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, Who appeared at the Baptism of

The rosetta predates Christianity, but for

Christians it symbolises the blood of Jesus

The stag represents the soul of the Christian, striving for

faith and truth or puried through Baptism. Images of

deer drinking from springs are seen often in late Antiquity

mosaics. At all events, if you look closely at the deer in the

Small Basilica, you see that it is surrounded by owers and

that there are no springs a round. This has invited a nother

interpretation: In Christian symbolism, stags were enemies

to snakes, which were seen to per sonify evil. Deer would

hunt these down into their underground holes, would drive

them out them with their br eath, and then swallow the m.

This sequence of actions symbolised Christ's ght with

Satan

The swastika is an ancient solar symbol, and the

meander is interpreted as a simplied labyrinth

The vase represents the vessel where heavenly

myrrh is collected

a guide to roman bulgaria

Documents