Aequum was a Roman colony located near modern-day Čitluk, a village near

Sinj Sinj (; it, Signo; german: Zein) is a town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The town itself has a population of 11,478 and the population of the administrative municipality, which includes surrounding villages, is 24 ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Location

The valley of the middle part of the

Cetina Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Naprijed ...

river and its surrounding area, known as the District of Cetina, represent the backbone of the entire area and separate geographical region of mountainous Dalmatian hinterland. Its stream flows through dry

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

fields covered by sub-Mediterranean vegetation where many archaeological remains are preserved. Modern day Čitluk is situated near the town Sinj at the edge of the Cetina valley.

History and significance

During the Roman administration in the mid-first century AD, Aequum reached the status of an agrarian Roman colony after it was settled by the veterans of Legio VII Claudia Pia Fidelis during the rule of emperor Claudius (41–45 AD). The colonia was founded by

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

and named ''colonia Claudia Aequum''; it was the only colony in the interior of the province of Dalmatia. Aequum was a planned city of enclosed by walls with features of classic forms of ancient urbanism (urbs quadrata). The town had an orthogonal grid of streets with numerous public building and city fortifications. Aequum was the center of a wider area where the colonists lived, and it was packed with public services, with very little housing. The city offered colonists from a wider area a place to fulfill their administrative, cultural, religious and social needs and duties. The area is not fully explored. In his 1774 ''

Viaggio in Dalmazia ''Viaggio in Dalmazia'' ("Journey to Dalmatia"), also known by its full title ''Viaggio in Dalmazia dell'abate Alberto Fortis'' ("Journey to Dalmatia by Abbot Alberto Fortis"), is a 1774 book by the Venetian writer Alberto Fortis published in t ...

'' ("Journey to Dalmatia"),

Alberto Fortis Alberto Fortis (1741–1803) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian writer, naturalist and cartographer. Life His real name was Giovanni Battista Fortis (his religious name was ''Alberto'') and he was born in Padua on either 9 or 11 of November 1741 ...

describes the ruins of canals and an ancient amphitheatre.

Notable persons

Sextus Julius Severus Gnaeus Minicius Faustinus Sextus Julius Severus was an accomplished Roman general of the 2nd century. He also held the office of suffect consul in the last three months of 127 with Lucius Aemilius Juncus as his colleague. Biography Julius Severus ...

was a member of one of the most notable families in Roman Dalmatia. He served as governor of

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

and was appointed governor of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 131. According to

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, Severus was Hadrian's best general. In 135 AD, he suppressed the Jewish rebellion (

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...

) in Judaea, the event that marked the beginning of the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of t ...

Location

History and significance

Notable persons

References

Further reading