Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
province of
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
. Salona is located in the modern town of
Solin
Solin (Latin and it, Salona; grc, Σαλώνα ) is a town in Dalmatia, Croatia. It is situated right northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the river Jadro.
Solin developed on the location of ancient city of ''Salona'', which was the ca ...
, next to
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
, in
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 ...
.
Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in the invasions of the
Avars and
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
in the seventh century AD.
Many Roman characteristics can be seen such as walls; a
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
; a
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
; an
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
,
public baths
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
and an
aqueduct.
History
Salona grew in the area of the Greek cities of
Tragurian and
Epetian on the river Jadro in the 3rd century BC.
Salona is the largest archaeological park in Croatia and grew to over 60,000 inhabitants. It was the birthplace of
Emperor Diocletian.
In the first millennium BC the Greeks set up a marketplace.Salona had also been in the territory of the Illyrian
Delmatae
The Delmatae, alternatively Dalmatæ, during the Roman period, were a group of Illyrian tribes in Dalmatia, contemporary southern Croatia and western Bosnia and Herzegovina. The region of Dalmatia takes its name from the tribe.
The Delmatae ap ...
, before the conquest of the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. Salona became the capital of the
Roman province of Dalmatia
Dalmatia was a Roman province. Its name is derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae, which lived in the central area of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It encompassed the northern part of present-day Albania, much of C ...
because it sided with the future Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar in the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
against
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
. Martia Iulia Valeria Salona Felix (the full name of the ancient city) was founded probably after the Roman civil wars under
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
. The early Roman city encompassed the area around the Forum and Theatre, with an entrance, the Porta Caesarea, on the north-east side. The walls were fortified with towers during the reign of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
.
The early trapezoidal shape of the city was transformed by the eastern and western expansion of the city.
The city quickly acquired Roman characteristics: walls; a
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
; a
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
; an
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
the most conspicuous above-ground remains today;
public baths
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
; and an
aqueduct. Many inscriptions in both Latin and Greek have been found both inside the walls and in the cemeteries outside, since Romans forbade burials inside the city boundaries. Several fine marbles
sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...
from those cemeteries are now in the Archaeological Museum of Split. All this archaeological evidence attests to the city's prosperity and integration into the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
.
Salona had a mint that was connected with the mint in
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...
and silver mines in the
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...
through
Via Argentaria The Via Argentaria (Latin for the "Silver Way") was a Roman and medieval trade route through the Dinaric Alps. It was named after the Roman silver that was transported between the mint in Salona, the silver mines east of Ilidža and in Srebrenica, ...
. When the
Roman Emperor Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
retired, he erected a monumental palace nearby. This massive structure, known as
Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace ( hr, Dioklecijanova palača, ) is an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "palac ...
, became the core of the modern city of
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
.
Salona's continuing prosperity resulted in the extensive church building in the fourth and fifth centuries, including an episcopal
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
and a neighboring church and
baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
inside the walls, and several shrines honoring martyrs outside. These have made it a major site for studying the development of Christian
sacred architecture
Sacral architecture (also known as sacred architecture or religious architecture) is a religious architectural practice concerned with the design and construction of places of worship or sacred or intentional space, such as churches, mosques, stu ...
.
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
in 600 wrote to the bishop of Salona Maximus in which he expresses concern about the arrival of the Slavs.
Salona was largely destroyed in the invasions of the
Avars and
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
in the seventh century AD. Refugees from Salona settled inside Diocletian's Palace.
[Charles George Herbermann, ''The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference'' (1913) see also Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. 1967, ''De administrando imperio''; Greek text edited by Gy. Moravcsik; English translation by R. J. H. Jenkins.rev.ed. : Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, 1967, 1985 and Thomae Archidiaconi. 2006. ''Spalatensis Historia Salonitanorum atque Spalatinorum pontificum'' – Archdeacon Thomas of Split: ''History of the Bishops of Salona and Split''. Damir Karbić, Mirjana Matijević Sokol, Olga Perić and James Ross Sweeney,eds. Budapest: CEU Press.]
Architecture
Various town structures have been excavated.
Manastirine
![Manastirine 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Manastirine_3.jpg)
These are the remnants of the Basilica and cemetery outside of the town. The earliest parts of the complex date back to the second century BC. The bishop and martyr
Domnio was buried here after being executed in the arena of the amphitheater on 304AD.
At the end of the fourth century, the complex was partly destroyed during the German incursions, and in the mid-fifth century, a three-nave basilica was constructed on top of the ruins. Many sarcophagi can be found here. in the early seventh century, the cemetery was looted and partly destroyed.
The cemetery exhibits a feature of Christian cemeteries at that time to have deceased buried as close as possible to the martyr or Ad sanctos.
Tusculum
![HR-Salona-Tusculum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/HR-Salona-Tusculum.jpg)
Architectural and ornamental fragments, capitals inscriptions, and columns from the area were replaced in a building built in 1898. It was restored in 2008.
City walls
![City wall 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/City_wall_3.jpg)
The construction of the Salonitan city walls took several centuries. The earliest part of the city was surrounded by walls as early as the second century BC. During the
Pax Romana
The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is periodization, identified as a period and as a golden age (metaphor), golden age of increased as well as sustained Imperial cult of ancient Rome ...
the city expanded to both east and west.
During the reign of Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
around 170 A.D., under the constant threat of Germanic tribes, the east and west suburbs were included in the walls, which were fortified with at least 90 towers. Some parts of existing buildings were used in the extensions to the walls, thus making them integral. The total circumference of the elliptical shape of the walls was approximately , with varying width from .
During the reign of Emperor
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after ...
in the early fifth century, all the towers were reconstructed, as witnessed by an inscription on the walls.
Furthermore, in the first half of the sixth century, triangular-shaped endings were added to some square-shaped towers to improve the city's security and defense system. Such examples are visible today on the northern side of the Urbs orientalis.
Episcopal center
The center of Christian Salona is in the northwest part of the eastern city. Here is an Episcopal center with twin lengthways basilicas, a baptistery, and Bishop's Palace were built in the fifth century A.D.
This Basilica is the largest in the entire area of Dalmatia. The best-preserved part of the oldest part of the city (Urbs vetus) is the eastern wall and Porta Caesarea with two octagonal towers and three passages; one for cart traffic and two for pedestrians on each side of the wider passage. The central passage was probably equipped with a movable grid, as indicated by grooves on side pylons.
Aqueduct
![Aqueduct of Salona](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Aqueduct_of_Salona.JPG)
Emperor Augustus built an aqueduct to supply the city with water from the river Jadro. It was in length, and the best-preserved part is north of the episcopal center. Calculations show that the aqueduct could supply enough water for about 40,000 people.
Thermae
![Salona - baths](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Salona_-_baths.jpg)
The
thermae
In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
were typical buildings of Roman civilization and an indispensable part of Roman urban life. Although the city of Salona had multiple baths, the best-preserved and largest ones are those in the eastern part of the city called the Great Thermae, built in the second or beginning of the third century A.D. This building is rectangular, with three symmetrically arranged apses in the north and one in the west. There was an adjoining elongated spacious room to the north, housing a semicircular pool, the piscina, filled with cold water, the
frigidarium
A frigidarium is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or ''thermae'', namely the cold room. It often contains a swimming pool.
The succession of bathing activities in the ''thermae'' is not known with certainty, but it is thought ...
. There were two dressing rooms to the left, with benches for sitting and openings in the wall for clothes. The room to the west was also used as a massage room, the unctorium.
The room ending with an apse served both as a lounge and an exercise room. To the right there were hot baths and sauna:
caldarium
230px, Caldarium from the Roman Baths at Bath, England. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor.
A caldarium (also called a calidarium, cella caldaria or cella coctilium) was a room ...
,
tepidarium
The tepidarium was the warm (''tepidus'') bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system. The speciality of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which directly affects the human body from t ...
and
sudatorium In architecture, a sudatorium is a vaulted sweating-room ('' sudor'', "sweat") or steam bath (Latin: ''sudationes'', steam) of the Roman baths or thermae. The Roman architectural writer Vitruvius (v. 2) refers to it as ''concamerata sudatio''. It is ...
.
Bridge of Five Arches
![Bridge of Five Arches](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Bridge_of_Five_Arches.jpg)
In the eastern suburb of Salona, five arches spanned the westernmost backwater of the
Jadro River
The Jadro is a watercourse in Dalmatia, Croatia, that discharges into the Adriatic Sea. The upper reaches of the Jadro River, as well as its source, Jadro Spring, are protected as an ichthyological nature reserve, partly due to the presence of ...
. The bridge carried one extension of
Decumanus Maximus
In Roman urban planning, a decumanus was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or castrum (military camp). The main decumanus of a particular city was the Decumanus Maximus, or most often simply "the Decumanus". In the rectangular street gr ...
which branched into two roads, one of which led north-east to the Porta Andetria gate, while the other one led across the bridge to Epetium, today's city of Stobreč.
Porta Caesarea
The Porta Caesarea is a well-preserved gate with two octagonal towers and three passages, one for cart traffic and two for pedestrians on each side of the wider passage. The central passage was probably equipped with a movable grid, as indicated by grooves on side pylons. Porta Caesarea was constructed using large regular stones primarily for fortification purposes. After eastern and western expansion had occurred, the gate lost its primary purpose and became carrying construction of the aqueduct. According to Kähler's reconstruction, the gate had two floors, of which the top one was very elaborately decorated with half columns, composite capitals, and window openings. Within the gate, there was a small courtyard for defense purposes.
Praetorium
Southeast of the ports Caesarea, a luxurious villa has been uncovered, which was probably the palace of the Roman governor of Dalmatia. Several mosaics depicting mythological figures such as Apollo Orpheus and Triton I've been transferred to the archaeological museum in Split.
Forum
The center of the town's public life was in the southeast part of the old town. It is in size. After the fourth century A.D., as the town became more Christian, the forum started to lose its role as the city center.
Theatre
A theater in size was built in the first century A.D.
Temple
South of the theater, there is a temple that was dedicated to either
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
or
Liber
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...
.
Kapljuc
These ruins are the remnants of the oldest cemetery basilica. It was built in the middle of the fourth century above the graves of four
Praetorian guards who were executed in the arena during Diocletian's persecution of Christians.
Amphitheatre
![Amphitheater in Salona](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Amphitheater_in_Salona.jpg)
At the westernmost point of Salona, in the second half of the second century A.D., under the influence of
Flavian Flavian may refer to:
* A member of the Flavian dynasty of Roman emperors, during the late 1st century AD, or their works
* Flavian Zeija, a Ugandan lawyer, academic and judge. Principal Judge of Uganda, since December 2019.
* A person named Flavian ...
architectural style, a monumental building was erected. The presence of a Roman amphitheater indicates that gladiator fights were held in the city of Salona until the fifth century, when they were finally banned. The building was ellipsoidal in shape, with three floors on the south side and one floor on the north side, conveniently laid down on a natural hillside. Despite its relatively small size ( outer shell and the arena), the Salonitan amphitheater could have been occupied by 15,000 up to 18,000 spectators. The auditorium was divided into three tiers, the lower two with seats and the upper one for standing. In Diocletian's time, the top tier was covered with a porch. Through poles attached to the outer shell of the building, the whole arena could be covered with canvas, giving protection from the sun and rain. There was a state box for the Province governor on the south side and opposite it
seats of honor for the city magistrates. In the center of the arena, an opening led into an underground corridor whose purpose was the disposal of dead gladiators' bodies. On the south side of the amphitheater, beneath the auditorium, there were two vaulted rooms where gladiators worshipped Nemesis, the goddess of revenge and destiny. During Diocletian's persecutions of Christians, the amphitheater was used as a site of executions.
Only parts of substructures of this monumental building, as well as some fragments of architectural decoration and stone sculpture, have been preserved. The amphitheater was most severely damaged during the wars against the Turks in the 17th century when Venetians had it demolished for strategic reasons.
Marusinac
This cemetery complex has the martyr
Anastasios thrown into the bay with the grindstone around his neck in 304 AD. The mausoleum was built in the early fourth century. In the fifth and sixth centuries, other bishops and priests were buried here.
Gradina
Gradina means a medieval hill fort built on the east walls by the Turks after capturing
Klis
Klis ( hr, Klis, it, Clissa, tr, Kilis) is a Croatian municipality located around a mountain fortress bearing the same name. It is located in the region of Dalmatia, located just northeast of Solin, Croatia, Solin and Split, Croatia, Split near ...
.
City necropolises
![Roman Sarcophagus at Salona3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Roman_Sarcophagus_at_Salona3.jpg)
Burying the dead inside the city was against Roman law, so Romans buried their dead on the roads leading out of the city.
References
Further reading
*
*
{{Authority control
Former populated places in the Balkans
Illyrian Croatia
Archaeology of Illyria
Greek colonies in Illyria
Byzantine Dalmatia
Tourist attractions in Split-Dalmatia County
Archaeological sites in Croatia
Roman towns and cities in Croatia