Nesactium (

Istrian dialect This article uses Logar transcription. The Istrian dialect ( , ) is a Slovene dialect spoken in Slovene Istria, as well as some settlements in Italy and Croatia. The dialect borders the Inner Carniolan dialect to the north and northeast, the S ...

: ''Vizače'', hr, Nezakcij, it, Nesazio) was an ancient

fortified town A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

and

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

of the

Histri The Histri were an ancient people inhabiting the Istrian peninsula, to which they gave the name. Their territory stretched to the neighbouring Gulf of Trieste and bordered the Iapydes in the hinterland of Tarsatica. The Histri formed a kingdom. D ...

tribe. Its ruins are located in southern

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

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 ...

, between the villages of

Muntić Muntić ( mǔnːtich, latin ''Rumeianum'', ital. '' Monticchio (Polesano)'') is a village in Southeastern Istria, Croatia. The etymological meaning is traced to the Latin, ''mòns'', or ''monticulus'', which means hill or little mountain. Geogra ...

and

Valtura Valtura () is a village in the municipality of Ližnjan, in northern Istria in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("O ...

History

In pre-Roman times, Nesactium, ruled by its legendary king

Epulon Epulon (''Epulo'', ''Epulone'', ''Aepulo''; ruled 181 – 177 BC) was a king or tribal leader of the Histri in northern Illyria.. Epulon conducted a series of wars against commanders sent by the Roman Republic during the Roman expansion of the f ...

, was the capital of the tribal population of the peninsula called

, who were also connected to the prehistoric

Castellieri culture The Castellieri culture developed in Istria during the Mid-Bronze Age, and later expanded into Friuli, Dalmatia and the neighbouring areas. It lasted for more than a millennium, from the 15th century BC until the Roman conquest in the 3rd centu ...

. Some theories state a later

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

influence, but who they were and where they came from has never been discovered for certain. It is believed that their main economic activities were trade and piracy all over the ancient Mediterranean Sea. In 177 BC, the town was conquered by 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 ...

and destroyed. Rebuilt upon the original Histrian pattern, it was a Roman town until 46–45 BC, when the Ancient Greek colony Polai was elevated to Pietas Iulia, today

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

. The town was located on the ancient road

Via Flavia The Via Flavia was an ancient Roman road which connected Trieste (ancient ''Tergeste'') to Dalmatia, running across the Istrian coast. It was built during the reign of emperor Vespasian, in 78/79 AD. After Trieste, it crossed the Rižana, the ...

, which connected

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

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 ...

. The area was abandoned by the Romans in the 6th century, following the Avaro-Slav invasions. Its Histro-Roman walls still remain.

References

External links

Nesactium on Istrianet.org
*

Neolithic Nesactium Hillfort
Iron Age sites in Europe Megalithic monuments in Europe Forts in Croatia Illyrian Croatia Archaeology of Illyria Archaeological sites in Croatia Former populated places in the Balkans Cities in ancient Illyria Oppida Roman fortifications in Croatia {{Istria-geo-stub