Municipium Cives Romanorum

Felicitas In ancient Roman culture, ''felicitas'' (from the Latin adjective ''felix'', "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness. ''Felicitas'' could encompass both a woman's fertility an ...

Julia Olisipo (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Olisippo'' or ''Ulyssippo'' ; in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ''Ὀλισσιπών'', ''Olissipṓn'', or ''Ὀλισσιπόνα'', ''Olissipóna'') was the ancient name of modern-day

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

while part of 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 ...

Background

During the

Punic wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...

, after the defeat of

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

the Romans decided to deprive Carthage of its most valuable possession,

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

. After the defeat of the Carthaginians by

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...

in eastern Hispania, the pacification of western Hispania was led by

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus (or Gallaecus or Callaecus; c. 180113 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic for the year 138 BC together with Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio. He was an optimate politician and a military commander in His ...

. He obtained the alliance of Olisipo (which sent men to fight alongside the Roman legions against the northwestern Celtic tribes) by integrating it into the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

in 138 BC. Between 31 BC and 27 BC the city became a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

. Local authorities were granted self-rule over a territory that extended . Exempt from taxes, its citizens (belonging to the Galeria tribe) were given the privileges of

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

(''Civium Romanorum''), and the city was integrated within the Roman province of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...

(whose capital was

Emerita Augusta Emerita may refer to: * ''Emerita'' (crustacean), a genus of crustaceans * Emerita Augusta, an ancient city of Spain * Saint Emerita, 3rd-century martyr; see Digna and Emerita * Emerita, the feminine form of the adjective "emeritus ''Emeritus' ...

). Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus also fortified the city, building city walls as a defence against Lusitanian raids and rebellions. Among the majority of

speakers lived a large minority of

traders and slaves. Lisbon's name was written ''Ulyssippo'' in Latin by the geographer

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

. The city population is estimated to have been around 30,000 at the time. Earthquakes were documented in 60 BC, several between 47 and 44 BC, several in 33 AD, and a strong quake in 382 AD, but the exact amount of damage to the city is unknown.

The city

Buildings

During the time 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 ...

(63 BC to 14 AD) the Romans built a large theatre (which was restored in 57 AD on the order of

Caius Heius Primus Caius is a masculine given name and a surname. It is also an alternate spelling of the Latin prenom Gaius (and verso). G and C are not exclusive in Latin and the correct pronunciation is debatable. It is most commonly pronounced by native English ...

). The galleries underneath the current ''Rua da Prata'' date from 20–35 AD; they were rebuilt in 330 AD.http://hemerotecadigital.cm-lisboa.pt/OBRAS/RevMunicipal/N49/N49_master/N49.pdf The ''

Thermae Cassiorum In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughou ...

'' (Cassian Baths, named for

Quintus Cassius Longinus Quintus Cassius Longinus, the brother or cousin of Cassius (the murderer of Julius Caesar), was a governor in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) for Caesar. Cassius was one of the ''tresviri monetales'' of the ...

and Lucius Cassius, were built in 44 AD. The building was renovated in 336 AD. Several temples were built in the city, dedicated to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

, Concordia,

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Roman emperor, Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption in ancient Rome, adoption into the J ...

, Diana or

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

(on the castle hill),

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...

(near current ''

Largo da Madalena Largo may refer to: Music * ''Largo'' (Italian for 'wide', 'broad'), a very slow tempo, or a musical piece or movement in such a tempo * "Largo" from ''Xerxes'' arranged from "Ombra mai fu", the opening aria from Handel's opera ''Serse'' * Hugo L ...

''), Tethys (current ''São Nicolau'' church) and Phrygiae (an uncommon cult from

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

), to the

Imperial Cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...

and to

Vestal Virgins In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...

(in '' Chelas''). A large

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

from the 1st–4th centuries AD existed under ''

Praça da Figueira The Praça da Figueira (, ''Square of the Fig Tree'') is a large square in the centre of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is part of the Lisbon Baixa, the area of the city reurbanised after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In the 16th century the square di ...

'' and it is known that a large forum (probably in current ''Largo dos Lóis'') and an aqueduct were built. A circus and hippodrome was built around the 3rd or 4th century AD. Buildings such as '' insulae'' (multi-storied apartment buildings) existed in the area between the modern Castle Hill and downtown. The city wall was strengthened in the 4th to 5th century AD, and around the city there were also bridges (in

Sacavém Sacavém (; ar, شقبان) is a former civil parish in the municipality of Loures, Lisbon District, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Sacavém e Prior Velho. It is a few kilometers north-east of the Portuguese capital, L ...

and Alcântara) and '' villae''. File:Lisboa - Ruínas do Teatro Romano.jpg , Lisbon Roman theatre File:PedraRomanaSe.JPG, Roman theatre stone re-used in the

Lisbon Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major ( pt, Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa or ''Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Mary Major''), often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé ('), is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest churc ...

File:Cerca Velha - Portas do Sol.JPG, Part of the old city wall File:Rua dos Correeiros's Archaeological Centre.jpg , Rua dos Correeiros Archaeological Centre

Economy

Economically, Olisipo was known for its ''

garum Garum is a fermented fish sauce that was used as a condiment in the cuisines of Phoenicia, ancient Greece, Rome, Carthage and later Byzantium. Liquamen is a similar preparation, and at times they were synonymous. Although garum enjoyed its grea ...

'', a sort of fish sauce highly prized by the elites of the Empire and exported in ''

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

e'' to Rome and other cities. Wine,

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

and the city's famously fast horses were also exported. The city came to be very prosperous through suppression of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and technological advances, which allowed a boom in the trade with the newly Roman Provinces of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

(particularly

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

) and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, and through the introduction of

Roman culture The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...

to the tribes living by the river

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

in the interior of

. The city was connected by a broad road to Western Hispania's two other large cities,

Bracara Augusta Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

in the province of

Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia was the ...

(today's Portuguese

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

), and

, the capital of

(now Mérida in Spain).

Government

The city was ruled by an oligarchical council dominated by two families, the

Julii The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the c ...

and the Cassiae. The Caecilli also held some power. Petitions are recorded addressed to the governor of the province in Emerita and to Emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, such as one requesting help dealing with "

sea monster Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are ofte ...

s" allegedly responsible for shipwrecks. Around 80 BC, the Roman

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...

led a rebellion against the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

. During this period, he organized the tribes of

(and

) and was on the verge of forming an independent province in the

Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war fought from 80 to 72 BC between a faction of Roman rebels ( Sertorians) and the government in Rome ( Sullans). The war was fought on the Iberian Peninsula (called ''Hispania'' by the Romans) and was one of the ...

when he died. The city was administered by two ''

duumviri The duumviri (Latin for "two men"), originally duoviri and also known in English as the duumvirs, were any of various joint magistrates of ancient Rome. Such pairs of magistrates were appointed at various periods of Roman history both in Rome its ...

'' and two ''

aediles ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

''. * Lucius Iulius Maelo Caudicus was one of the ''duumviri'' in the 1st century AD. * Lucius Iulius Iustus (son of Lucius Iulius Reburrus) was one of the city aedils in the 1st or 2nd century AD. Between 140 and 150

Lucius Statius Quadratus Lucius Statius Quadratus was a Senator of the Roman Empire. Besides being consul ordinarius with Lucius Cuspius Pactumeius Rufinus in AD 142, he was proconsul of Asia during the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Statius Quadratus is best kno ...

, a governor, was in Olisipo. In 185 Sextus

Tigidius Perennis Sextus Tigidius Perennis (died 185) served as Praetorian Prefect under the Roman emperor Commodus. Perennis exercised an outsized influence over Commodus and was the effective ruler of the Roman Empire. In 185, Perennis was implicated in a plot ...

, governor of Lusitania, visited the region. Between 200 and 209 Junius Celanius, a governor, also came to Olisipo. Lucidius was the native

Roman governor A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many provinces constituting the Roman Empire. The generic term in Roman legal language was '' Rector provinciae ...

of the city in 468, having helped the

Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

under

Remismund Remismund (or Rimismund) (died 469) was the Suevic king of Galicia from c. 464 until his death. According to Isidore of Seville, Remismund was a son of Maldras. Remismund's early career was spent as an ambassador between Galicia and Gaul, which tr ...

to take it.

Religion

Olisipo, like most great cities in the Western Empire, was a centre for the dissemination of Christianity. Its first attested

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

was St. Potamius (c. 356), and there were several

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s killed during persecutions, such as the

Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...

; Verissimus, Maxima, and Julia are the most significant names. According to legend the three were sons of a Roman senator, martyred in Lisbon in the 4th century, under the Roman governor Ageian or

Tarquinius The gens Tarquinia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, usually associated with Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the fifth and seventh Kings of Rome. Most of the Tarquinii who appear in history are connected in some w ...

in the time of 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 ...

. A temple was then built in the

Campolide Campolide () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in central Lisbon, Campolide is west of Avenidas Novas, north of Campo de Ourique, east of Benfica (Lisbon), Benfica, and south of São Domingo ...

area, whose ruins still existed in the Middle Ages . The relics of the saints are kept in the Santos-o-Velho Church. In the middle of the 4th century the Olisipo diocesis was formed. There is also the legend of Saint Ginés (''São Gens''), presented as one of the first martyr bishops of Lisbon and remembered in the '' Nossa Senhora do Monte'' chapel. At the end of Roman rule, Olisipo was one of the first Christian cities.

Roman architectural remains in the region

File:Hispania roads.svg, Roman roads in

File:Barragem romana Belas1.JPG , Roman dam of Belas, near Lisbon File:Sítio Arqueológico de Colaride 03.jpg , Archaeological Site of Colaride File:Vila Romana de Frielas1.JPG , Roman villa of Frielas File:Aquae Ductus photographed by P.G. de Mendonça at Gargantada, AMADORA, PORTUGAL (Wikidata Q93896734).jpg, The The city was a ''

caput Latin words and phrases {{Short pages monitor