Scallabis (also ''Scallabi Castrum'', ''Præsidium Iulium'', ''Scallabis Praesidium Iulium'' or ''Colonia Scallabis Iulia'') was 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 ...

name of Santarém, Portugal.

History

The first documented human occupation dates from the 8th century BC. There is also evidence of trade with the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...

, due to its location as a commercial outpost on the

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 ...

river. The Romans arrived at this region in 138 BC and settled in the city, then going by the name of ''Scallabis'', and limited to the fortified area currently known as Alcáçova de Santarém. A latter designation was "''Scallabis Praesidium Iulium''", given by

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 ...

in 61 BC, with the installation of a military camp next to the previous fortifications. Most of the citizens were then inscribed in the Sergian Roman

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same Roman naming conventions#Nomen, nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (p ...

. The city became one of the most important administrative centers of the

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 ...

province in the 1st century AD, as head of a

Conventus iuridicus In Ancient Rome territorial organization, a ''conventus iuridicus'' was the capital city of a subdivision of some provinces (Dalmatia, Hispania, Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either consi ...

, the Conventus Scallabitanus that included cities such as

Olisipo Municipium Cives Romanorum Felicitas Julia Olisipo (in Latin: ''Olisippo'' or ''Ulyssippo'' ; in Greek: ''Ὀλισσιπών'', ''Olissipṓn'', or ''Ὀλισσιπόνα'', ''Olissipóna'') was the ancient name of modern-day Lisbon while part of ...

, Seilium and

Conímbriga Conímbriga is one of the largest Roman settlements excavated in Portugal, and was classified as a National Monument in 1910. Located in the civil parish of Condeixa-a-Velha e Condeixa-a-Nova, in the municipality of Condeixa-a-Nova, it is situate ...

. It was connected by important roads to Olisipo,

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 ...

and was the location of a Tagus river crossing. In 460 ''Scallabis'' was conquered by

Sunieric Sunieric (Latin: ''Suniericus''; ''fl'' 459-461) was a Visigoth general, who collaborated with the Roman army in the re-conquest of Spain on behalf of Emperor Majorian. Life Cyrila's successor, Sunieric was sent by king Theodoric II to Hispania ...

(along with Nepotianus and

Theodoric II Theodoric II, ''Teodorico'' in Spanish and Portuguese, ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466. Biography Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The Engli ...

) as part of a campaign against 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 ...

. Roman domain ended, with the city becoming part of the Visigoth kingdom. With the

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

and

Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

invasions, the city became known as "Sancta Irene", the root of the current name "Santarém".

Archeology

Archaeological work in the Alcáçova de Santarém area has identified a Roman temple with a

podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...

of about 15 by 15 meters, and part of the cella, dating from the 1st century BC (probably a Capitolium). 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 ...

and baths from that period were also identified.

References

External links

AS LUCERNAS ROMANAS DE SCALLABIS Vol. I

Image gallery
Roman sites in Portugal Roman towns and cities in Portugal {{AncientRome-stub