Libida or Ibida was an ancient settlement in

Scythia Minor Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: , ) was a Roman province in late antiquity, corresponding to the lands between the Danube and the Black Sea, today's Dobruja divided between Romania and Bulgaria. It was detached from Moesia Inferior by t ...

, today's

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

region of modern

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is within the commune of

Slava Cercheză Slava Cercheză (russian: Черкезская Слава) is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. Its name means the Cherkess ( Circassian) Slava, in reference to the Dobrujan Circassian community that used to inhabit the villa ...

, in the village of

Slava Rusă Slava may refer to: Ships * ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian b ...

. The settlement existed in

Getic The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...

times (4th century BC). Its growing importance as a centre of commerce led to the construction of the fortified town during the reign of the

Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the '' augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares' ...

and

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

. It was tentatively identified by V. Pârvan as polis Ibida, a town briefly mentioned by Procopius as one of those repaired by Justinian (De aed. IV,7). A. Aricescu identified it as Libida, based on a short passage from Theophylactus Simocatta. The town and area around was abandoned in the 7th cent. AD after the

Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars * Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ash ...

invasions.

Archeological history

In 1875 an inscription found on the site was published. In 1885 Dimitrie C. Butculescu executed a first archeologic sondage. Requested by

Grigore Tocilescu Grigore George Tocilescu (26 October 1850 – 18 September 1909) was a Romanian historian, archaeologist, epigrapher and folkorist, member of Romanian Academy. He was a professor of ancient history at the University of Bucharest, author of Mare ...

, the town was described by topograph

Pamfil Polonic Pamfil Polonic (27 August 1858 – 17 April 1943) was a Romanian archaeologist and topographer. Notes

People from Suceava Romanian archaeologists 20th-century Romanian historians 1858 births 1943 deaths 19th-century Romanian historian ...

in 1897, who identified 33 towers and 3 gates, but there was not publication. In 1908

Raymund Netzhammer Raymund can be both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Raymund Fugger (1489–1535), German businessman, Reichsgraf and art collector * Raymund Hart (1899–1960), senior commander in the Royal Air Force d ...

published a description of the town similar to the 1897 version.

Vasile Pârvan Vasile Pârvan (; 28 September 1882, Huruiești, Perchiu, Huruiești, Bacău County – 26 June 1927, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian and archaeologist. Biography Vasile Pârvan came from a modest family, being the first child of the teach ...

identified the settlement in 1911 as Ibida.

Constantin Moisil Constantin C. Moisil (December 8, 1876–October 22, 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian archivist, historian, numismatist and schoolteacher. Born in Năsăud, in the Transylvania region, his grandfather Grigore Moisil was a priest; h ...

names the town in 1916 when a treasure of drachmes was found. In 1917 the Bulgar lieutenant Iconomof performed excavations and found the remains of a Basilica with 3 naves. In 1926, George G. Mateescu performed new excavations with unpublished results. Research in 1953 by a team exploring Histria, north and west of the town, of led to the discovery of

and Roman-Byzantine bricks and pottery and bronze coins from the

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

era. In 1977 Al. S. Stefan with a photogrammetry process restored the plan of the archaeological area. In 1988 A. Opait observed seven levels of living, three from the early Roman and four in the Roman-Byzantine period. From 2001 onwards ICEM (Institutul de Cercetări Eco-Muzeale Tulcea) started systematic excavations.

Bibliography

* Pârvan, V. 1912, Ulmetum I. Descoperirile primei campanii de săpături din vara anului 1911, AARMSI 2, 34, p. 497–607. * Pârvan, V. 1923, Începuturile vieţii romane la Gurile Dunării, București. * Barnea, I. 1968, Perioada Dominatului (sec. IV – VII), în Vulpe, R., Barnea, I., Din istoria Dobrogei. II. Romanii la Dunărea de Jos,București. * Suceveanu, Al., Barnea, Al. 1991, La Dobroudja Roumaine – București.

References

External links

Mysterious fortress watching over the ruins of the old town Ibida – Slava Rusă

D. Paraschiv, I. Iaţcu, The Christian Basilica of Ibida. Elements of Interior Decoration

Archeological Site Ibida
{{Coord, 44.8791, 28.5674, display=title Former populated places in Romania

Archeological history

Bibliography

See also

References

External links