Aquae Flaviae (or ''Aquæ Flaviæ'') is the ancient

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

city and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

) of Chaves, a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Portuguese district of Vila Real.

History

The northwest peninsular region is an area of hot springs and Roman settlements linked to the exploitation of valuable natural resources.Diana Fonseca Sorribas (2012), p.519 Aquae Flaviae was the principal '' municipium civitas'' in the northwest (from epigraphic findings) implanted in the Trás-os-Montes, on a small hill on the banks of the River Tâmega, in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...

. This was a fertile area, where hot springs abound, in addition to a mining region from which gold is extracted. It is also located in a strategic place between the Roman cities of Bracara and

Asturica Astorga (, Leonese language, Leonese: ''Estorga'') is a municipality and city of Spain located in the central area of the province of León, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, southwest of the provincial capital. It is located in t ...

, as well as the mining districts of Três Minas and Jales, located southwest of the ''

civitates In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on the ...

''. Little is known of the urban fabric although there are some important points: an aqueduct supplied water from a reservoir and dam in Abobeleira, there was a theatre/amphitheatre, vestiges of a necropolis and sections of a wall.Diana Fonseca Sorribas (2012), p.520 With respect to the thermal activity, the lack of archaeological excavations means that little is known as of the alleged ancient

Roman baths 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 ...

. Modern excavations have begun to uncover the remains of another Roman baths structure associated with a hot spring in ''Largo do Arrabalde'' consisting of large pavement slabs and a block of ''

opus caementicium Roman concrete, also called , was used in construction in ancient Rome. Like its modern equivalent, Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement added to an aggregate. Many buildings and structures still standing today, such as br ...

'' associated with a thermal spring. These are the first known thermal remains known to be located within Chaves. Further, within the ''civitates'' there are many complicated votive epigraphs which seem to relate to thermal worship. There are two inscriptions dedicated to nymphs, a lost inscription dedicated to Tutela and another to Isis, that suggest a thermal cult. Architecturally, the most notable feature of this city, is the bridge of Trajan over the Tâmega River, whose existence marked a period of exceptional development of the city. Functioning as a crossroads, it controlled the routes to the mining districts. The remains of two epigraphic inscriptions are located on the bridge, commemorating the construction or remodelling by

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

, as well as another that aroused various interpretations, the ''Padrão dos Povos''. The ''Padrão dos Povos'' mentions the civitates dependant of Aquae Flaviae: Aquiflavienses, Avobrigenses, Bibali,

Coelerni The Coelerni were an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula), part of Calaician or Gallaeci people, living in what was to become the Roman Province of Hispania Tarraconensis, in what is now the southern part of the pr ...

, Equaesi,

Interamici The Interamici or Interamnici were a pre-Roman people or tribe, one of the Gallaeci tribes, living between some areas of modern southern Galicia (Spain) (in part of southern Ourense Province), and some areas of northern Trás-os-Montes, modern nor ...

, Limici, Naebisoci, Querquerni and Tamagani, as well as the Roman Legio VII Gemina Felix legion. Aquae Flaviae was founded by Rome, although the details of that founding remain obscure.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

suggests that it was founded in

Turodi The Turodi were an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia, living in the north of modern Portugal, in the province of Trás-os-Montes and border areas in Galicia (Spain). See also *Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula This is a list of the ...

territory, a theory that has been strengthened by the existence of epigraphic evidence documenting the presence of Turodi.Diana Fonseca Sorribas (2012), p.521

Diocese of Aquae Flaviae

Aquae Flaviae became a bishopric in the fourth century which lasted until the Arabic conquest in the eight century. It was restored as a titular see in 1969.

References

Notes

Sources

* {{authority control Chaves, Portugal Roman towns and cities in Portugal de:Aquae Flaviae it:Aquae Flaviae