Noviodunum ad Istrum was a Roman city that developed around the legionary fortress and naval

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

near the present town of

Isaccea Isaccea () is a small town in Tulcea County, in Northern Dobruja, Romania, on the right bank of the Danube, 35 km north-west of Tulcea. According to the 2021 census, it has a population of 4,408. The town has been inhabited for thousands o ...

. It was 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 ...

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

and was the headquarters of the Roman Danube fleet ( Classis Flavia Moesica) located on the lower

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and, from the 4th century AD, the headquarters of the Legio I Iovia (Scythica). From 46 AD the fortress was part of the

Moesian Limes The Moesian Limes () is the modern term given to a linked series of Roman forts on the northern frontier of the Roman province of Moesia along the Danube between the Black Sea shore and Pannonia (present-day Hungary) and dating from the 1st cent ...

frontier defensive system on the Danube. In

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

the Imperial Road from

Marcianopolis Marcianopolis or Marcianople (Greek: Μαρκιανούπολις), also known as Parthenopolis was an ancient Greek, then Roman capital city and archbishopric in Moesia Inferior. It is located at the site of modern-day Devnya, Bulgaria. The a ...

ended here.

History

Noviodunum passed under Roman control with the annexation of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

in 46 AD and then being attached to the

. The strategic position of the fort allowed the Romans to supervise and control the border of the entire

along this section of the

. It became the main port of '' Classis Flavia Moesica'' and a military centre of the region under

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

, and after the conquest of Dacia by

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 ...

. Some '' vexillationes'' of ''

Legio V Macedonica Legio V Macedonica (the Fifth Macedonian Legion) was a Roman legion. It was established in 43 BC by consul Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Augustus, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as the Roman Emperor, Emperor Augustus). and ...

'' were detached here, at least until the reign of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

. Then followed ''vexillationes'' of

Legio I Italica Legio I Italica ("First Italian Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded by emperor Nero on September 22, 66 (the date is attested by an inscription). Labeled ''Phalanx Alexandri Magni'' and originally destined to the east, it ...

. The civil settlement became a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) 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 privileges ...

'' during the late second century. It was probably destroyed during the second half of the 3rd century during the period of heavy invasions of

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

and

Heruli The Heruli (also Eluri, Eruli, Herules, Herulians) were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity, known from records in the third to sixth centuries AD. The best recorded group of Heruli established a kingdom north of the Middle Danu ...

. Under

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

(), '' Legio I Iovia'' was created and based here. It was rebuilt during the reign of

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

(after 324) during the military campaigns and placed under the command of the '' Dux Scythiae''. In 369 Emperor

Valens Valens (; ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...

crossed the Danube from

Noviodunum Noviodunum is a name of Celtic origin, meaning "new fort": It comes from '' nowyo'', Celtic for "new", and '' dun'', the Celtic for "hillfort" or "fortified settlement", cognate of English ''town''. Several places were named Noviodunum. Among these ...

and fought the Battle of Noviodunum against

Athanaric Athanaric or Atanaric (; died 381) was king of several branches of the Thervingian Goths () for at least two decades in the 4th century. Throughout his reign, Athanaric was faced with invasions by the Roman Empire, the Huns and a civil war with C ...

and the

Tervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with the Gr ...

, in which Valens was victorious and took the title ''Gothicus Maximus''. Between 434 and 441 the city with its naval base was occupied by the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

and then went back under Roman rule to be part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. The city survived until the 7th century. The area has been subject to recent excavations, which have highlighted its importance.

The site

The area enclosed by walls is about 9 ha divided into two distinct enclosures, at least before the 4th century, consisting of the headquarters of the Danube Fleet, and the walled city from the late 2nd century. A second civil settlement of at least 7 ha depending on the military garrison would be inside the three huge earth ramparts. In the 1990s three towers on the southern curtain wall were revealed; a fan shaped tower on the corner, a U shaped tower and the Large Tower, one of the largest towers ever built by the Romans. These towers connected by the curtain, almost 3 m wide, extend for 80 m.Lockyear, K., T. Sly and A. Popescu with contributions from Mihaela Ciausescu, Clive Orton, Jane Sidell and Robin Symonds (2006-2007). 'The Noviodunum Archaeological Project 2000-2004: results and conclusions from the pilot seasons.' Peuce, New Series, 3-4, pp. 121-158

Notes

References

* Barnea, Ion. ''Dinogetia et Noviodunum, deux villes byzantines du Bas-Danube'' RESEE, 9, 1971, 3, 343-362. * Baumann, Victor Henrich. Atti del IV Convegno di Studi italo-romeno, Bari, 2004, 113-132 * Golvin, Jean Claude. ''I Romani e il Mediterraneo''. Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato. Roma, 2008. * Reddé, Michael. ''Mare nostrum - les infrastructures, le dispositif et l'histoire de la marine militaire sous l'empire romain''. Ecole Française de Rome. Parigi, 1986. * Saddington, Denis B.. ''Classes. The Evolution of the Roman Imperial Fleets'' in Paul Erdkamp (a cura di), "A Companion to the Roman Army", Blackwell Publishing, 2007. * Starr, Chester G.. ''The Roman Imperial Navy: 31 B.C.-A.D. 324''. 2nd. edition. Cornell University Press, 1960.

External links

*{{commonscat-inline, Noviodunum (castra)
Roman castra from Romania - Google Maps

Earth
Celtic towns Roman harbors in Romania Roman fortifications in Moesia Inferior Historic monuments in Tulcea County Roman legionary fortresses in Romania Roman towns and cities in Romania Populated places of the Byzantine Empire

History

The site

See also

Notes

References

External links