{"id":10458,"date":"2023-09-20T12:10:28","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T19:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/?p=10458"},"modified":"2023-10-05T06:59:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T13:59:21","slug":"aquincum-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/20\/aquincum-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Aquincum, Pannonia Inferior – Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Forum<\/a>
Forum of Aquincum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most Recent Visit:<\/strong> June 2023<\/p>\n

The area of the Roman settlement of Aquincum was inhabited prior to Roman conquest by Eravisci (also referred to as the Aravisci), a Celtic people. The Celtic cultural influence is evident in archaeological remains, though Tacitus claims that they are related to the Osii, a group he labels as Germanic that lived on the opposite bank of the Danubius (modern Danube) and to the north. The Eravisci had a settlement on the site of Aquincum that seems to have been called Akink, or abundant waters in their Celtic dialect; perhaps a reference to nearby thermal springs. Though the exact timing is not clear, the territory of the Eravisci seems to have been brought under Roman control by 12 BCE.<\/p>\n

An important crossing point of the Danubius, and thus an important point along the Danubian Limes, there was military presence in the form of an ala camp by the time of Tiberius. Under Domitian, a permanent legionary castrum<\/em> was constructed about 2 kilometers south of the civilian settlement of Aquincum, in the modern neighborhood of \u00d3buda.  A canabae<\/em> would have started developing around the castrum<\/em>, and it was probably after this point, in the late 1st<\/sup> century CE that the civilian settlement really started to take shape and grow. The province of Pannonia, established in 20 CE, was subdivided into Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior in 106 CE, with Aquincum becoming the capital of the latter following the split. In 124 CE, during the reign of Hadrian, who had previously become the first governor of Pannonia Inferior from 106 to 108 CE, the civilian settlement of Aquincum was given municipium<\/em>. Around this time, following their participation in the Dacian Wars, Legio II Adiutrix was stationed at the castrum<\/em> of Aquincum. In 194 CE, following the Marcommanic Wars, the city was elevated to colonia<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Archaeological<\/a>
Archaeological area of Aquincum (Double Baths and Large Dwelling House).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around the time of the civilian city\u2019s elevation to colonia<\/em>, two military forts were constructed on the eastern bank of the Danubius; one across from the legionary castrum<\/em>, called Transaquincum, and another about 5 kilometers farther south called Contra-Aquincum. This was located roughly at the location of the present-day Erzs\u00e9bet Bridge in the central part of modern Budapest.<\/p>\n

Sometime around 260 CE, the city seemed to have suffered some significant damage in a raid, but was able to largely recover. Throughout the 4th<\/sup> century, however, Aquincum came under almost constant threat from the Sarmatians. By that point, the capital of Pannonia Inferior had been moved to Sirmium. In the final years of the 4th<\/sup> century CE, the legionary garrison at Aquincum was moved to Gaul and the city was effectively abandoned by the Roman state; while the population continued living there, it was no longer under the administration of the Roman Empire. Germanic and Hunnic groups took control of the area in the early years of the 5th<\/sup> century CE.<\/p>\n