 Geographic and strategic location of Argentoratum | |
  Shown within France | |
| Location | France |
|---|---|
| Region | Grand Est |
| Coordinates | 48°34′58″N7°45′04″E / 48.5827°N 7.751°E /48.5827; 7.751 |
Argentoratum orArgentorate was theancient name of the city ofStrasbourg. The name was first mentioned in 12 BC, when it was a Roman military outpost established byNero Claudius Drusus. From 90 AD theLegio VIII Augusta was permanently stationed there.
TheRomans underNero Claudius Drusus established a military outpost belonging to theGermania SuperiorRoman province close to aGaulish village near the banks of theRhine, at the current location ofStrasbourg, and named it Argentoratum. Its name was first mentioned in 12 BC but "Argentorate" is thetoponym of the Gaulish settlement that preceded it before beinglatinised, though it is not known by how long.[1]
From 90 AD theLegio VIII Augusta permanently stationed in Argentoratum.[2] The Roman camp of Argentoratum then included acavalry section and covered an area of approximately 20hectares (49 acres), from approximately 6 hectares (15 acres) inTiberian times.[3] Other Roman legions temporarily stationed in Argentoratum were theLegio XIV Gemina and theLegio XXI Rapax, the latter during the reign ofNero.[4]
TheAlemanni fought aBattle of Argentoratum against Rome in 357 AD. They were defeated byJulian, laterEmperor of Rome, and their kingChnodomar was taken prisoner. On 2 January 366 the Alemanni crossed the frozenRhine in large numbers, to invade the Roman Empire.
From the 4th century, Strasbourg was the seat of theBishopric of Strasbourg (made an Archbishopric in 1988).
Early in the 5th century the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine, conquered, and then settled what is today Alsace and a large part ofSwitzerland. From this period on Argentoratum disappears from historical records and is replaced by thetoponym "Stratisburgum".
The centre of the camp of Argentoratum proper was situated on theGrande Île, with thecardo being the current Rue du Dôme and thedecumanus, the currentRue des Hallebardes.[5]
As systematic archaeological studies between 1947 and 1953,[6] conducted byJean-Jacques Hatt, archaeologist and director of theMusée archéologique de Strasbourg, have shown, Argentoratum was destroyed by fire and rebuilt six times between the first and the 5th century AD: in 70, 97, 235, 355, in the last quarter of the 4th century, and in the early years of the 5th century. It was underTrajan and after the fire of 97 that Argentoratum received its most extended and fortified shape.[7]
Many Roman artifacts have also been found along the road that led to the camp, the currentRoute des Romains in the suburb of Koenigshoffen,[8] such as the stele ofCaius Largennius. This was where the largest burial places (necropoli) were situated, as well as the densest concentration of civilian dwelling places (vici) and commerces next to the camp.[9]
Among the most outstanding finds in Koenigshoffen were the fragments of a grandMithraeum that had been shattered byearly Christians in the 4th century (found in 1911–12 byRobert Forrer, Hatt's predecessor at the head of the Musée archéologique).[10]
Archaeological digs by J.-J. Hatt below the currentSaint Stephen's Church in 1948 and 1956 have unearthed theapse of a church dating back to the late 4th century or early 5th century, and considered the oldest church inAlsace. It is supposed that this was the first seat of theCatholic Diocese of Strasbourg.[11]
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48°34′58″N7°45′04″E / 48.5827°N 7.7510°E /48.5827; 7.7510
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