| Provincia Moesia Prima Moesia Prima | |
|---|---|
| Province of theRoman Empire | |
| ca. 293 – ca. 602 | |
 Roman Empire | |
| Capital | Viminacium |
| Historical era | Late Antiquity |
• Administrative reform | ca. 293 |
• Conquered by the Slavs | ca. 602 |
Moesia Prima (/ˈmiːʃə,-siə,-ʒə/;[1][2]Latin:Moesia;Greek:Μοισία)[3] was a frontierprovince of theLate Roman Empire, situated in the central parts of present-daySerbia, along the south bank of theDanube River. Its provincial capital wasViminacium, near modernKostolac inSerbia).
The province of Moesia Prima was created at the end of the 3rd century during administrative reforms of Roman emperorDiocletian (284–305) who divided the province ofMoesia Superior in two separate provinces: Moesia Prima to the north andDardania to the south.
Sometime in 293–294, emperorDiocletian traveled throughMoesia Superior and came to its capitalViminacium. During that visit he created a new province under the nameMoesia Superior Margensis orMoesia Prima. The termMargensis was used in reference to the name ofMargus River that runs through the province. Diocletian also registered that the inhabitants of province wrote in Latin, as opposed to Greek in the southern regions.[4]
At first, the province of Moesia Prima belonged to theDiocese of Moesia. Probably under the emperorConstantine I (306–337), theDiocese of Moesia was split in two, forming theDiocese of Dacia in the north andDiocese of Macedonia in the south. The province of Moesia Prima became part ofDiocese of Dacia, that belonged to thePraetorian prefecture of Illyricum.
The emperorJovian (363-364) who reestablishedChristianity as the official religion of theRoman Empire was born in Moesia Prima, inSingidunum. In his early career, later to become Roman emperor,Theodosius I served as military commander of Moesia Prima in 373.[5] In 382 the Roman emperorsTheodosius I andGratian met inViminacium, the capital of Moesia Prima, during theGothic Wars.[6]
The Danubian border of Moesia Prima was protected by the fortifications of thelimes. Two Roman legions were stationed in the province:Legio IV Flavia Felix inSingidunum andLegio VII Claudia inViminacium. The seat ofPraefectus legionis septimae Claudiae was in the frontier fortress ofCuppae (Golubac, Serbia).[7]
As a frontier province, Moesia Prima was under constant threat of barbaric invasions. In the middle of the 5th century the province was devastated by theHuns ofAttila who tookSingidunum andViminacium in 441. The province was later invaded by various Germanic tribes likeOstrogoths,Gepids,Heruli and others.
Major efforts to secure the province were undertaken in the time ofJustinian I (527–565) who rebuiltViminacium andSingidunum around 535, restoring the frontier fortresses to their former military importance.[8]
In 535, emperorJustinian I (527-565) created theArchbishopric of Justiniana Prima as a regional primacy with ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all provinces of theDiocese of Dacia, including the province ofMoesia Prima'.[9]
Throughout the 6th century, Moesia Prima was often invaded bySlavs. The province was also invaded but theAvars who tookSingidunum andViminacium during the war of 582-584.[10] During emperorMaurice's military campaigns againstAvars andSlavs, Moesia Prima served as a base of military operations.
After the fall of emperorMaurice in 602, Byzantine defenses in Moesia Prima finally collapsed. At the very beginning of the 7th century,Avars andSlavs sacked and burnedSingidunum andViminacium to the ground and the interior of the fallen province Moesia Prima was finally settled by the SlavicSerbs.[11]
The chief towns of Moesia Prima were:Viminacium (sometimes called municipium Aelium; modernKostolac) andSingidunum (Belgrade).