Νικόπολις ἡ πρὸς Ἴστρον | |
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  Shown within Bulgaria | |
| Coordinates | 43°13′02″N25°36′40″E / 43.21722°N 25.61111°E /43.21722; 25.61111 |
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| History | |
| Builder | Trajan |
| Founded | 101–106 A.D. |
| Abandoned | 447 A.D. |
Nicopolis ad Istrum (Greek:Νικόπολις ἡ πρὸς Ἴστρον) orNicopolis ad Iatrum[1][2] was aRoman and EarlyByzantine town.
Its ruins are located at the village ofNikyup,[3] 20 km north ofVeliko Tarnovo in northernBulgaria. The town reached its zenith during the reigns ofHadrian, theAntonines and theSeveran dynasty. Archaeological excavations are continuing to reveal more of the city.
The site was placed on the Tentative List for consideration as aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in 1984.
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The site was at the junction of the Iatrus (Yantra) and theRositsa rivers, where the Roman army under EmperorTrajan had been amassed in readiness for the attack in the winter of 101–2 to theRoxolani tribe from north of the Danube and who were allied to theDacians.[4][5]
The city was founded by Trajan around 102–106, as indicated onTrajan’s Column,[6] in memory of his victory in theDacian Wars over theRoxolani and also later victories in 105. It was namedUlpia Nicopolis in his honour using his family name, ornomen. However the nameNicopolis ad Haemum was used inPtolemy's Geographia dating from before 130.[7]
Trajan clearly intended it to become a magnificent city which is gradually being verified. The monumental character of the city however dates mainly toHadrian andAntoninus Pius (138–161) and inscriptions found are no earlier than 136 when the nameUlpia Nicopolis ad Istrum was in use. The new agora included a monumental ionic stoa and a sumptuous hall of unknown function.
The city was ransacked by theCostoboci in 170-171,[8] a tribe from today’s Western Ukraine, shortly after which the city walls were built.[9] Many buildings were excluded from the walled area from this time.
The city prospered again in the 2nd and 3rd centuries under theSeveran dynasty (193–235).[citation needed] In 198 CE,Septimius Severus and Caracalla sent a letter to the city, thanking its leaders and inhabitants for their festival celebrating the emperors' victory over theParthians and for sending a substantial monetary gift. This gesture may have been aimed at gaining favor and securing additional privileges, such as the status ofneokoros.[10]
However from about 212 the honorary titleUlpia was no longer used in public inscriptions which is believed to be a result ofCaracalla's displeasure with the city[11] after his visit there in 211–212.[12] Caracalla closed the mint and it lost its status ofcivitas stipendaria as well as its economic prosperity. After his death the city organised games for the new emperor and as a result it seems that the city regained its civic status, though not its full name, and re-opened the mint,[13][14] issuing coins bearing images of its public buildings.[citation needed]
In 250 near the city, emperorDecius defeated theGoths underCniva at theBattle of Nicopolis ad Istrum.[15]
Nicopolis grew further as a major urban centre under EmperorDiocletian's (284–305) reforms. Nevertheless at least the north wing of the agora was damaged during the 3rd century.
UnderConstantine from 306 the damaged northern agora buildings were replaced by two built withopus mixtum masonry, divided into three aisles by rows of large pillars, which may well have beenhorrea (warehouses), given that other nearby cities (e.g.Tropaeum andZaldapa) also received horrea rather than basilicas in the same period. These horrea probably formed part of the large supply network for the Danube army helped by building a large number of horrea in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries.[16]
In 447, the town was destroyed byAttila'sHuns.[17] Perhaps it was already abandoned before the early 5th century.[18]
In about the middle of 5th century after the Huns' invasion, new high and strong walls were built adjoining the southern wall of the old city.[18] It seems that by then the old walls were in poor condition and repairing them was not viable. Moreover, their considerable length of 1.8 km required more defenders than were available. The new city had an area of 1/4 of the original city enclosing little more than military buildings and churches, following a very common trend for the cities of that century in the Danube area.[19] The larger area of the extensive ruins (21.55 hectares) of the classical Nicopolis was not reoccupied. The south wall of the old city was reconstructed as the north wall of the new one. Its towers were built upon destroyed and abandoned buildings, and ornamented stone blocks from their facades were used in the new structures. The towers were about 15m in front of the 10m high wall. The outside of the wall was rendered with mortar with incised grooves imitating massive stone blocks. The old south gate later also underwent a major reconstruction to compensate for higher surrounding terrain as the gate was situated in a hollow.[20]
The town became an episcopal centre during the early Byzantine period. The names of two of the early bishops of the city are known: Marcellus (in 451) and Amantius (in 518).[21]
The city was destroyed by theAvars andSlavs in the late 7th c. during theAvar–Byzantine wars. A small Bulgarian settlement later arose upon its ruins (9th–14th century). Nicopolis ad Istrum can be said to have been the birthplace ofGermanic literary tradition. In the 4th century, theGothic bishop, missionary and translatorUlfilas (Wulfila) obtained permission from EmperorConstantius II to immigrate with his flock of converts to Moesia and settle near Nicopolis ad Istrum in 347–348.[22] There, he devised theGothic alphabet and oversaw the translation of theBible fromGreek toGothic, which was performed by a group of scholars.[23][24]
The classical town was planned according to the orthogonal system. The network of streets, the forum surrounded by an Ionic colonnade and many buildings, a two-nave room later turned into a basilica and other public buildings have been uncovered. The rich architectures and sculptures show a similarity with those of the ancient towns in Asia Minor.
Theagora contained a statue of Trajan on horseback as well as other marble statues and an Ionic colonnade. The city also had a three-navebasilica, abouleuterion, a temple ofCybele, a small odeon, thermae (public baths) as well as a unique Roman building inscribed withtermoperiatos, a heated building with shops and enclosed space for walks and business meetings. Some town houses and buildings have also been excavated.
A unique public building, athermoperipatos, has been identified only in Nicopolis ad Istrum so far, out of all cities in Roman Empire. It occupied a wholeinsula and was built underCommodus in 184-5 on the ruins of an earlier building. It was probably used for trading and included shops. It was ruined in the 4th c. and another building later built over it.
The city was supplied by three aqueducts and had several water wells, many of which have been unearthed in archaeological excavations. The western aqueduct of 25 km length had a bridge of almost 3 km long and almost 20m tall carrying water over the entire valley of the Rositsa River.[25] Its 2nd century water catchment reservoir is located near the town ofMusina in Pavlikeni municipality, to the west of the Roman city, where it still collects water from the karst springs inside the Musina Cave. A largecastellum aquae of this aqueduct stands to the west of the city.
In 2015 remains of a huge building were revealed which was probably the residence of theagoranomus orcurule aedile, a public officer in charge of trade and market operations in Ancient Greek and Roman cities.[26]
The obelisk of Quintus Julius, an aristocrat from Nicopolis, still stands to a height of 14m in the countryside near Lesicheri, about 12 km west of the city.[27]
Many finds are on display in theVeliko Tarnovo Regional Museum of History.
In 2018, archaeologists found analtar dedicated to the goddessTyche at a small square in the southwestern corner of theForum complex, with an inscription in Ancient Greek which is a modified epigram byDemosthenes.[28]
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