 Ruins of Imperial Palace at Sirmium | |
  Shown within Serbia | |
| Location | Modern-daySerbia (Sremska Mitrovica) |
|---|---|
| Region | Pannonia |
| Coordinates | 44°57′58″N19°36′38″E / 44.96611°N 19.61056°E /44.96611; 19.61056 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | Before 4th century BC |
| Abandoned | 582 |
| Cultures | Illyrian,Celt,Roman,Byzantine |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
| Type | Archaeological Site of Exceptional Importance |
| Designated | 1948 |
| Reference no. | АН 106 |
Sirmium was a city in theRoman province ofPannonia, located on theSava river, on the site of modernSremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province ofSerbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited byIllyrians andCelts,[1] it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of theRoman province ofPannonia Inferior. In 293 AD, Sirmium was proclaimed one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire. It was also the capital of thePraetorian prefecture of Illyricum and ofPannonia Secunda. The site is protected as anarchaeological Site of Exceptional Importance. The modern region ofSyrmia (Srem or Srijem) was named after the city.
Sirmium purportedly had 100,000[2] inhabitants and was one of the largest cities of its time.Colin McEvedy, whose estimates for ancient cities are much lower than the general consensus, put the population at only 7,000, based on the size of the archaeological site.[3] The amount of grain imported between 1 AD and 400 AD was enough to feed 700,000 to 1 million people.[4]
Remains of Sirmium stand on the site of the modern-daySremska Mitrovica, 55 km (34 mi) west ofBelgrade (RomanSingidunum). It was located 30 km (19 mi) west ofBassianae and 145 km (90 mi) ofViminacium, 35 km (22 mi) southwest ofCusum, 35 km (22 mi) southeast ofCuccium and 70 km (43 mi) southwest ofCibalae. Archaeologists have found traces of organized human life on the site of Sirmium dating from 5,000;BC.[5] The city was first mentioned in the 4th century BC and was originally inhabited by theIllyrians andCelts[6] (by the Pannonian-Illyrian Amantini[7] and the CelticScordisci[8]). TheTriballi kingSyrmus was later considered theeponymous founder of Sirmium, but the roots are different, and the two words only became conflated later.[9] The name Sirmium by itself means "flow, flowing water, wetland", referring to its close river position on the nearbySava.
With the Celtic tribe ofScordisci as allies, the RomanproconsulMarcus Vinicius took Sirmium in around 14 BC.[10][11] In the 1st century AD, Sirmium gained the status of a Roman colony, and became an important military and strategic center of thePannonia province. The Roman emperorsTrajan,Marcus Aurelius, andClaudius II prepared war expeditions in Sirmium.
In 103, Pannonia was split into two provinces:Pannonia Superior andPannonia Inferior; Sirmium became the capital city of the latter.
In 296,Diocletian reorganized Pannonia into four provinces:Pannonia Prima,Pannonia Valeria,Pannonia Savia andPannonia Secunda, with Sirmium becoming the capital of Pannonia Secunda. He joined them withNoricum andDalmatia to establish theDiocese of Pannonia, with Sirmium as its capital also.
In 293, with the establishment of theTetrarchy, the Roman Empire was split into four parts; Sirmium emerged as one of the four capital cities (along withTrier,Mediolanum, andNicomedia), and was the capital of emperorGalerius. With the establishment ofPraetorian prefectures in 318, the capital of the prefecture ofIllyricum was Sirmium, remaining so until 379, when the westernmost Diocese of Illyricum, Pannonia (including Sirmium), was detached and joined to the prefecture ofItalia assuming the name ofDiocese of Illyricum. The eastern part of Illyricum remained a separate prefecture under the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire with its new capital inThessalonica.
The city also had an imperial palace, a horse-racing arena, amint, an arena theatre, and a theatre, as well as many workshops, public baths, temples, public palaces, and luxury villas. Ancient historianAmmianus Marcellinus called it "the glorious mother of cities". The mint in Sirmium was connected with the mint inSalona and silver mines in theDinaric Alps through theVia Argentaria.
At the end of the 4th century, Sirmium came under the sway of theGoths, and later, was again annexed to the East Roman Empire. In 441 theHuns conquered Sirmium; for more than a century it was held by various other tribes, such as theOstrogoths andGepids. In 504, Ostrogothic Count Pitzas underTheoderic the Great took Sirmium. For a short time, Sirmium was the center of theKingdom of the Gepids, and kingCunimund (r. c. 560 – 567) minted gold coins there. After 567, Sirmium was returned to the East Roman Empire. ThePannonian Avarsconquered and destroyed the city in 582.
The city was also the location of theBattle of Sirmium that took place in 1167, where a Roman army dispatched byManuel I Komnenos decisively defeated the forces of Hungary, turning the latter into a satellite state.
Ten Roman emperors were born in this city or in its surroundings:Herennius Etruscus (251),Hostilian (251),Decius (249–251),Claudius II (268–270),Quintillus (270),Aurelian (270–275),Probus (276–282),Maximian (285–310),Constantius II (337–361), andGratian (367–383).
The last emperor of the united Roman Empire,Theodosius I (378–395), became emperor in Sirmium. TheusurpersIngenuus andRegalianus also declared themselves emperors in this city (in 260) and many other Roman emperors spent some time in Sirmium, includingMarcus Aurelius, who might have written parts of his famous workMeditations in the city. According toTertullian Sirmium was also the site of the death of Marcus Aurelius, of smallpox, in March of 180 CE,[12] although the historianAurelius Victor recounts that Marcus Aurelius died inVindobona (province ofPannonia Superior, modernVienna inAustria).[citation needed]
The city had aChristian community by the third century. By the end of the century, it had a bishop, who was probably themetropolitan of all the Pannonian bishops. The first known bishop wasIrenaeus, who was martyred during theDiocletianic Persecution in 304. For the next century, the sequence of bishops is known, but in the fifth and sixth centuries, the see falls into obscurity. An unnamed bishop is mentioned in 448. The last known bishop is mentioned in a papal letter of 594, after which the city itself is rarely mentioned and the see probably went into abeyance.[13]
From the time of thefirst synod of Tyre in 335, Sirmium became a stronghold of theArian movement and a site of much controversy. Between 347 and 358 there werefour synods held in Sirmium. A fifth took place in 375 or 378. All dealt with the Arian controversy.[13]
At Glac near Sirmium a palace is being excavated,[14] indicated by the luxurious construction materials coming from all over the Mediterranean, such as red and green porphyry from Egypt and the Peloponnese, and marble from Tunisia, Greece and Italy. Some say it is that of EmperorMaximian and according toAurelius Victor built on the place where his parents worked as laborers on the estate.[15]
During the construction of the hospital in 1971, more than eighty altars were found in a monumental sanctuary to Jupiter, which is the second largest in Europe.[citation needed] Sirmium had two bridges that bridged the river Sava, Ad Basanti, and Artemida's bridges according to historical sources.[citation needed] After 313 Sirmium became an important Christian center. So far revealed are eight early Christian churches dedicated to St. Irenaeus, St. Demetrius, and Sv. Sinenot.[citation needed]
During work on the new Sremska Mitrovica trade center in 1972, a worker accidentally broke into an oldRoman pot, about 2m deep, over the site of an old Sirmium settlement. 33 gold Roman coins enclosed in a leather pouch were found inside a Roman house wall, probably the hidden savings of a wealthy Roman family stashed centuries ago. Of this extraordinary rare find of Sirmium minted coins were 4Constantius II era coins, considered the most valuable examples from the late Roman Empire of the fourth century AD. Ironically, the worker's name was Zlatenko (meaningGolden, orGolden Man inSerbian,Aurelius in Latin).
Sirmium also had a RomanHippodrome.[16][17][18] A colossal building about 150m wide and 450m long lies directly under the Sremska Mitrovica town center and just beside the old SirmiumEmperor's Palace (one of just a few Sirmium publicly accessible archeological sites). The presence of the arena has clearly affected the layout of the present town (Sremska Mitrovica is today about 2–4m above the ground line of the former Sirmium settlement). Recently announced cultural andarcheological projects for preserving and popularising Sirmium sites haven't included any activity dealing with the arena, probably due to the extent of the large arena — the entire present town center might have to be excavated.
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