Sirmium

File:Casque orné 4ème siècle Musée Novi Sad Colisée Rome Italie.jpg.]]

Image:Prefecture of Illyricum map.png

File:Maketa Sirmijuma.JPG.]]

Remains of Sirmium stand on the site of the modern-day Sremska Mitrovica, {{convert|55|km|abbr=on}} west of Belgrade (Roman Singidunum). It was located {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} west of Bassianae and {{convert|145|km|abbr=on}} of Viminacium, {{convert|35|km|abbr=on}} southwest of Cusum, {{convert|35|km|abbr=on}} southeast of Cuccium and {{convert|70|km|abbr=on}} southwest of Cibalae. Archaeologists have found traces of organized human life on the site of Sirmium dating from 5,000;BC.{{cite web |url=http://voiceofserbia.org/serbia/node/39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522233550/http://voiceofserbia.org/serbia/node/39 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=May 22, 2012 |title=SREMSKA MITROVICA IN ROMAN TIMES |access-date=1 October 2014}} The city was first mentioned in the 4th century BC and was originally inhabited by the Illyrians and Celts{{cite web |url=http://www.upoznajsrbiju.co.rs/mesto/sremska-mitrovica-125 |title=Mesto Sremska Mitrovica, upoznaj Srbiju |access-date=1 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514030940/http://www.upoznajsrbiju.co.rs/mesto/sremska-mitrovica-125 |archive-date=14 May 2014}} (by the Pannonian-Illyrian Amantini{{cite journal |url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=29146 |title=SRCE.hr |journal=Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja U Zagrebu |date=8 December 2006 |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=59–164 |access-date=1 October 2014 |last1=Domić-Kunić |first1=Alka}} and the Celtic Scordisci{{cite web |url=http://vml.de/e/detail.php?ISBN=978-3-89646-356-2 |title=VML.de |access-date=1 October 2014}}). The Triballi king Syrmus was later considered the eponymous founder of Sirmium, but the roots are different, and the two words only became conflated later.{{sfn|Papazoglu|1978|p=74}} The name Sirmium by itself means "flow, flowing water, wetland", referring to its close river position on the nearby Sava.

With the Celtic tribe of Scordisci as allies, the Roman proconsul Marcus Vinicius took Sirmium in around 14 BC.Ronald Syme, Anthony Birley, The provincial at Rome: and, Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14, p. 204 [https://books.google.com/books?id=D5IxWxCgFFwC&pg=PA204 Google Books]Alan K. Bowman, Edward Champlin, Andrew Lintott, The Cambridge ancient history, 10, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JZLW4-wba7UC&pg=PA551 p. 551] In the 1st century AD, Sirmium gained the status of a Roman colony, and became an important military and strategic center of the Pannonia province. The Roman emperors Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Claudius II prepared war expeditions in Sirmium.

In 103, Pannonia was split into two provinces: Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior; Sirmium became the capital city of the latter.

In 296, Diocletian reorganized Pannonia into four provinces: Pannonia Prima, Pannonia Valeria, Pannonia Savia and Pannonia Secunda, with Sirmium becoming the capital of Pannonia Secunda. He joined them with Noricum and Dalmatia to establish the Diocese of Pannonia, with Sirmium as its capital also.

In 293, with the establishment of the Tetrarchy, the Roman Empire was split into four parts; Sirmium emerged as one of the four capital cities (along with Trier, Mediolanum, and Nicomedia), and was the capital of emperor Galerius. With the establishment of Praetorian prefectures in 318, the capital of the prefecture of Illyricum was Sirmium, remaining so until 379, when the westernmost Diocese of Illyricum, Pannonia (including Sirmium), was detached and joined to the prefecture of Italia assuming the name of Diocese of Illyricum. The eastern part of Illyricum remained a separate prefecture under the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire with its new capital in Thessalonica.

The city also had an imperial palace, a horse-racing arena, a mint, an arena theatre, and a theatre, as well as many workshops, public baths, temples, public palaces, and luxury villas. Ancient historian Ammianus Marcellinus called it "the glorious mother of cities". The mint in Sirmium was connected with the mint in Salona and silver mines in the Dinaric Alps through the Via Argentaria.

At the end of the 4th century, Sirmium came under the sway of the Goths, and later, was again annexed to the East Roman Empire. In 441 the Huns conquered Sirmium; for more than a century it was held by various other tribes, such as the Ostrogoths and Gepids. In 504, Ostrogothic Count Pitzas under Theoderic the Great took Sirmium. For a short time, Sirmium was the center of the Kingdom of the Gepids, and king Cunimund ({{reign|{{circa|560}}|567}}) minted gold coins there. After 567, Sirmium was returned to the East Roman Empire. The Pannonian Avars conquered and destroyed the city in 582.

The city was also the location of the Battle of Sirmium that took place in 1167, where a Roman army dispatched by Manuel I Komnenos decisively defeated the forces of Hungary, turning the latter into a satellite state.

File:Kasnoanticki slemovi - Muzej Vojvodine.JPG]]

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), and Gratian (367–383).

The last emperor of the united Roman Empire, Theodosius I (378–395), became emperor in Sirmium. The usurpers Ingenuus and Regalianus also declared themselves emperors in this city (in 260) and many other Roman emperors spent some time in Sirmium, including Marcus Aurelius, who might have written parts of his famous work Meditations in the city. According to Tertullian Sirmium was also the site of the death of Marcus Aurelius, of smallpox, in March of 180 CE,McLynn, Frank, Marcus Aurelius, Da Capo Press (2009), p. 417 although the historian Aurelius Victor recounts that Marcus Aurelius died in Vindobona (province of Pannonia Superior, modern Vienna in Austria).{{Cn|date=November 2024}}

The city had a Christian community by the third century. By the end of the century, it had a bishop, who was probably the metropolitan of all the Pannonian bishops. The first known bishop was Irenaeus, who was martyred during the Diocletianic 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.Jacques Zeiller, [https://books.google.com/books?id=O5xbAAAAMAAJ Les origines chrétiennes dans les provinces danubiennes de l'Empire romain] (Paris: E. de Boccard, 1918), pp. 143–48, 598.

From the time of the first synod of Tyre in 335, Sirmium became a stronghold of the Arian movement and a site of much controversy. Between 347 and 358 there were four synods held in Sirmium. A fifth took place in 375 or 378. All dealt with the Arian controversy.

Image:Solidus Julian-transparent.png solidus, ca. 361, from Sirmium mint]]

At Glac near Sirmium a palace is being excavated,{{Cite web |url=https://glac-project.sydney.edu.au/archaeological-site-glac/ |title=Archaeological Site Glac}} 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 Emperor Maximian and according to Aurelius Victor built on the place where his parents worked as laborers on the estate.Aurelius Victor, Historia Romana, De Caesaribus

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.{{cn|date=August 2020}} Sirmium had two bridges that bridged the river Sava, Ad Basanti, and Artemida's bridges according to historical sources.{{cn|date=August 2020}} 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.{{cn|date=August 2020}}

During work on the new Sremska Mitrovica trade center in 1972, a worker accidentally broke into an old Roman 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 4 Constantius 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 (meaning Golden, or Golden Man in Serbian, Aurelius in Latin).

Sirmium also had a Roman Hippodrome.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mlRpAAAAMAAJ&q=sirmium+hippodrome |title=Sirmium |year=1971 |access-date=1 October 2014}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=couetXBQO9AC |title=Roman Circuses |isbn=9780520049215 |access-date=1 October 2014 |last1=Humphrey |first1=John H. |date=January 1986}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eFVjMocptcYC&pg=PA230 |title=Bradt Travel Guide Serbia |isbn=9781841622033 |access-date=1 October 2014 |last1=Mitchell |first1=Laurence |year=2007}} A colossal building about 150m wide and 450m long lies directly under the Sremska Mitrovica town center and just beside the old Sirmium Emperor'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 and archeological 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.

File:Emperor Traianus Decius (Mary Harrsch).jpg, first romanized Illyrian that became Roman Emperor (249–51), born in the village Budalia near Sirmium]]

• Marcus Aurelius (161–180), used Sirmium as a residence in between Pannonian military campaigns (170–180)
• Maximinus (235–238), ruled from residence in Sirmium
• Decius (249–251), lived in Sirmium, where his two sons were born
• Herennius Etruscus (251), born in Sirmium
• Hostilian (251), born in Sirmium
• Ingenuus (260), proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium
• Regalianus (260), proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium
• Claudius II (268–270), born in Sirmium and spent most of his life there
• Quintillus (270), born in Sirmium
• Aurelian (270–275), born in Sirmium and also proclaimed emperor there
• Probus (276–282), born in Sirmium
• Maximian (285–310), born near Sirmium
• Galerius (305–311), ruled as Caesar from Sirmium (293–296)
• Crispus, proclaimed Caesar in Sirmium in 317
• Constantine II, proclaimed Caesar in Sirmium in 317
• Vetranio, proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium in 350
• Constantius II (337–361), born in Sirmium
• Gratian (367–383), born in Sirmium
• Theodosius I the Great (378–395), became emperor in Sirmium

• Licinius, prefect of the Diocese of Pannonia with residence in Sirmium (308–314)
• Apricanus, prefect of Pannonia Secunda with residence in Sirmium (355)
• Mesala, prefect of the Pannonia Secunda province (373)
• Petronius Probus, prefect in Sirmium (374)
• Aurelius Victor, prefect of the Pannonia Secunda province (369), and author of a History of Rome until the reign of Julian
• Leontius, prefect in Sirmium (426)

• Irenaeus (died 304)
• Domnus (deposed c. 335), attended the First Council of Nicaea
• Eutherius (fl. 347)
• Photinus (c. 345–351), Arian bishop
• Germinius (351–c. 376)
• Anemius (c. 376–c. 392)
• Cornelius (c. 392 – after 404)
• Laurentius (in 401–17)
• Sebastianus (fl. 594)

• Anastasia of Sirmium
• Fausta of Sirmium

{{reflist}}

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{{refend}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.carskapalata.rs/imperialpalace.html Imperial Palace] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206074710/http://www.carskapalata.rs/imperialpalace.html |date=2016-02-06 }}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctujReyxO1w Sirmium Imperial Palace] on YouTube
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgdACI5Mvxg Ancient Sirmium] on YouTube
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB8OjAY5fpo The Land of the Golden helmets (In Serbian)] Documentary film
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHC2L4-akgY Roman Sirmium and Panonia (In Serbian)] Documentary film
• [http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=14662 Southern Pannonia during the age of the Great Migrations]

{{Illyrians}}

{{Major towns of Roman Serbia}}

{{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance}}

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Category:Sirmium

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