Mediana is an important archeological site from the late Roman period located in the eastern suburb of the Serbian city of Niš. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country It represents a luxurious residence with a highly organized economy. Excavatations have revealed a villa with peristyle, thermae, granary and water tower. A villa was originally an Upper-class Country house, though since its origins in Roman times the idea and function of a villa has evolved considerably In Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a Columned Porch or open Colonnade in a Building that surrounds a court This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or Animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries Pottery is the most A water tower, watershed, or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container The residence dates to the reign of Constantine the Great 306 to 337. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine Events By Place Roman Empire July 25 — Constantine I is proclaimed Emperor by his troops Events By Place Roman Empire September 9 — Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their Although Roman artefacts can be found scattered all over the area of present-day Niš Mediana represents the best-preserved part of Roman Naissus.
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History
Constantine the Great (280 - 337) was born and raised in Naissus. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine Events By Place Roman Empire Emperor Probus suppresses the revolt of the usurper Proculus. Events By Place Roman Empire September 9 — Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their He erected a majestic residence in one of the luxurious suburbs of ancient Naissus, where he often resided and attended to state affairs. Historical records testify it was in Naissus that he passed several laws - in 315, 319, 324, and 334. Events By Place Roman Empire Constantine and Licinius battle the Sarmates, the Goths and the Carpians Events By Place Roman Empire Constantine prohibits the separation of the families of slaves during a change in ownership Events By Place Roman Empire July 3 — Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, forcing him Events By place Roman Empire The Goths protect the Roman Empire against an invasion by the Vandals in the region near the
After Constantine's death in 337, the imperial residence in Mediana was used by several other emperors, either as place of rest on their long journeys or during preparations for war. Events By Place Roman Empire September 9 — Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their Thus, Constantine's sons, Constantius II and Constans, stayed in Naissus in the winter of 340, for they signed an edict there. Flavius Iulius Constantius, known in English as Constantius II ( 7 August, 317 - November 3, 361) was a Roman Emperor Flavius Julius Constans (320-350 was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 337 to 350 Events By Place Roman Empire Constantinople, capital of Emperor Constantius II, becomes the largest city of the world taking Later on, Constans used it as a temporary residence. According to the Hieronimus' Chronicles, after Vetranio, commander of the Danubian army, hsd been proclaimed emperor in Sirmium, he surrendered the insignia of imperial power to Constantius II in Naissus, in 350. Vetranio (d c 360 born in the province of Moesia in a part of the region located in modern Serbia, is sometimes but apparently incorrectly referred to as Sirmium in Pannonia should not be confused with Sirmio on Lake Garda Sirmium (today Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia) was an ancient Events By Place Roman Empire January 18 — Magnentius is proclaimed emperor by the army in Autun.
Julian the Apostate unexpectedly spent some time in Naissus on his expedition against Constantius II, at the end of year 361. Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate (331 or 332 to 26 June 363) was Roman Emperor (Caesar Events By Place Roman Empire Julian the Apostate becomes Roman Emperor, and tries to restore paganism in the empire During his two-month stay, Julian wrote from Naissus long epistles to the Senate, to Athens, Corinth and other Greek towns, explaining his policy and seeking support. The Roman Senate was a political institution in Ancient Rome. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. Valentinian's stay in Naissus in 364 is attested by several imperial edicts. Flavius Valentinianus, known in English as Valentinian I, ( 321 - November 17, 375) was Roman Emperor from 364 until his death Events By Place Roman Empire Jovian surrenders Mesopotamia to the Persians.
Naissus was the native town of another Roman emperor - Constantius III (year 425), husband of Galla Placidia, father of Valentinian III (according to Olympiodorus of Thebes). Flavius Constantius (died 2 September 421) whose name is traditionally Anglicized as Constantius III, was a late Roman general politician For the US area code see Area code 425. Events By Place Western Roman Empire Aelia Galla Placidia (392 – November 27, 450) was the Empress consort of Constantius III, Western Roman Emperor. Flavius Placidius Valentinianus ( July 2, 419 &ndash March 16, 455) known in English as Valentinian III, was among the last Olympiodorus (born ca 380 active ca 412-25 was an historical writer of classical education a "poet by profession" as he says of himself who was born
The residence was abandoned after the city of Naissus was devastated by Attila's hordes in 442. Events By Place Western Roman Empire The Romans conclude a treaty with Geiseric, acknowledging the conquests of the Vandal nation
Site
The residence was erected on flat terrain, on an area which covers over 400,000 square metres, on a high bank, some distance from the river, at the foot of the hills which frame the Nišava river valley, near a thermal water source. The Nišava or Nishava ( Bulgarian and Serbian Cyrillic: Нишава) is a river in Bulgaria and Serbia, a There was a street in the east-west direction which passed on the south side of the villa with peristyle and the granary located 150 meters from it. A villa was originally an Upper-class Country house, though since its origins in Roman times the idea and function of a villa has evolved considerably In Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a Columned Porch or open Colonnade in a Building that surrounds a court A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or Animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries Pottery is the most From this street it was possible to approach these buildings. The central area was occupied by the villa with its open peristyle, nymphaeum and thermae; to the west of the villa was the granary, and somewhat to the north a spacious building with octagonal and circular rooms. For a Greek colony in the Crimea see Nymphaion. A nymphaeum, in Ancient Greece and Rome, was a Monument consecrated This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. To the south of the villa are the remains of several villas and functional service structures. What strikes the eye is that the luxurious buildings of solid material with columns, decorated with marble facing, mosaics and frescoes, are concentrated mainly around the central villa and its peristyle, while the economic buildings are located to the west of the granary towards Naissus. A column in Structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or
Villa
The villa occupies the central position in Mediana. The villa comprises an area of about 6. 000 m² (98,6 x 63 m) and included thermae on the west side and a smaller nymphaeum on the east side. This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. For a Greek colony in the Crimea see Nymphaion. A nymphaeum, in Ancient Greece and Rome, was a Monument consecrated The longitudinal axis of the villa is in the north-south direction. The whole northern part was heated. The villa was luxuriously decorated, to which testify the marble columns, basis and capitals of different sizes, reliefs on pilaster capitals and parapet slabs, the remains of wall covering of expensive, multicoloured marble, frescoes, etc. A bas-relief (baʁəljɛf in French; French for "low relief" derived from the Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is a Sculpture A pilaster is a slightly-projecting flattened Column built into or applied to the face of a wall A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a Roof or structure. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or The mosaic floors that covered the whole of the peristyle porch (450 m²) and the audience room have been well preserved. The porch mosaics are geometrical. Figural mosaics are at the entrance of the audience room. The middle part of the audience hall is covered with a broad rectangular field with a geometric pattern, done in the manner of the finest artist. The central part of this structure is a hexagon (3,2 m on the side) with a fountain in the middle, also in the form of hexagon. The lead pipe, used to supply water, can be seen in the middle of the fountain. A traditional fountain is an arrangement where water issues from a source ( Latin fons) fills a basin of some kind and is drained away Smaller spaces surround the hexagon; one of their sides is the polygon of the hexagon. The floor of the nymphaeum is covered with mosaic. For a Greek colony in the Crimea see Nymphaion. A nymphaeum, in Ancient Greece and Rome, was a Monument consecrated The wide outer frame of the hexagon is covered with alternating stylized lotus flowers, and is underlined on the inner side, by a triple border. The lateral spaces about the hexagon are also decorated by mosaic.
Thermae
Thermae are situated northwest of the villa and were probably connected to it. This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. The entrance to the bath is from the south side. The thermae of Mediana were probably used by the owners of the villa, who could reach them directly from their rooms. The corridor on the way to the baths is decorated by floor mosaics, with geometric patterns of the same quality as the mosaics in the peristyle. The vestibule and apodyterium are covered by brick and the middle room is partly covered with brick and partly with mosaic made here of larger white marble tessarae. A vestibule (ˈvɛstɨbjuːl is a lobby, entrance Hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a Building.
Granary
The Granary (horreum) is located about 150 metres west of the villa. A horreum (plural horrea) was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period This is a spacious rectangular building (91 x 27 m), with the longitudinal axis oriented east-west. Along the west wall there were basins 1. 40 m deep, which served for storing liquids, (olive oil and wine). Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive ( Olea europaea; family Oleaceae along with Lilacs Jasmine and ash trees Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice
Water Tower
A water tower (castellum aquae) was ordinarily found at the end of each Roman aqueduct. A water tower, watershed, or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container The ancient Romans constructed numerous aqueducts ( Latin aquaeductūs, sing Water was supplied from this reservoir to the wells and fountains, basins, thermae and maybe the irrigation canals. Wells is a small Cathedral city and Civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip A traditional fountain is an arrangement where water issues from a source ( Latin fons) fills a basin of some kind and is drained away A bowl is a common open-top container used in many cultures to serve Food, and is also used for Drinking and storing other items This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops Its longitudinal axis is oriented north-south. There is a 10 m-height differential between the water tower site and the valley in which the Mediana buildings are located, providing a head for the fountains.
External links
- City of Niš on Mediana, including building floorplans.
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