Scallabis (also ''Scallabi Castrum'', ''Præsidium Iulium'', ''Scallabis Praesidium Iulium'' or ''Colonia Scallabis Iulia'') was the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

name of

Santarém, Portugal Santarém () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality located in the district of Santarém District, Santarém. The population of the historic Ribatejo capital in 2021 was 58,671,excluding the parish Pombalinho, that changed from the munic ...

History

The first documented human occupation dates from the 8th century BC. There is also evidence of trade with the

Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...

, due to its location as a commercial outpost on the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

river. The Romans arrived at this region in 138 BC and settled in the city, then going by the name of ''Scallabis'', and limited to the fortified area currently known as Alcáçova de Santarém. A latter designation was "''Scallabis Praesidium Iulium''", given by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

in 61 BC, with the installation of a military camp next to the previous fortifications. Most of the citizens were then inscribed in the Sergian Roman

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

. The city became one of the most important administrative centers of the

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

province in the 1st century AD, as head of a Conventus iuridicus, the Conventus Scallabitanus that included cities such as Olisipo, Seilium and

Conímbriga Conímbriga is one of the largest Roman settlements excavated in Portugal, and was classified as a National Monument in 1910. Located in the civil parish of Condeixa-a-Velha e Condeixa-a-Nova, in the municipality of Condeixa-a-Nova, it is situa ...

. It was connected by important roads to Olisipo,

Bracara Augusta Braga (; ) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality had a resident population of 201,583 inhabitants (in 2023), representing t ...

and was the location of a Tagus river crossing. In 460 ''Scallabis'' was conquered by Sunieric (along with

Nepotianus Nepotianus (died 30 June 350), sometimes known in English as Nepotian, was a member of the Constantinian dynasty who reigned as a short-lived usurper of the Roman Empire. He ruled the city of Rome for twenty-eight days, before being killed by ...

and

Theodoric II Theodoric II ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466. Biography Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The English historian Edward Gibbon writes that ...

) as part of a campaign against the

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

. Roman domain ended, with the city becoming part of the Visigoth kingdom. With the

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

and

Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal ...

invasions, the city became known as "Sancta Irene", the root of the current name "Santarém".

Archeology

Archaeological work in the Alcáçova de Santarém area has identified a

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Architecture of ancient Rome, Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete ...

with a

podium A podium (: podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of a ...

of about 15 by 15 meters, and part of the

cella In Classical architecture, a or naos () is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings: of a hermit's or monk's cell, and (since the 17th century) of a biological cell ...

, dating from the 1st century BC (probably a

Capitolium A ''Capitolium'' (Latin) was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A ''capitolium'' was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the ...

). A

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

and baths from that period were also identified.

References

External links

AS LUCERNAS ROMANAS DE SCALLABIS Vol. I

Image gallery
Roman sites in Portugal Roman towns and cities in Portugal {{AncientRome-stub