Aeminium
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Aeminium was the ancient name of the city of
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
, in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The
Romans 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
founded the civitas of Aeminium in this place at the time of
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, which came under the protection of nearby Conimbriga situated some to the south. The Roman city was encircled by a wall, and followed an orthogonal plan, with the
cardo maximus A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street ...
and
decumanus maximus In Roman urban planning, a decumanus was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or castrum (military camp). The main decumanus of a particular city was the Decumanus Maximus, or most often simply "the Decumanus". In the rectangular street g ...
crossing at the
Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...
. An aqueduct existed, the remains of which were incorporated into a latter medieval renovation. Locations for the
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
and amphitheater were also proposed, but still unconfirmed by archeology. A
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...
is documented, but was destroyed in 1778. Also a necropolis was located to the east of the city. The Suebi razed the nearby township of
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 situate ...
in 468. Its inhabitants, who had meanwhile fled to Aeminium, kept the original name of their town. In modern Coimbra there are few remains from ancient Aeminium. The most important is the
cryptoporticus In Ancient Roman architecture a cryptoporticus (from atin''crypta'' and '' porticus'') is a covered corridor or passageway. The usual English is "cryptoportico". The cryptoportico is a semi-subterranean gallery whose vaulting supports portico str ...
, an underground gallery of arched corridors built in the 1st or 2nd century AD to support the
forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...
of the city.
Gaius Sevius Lupus Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius P ...
was probably the architect. During the Middle Ages the bishop's palace, now turned into the
Machado de Castro Museum The National Museum Machado de Castro ( pt, Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro) is an art museum in Coimbra, Portugal, named after the renowned Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Machado de Castro. It first opened in 1913 and its latest renovation (200 ...
, was built over the forum; the cryptoporticus is located under it. The cryptoporticus can be visited through the museum.


See also

*
History of Portugal The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provin ...
* Lusitania *
Roman cities in Portugal The territory that is modern-day Portugal would be Romanized in the sequence of the Second Punic War (3rd century BCE), through the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. The Romans would found cities as well as Romanize some previously existing ...


References

History of Coimbra Roman towns and cities in Portugal {{AncientRome-stub