''Pax Iulia'' (also known as ''Colonia Civitas Pacensis'') was a city in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

of Lusitania (today situated in the Portuguese

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Beja).

History

The region was inhabited during 400 BC by Celtic tribes, but there are indications that Carthaginian settlers occupied the territory, from the writings of 2nd century scholars

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

and

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importan ...

.. In 48 BC, it was renamed ''Pax Iulia'' (referring to the "peace of the ''gens'' Julia") by Julius Caesar following the peace between Rome and the

Lusitani The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania ...

. The settlement became the centre of the ''

conventus iuridicus In Ancient Rome territorial organization, a ''conventus iuridicus'' was the capital city of a subdivision of some provinces (Dalmatia, Hispania, Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either cons ...

Pacensis ''Pax Iulia'' (also known as ''Colonia Civitas Pacensis'') was a city in the Roman province of Lusitania (today situated in the Portugal, Portuguese Concelho, municipality of Beja (Portugal), Beja). History The region was inhabited during 400 BC b ...

, (in the Roman province of Lusitania), since it was located on a strategic roadway junction with connection

Myrtilis Iulia ''Myrtilis Iulia'' was the Roman name given to present day Mértola, Portugal. During Classical Antiquity, Mértola was inhabited by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and finally the Romans, who called it ''Myrtilis Iulia''. The region was inhabited at ...

(a harbor city along the

Guadiana The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the ...

river). Sometime between 31 and 27 BC, during the reign of the emperor

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 ...

, the city was granted the status of ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

'' following the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ne ...

, and the colonists ascribed to the ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

Galeria''. It was at this time that a new designation began to appear: ''Pax Augusta'' (referring to the ''peace of Augustus'') as mentioned by Strabo.

20th century

Archaeologic excavations during the 20th century uncovered the remains of a large Roman temple, , dating to the first century AD located within the settlement's forum, with several inscriptions, Roman arches, fortifications and an aqueduct. Possible locations for the

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, 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 p ...

and amphitheater were deduced from the urban layout. File:Arco Romano.jpg, Roman arch from Beja File:Beja46.jpg, Roman oil lamps; Rainha D. Leonor Museum File:Beja50.jpg,

Terra sigillata Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red Ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface Slip (ceramics), slips made in sp ...

(ceramic ware made of porous clay fired at low heat); Rainha D. Leonor Museum File:Barragem romana N S Represa.JPG,

Roman dam This is a list of Roman dams and reservoirs. The study of Roman dam-building has received little scholarly attention in comparison to their other civil engineering activities, even though their contributions in this field have been ranked alo ...

, Cuba Municipality, Beja File:São Cucufate.jpg, Roman Ruins of São Cucufate, municipality of Vidigueira

References

Notes

Roman sites in Portugal Roman towns and cities in Portugal Beja, Portugal {{AncientRome-stub