Sirmium was a city in 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 ...

province of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

, located on the

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

river, on the site of modern

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

in the Vojvodina autonomous province of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

and

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

, it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) 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 ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Pannonia Inferior Pannonia Inferior, lit. Lower Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sirmium. It was one of the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pannonia ...

. In 293 AD, Sirmium was proclaimed one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire. It was also the capital of the

Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (; , also termed simply the prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Later Roman Empire, Late Roman Empire was divided. The administrative centre of the prefecture wa ...

and of

Pannonia Secunda Pannonia Secunda was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in 296 AD, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. The capital of the province was Sirmium (today Sremska Mitrovica). Pannonia Secunda comprised parts of present-day Serb ...

. The site is protected as an archaeological Site of Exceptional Importance. The modern region of

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

(Srem or Srijem) was named after the city. Sirmium purportedly had 100,000 inhabitants and was one of the largest cities of its time.

Colin McEvedy Colin Peter McEvedy (6 June 1930 – 1 August 2005) was a British polymath scholar, psychiatrist, historian, demographer and non-fiction author. Early life Colin Peter McEvedy was born in Salford, Lancashire on 6 June 1930. He was the third ...

, whose estimates for ancient cities are much lower than the general consensus, put the population at only 7,000, based on the size of the archaeological site. The amount of grain imported between 1 AD and 400 AD was enough to feed 700,000 to 1 million people.

History

Remains of Sirmium stand on the site of the modern-day

, west of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(Roman

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Сингидунум, Singidunum) was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celtic origin, going back to the time when the Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the a ...

). It was located west of

Bassianae Bassianae or Bassiana ( Serbian: ''Basijana'' or Басијана) was an important ancient Roman town in Pannonia (today Syrmia region in Vojvodina province, Serbia). It was located near present-day Donji Petrovci, a village in the Ruma municipa ...

and of

Viminacium Viminacium (also ''Viminatium)'' was a major city, military camp, and the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman province of Moesia (modern-day Serbia). Following the division of Moesia in 87, following Domitian's Domitian's Dacian War, Dacian War, i ...

, southwest of

Cusum In statistical process control, statistical quality control, the CUSUM (or cumulative sum control chart) is a sequential analysis technique developed by E. S. Page of the University of Cambridge. It is typically used for monitoring change detecti ...

, southeast of

Cuccium Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on the Fruška Gora hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbia ...

and southwest of

Cibalae Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

. Archaeologists have found traces of organized human life on the site of Sirmium dating from 5,000;BC. The city was first mentioned in the 4th century BC and was originally inhabited by the

and

(by the Pannonian-Illyrian Amantini and the Celtic

Scordisci The Scordisci (; ) were an Iron Age cultural group who emerged after the Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe, and who were centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morav ...

). The

Triballi The Triballi (, ) were an ancient people who lived in northern Bulgaria in the region of Roman Oescus up to southeastern Serbia, possibly near the territory of the Morava Valley in the late Iron Age. The Triballi lived between Thracians to the ...

king

Syrmus Syrmus or Syrmos (also ''Syrmios'', Ancient Greek: Σύρμος) was a king of the West Thracian Triballi tribe during the 330s BC. He is mentioned by Arrian, Strabo and Plutarch. After the death of his father, Philip II, Alexander the Great pa ...

was later considered the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous founder of Sirmium, but the roots are different, and the two words only became conflated later. The name Sirmium by itself means "flow, flowing water, wetland", referring to its close river position on the nearby

. With the Celtic tribe of

as allies, the Roman

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

Marcus Vinicius took Sirmium in around 14 BC. In the 1st century AD, Sirmium gained the status of a Roman colony, and became an important military and strategic center of the

province. The Roman emperors

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

, and

Claudius II Marcus Aurelius Claudius "Gothicus" (10 May 214 – August/September 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Batt ...

prepared war expeditions in Sirmium. In 103, Pannonia was split into two provinces:

Pannonia Superior Pannonia Superior () was a Roman province created from the division of Pannonia in 103 AD, its capital in Carnuntum. It overlapped in territory with modern-day Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia. History It was as governor of the ...

and

; Sirmium became the capital city of the latter. In 296,

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

reorganized Pannonia into four provinces:

Pannonia Prima Pannonia Prima was an ancient Roman province. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Previously, it was a part of the province of Pannonia Superior, which, along with Pannonia Inferior, was gradually divided into ...

Pannonia Valeria The Pannonia Valeria or simply Valeria, also known as Pannonia Ripensis, was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian, in a division of Pannonia Inferior. The capital of the ...

Pannonia Savia Pannonia Savia or simply Savia, also known as Pannonia Ripariensis, was a Late Roman province. It was formed in the year 295, during the Tetrarchy reform of Roman emperor Diocletian, and assigned to the civil diocese of Pannonia, which was attac ...

and

, with Sirmium becoming the capital of Pannonia Secunda. He joined them with

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

to establish the

Diocese of Pannonia In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, with Sirmium as its capital also. In 293, with the establishment of the

Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. I ...

, the Roman Empire was split into four parts; Sirmium emerged as one of the four capital cities (along with

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy. The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...

, and

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; , ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletian who rul ...

), and was the capital of emperor

Galerius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (; Greek: Γαλέριος; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. He participated in the system of government later known as the Tetrarchy, first acting as '' caesar'' under Emperor Diocletian. In th ...

. With the establishment of

Praetorian prefecture The praetorian prefecture (; in Ancient Greek, Greek variously named ) was the largest administrative division of the Late Antiquity, late Roman Empire, above the mid-level Roman diocese, dioceses and the low-level Roman province, provinces. Praeto ...

s 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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

assuming the name of

Diocese of Illyricum In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. The eastern part of Illyricum remained a separate prefecture under the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire with its new capital in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

. The city also had an imperial palace, a horse-racing arena, a

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

, an arena theatre, and a theatre, as well as many workshops, public baths, temples, public palaces, and luxury villas. Ancient historian

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

called it "the glorious mother of cities". The mint in Sirmium was connected with the mint in

Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western ...

and silver mines in the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern Europe, Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia ...

through the

Via Argentaria The Via Argentaria (Latin for the "Silver Way") was a Roman and medieval trade route through the Dinaric Alps. It was named after the Roman silver that was transported between the mint in Salona, the silver mines east of Ilidža and in Srebrenica, a ...

. At the end of the 4th century, Sirmium came under the sway of the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

, and later, was again annexed to the East Roman Empire. In 441 the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

conquered Sirmium; for more than a century it was held by various other tribes, such as the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

and

Gepids The Gepids (; ) were an East Germanic tribes, East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary, and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava, and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion and language of the G ...

. In 504, Ostrogothic Count Pitzas under

Theoderic the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...

took Sirmium. For a short time, Sirmium was the center of the Kingdom of the Gepids, and king

Cunimund Cunimund (died 567) was the last king of the Gepids, falling in the Lombard–Gepid War (567) against the Lombards and Pannonian Avars. War with the Lombards Background The Gepids had held the important city of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, Se ...

() minted gold coins there. After 567, Sirmium was returned to the East Roman Empire. The

Pannonian Avars The Pannonian Avars ( ) were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in the chronicles of the Rus' people, Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai (), or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine Empi ...

conquered and destroyed the city in 582. The city was also the location of the

Battle of Sirmium The Battle of Sirmium, Battle of Semlin or Battle of Zemun () was fought on July 8, 1167 between the Byzantine Empire, and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Byzantines achieved a decisive victory, forcing the Hungarians to sue for peace on Byzantine te ...

that took place in 1167, where a Roman army dispatched by

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

decisively defeated the forces of Hungary, turning the latter into a satellite state.

Roman emperors

Ten Roman emperors were born in this city or in its surroundings:

Herennius Etruscus Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius (died c. June 251), known simply as Herennius Etruscus, was briefly Roman emperor in 251, ruling jointly under his father Decius. His father was proclaimed emperor by his troops in September 249 while ...

(251),

Hostilian Hostilian (; died July 251) was briefly Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born to Decius and Herennia Etruscilla at an unknown date and elevated to ''caesar'' in 250 by Decius. After Decius and Herennius Etruscus, Hostilian's brother, we ...

(251),

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...

(249–251),

(268–270),

Quintillus Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus (died 270) was a short-lived Roman emperor. He took power after the death of his brother, Emperor Claudius Gothicus, in 270 CE. After reigning for a few weeks Quintillus was overthrown by Aurelian, who had be ...

(270),

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

(270–275),

Probus Probus may refer to: People * Marcus Valerius Probus (c. 20/30–105 AD), Roman grammarian * Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228 * Probus (emperor), Roman Emperor (276–282) * Probus of Byzantium (–306), Bishop of Byzantium from 293 t ...

(276–282),

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

(285–310),

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

(337–361), and

Gratian Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

(367–383). The last emperor of the united Roman Empire,

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

(378–395), became emperor in Sirmium. The usurpers

Ingenuus Ingenuus was a Roman military commander, the imperial legate in Pannonia, who became a usurper to the throne of the emperor Gallienus when he led a brief and unsuccessful revolt in the year 260. Appointed by Gallienus himself, Ingenuus served ...

and

Regalianus P. C. Regalianus (died 260/261), known in English as Regalian, was Roman usurper for a few months in 260 and/or 261, during the Crisis of the Third Century, a period of intense political instability in the Roman Empire. Regalian was acclaimed emp ...

also declared themselves emperors in this city (in 260) and many other Roman emperors spent some time in Sirmium, including

, who might have written parts of his famous work ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161–180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Composition Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' i ...

'' in the city. According to

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

Sirmium was also the site of the death of Marcus Aurelius, of smallpox, in March of 180 CE, although the historian

Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor ( 320 – 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a now-lost monumental history of imperial Rome covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. Under the emperor Julian (361 ...

recounts that Marcus Aurelius died in

Vindobona Vindobona (; from Gaulish ''windo-'' "white" and ''bona'' "base/bottom") was a Roman military camp (or ) in the province of Pannonia, located on the site of the modern city of Vienna in Austria. The settlement area took on a new name in the 13 ...

(province of

, modern

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Christian bishopric

The city had a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

community by the third century. By the end of the century, it had a bishop, who was probably the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of all the Pannonian bishops. The first known bishop was

Irenaeus Irenaeus ( or ; ; ) was a Greeks, Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christianity, Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by oppos ...

, 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
''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 The First Synod of Tyre or the Council of Tyre (335 AD) was a gathering of bishops called together at Tyre by Emperor Constantine I for the primary purpose of evaluating charges brought against Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria, who was de ...

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.

Archeological findings

At Glac near Sirmium a palace is being excavated, 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

and according to

built on the place where his parents worked as laborers on the estate. 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. Sirmium had two bridges that bridged the river Sava, Ad Basanti, and Artemida's bridges according to historical sources. 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. During work on the new Sremska Mitrovica trade center in 1972, a worker accidentally broke into an old

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

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 Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

, ''Aurelius'' in Latin). Sirmium also had a Roman

Hippodrome Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...

. 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 Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

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.

Famous residents

List of emperors

(161–180), used Sirmium as a residence in between Pannonian military campaigns (170–180) * Maximinus (235–238), ruled from residence in Sirmium *

(249–251), lived in Sirmium, where his two sons were born *

(251), born in Sirmium *

(260), proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium *

(268–270), born in Sirmium and spent most of his life there *

(270), born in Sirmium *

(270–275), born in Sirmium and also proclaimed emperor there *

(276–282), born in Sirmium *

(285–310), born near Sirmium *

(305–311), ruled as Caesar from Sirmium (293–296) *

Crispus Flavius Julius Crispus (; 300 – 326) was the eldest son of the Roman emperor Constantine I, as well as his junior colleague ( ''caesar'') from March 317 until his execution by his father in 326. The grandson of the ''augustus'' Constantius ...

, proclaimed Caesar in Sirmium in 317 * Constantine II, proclaimed Caesar in Sirmium in 317 *

Vetranio Vetranio (died ) was briefly an imperial usurper and emperor in the Roman Empire in 350, during which time he controlled Illyricum between the rival emperors Magnus Magnentius and Constantius II, eventually capitulating to the latter. Life ...

, proclaimed himself emperor in Sirmium in 350 *

(337–361), born in Sirmium *

(367–383), born in Sirmium *

Theodosius I the Great Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene ...

(378–395), became emperor in Sirmium

List of prefects

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Λικίνιος; c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign, he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that ...

, 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 Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor ( 320 – 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a now-lost monumental history of imperial Rome covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. Under the emperor Julian (361 ...

, prefect of the Pannonia Secunda province (369), and author of a ''History of Rome'' until the reign of Julian *

Leontius Leontius (; died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor. He was given the title of ''patrikios'', and made ''strategos'' of the Anatolic T ...

, prefect in Sirmium (426)

List of bishops

(died 304) * Domnus (deposed c. 335), attended the First Council of Nicaea * Eutherius (fl. 347) *

Photinus Photinus (Greek: Φωτεινός; died 376) was a Christian bishop of Sirmium in Pannonia Secunda (today the town Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia), best known for denying the incarnation of Christ, thus being considered a heresiarch by both the Ca ...

(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)

List of saints

Anastasia of Sirmium Saint Anastasia (died December 25, 304 AD) is a Christian saint and Christian martyr, martyr who died at Sirmium in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda (modern Serbia). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, she is venerated as ''St. Anastasia the P ...

Fausta of Sirmium Fausta, was the mother of St. Anastasia of Sirmium. Fausta was a model mother having had the virtue raising a saintly daughter. Fausta is one of the 140 Colonnade saints which adorn St. Peter's Square. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Fausta Of S ...

References

Sources

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External links

Imperial Palace

Sirmium Imperial Palace
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Ancient Sirmium
on

The Land of the Golden helmets (In Serbian)
Documentary film
Roman Sirmium and Panonia (In Serbian)
Documentary film
Southern Pannonia during the age of the Great Migrations
{{Authority control Sirmium Illyrian Serbia Populated places in Pannonia Historic sites in Serbia Populated places established in the 5th century BC Populated places disestablished in the 7th century