Tibiscum (castra) on:
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Tibiscum (''Tibisco'', ''Tibiscus'', ''Tibiskon'') was a Dacian town mentioned by 
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
, later a Roman fort
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
and municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) 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 privileges ...
. The ruins of the ancient settlement are located in Jupa, near Caransebeș
Caransebeș (; ; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. One village, Jupa (), is administered by the city.
The city is located at the confluence of the Timiș River with ...
, Caraș-Severin County
Caraș-Severin () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița ...
, Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. The Roman settlement here was one of the most important vestiges of classical antiquity in Banat
Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...
.
Located at the junction of two of the most important imperial roads that connected the capital Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa
Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa was the Capital (political), capital, the first, and largest city of Roman Dacia, named after ''Sarmizegetusa Regia, Sarmizegetusa'' the former Dacian capital, located some 30 km away. It was foun ...
with Dierna and Lederata, the city and the fort developed due to the fertile plain of the Timiş river and the commercial and strategic position occupied.
The remains of important buildings and workshops from the Roman fort and from the Roman civil settlement of Tibiscum are visible.
History
By the end ofTrajan's First Dacian War
Trajan's First Dacian War took place from 101 to 102.
The Kingdom of Dacia, under King Decebalus, had become a threat to the Roman Empire, and defeated several of Rome's armies during Domitian's reign (81–96). Despite the peace treaty esta ...
in 103 AD a detachment from a Roman unit, probably Legio IV Flavia Felix, had built here a castellum
A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually:
* a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of (' military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It is distinct from a , which ...
of approx. 60 x 60 m of earth and wood. This fort was destroyed in a violent fire very possibly when Longinus
Longinus (Greek: Λογγίνος) is the name of the Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a lance, who in apostolic and some modern Christian traditions is described as a convert to Christianity. His name first appeared in the apoc ...
was taken prisoner by the Dacians.
By the end of Trajan's Second Dacian War
Trajan's Second Dacian War was fought between 105 and 106 because the Dacian king, Decebalus, had broken his peace terms with the Roman Emperor Trajan from the Trajan's First Dacian War.
Before the War
Following his subjugation, Decebalus comp ...
, another castellum of earth and wood measuring 101 x 100 m, was erected on the site of the first castellum by Cohors I Sagittariorum which remained its garrison during the reign of Trajan. This auxiliary unit was composed at that time of 500 Syrian infantry who, towards the end of the second century AD increased to 1000.
Under Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
the walls were rebuilt in stone and an irregular unit, the ''Numerus Palmarenorum'', Syrian archers from Palmyra, was also stationed here. Later in the 2nd century AD under Antoninus Pius
Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...
an irregular unit of cavalry spearmen ''Numerus Maurorum'' was also garrisoned and an extension to the west and south of the fort was made to house the three auxiliary cohorts.
At the beginning of the 160s AD the fort was enlarged to 250 x 175 m with a slightly trapezoidal shape when Cohors I Vindelicorum milliaria eq. c.R., an auxiliary unit of 1000 soldiers of Celto-German origin, became the garrison.
The city was raised to municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) 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 privileges ...
under Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...
.
The site's building materials (spolia) were extensively reused starting from the tenth century.
The city is considered to have been like Divisiskos or Dibisskos, a subordinate location of the Archbishopric of Ohrid
The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid
*T. Kamusella in The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe, Springer, 2008, p. 276
*Aisling Lyon, Decentralisation and the Management of Ethni ...
mentioned in 1018.
See also
* Dacian davae *List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia
This is a list of ancient cities, towns, villages, and fortresses in and around Thrace and Dacia. A number of these settlements were Thracian and Dacians, Dacian, but some were Celtic, Ancient Greece, Greek, Roman Empire, Roman, Paeonian, or Per ...
* List of castra
Castra (Latin, singular castrum) were military forts of various sizes used by the Roman army throughout the Empire in Europe, Asia and Africa.
The largest castra were permanent legionary fortresses.
Locations
The disposition of the castra refl ...
References
Sources
* * * * {{Authority control Dacian towns Ruins in Romania Historic monuments in Caraș-Severin County Roman auxiliary forts in Romania