Singidunum

About

Singidunum (Serbian: 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 area in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans. Later on, the Roman Republic conquered the area in 75 BC and incorporated it into the province of Moesia. It was an important fort of the Danubian Limes and Roman Legio IV Flavia Felix was garrisoned there since 86 AD. Singidunum was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Jovian. It was sacked by Huns in 441, and by Avars and Slavs in 584. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Singidunum fort was finally destroyed. A large part of Belgrade's downtown belongs to the "Archaeological Site of Singidunum", which was declared a protected zone on 30 June 1964.

Further information: Prehistoric sites in Serbia Scythian and Thracian - Cimmerian tribes traversed the region in 7th and 6th centuries BCE. The Gallic invasion of the Balkans occurred in the 4th and 3rd century BCE. One of the Celtic tribes, the Scordisci, settled around the strategic hilltop at the meeting of the two rivers (modern Danube and Sava ). They are credited with establishing Singidunum, which was mentioned for the first time in 279 BCE as an already fortified settlement.

There is only limited archaeological evidence from the city's foundational period, as there were almost no traces left of the Celtic town, except for some burial sites with grave goods - the necropolises found at the locations in the modern neighborhoods of Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. These contained valuable artistic artefacts that belonged to the warriors of the Scordiscan tribe. Considerable Celtic cultural influence was woven into the spiritual culture of the Singidunum inhabitants, and later mixed with Roman classical cultural elements.

The Celtic fortification was a primitive one, located on top of Terazije ridge, above the confluence of the Sava into the Danube, where Belgrade Fortress still stands today. Celts also lived in small, open and fortified settlements around the fort, called oppida. Although it is not known with certainty where the Celtic fort was, some historians suggest that it was rather close to the necropolises in Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. Celtic settlements belonged to the La Tène culture.

Remains of the Scordisci habitation have also been found in the neighborhoods of Autokomanda, Bežanija, Ada Ciganlija and Ada Huja. Zemun, formerly a separate town and now part of Belgrade, was also founded by the Scordisci at about the same time they founded Singidunum. Evidence of their dwellings was also found in the suburban villages of Boljevci, Mislođin, Jakovo, Barič, Progar and Ritopek.

The name has Celtic dūn(on) "enclosure, fortress" as its second element. For singi- there are several theories including those that it is a Celtic word for circle, though the only word with a similar form recorded in other Celtic languages is Old Irish seng "narrow, slender, good-looking; ant" (Modern Irish and Gaelic seang ), hence "round fort", or that it could be named after the Sings, a Thracian tribe that occupied the area prior to the arrival of the Scordisci.

Herodotus names several tribes which inhabited the area in the 5th century BC: Sighnis, Graukens and Sinds, which, after the linguistic changes in the later Celtic and Roman periods, ultimately gave the name to the settlement. The Sinds were a Scythian tribe of Maeotian ethnicity. Originally inhabiting the area around the Kuban river and the Azov Sea, a branch of the tribe split in the 6th century BC and migrated to the southern parts of the Pannonian Basin, with one group remaining in Transylvania, while the other moved to the modern Belgrade area. The latest archaeological and linguistic researches showed that the Sinds inhabited the region in the 5th and 4th century BC.

Another possibility is that it is a composite name the first part of which (Sin-gi) means "Old prayer" ("sean guí" in modern Irish ), implying that this was originally a site of Celtic religious significance, in addition to becoming a fortress (dun). This would also fit in with the ancient Celtic burial practice remnants there. However, etymologically speaking this is extremely unlikely. The Modern Irish form is sean-ghuí, and is from Old Irish sen-guidi, guidi being from the Common Celtic stem guedyo- "beg, implore, pray". Given the age of the name Singidunum, the expected form would be something like *senogwedyodunom, Latinised as *Senoguediodunum. [ original research? ]

Further information: Prehistoric sites in Serbia Scythian and Thracian - Cimmerian tribes traversed the region in 7th and 6th centuries BCE. The Gallic invasion of the Balkans occurred in the 4th and 3rd century BCE. One of the Celtic tribes, the Scordisci, settled around the strategic hilltop at the meeting of the two rivers (modern Danube and Sava ). They are credited with establishing Singidunum, which was mentioned for the first time in 279 BCE as an already fortified settlement.

There is only limited archaeological evidence from the city's foundational period, as there were almost no traces left of the Celtic town, except for some burial sites with grave goods - the necropolises found at the locations in the modern neighborhoods of Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. These contained valuable artistic artefacts that belonged to the warriors of the Scordiscan tribe. Considerable Celtic cultural influence was woven into the spiritual culture of the Singidunum inhabitants, and later mixed with Roman classical cultural elements.

The Celtic fortification was a primitive one, located on top of Terazije ridge, above the confluence of the Sava into the Danube, where Belgrade Fortress still stands today. Celts also lived in small, open and fortified settlements around the fort, called oppida. Although it is not known with certainty where the Celtic fort was, some historians suggest that it was rather close to the necropolises in Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. Celtic settlements belonged to the La Tène culture.

Remains of the Scordisci habitation have also been found in the neighborhoods of Autokomanda, Bežanija, Ada Ciganlija and Ada Huja. Zemun, formerly a separate town and now part of Belgrade, was also founded by the Scordisci at about the same time they founded Singidunum. Evidence of their dwellings was also found in the suburban villages of Boljevci, Mislođin, Jakovo, Barič, Progar and Ritopek.

The name has Celtic dūn(on) "enclosure, fortress" as its second element. For singi- there are several theories including those that it is a Celtic word for circle, though the only word with a similar form recorded in other Celtic languages is Old Irish seng "narrow, slender, good-looking; ant" (Modern Irish and Gaelic seang ), hence "round fort", or that it could be named after the Sings, a Thracian tribe that occupied the area prior to the arrival of the Scordisci.

Herodotus names several tribes which inhabited the area in the 5th century BC: Sighnis, Graukens and Sinds, which, after the linguistic changes in the later Celtic and Roman periods, ultimately gave the name to the settlement. The Sinds were a Scythian tribe of Maeotian ethnicity. Originally inhabiting the area around the Kuban river and the Azov Sea, a branch of the tribe split in the 6th century BC and migrated to the southern parts of the Pannonian Basin, with one group remaining in Transylvania, while the other moved to the modern Belgrade area. The latest archaeological and linguistic researches showed that the Sinds inhabited the region in the 5th and 4th century BC.

Another possibility is that it is a composite name the first part of which (Sin-gi) means "Old prayer" ("sean guí" in modern Irish ), implying that this was originally a site of Celtic religious significance, in addition to becoming a fortress (dun). This would also fit in with the ancient Celtic burial practice remnants there. However, etymologically speaking this is extremely unlikely. The Modern Irish form is sean-ghuí, and is from Old Irish sen-guidi, guidi being from the Common Celtic stem guedyo- "beg, implore, pray". Given the age of the name Singidunum, the expected form would be something like *senogwedyodunom, Latinised as *Senoguediodunum. [ original research? ]

The Romans first began to conquer lands surrounding Singidun during the 1st century BC. In 75 BC, Gaius "Quintus" Scribonius Curio, the proconsul of Macedonia, invaded the Balkan interior as far as the Danube, in an effort to drive out the Scordisci, Dardanians, Dacians and other tribes. The Romans had victories during these campaigns, but only stayed briefly, leaving the area outside of Roman control. Thus, very little is known about these operations or when the area was organized into the province of Moesia. It wasn't until the rule of Octavian, when Marcus Licinius Crassus, the grandson of the Caesarian Triumvir and then proconsul of Macedonia, finally stabilized the region with a campaign beginning in 29 BC Moesia was formally organized into a province some time before 6 AD, when the first mention of its governor, Caecina Severus, is made. Singidun was Romanized to Singidunum. It became one of the primary settlements of Moesia, situated between Sirmium (modern Sremska Mitrovica ) and Viminacium (modern Kostolac ), both of which overshadowed Singidunum in significance, and just across the Sava River from Taurunum, in Pannonia. Singidunum became an important and strategic position along the Via Militaris, an important Roman road connecting fortresses and settlements along the Danubian limes, or border. It became known as Limes Moesiae.

The original military camp was probably occupied by the soldiers from the Legio VIII Augusta from 46 AD to 69 AD. Early Singidunum reached its height with the arrival of Legio IV Flavia Felix which was transferred to the city in 86 AD and remained there most of the time until the mid 5th century. The presence of Legio IV prompted the construction of a square-shaped castrum (fort), which occupied Upper Town of today's Belgrade Fortress. Construction began at the turn of the 2nd century AD as since the early 100s, Legio IV Flavia Felix became permanently stationed in Singidunum, except for a break between 108 and 118/9 at Bersobis. At first, the fortress was set up as earthen bulwarks and wooden palisades, but soon after, it was fortified with stone as the first stone fort in Belgrade's history. The remains can be seen today near the northeastern corner of the acropolis. The legion also constructed a pontoon bridge over the Sava, connecting Singidunum with Taurunum. Connecting this way Via Militaris with the western parts of the empire, Singidunum became a major crossroad, not only for the local provinces (Moesia, Dacia, Pannonia, Dalmatia). The 6,000-strong legion became a major military asset against the continuous threat of the Dacians just across the Danube. Another step the Romans took to help strengthen Singidunum was the settlement of its legion veterans next to the fortress. In time, a large settlement grew out from around the castrum. The main axis of urban development was along the modern Knez Mihailova Street, which was the main route of communication ( via cardo ).

Hadrian granted Singidunum the rights of municipium, which were confirmed in 169. That means it had a local autonomy, statute and laws. Singidunum outgrew this status and became a full-fledged colony in 239. The Roman Emperor Jovian, who reestablished Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, was born in Singidunum in 332. Jovian is today popularly named as the "only Roman emperor born in Belgrade", and has a street in the neighborhood of Veliki Mokri Lug. Singidunum and Moesia experienced a peaceful period, but that was not to last, due to the growing turmoil not only from outside the Roman Empire, but also from within. When the province of Moesia was divided in two, Singidunum became part of the Moesia Superior, or Upper Moesia.

The city peaked, especially when it comes to culture, in the 3rd century. The Roman Empire began to decline at the end of the 3rd century. The province of Dacia, established by several successful and lengthy campaigns by Trajan, began to collapse under pressure from the invading Goths in 256. By 270, Aurelian, faced with the sudden loss of many provinces and major damage done by invading tribes, abandoned Dacia altogether. Singidunum found itself once again on the limes of the fading Empire, one of the last major strongholds to survive mounting danger from the invading barbarian tribes.

Although continuing to be overshadowed by Sirmium, during the 4th century the city remained an important military outpost. It also became a seat of the bishopric, and was a major center of Arianism until late in the century, with its bishops Ursacius and Secundianus leading local resistance against Nicene Christianity until the First Council of Constantinople in 381.