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EGIDA (Ancient city) ITALY
Aegida, a town of Istria, mentioned only by Pliny iii. 19. s. 23),
which appears to have been in his time a place of little importance; but from
an inscription cited by Cluverius (Ital. p. 210) it appears that it was restored
by the emperor Justin II. who bestowed on it the name of Justinopolis. This inscription
is preserved at Capo d'Istria, now a considerable town, situated on a small island
joined to the mainland by a causeway, which appears to have been termed Aegidis
Insula, and was probably the site of the Aegida of Pliny.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
FAROS (Ancient city) CROATIA
Pharos (Pharos, Ephorus, ap. Steph. B., Fr. 151; Scyl. p. 8; Scymn.
p. 427; Diodor. xv. 13; Strab. vii. p. 315), an island off the coast of Illyricum,
which was colonised by Greek settlers from Paros, who, in the first instance,
gave it the name of their own island, which was afterwards changed to Pharos.
In this settlement, which took place B.C. 385, they were assisted by the elder
Dionysius. When the Romans declared war against the Illyrians B.C. 229, Demetrius,
a Greek of Pharos, betrayed his mistress, Queen Teuta, for which he was rewarded
with the greater part of her dominions. (Polyb. ii. 11.) The traitor, relying
on his connection with the court of Macedon, set the Romans at defiance ; he soon
brought the vengeance of the republic upon himself and his native island, which
was taken by L. Aemilius in B.C. 219. (Polyb. iii. 16 ; Zonar. viii. 20.) Pliny
(iii. 30) and Ptolemy (ii. 17. § 14) speak of the island and city under the same
name, Pharia (Pharia), and Polybius says the latter was strongly fortified. The
city, the ancient capital, stood at Stari Grad or Citta Vecchia, to the N. of
the island, where remains of walls have been found, and coins with the legend
Pharion. After the fall of the Roman Empire the island continued for a long time
in the hands of the Narentine pirates. Its Slavonic name is Hvar, a corruption
of Pharos; and in Italian it is called Lesina or Liesina. For coins of Pharos
see Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 160; Sestini, Monet. Vet. p. 42; Mionnet, vol. ii. p.
46. (Wilkinson, Dalmatia, vol. i. pp. 243-251; Neigebaur, Die Sud-Slaven, pp.
107-111.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ISTRIA (Region) CROATIA
Istria or Histria, was the name given by the Greeks and Romans to
the country which still bears the same appellation, and forms a peninsula of somewhat
triangular form near the head of the Adriatic sea, running out from the coast
of Liburnia, between Tergeste (Trieste) and the Sinus Flanaticus, or Gulf of Quarnero.
It is about 50 G. miles in length, and 35 in breadth, while the isthmus or strip
of land between the. two gulfs of Trieste and Quarnero, by which it is united
to the mainland, is about 27 G. miles across. The name is derived both by Greek
and Latin authors from the fabulous notion entertained at a very early period
that one branch or arm of the Danube (the Ister of the Greeks) flowed into the
Adriatic sea near its head. (Strab. i. p. 57; Plin. iii. 18. s. 22.) The deep
inlets and narrow channels with which the coasts of the Adriatic are intersected
for a considerable distance below the peninsula of Istria may have contributed
to favour this notion so long as those coasts were imperfectly known; and hence
we cannot wonder at Scylax speaking of a river named Istrus (which he identifies
with the Danube) as flowing through the land of the Istrians (Scyl. p. 6. § 20);
but it seems incredible that an author like Mela, writing in the days of Augustus,
should not only speak of a river Ister as flowing into this part of the Adriatic,
but should assert that its waters entered that sea with a turbulence and force
similar to those of the Padus. (Mel. ii. 3. § 13, 4. § 4.) In point of fact, there
is no river of any magnitude flowing into the upper part of the Adriatic on its
eastern, shore which could afford even the slightest countenance to such a notion;
the rivers in the peninsula of Istria itself are very trifling streams, and the
dry, calcareous ridges which hem in the E. shore of the Adriatic, all the way
from Trieste to the southern extremity of Dalmatia, do not admit either of the
formation or the outlet of any considerable body of water. It is scarcely possible
to account for the origin of such a fable; but if the inhabitants of Istria were
really called Istri (Istroi), as their native name, which is at least highly probable,
this circumstance may have first led the Greeks to assume their connection with
the great river Ister, and the existence of a considerable amount of traffic up
the valley of the Savus, and from thence by land across the Julian Alps, or Mount
Ocra, to the head of the Adriatic (Strab. vii. p. 314), would tend to perpetuate
such a notion.
The Istrians are generally considered as a tribe of Illyrian race
(Appian, Illyr. 8; Strab. vii. p. 314; Zeuss, Die Deutschen, p. 253), and the
fact that they were immediately surrounded by other Illyrian tribes is in itself
a strong argument in favour of this view. Scymnus Chius alone calls them a Thracian
tribe, but on what authority we know not. (Scymn. Ch. 398.) They first appear
in history as taking part with the other Illyrians in their piratical expeditions,
and Livy ascribes to them this character as early as B.C. 301 (Liv. x. 2); but
the first occasion on which they are distinctly mentioned as joining in these
enterprises is just before the Second Punic War. They were, however, severely
punished; the Roman consuls M. Minucius Rufus and P. Cornelius were sent against
them, and they were reduced to complete submission. (Eutrop. iii. 7; Oros. iv.
13; Zonar. viii. 20; Appian, Illyr. 8.) The next mention of them occurs in B.C.
183, when the consul M. Claudius Marcellus, after a successful campaign against
the Gauls, asked and obtained permission to lead his legions into Istria. (Liv.
xxxix. 55.) It does not, however, appear that this invasion produced any considerable
result; but their piratical expeditions, together with the opposition offered
by them to the foundation of the Roman colony of Aquileia, soon became the pretext
of a fresh attack. (Id. xl. 18, 26, xli. 1.) In B.C. 178 the consul A. Manlius
invaded Istria with two legions; and though he at first sustained a disaster,
and narrowly escaped the capture of his camp, he recovered his position before
the arrival of his colleague, M. Junius, who had been sent to his support. The
two consuls now attacked and defeated the Istrians; and their successor, C. Claudius,
following up this advantage, took in succession the towns of Nesactium, Mutila,
and Faveria, and reduced the whole people to submission. For this success he was
rewarded with a triumph, B.C. 177. (Liv. xli. 1-5, 8-13; Flor. ii. 10.) The subjection
of the Istrians on this occasion seems to have been real and complete; for, though
a few years after we find them joining the Carni and Iapydes in complaining of
the exactions of C. Cassius (Liv. xliii. 5), we hear of no subsequent revolts,
and the district appears to have continued tranquil under the Roman yoke, until
it was incorporated by Augustus, together with Venetia and the land of the Carni,
as a portion of Italy. (Strab. v. p. 215; Plin. iii. 19. s. 23.) It continued
thenceforth to be always included under that name, though geographically connected
much more closely with Dalmatia and Illyricum. Hence we find, in the Notitia Dignitatum,
the Consularis Venetiae et Histriae placed under the jurisdiction of the Vicarius
Italiae. (Not. Dign. ii. pp. 5, 65.)
The natural limits of Istria are clearly marked by those of the peninsula
of which it consists, or by a line drawn across from the Gulf of Trieste to that
of Quarnero, near Fiume; but the political boundary was fixed by Augustus, when
he included Istria in Italy, at the river Arsia or Arsa, which falls into the
Gulf of Quarfero about 15 miles from the southern extremity of the peninsula.
This river has its sources in the group of mountains of which the Monte Maggiore
forms the highest point, and which constitutes the heart or nucleus of the peninsula,
from which there radiate ranges of great calcareous hills, gradually declining
as they approach the western coast, so that the shore of Istria along the Adriatic,
though hilly and rocky, is not of any considerable elevation, or picturesque in
character. But the calcareous rocks of which it is composed are indented by deep
inlets, forming excellent harbours; of these, the beautiful land-locked basin
of Pola is particularly remarkable, and was noted in ancient as well as modern
times. The northern point of Istria was fixed by Augustus at the river Formio,
a small stream falling into the Gulf of Trieste between that city and Capo d'Istria.
Pliny expressly excludes Tergeste from Istria; but Ptolemy extends the limits
of that province so as to include both the river Formio and Tergeste (Ptol. iii.
1. § 27); and Strabo also appears to consider the Timavus as constituting the
boundary of Istria (Strab. v. p. 215), though he elsewhere calls Tergeste a village
of the Carni (vii. p. 314). Pliny, however, repeatedly alludes to the Formio as
having constituted the boundary of Italy before that name was officially extended
so as to include Istria also, and there can be no doubt of the correctness of
his statement. Istria is not a country of any great natural fertility ; but its
calcareous rocky soil was well adapted for the growth of olives, and its oil was
reckoned by Pliny inferior only to that of Venafrum. (Plin. xv. 2. s. 3.) In the
later ages of the Roman empire, when the seat of government was fixed at Ravenna,
Istria became of increased importance, from its facility of communication by sea
with that capital, and furnished considerable quantities of corn, as well as wine
and oil. (Cassiod. Varr. xii. 23, 24.) This was probably the most flourishing
period of its history. It was subsequently ravaged in succession by the Lombards,
Avars, and Sclavi (P. Diac. iv. 25, 42), but appears to have continued permanently
subject to the Lombard kingdom of Italy, until its destruction in A.D. 774.
The towns in Istria mentioned by ancient writers are not numerous.
Much the most important was Pola, near the extreme southern promontory of the
peninsula, which became a Roman colony under Augustus. Proceeding along the coast
from Tergeste to Pola, were Aegida (Capo d'Istria), subsequently called Justinopolis,
and Parentium (Parenzo); while on the E. coast, near the mouth of the river Arsia,
was situated Nesactium already noticed by Livy among the towns of the independent
Istrians. The two other towns, Mutila and Faveria, mentioned by him in the same
passage (xli. 11), are otherwise unknown, and cannot be identified. Ptolemy also
mentions three towns, which he places in the interior of the country, and names
Pucinum, Piquentum (Pikouenton), and Alvum or Alvon (Alouon). Of these, Piquentum
may be probably identified with Pinguente, a considerable place in the heart of
the mountain district of the interior; and Alvon with Albona (called Alvona in
the Tabula), which is, however, E. of the Arsa, and therefore not strictly within
the Roman province of Istria. In like manner tie Pucinum of Ptolemy is evidently
the same place with the castellum, nobile vine, Pucinum of Pliny (vii. 18. s.
22), which the latter places in the territory of the Carni, between the Timavus
aid Tergeste, and was perhaps the same with the modern Duino. Ningum, a place
mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary (p. 271) between Tergeste and Parentium, cannot
be determined with any certainty. The Tabula also gives two names in the NW. part
of the peninsula, Quaeri and Silvo (Silvum), both of which are wholly unknown.
The same authority marks three small islands off the coast of Istria, to which
it gives the names of Sepomana, Orsaria, and Pullaria: the last is mentioned also
by Pliny (iii. 26. s. 30), and is probably the rocky island, or rather group of
islets, off the harbour of Pola, now known as Li Brioni. The other two cannot
be identified, any more than the Cissa of Pliny (l. c.): the Absyrtides of the
same author are the larger islands in the Golfo di Quarnero, which belong rather
to Liburnia than to Istria.
The extreme southern promontory of Istria, now called Punta di Promontore,
seems to have been known in ancient times as the Promontorium Polaticum (akroterion
Polatikon, Steph; B. s. v. Pola). Immediately adjoining it is a deep bay or harbour,
now known as the Golfo di Medolino, which must be the Portus Planaticus (probably
a corruption of Flanaticus) of the Tabula.
The Geographer of Ravenna, writing in the seventh century, but from
earlier authorities, mentions the names of many towns in Istria unnoticed by earlier
geographers, but which may probably have grown up under the Roman empire. Among
these are Humago, still called Umago, Neapolis (Cittia Nuova), Ruvignio (Rovigno),
and Piranon (Pirano), all of them situated on the W. coast, with good ports, and
which would naturally become places of some trade during the flourishing period
of Istria above alluded to. (Anon. Ravenn. iv. 30, 31.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
FAROS (Ancient city) CROATIA
Situated in the deep, elongated bay on the longest Adriatic island,
Pharos was founded by Ionian Greeks from Paros in 385 B.C. They were helped by
Dionysios the Elder of Syracuse. It is the only Ionic settlement in the Adriatic,
the others being Doric. Not long after its foundation, native Illyrians with help
from the mainland attacked the settlers but were defeated by the fleet of Dionysios'
governor from Issa (Diod. 15.13.1). It is the first recorded naval battle in what
is now the Croatian part of the Adriatic. In the Illyro-Roman wars in 229 and
219 B.C. Pharos was the stronghold of Demetrius of Pharos, commander of the Illyrian
army, and the husband of their queen, Teuta. When the Romans captured and destroyed
the town in 219 B.C., Demetrius escaped to Macedonia. The town was rebuilt but
lost its autonomy; and after the founding of the colony at Salona, it was administered
as its praefectura. The fertile valley E of town was centuriated and settled by
veterans.
During its period of autonomy Pharos was the only known Greek foundation
in the Adriatic to mint coins that included silver pieces. The inscriptions confirm
the relations of the polis of Pharos with its metropolis on Paros. The cyclopean
parts of the city walls are still preserved. From the Roman period are fine mosaics
covered by modern streets. In the environs of the city are remains of several
villae rusticae.
The finds, mainly the inscriptions and coins, are preserved in the
archaeological museums at Zagreb and Split and in the local collection in the
Domenican Monastery at Stan Grad.
M. Zaninovic, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
VINKOVCI (Town) CROATIA
Cibalae (Vinkovci) Croatia. On the river Bosut a significant prehistoric site, first mentioned as a municipium (CIL III, 3267), probably in Hadrian's time, then as colonia Aurelia Cibalae (CIL III, 14038, Peecs), perhaps in the Severan period. The walls surrounded an area 860 by 650 m. It was situated at the intersection of roads leading to Sirmium, to Siscia, and to Mursa-Aquincum. Here Licinius was defeated by Constantine in 314. Presumably the town was the seat of a bishop. It existed to the beginning of the 6th c.
Recent excavations have uncovered remains of aqueducts and sewers, houses
with hypocausts, lead water mains, mosaics and marble paneling. Kilns have yielded
some knowledge on domestic production of pottery and oil lamps. The finds can
be seen in the local museum and in the Archaeological Museum at Zagreb.
D. Pinterovic, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Dec 2005 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
KVARNER & HIGHLANDS (Region) CROATIA
MOSCENICKA DRAGA (Village) CROATIA
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