Apulum
castrum Apulum
Apulum (conurbation) is located in Romania
Apulum (conurbation)
Location within Romania
Alternative name(s)colonia Aurelia Apulensis, municipium Aurelium Apulense, Chrysopolis, Municipium Septimium Apulense, Apulum I, Apulum II
Known also asAlba Iulia; Gyulafehérvár; Karlsburg
Founded during the reign ofTrajan
Founded107 – 108[1]
Abandoned4th century AD
Attested byTabula Peutingeriana
Place in the Roman world
ProvinceDacia
Administrative unitDacia Apulensis
Administrative unitDacia Superior
Directly connected to
Structure
— Stone structure —
Size and area440 m × 430 m (18.9[1] ha)
Stationed military units
— Legions —
Location
Coordinates46°04′04″N 23°34′22″E / 46.0679°N 23.5727°E / 46.0679; 23.5727
Altitude245 m
TownAlba Iulia
CountyAlba
Country Romania
Reference
RO-LMIAB-I-s-A-00002; AB-I-m-A-00001.02[2]
RO-RAN1026.02; 1026.04[2]
Site notes
Recognition National Historical Monument
ConditionRuined
ArchaeologistsB. Csérni

The conurbation of Apulum was a major urban centre of Roman Dacia, nowadays completely covered by the city of Alba Iulia. Two towns developed in the vicinity of the castrum of Apulum: Colonia Aurelia Apulensis, a pagus of Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, located south of the castrum on the bank of Marisus river which was raised to the status of colonia during Commodus(177-192), and Nova Apulensis which developed closer to the castrum and which was also raised to colonia from the time of Septimius Severus(193-211) and named municipium Septimium Apulense in his honour. The conurbation extended over 140 ha in the 3rd century with an estimated population between 15,000 and 20,000. The two towns and the castrum, commonly referred together as Apulum, had numerous temples including a Mithraeum and hosted the residence of the consular governor in charge of the Legio XII Gemina and Legio V Macedonica, making it a de facto centre of Roman Dacia.[5]

Apulum I

Initially a vicus part of Trajan's colony Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, it was upgraded to municipium Aurelium Apulense by Marcus Aurelius. During Emperor Commodus its status was again raised to colonia, and at the beginning of the third century functioned under ius italicum. Partly due to its connection to gold mining, partly as a result of its emulation for and rivalry with Sarmizegetusa which gained the status of metropolis around the same time, it was granted the epithet Chrysopolis meaning "Golden City" under the rule of Trebonianus Gallus.[6][7]

The town was situated on the road going south from the fort and on the bank of Maris river, making it one of the most important trade nodes of the province. From south goods and slaves from the Empire passed through, and from the north salt, gold, and silver from the province's mines. A small harbour also functioned allowing a waterway connection to the rest of the Empire.[8]

Apulum II

The settlement was situated around the castrum of Legio XIII Gemina. Once thought to have developed from the canabae of the legion, the town of Nova Apulensis, initially named municipium Septimium Apulense, was more likely created during Septimius Severus, considering that the legion's houses were located further to the north of the castrum.[9][7]

The town was the site of the Governor's Palace in Dacia - one of the most extensive buildings of its type in the Roman Empire, complete with thermae, cult places, and staff offices and residences.[10]

After 271

In the Aurelian Retreat, the local legion—XIII Gemina—, the elite and probably the merchants suddenly left the conurbation. A remaining part of the population and the emerging barbarian groups inhabited the ex-Roman city only temporarily after 271. With this, the urban culture ceased to exist.[11]

Between the 6th and 9th centuries, the territory where the castrum and Nova Apulensis once laid was repopulated, the initial settlement becoming known as Belgrad. In the construction of the Early Medieval city of Gyulafehérvár, Roman stones were re-used for the first time as the unenduring provincial architecture collapsed naturally even before the Hungarian conquest.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Domșa, Ovidiu (2009). "Virtual reconstruction of Roman military Apulum camp" (PDF). p. 6. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Repertoriul Arheologic Naţional". ran.cimec.ro. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  3. ↑ Constantin C. Petolescu: Dacia – Un mileniu de istorie, Ed. Academiei Române, 2010, ISBN 978-973-27-1999-2
  4. ↑ Academia Română: Istoria Românilor, Vol. 2, Daco-romani, romanici, alogeni, 2nd. Ed., București 2010, ISBN 978-973-45-0610-1
  5. ↑ Szabó, Csaba (2014-09-03). "Discovering the gods in Apulum: historiography and new perspectives". In: Rediva. The Postgraduate Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology Nr. II., 2014, Pp.53-82.
  6. ↑ Byros, Graziela. Reconstructing Identities in Roman Dacia: Evidence from Religion (Thesis). Yale University.
  7. 1 2 Gazdac, Cristian (2009-01-01). APULUM (full text) - numismatic monograph of the largest Roman urban settlement of Dacia.
  8. ↑ Zmudzinski, Mateusz (2015). "An Overall Approach on the Roman Economy of the Province of Upper Dacia". Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology. 2 (2). doi:10.14795/j.v2i2.108. ISSN 2360-266X.
  9. ↑ Byros, Graziela. Reconstructing Identities in Roman Dacia: Evidence from Religion (Thesis). Yale University.
  10. ↑ Rusu-Bolindet, Viorica. "The praetorium consularis from Apulum. A symbol of official power in the province of Dacia". Aquincum Nostrum II 8 2019.
  11. ↑ Szabó, Csaba (2014). "Discovering the gods in Apulum: historiography and new perspectives". ReDIVA. The Postgraduate Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology. Cluj-Napoca. II: 54.
  12. ↑ Szabó, Csaba (2014). "Discovering the gods in Apulum: historiography and new perspectives". ReDIVA. The Postgraduate Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology. Cluj-Napoca. II: 54–55.
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