T he road of Roman em- perors through Serbia recounts for tourists the story of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the extremely impor- tant period of the Eastern Empire when its capital was Sirmium. Parts of these traces of power and luxu- ry are still visible today at archae- ological sites, on the road where emperors passed, bathed in swim- ming pools with magnificent mo- saics, constructed bridges and pal- aces, minted coins etc. The wealth of Roman herit- age on the territory of Serbia, and
SERBIA IN ANTIQUITY Traverse the roads of Roman emperors From Sirmium in the north to Justiniana Prima in the south, Serbia has as many as seven exceptional locations that stand as testimony to the most powerful state of the time and the grand total of 17 emperors who were born on Serbian soil
the fact that as many as 17 Roman emperors are presumed to have been born or lived in this area, is impressive enough. And when you add to that the magnificent archaeological sites that they left behind, it is clear why you should follow in their footsteps. On that journey through history you will tour Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovi- ca), Viminacium (Kostolac), Tra- ian’s tablet and bridge (Đerdap), Diana (Kladovo), Felix Romuliana (Zaječar), Mediana (Niš) and Jus- tiniana Prima (Lebane)… But let’s set off one at a time… VIA TRAIANA Đerdap is exceptional precisely be- cause you can see a past dating back millennia, all the way to Lepenski vir, in a relatively short stretch of land. In order to prepare for war against the Dacians at the beginning of the 2 nd century, Roman emperor Trajan carved a steep road along the course of the river Danube. This mighty river was a natural route for trav- el during the time of the Roman emperors, but also represented an important natural obstacle in the stretch passing through the Đerdap Gorge. This is why a border with a system of for- tresses was built along the Dan- ube to protect the Empire from barbarian incursions. The larg- est of these fortifications are Diana and Pontes. The mag- nificence of the architectural prowess of the ancient Romans was demonstrated with the con- struction of a bridge over the Dan- ube. This endeavour is depicted on Trajan’s Column in Rome, while the famous Trajan’s Plaque, a monumen- tal inscription about the construc- tion of the road to Dacia, can only be seen by today’s visitors from the river.
Trajanov put Đerdap je izuzetan upravo po tome što se na relativno malom prostoru vi- di milenijumska prošlost, još od Le- penskog vira. Kako bi se pripremio za rat protiv Dačana, rimski car Trajan je početkom 2. veka isklesao strm put duž obale reke Dunav. Ova moćna re- ka u doba rimskih careva bila je pri- rodni put ali i, kroz Đerdapsku klisuru, važna prirodna prepreka. Zbog toga je na Dunavu izgrađena granica sa si- stemom tvrđava koja je štitila carstvo od upada varvara. Dijana i Pontes naj- veća su među ovim utvrđenjima. Ve- ličinu graditeljske veštine starih Ri-
Uz tvrđavu Pontes nalaze se i ostaci Trajanovog mosta, koji je povezivao levu i desnu obalu Dunava
mljana bila je izgradnja mosta preko Dunava. Ovaj poduhvat je prikazan na Trajanovom stubu u Rimu, a čuvenu Trajanovu tablu, monumentalni natpis o gradnji puta prema Dakiji, posetioci danas mogu videti samo sa reke.
Kladovo
Beograd
Located alongside the fort of Pontes are the remains of Trajan’s Bridge, which connected the left and right banks of the Danube
Tracks of Rome » Rimski tragovi | 79
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