Sirmium

Sirmium
Ruins of Imperial Palace at Sirmium
Sirmium is located in Serbia
Sirmium
Shown within Serbia
LocationModern-day Serbia (Sremska Mitrovica)
RegionPannonia
Coordinates44°57′58″N 19°36′38″E / 44.96611°N 19.61056°E / 44.96611; 19.61056
TypeSettlement
History
FoundedBefore 4th century BC
Abandoned582
CulturesIllyrian, Celt, Roman, Byzantine
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins
Public accessYes
Typearchaeological Site of Exceptional Importance
Designated1948
Reference no.АН 106

Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians and Celts,[1] it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia Inferior. In 294 AD, Sirmium was proclaimed one of four capitals of the Roman Empire. It was also the capital of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum and of Pannonia Secunda. The site is protected as an archaeological Site of Exceptional Importance. The modern region of Syrmia (Srem or Srijem) was named after the city.

Sirmium purportedly had 100,000[2] inhabitants and was one of the largest cities of its time. Colin McEvedy, whose estimates for ancient cities are much lower than the general consensus, however, put the population at only 7,000, based on the size of the archaeological site.[3] The amount of grain imported between 1 AD and 400 AD was enough to feed 700,000 to 1 million people.[4]

  1. ^ "Mesto Sremska Mitrovica, upoznaj Srbiju". Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  2. ^ "SREMSKA MITROVICA IN ROMAN TIMES". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  3. ^ McEvedy, Cities of the Classical World, (London: Allen Lane, 2011), p. 346.
  4. ^ Ancient Rome, the Archaeology of the Eternal City, Edited by Jon Coulston and Hazel dodge, 2008, pp. 154-165, ISBN 978-0-954816-55-1

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