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Viminacium (VIMINACIVM) was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman province of Moesia (today's Serbia), and the capital of ''Moesia Superior''. The site is located from the modern town of Kostolac in Eastern Serbia. The city dates back to the 1st century AD, and at its peak it is believed to have had 40,000 inhabitants, making it one of the biggest cities of that time. It lies on the Roman road ''Via Militaris''. Viminacium was devastated by Huns in the 5th century, but was later rebuilt by Justinian. It was completely destroyed with the arrival of Slavs in the 6th century. Today, the archaeological site occupies a total of , and contains remains of temples, streets, squares, amphitheatres, palaces, hippodromes and Roman baths.〔 ==History== The remains of Viminacium, the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, are located on territories of the villages of Stari Kostolac and Drmno, about 12 km from the town of Kostolac and about 90 miles southeast of Belgrade. Viminacium was one of the most important Roman cities and military camps in the period from 1st to 4th centuries. Its exceptional strategic importance was reflected both in the defense of the northern border of the Roman empire and in turn of communications and commercial transactions. No less appealing to the Romans was the hinterland of the Mlava river valley, which is rich in ore and grains. In Roman times, the town on the northern side of relying directly on the branch of the Danube, while the western side, touching the walls Mlava rivers. Only in the later period, Viminacium spread to the left bank of Mlava. Thanks to the location, land and waterways, Viminacium represented one of those areas where the encounter of cultures between East and West was inevitable. Although these roads were the primary military and strategic function, they are taking place throughout antiquity very lively traffic and certainly contributed to the very Viminacium become prosperous and an important trading and business headquarters. In Viminacium, Roman legion VII Claudia was stationed, and a nearby civilian settlement emerged from the military camp. In 117 during the reign of Hadrian it received city status. In the camp, 6.000 soldiers were stationed, and 30-40.000 lived nearby. In the first half of then the 3rd century the city was in full development, as evidenced by the fact that at that time it acquired the status of a Roman colony, and the right to coin local money. Here, in 211, Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by his son Caracalla. In the mausoleum and the excavated tombs, the Roman emperor Hostilian, who died in 251, was buried. A legion may have been stationed here as early as Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). In 33/34 AD a road was built, linking Viminacium and Ratiaria. Claudius (41-54) garrisoned Viminacium, Oescus and Novae as camps for the Moesian legions. The first legion attested at Viminacium was the VII Claudia that came from Dalmatia in 52 AD. Emperor Trajan (98-117) was headquartered here during the Dacian Wars. It became a ''colonia'' with minting privilege in 239 AD during the rule of Gordian III (238-244) and housed the Legion VII and Legion IV. Emperor Hostilian was the son of the emperor Decius, who was killed in the ambush near the ancient city of Abrutus located in present day Bulgaria. According to the old manuscript, emperor Hostilian and his mother came to Viminacium to supervise the organization of defense of northern borders, but both of them died of the plague. Because of the distance and the fear of spreading the plague, he was buried with all honors in Viminacium. Viminacium was the provincial capital of Moesia Superior. In the late spring of 293-294, Diocletian journeyed through his realm and he re-organized Viminacium as the capital of the new province of ''Moesia Superior Margensis''. He registered that the people wrote in Latin, as opposed to Greek in the southern provinces. Viminacium was the base camp of Legio VII ''Claudia'', and hosted for some time the IIII ''Flavia Felix''. It had a Roman amphitheatre with room for 12,000 people.〔 In 382 the city was the meeting place between Theodosius and Gratian amidst the Gothic Wars. Viminacium was destroyed in 441 by the Attila the Hun, but rebuilt by Justinian I. During Maurice's Balkan campaigns, Viminacium saw destruction by the Avars in 582 and a crushing defeat of Avar forces on the northern Danube bank in 599, destroying Avar reputation for invincibility.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Viminacium」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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