Pannonia Prima was an ancient Ancient Rome province. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Previously, it was a part of the province of Pannonia Superior, which, along with Pannonia Inferior, was gradually divided into four administrative units: Pannonia Prima, Pannonia Secunda, Pannonia Valeria, and Pannonia Savia. This transition was completed by the time of Constantine I.[Mocsy, A: "Pannonia and Upper Moesia", pp. 272-3. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1974] According to the Notitia Dignitatum, Pannonia Prima was governed by a Praeses.
Geography
Pannonia Prima included parts of present-day
Hungary,
Austria,
Croatia,
Slovenia, and
Slovakia. Its capital was
Sabaria (modern Szombathely), a city built during the reign of
Claudius. This city was located on an important junction between the
Amber Road connecting
Roman Italy with Hungary and the road between
Trier and
Sirmium.
[Poczy, K: "Pannonian Cities", in "The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia", eds. Radan, G.T.B. and A. Lengyel, p. 243. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980.] Other important cities were
Vindobona (modern
Vienna; Wien in German), and
Scarbantia (modern Sopron).
[Mocsy, A: "Pannonia and Upper Moesia", fig. 59. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1974] The city of
Sirmium in Pannonia Secunda had administrative oversight over all of the newly created Diocese of Pannonia, along with Dalmatia and
Noricum.
[Barkoczi, L: "History of Pannonia", in "The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia", eds. Radan, G.T.B. and A. Lengyel, p. 109. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980.]
Pannonia Prima was the northwestern quadrant of the four subdivisions of Pannonia. It was bordered on the west by the Alps, which stretch from the Danube River to the Adriatic Sea, and belonged to the provinces of Noricum.[Strabo's Geography, Section VII, Chapter 5, Section 3] It is bordered on the north by the Danube and on the south by the Drava river. In the east, it is divided from Valeria by an arbitrary north-south border which is tangent to the east end of lacus Pelso (Lake Balaton).[Mocsy, A: "Pannonia and Upper Moesia", fig. 59. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1974] On the other hand, was the fort of Valcum (modern Fenékpuszta), close to the Sirmium-Savaria road. This fort is dated to the Constantian era, and is a center of imperial latifundia. The only Pannonian frontier border was that of the Danube, and it was easily defensible; thus, there were few forts lining that border.[Mocsy, A: "Pannonia and Upper Moesia", pp. 302-307. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1974]
Decline and Fall
Emperor
Gratian (367-383) began settling
Huns as
foederati in Pannonia.
[Salamon, A, and A. Cs. Sos: "Pannonia - Fifth to Ninth Centuries", in "The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia", eds. Radan, G.T.B. and A. Lengyel, p. 397. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1980.] Roman money had ceased circulating in all Pannonia north of the Drave (including Pannonia Prima) by 375, indicating that little Roman influence remained in the area. The foederati and
Visigoths and Hunnic barbarians caused trouble, and the situation in Pannonia was described by
Claudian as "a continual siege" in 399. Pannonia Prima held out under
Generidus, but was eventually assimilated into the Huns' territory by 427. Rome would never regain effective control of this area, but nominally remained a Roman province, until the fall of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in 553.
[Mocsy, A: "Pannonia and Upper Moesia", pp. 342-349. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1974]
See also
Literature
