Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a fortress () and headquarters of the Roman navy from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of approximately 50,000 inhabitants.
Its impressive remains are situated on the Danube in Lower Austria halfway between Vienna and Bratislava in the Carnuntum Archaeological Park extending over an area of 10 km2 near today's villages of Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg.
History
Military history
Carnuntum first occurs in history during the reign of
Augustus (6 AD), when
Tiberius made it his base of operations as a Roman fort (
castrum) in the campaigns against
Maroboduus (Marbod).
Legio XV Apollinaris
Significant Romanisation happened when the town was selected as the garrison of the Legio XV Apollinaris before 14 AD.
A few years later, it became the centre of the Roman fortifications along the
Danube from
Vindobona (now
Vienna) to
Brigetio (Ó-Szőny).
According to
Tacitus,
[Tacitus, Annals, XII, 29.2] the emperor
Claudius ordered the governor of Pannonia "to have a legion with an
on the bank of the Danube" to protect the losers of a dispute between
Germania tribes (the
Quadi and
Marcomanni) and deter the victors from the temptation to invade Pannonia. To this period (about 50 AD) belongs the auxiliary castrum of a cavalry ala 1.5 km south-west of the legionary fortress.
In 71 AD, after several campaigns, the Legio XV Apollinaris returned to Carnuntum and rebuilt its fortress. While some of the legion fought in Trajan's Dacian Wars, the main body of the legion remained in Pannonia.
Legio X Gemina
Legio X Gemina was sent to Carnuntum for a few years from about 63 AD.
During the brief reign of
Galba (68–69), it was transferred back to Hispania.
Legio VII Gemina
Legio VII Gemina, newly founded by
Galba in 68 AD, was allocated to Carnuntum until about 71 AD after his defeat by
Vespasian.
Legio XIV Gemina
In 117–118 AD,
Carnuntum became the permanent quarters of Legio XIV Gemina where it stayed for three centuries until the frontier collapsed in 430.
History of the city
In Roman times, Carnuntum had a history as a major trading centre for
amber, brought from the north to traders who sold it in
Italy; the main arm of the
Amber Road crossed the Danube at Carnuntum.
As Aelium Carnuntum, the capital of Pannonia Superior, it was made a municipium by Hadrian. Its importance is indicated by the fact that Marcus Aurelius resided there for three years (172–175) during the war against the Marcomanni, and wrote part of his Meditations there. Also Septimius Severus, at the time governor of Pannonia, was proclaimed emperor there by his soldiers (193),
In the Severan dynasty (193–235), Carnuntum experienced an economic boom, the canabae reaching their maximum size. Caracalla elevated it to colony status as Septimia Colonia Aurelia Antoniana.
In 308, during the Civil wars of the Tetrarchy, the Emperor emeritus Diocletian chaired a historic meeting there, the Conference of Carnuntum, with his co-emperors Maximian and Galerius, to solve the rising tensions within the tetrarchy.[Zosimus, New History, II, 10, 4]
Around 350 Carnuntum suffered severe earthquake damage.
In 374, it was destroyed by Germanic invaders, the Quadi and Iazyges. Although partly restored by Valentinian I,[Ammianus, Stories, XXX, 5.2] it never regained its former importance, and Vindobona became the chief military centre.
Today
The Archaeological Park Carnuntum comprises three sites:
Civilian city
The remains of the civilian city extend around the village of Petronell-Carnuntum. There are several places to see in the city: a Roman city quarter in the open-air museum, palace ruins, an
amphitheatre, and the
Heidentor, the ruins of a Roman
triumphal arch.
The Roman city ruins are exposed in the open-air museum directly in the present village. One of the ancient houses, called the House of Lucius, has been rebuilt using traditional techniques. It was opened to the public on 1 June 2006.
The forum was next to the palace ruins, also referred to as the large .
Some way outside the city was a large amphitheatre, which had room for about 15,000 spectators.
A plate with an inscription found at the site claims that this building was the fourth-largest amphitheatre in the whole Roman Empire.
Heidentor
Between 354 AD and 361 AD, a huge triumphal monument was erected next to the camp and city. Contemporary reports suggest that Emperor
Constantius II had it built to commemorate his victories. When the remains of Carnuntum disappeared after the Migration Period the monument remained as an isolated building in a natural landscape and led Medieval people to believe it was the tomb of a pagan giant. Hence, they called it
Heidentor ('Heathens' Gate' or 'Pagans' Gate').
Fortress
The only remaining building of the fortress is an amphitheatre, located just outside the fortress. Today, a small adjacent museum shows the history of
.
Culture
The World Theatre Festival Art Carnumtum (
[) is held each year in the ancient amphitheatre. Art Carnuntum is a cultural organisation that aims support the cultural and philosophical heritage of Europe and promotes classical drama in both traditional and contemporary styles.][ The festival was founded around 1988][ by the italian artist Piero Bordin,][
]
The festival was held in August in 2021.
Gladiator school
In September 2011 aerial photographs and ground-penetrating radar led to the discovery of the typical contours of an ancient Roman gladiator school to the south of the Roman settlement, a ludus rivaling the Ludus Magnus and covering an area of some .
The school, along with the amphitheater, was located outside of the town's walls. The school had training grounds, bathing facilities, an assembly hall and dormitories for the gladiators. The school also had a courtyard which housed a training area for gladiators. The school was attached to an open campus which was most likely used for chariot races.[.]
Museum Carnuntinum
The archaeological museum Carnuntinum, which is situated in the village of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg on the river Danube, exhibits important archeological finds from the ancient city.
In fiction
Völkisch author Guido von List was so impressed with the ruins that he based his first novel, Carnuntum, on the subject. Another novel, Household Gods, by Harry Turtledove and Judith Tarr, is set in Carnuntum during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, from the point of view of a modern American Time travel.
In Frank Tallis's crime novel Vienna Blood, both Guido von List and his novel Carnuntum appear, together with an eponymous opera based on the novel.
==Gallery==
of the Fifteenth Legion, depicting a horse, centurion's helmet and armour, found in Carnuntum]]
External links
