Augusta Bilbilis
Encyclopedia
Augusta Bilbilis was a city
(or municipium
) founded by the Romans
in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis
. It was the birthplace of Martial
c. 40 AD. The modern town of Calatayud
was founded near this Roman site.
and 60 km SW of the Roman colony of Col. Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza
) in NE internal Spain. Its inhabitants belonged to the group of the Celtic tribes of Hispania Citerior known as the Lusones
tribe, of which Bilbilis was their capital. Their earliest coin issue includes a male head facing right, with dolphin to the left of the portrait on the Obverse, while the reverse depicts a horseman carrying a spear and the inscription Bilbilis. These date from the late 2nd to the early 1st century BC and a number of these form part of the Iberian coin collection in the British Museum.
The first contact between the eventual conquerors of the area, the Romans, and the Lusones occurred around the 2nd century BC, when Quinto Fulvio Flaco journeyed from the Mediterranean coast of Spain into the hinterland, a region referred to as Celtiberia
. It was not until the 1st century, however, that Roman culture, language and customs, gradually began to spread into the hinterland with the indigenous cultures taking on many and varied aspects of Roman life while still maintaining aspects of their own distinct cultures.
With the pacification of Hispania and the death of Julius Caesar
, Augustus
embarked on a series of administrative reforms including the Convent Bilbilis Legal Caesaraugustano in the Tarragona province. The city obtained the rank or status of Municipium, and became Bilbilis Municipium Bilbilis Augusta and thus enjoyed ever since, the many privileges under Roman law, including the bestowing on all its inhabitants the Roman citizenship. Coins were also minted in the city naming Augustabilbilis on the reverse along with the governor's name. There were 10 minted under Augustus, four under Tiberius
and one under Caligula
.The most intriguing coin is the one naming Lucius Aelius Sejanus
as consul. COS (consul) was stamped inside a garland of oak leaves or the corona civica under the Emperor Tiberius on the reverse. The town must have flourished with Sejanus as benefactor. But if this was true the town was ultimately hurt with the demise of Sejanus when he was proved to be a traitor. All statues and monuments were damnatio along with the coinage. Most coins were of the AEas or semi variety. These were filed or stamped to erase his name from memory. Some very rare coins have his name still legible. Dr. Paul L. Maier puts forth a thought-provoking history of how Sejanus played a role in the life of Jesus in his book Pontius Pilate. It seems Sejanus was in a powerful position as co-emperor to appoint Pilate
to Judaea as Tiberius was in retirement on the Island of Capri
. After Sejanus' fall, his family and supporters were hunted down and eliminated for years to come. This raises the question of why Pilate, a hard and tough governor, caved under Jewish request to hand over Jesus to be crucified. "You are no friend of Caesar" and that was all it took. Pilate knew his head was on the block. In fact, he was recalled to Rome two years later to answer charges but Tiberius died on the way as Pilate took the long winter route.
At this time the city was structured and laid out in Roman fashion through a series of costly and complex works of adaptation to the terrain. This included adaptations to existing and new infrastructures and services, alongside improved communications and equipment, allowing the Municipium to become the political, administrative, economic and social centre of the region. To perform these functions an urban complex consisting of arcaded square, temple, basilica and curia, and theatre, was built. Baths were also built, and a complex nymphaeum based on a network of hydraulic tanks adapted to the contour of the land that secured the city a permanent water supply.
The middle part of the city was reserved for the main monument, the forum and theatre. Towards this area converged the two main access roads radiating from inwards the gates that were located in the city walls, one on the floor next to the plain of the river Jalón
and another to the theatre. This set was visible from the nearby Roman road and therefore would possibly have had served as "propaganda" over the local populations highlighting the benefits of Roman civilization.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
(or municipium
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
) founded by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the Mediterranean coast of Spain along with the central plateau. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia, was the province of Hispania Baetica...
. It was the birthplace of Martial
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...
c. 40 AD. The modern town of Calatayud
Calatayud
Calatayud is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza in Aragón, Spain lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest city in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and the largest town in Aragón other than the three provincial...
was founded near this Roman site.
Earliest Phase and Origins
The site of indigenous Celtiberian Bilbilis and was situated on the heights of Cerro de Bambola and part of San Paterno, lying to the North of ancient SegedaSegeda
Segeda is an ancient settlement, near today's Zaragoza in modern-day Spain. Originally it was a Celtiberian town, whose inhabitants, the Belli, gave it the name Sekeida. In 153 BC it was destroyed in a war with the Romans. Soon after, a new settlement was built on a nearby site...
and 60 km SW of the Roman colony of Col. Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
) in NE internal Spain. Its inhabitants belonged to the group of the Celtic tribes of Hispania Citerior known as the Lusones
Lusones
The Lusones were an ancient Celtic Celtiberian people of the Iberian peninsula , who lived in the high Tajuña River valley, northeast of Guadalajara...
tribe, of which Bilbilis was their capital. Their earliest coin issue includes a male head facing right, with dolphin to the left of the portrait on the Obverse, while the reverse depicts a horseman carrying a spear and the inscription Bilbilis. These date from the late 2nd to the early 1st century BC and a number of these form part of the Iberian coin collection in the British Museum.
The first contact between the eventual conquerors of the area, the Romans, and the Lusones occurred around the 2nd century BC, when Quinto Fulvio Flaco journeyed from the Mediterranean coast of Spain into the hinterland, a region referred to as Celtiberia
Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...
. It was not until the 1st century, however, that Roman culture, language and customs, gradually began to spread into the hinterland with the indigenous cultures taking on many and varied aspects of Roman life while still maintaining aspects of their own distinct cultures.
The Augustan period
Changes to the land around the city, and the monumentalization of civic and urban space characterise the Augustan period. The city's heyday was the 1st century, and it rapidly declined in the 2nd century AD, it was gradually abandoned and by the 3rd century it was half-deserted.With the pacification of Hispania and the death of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
embarked on a series of administrative reforms including the Convent Bilbilis Legal Caesaraugustano in the Tarragona province. The city obtained the rank or status of Municipium, and became Bilbilis Municipium Bilbilis Augusta and thus enjoyed ever since, the many privileges under Roman law, including the bestowing on all its inhabitants the Roman citizenship. Coins were also minted in the city naming Augustabilbilis on the reverse along with the governor's name. There were 10 minted under Augustus, four under Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
and one under Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
.The most intriguing coin is the one naming Lucius Aelius Sejanus
Sejanus
Lucius Aelius Seianus , commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius...
as consul. COS (consul) was stamped inside a garland of oak leaves or the corona civica under the Emperor Tiberius on the reverse. The town must have flourished with Sejanus as benefactor. But if this was true the town was ultimately hurt with the demise of Sejanus when he was proved to be a traitor. All statues and monuments were damnatio along with the coinage. Most coins were of the AEas or semi variety. These were filed or stamped to erase his name from memory. Some very rare coins have his name still legible. Dr. Paul L. Maier puts forth a thought-provoking history of how Sejanus played a role in the life of Jesus in his book Pontius Pilate. It seems Sejanus was in a powerful position as co-emperor to appoint Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
to Judaea as Tiberius was in retirement on the Island of Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
. After Sejanus' fall, his family and supporters were hunted down and eliminated for years to come. This raises the question of why Pilate, a hard and tough governor, caved under Jewish request to hand over Jesus to be crucified. "You are no friend of Caesar" and that was all it took. Pilate knew his head was on the block. In fact, he was recalled to Rome two years later to answer charges but Tiberius died on the way as Pilate took the long winter route.
At this time the city was structured and laid out in Roman fashion through a series of costly and complex works of adaptation to the terrain. This included adaptations to existing and new infrastructures and services, alongside improved communications and equipment, allowing the Municipium to become the political, administrative, economic and social centre of the region. To perform these functions an urban complex consisting of arcaded square, temple, basilica and curia, and theatre, was built. Baths were also built, and a complex nymphaeum based on a network of hydraulic tanks adapted to the contour of the land that secured the city a permanent water supply.
Urbanisation
The topography of the terrain imposed an ordered terrace system with steep streets, hills and ramps, in contrast to the usual reticular pattern of a Roman villa. Communication between terraces was achieved through ramps, which facilitated the movement of people and vehicles through a twisting path adapted to the slope of the hills. Pedestrian's probably used ladders on both sides and formed the blocks of houses to walk along the roofs and move around.The middle part of the city was reserved for the main monument, the forum and theatre. Towards this area converged the two main access roads radiating from inwards the gates that were located in the city walls, one on the floor next to the plain of the river Jalón
Jalón (river)
The river Jalón is located in the northeast of Spain, and is one of the principal tributaries of the Ebro. It has a length of and drains a watershed of . The flow rate in Calatayud is , but is highly irregular due to the great range of Mediterranean rainfall patterns.The course of the river forms...
and another to the theatre. This set was visible from the nearby Roman road and therefore would possibly have had served as "propaganda" over the local populations highlighting the benefits of Roman civilization.