Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium

Last updated
Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium
Roemerturm Koeln2007.jpg
Tower 13, so-called "Roman tower" northwest corner of the CCAA
Germany adm location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Germany
Location Germany
Region North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates 50°56′17″N6°57′25″E / 50.938056°N 6.956944°E / 50.938056; 6.956944

Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was the Roman colony in the Rhineland from which the city of Cologne, now in Germany, developed.

Contents

It was usually called Colonia (colony) and was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and the headquarters of the military in the region. With administrative reforms under Diocletian it became the capital of Germania Secunda. Many artefacts from the ancient city survive, including the arch of the former city gate with the inscription 'CCAA', which is today housed in the Romano-Germanic Museum.

Historical background

Oppidum Ubiorum (Latin city of Ubii), Ara Ubiorum and Apud Aram Ubiorum

Ubiermonument (c. AD 4) in the Archaeological Zone Ubiermonument.jpg
Ubiermonument (c. AD 4) in the Archaeological Zone

A Germanic tribe known as the Eburones had originally inhabited the present-day Cologne Lowland. But they were wiped out in a war of reprisal carried out by Julius Caesar. In 38 BC, the Germanic tribe known as the Ubii, who inhabited the right bank of the Rhine, were resettled by the Roman General Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in the lands in the Cologne Lowland vacated by the Eburones. This brought the Ubii within Roman-occupied territory.

The Ubii chose an island in the Rhine as the central location of their settlement area. The island was a natural rise that was protected from flooding. The location of the settlement no longer exists today but it roughly comprises the area between the areas of the Heumarkt and the Alter Markt sections of the old city of Cologne. The settlement can be dated by archeological finds to the first half of the 1st century AD. By this time the typical Roman grid-style street plan was already in use. The settlement's assumed name is probably Oppidum Ubiorum (Settlement of the Ubii). The Roman epoch of the history of the city of Cologne begins with this oppidum.

Map of the Roman province of Germania under Augustus, showing Colonia Germania romana.jpg
Map of the Roman province of Germania under Augustus, showing Colonia

During the rule of Augustus (30 BC to AD 14), the Ara Ubiorum (Altar of the Ubii) was constructed within the city limits. [1] [2] This altar was possibly foreseen as the central place of worship for a greater Germanic province, which would comprise lands across the Rhine, which remained unconquered at this point. The noble Segimundus is mentioned as the priest of the Ara in the year AD 9. He was from the family of Arminius, leader of the Cherusci. After Arminius' victory over Publius Quinctilius Varus in the same year at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the plans for a greater German province were largely set aside. However, the altar itself retained some of its importance as the city is mentioned as “Ara Ubiorum” in many inscriptions.

Between 9 and AD 30 the area of present-day Cologne was mainly a garrison. Legio I Germanica and the Legio XX Valeria Victrix were stationed nearby. The place of the initial Roman Castra was known as Apud Aram Ubiorum (At the Altar of the Ubii).

The headquarters of Germanicus were located in Cologne from AD 13 to 17, when he was recalled by Tiberius. After the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, Germanicus made efforts to stabilize the border region and to plan and carry out new offensives against the Germanic tribes located on the right bank of the Rhine. With the death of Augustus in AD 14 the legions garrisoned in Cologne mutinied with the aim of establishing Germanicus as emperor. These legions probably united in mutiny with those from Vetera stationed at their summer garrison in Castrum Novasium. Germanicus however remained loyal to Tiberius, who was heir to the throne. He dissuaded the legions from declaring him emperor and at the same time placated the mutineers through generous concessions.

Legio I was later stationed in Bonna (present-day Bonn) and Legio XX garrisoned Castrum Novaesium near present-day Neuss.

Promotion to Roman colony

Reconstructed plan of the Roman city of Cologne (after AD 50) Roman Cologne, reconstruction.JPG
Reconstructed plan of the Roman city of Cologne (after AD 50)
Reconstructed model of the Capitoline Temple (early 2nd century AD) Kapitol Koln front1.jpg
Reconstructed model of the Capitoline Temple (early 2nd century AD)

Agrippina the younger was born in AD 15 in Cologne. She was the daughter of Germanicus and the wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. She succeeded in convincing Claudius around 50 AD to elevate her birthplace to Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Colony of Claudius and Altar of the Agrippinians). This gave Colonia the status of 'city' under Roman law and a Roman colony had many more imperial rights than an oppidum. At this time the city became the administrative capital of Germania Inferior. Before this time the area was not an official province, but an occupied area controlled and administered initially by the military (exercitus Germaniae inferioris) and later temporarily defined as a tentative "Germania provincia".

From AD 70 on the city had a strong city wall that was c. 8 meters in height and 2.5 meters wide. However, the remains of the Roman city wall that can still be seen today are from the 3rd century AD. The unwalled portions of the city were equal to a square kilometer. Its most important steles and grave goods are preserved in the Romano-Germanic Museum.

The year of four emperors and Batavian revolt

In AD 68, the death of Emperor Nero caused a succession crisis in Rome. This led to a civil war throughout the empire. The Roman Senate installed Servius Sulpicius Galba as emperor, but he was quickly murdered by another contender for the throne, Marcus Salvius Otho, who had the backing of the Praetorian Guard. Meanwhile, the legions stationed in Colonia called for their commander Aulus Vitellius to be crowned as emperor. Vitellius marched on Italy at the head of the better part of the Rhine legions, and defeated Otho's troops at the First Battle of Bedriacum, in which Otho himself was killed.

A power vacuum occurred on the now undefended Rhine border. The Batavians rose and advanced on the empire from the Northeast of Germania Inferior. The majority of the inhabitants of Colonia remained Ubii, as they had not been fully romanised. They quickly sided with the Batavians. However, when the Batavians demanded that the city wall be torn down, the inhabitants of Colonia again sided with the Roman Empire.

Vitellius was overthrown eight months later by Titus Flavius Vespasianus, whose troops feared reprisals for having previously recognized Otho as emperor. Vitellius was killed and his body thrown into the Tiber.

Capital of the province Germania Inferior

Fresco with Dionysian scenes from a Roman villa of Cologne (Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium), 3rd century AD, Romano-Germanic Museum Wall painting with Dionysian scenes from a luxurious Roman villa excavated to the south of the cathedral, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8119154487).jpg
Fresco with Dionysian scenes from a Roman villa of Cologne (Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium), 3rd century AD, Romano-Germanic Museum

With the founding of the province of Germania Inferior under Domitian in AD 89, the commander of the Legions of Lower Germania Colonia became the provincial governor, based in Colonia. In AD 80 a water supply was built, the Eifel Aqueduct, one of the longest aqueducts of the Roman Empire, which delivered 20,000 cubic metres of water to the city every day. Ten years later, the colonia became the capital of the Roman province of Lower Germany, Germania Inferior, with a total population of 20,000 people. [3] The Rhine fleet was stationed south of the city at Alteburg. The fortress itself was destroyed in attacks by the Franks in AD 276. This area was later named Alte Burg, from which come the present day names "Alteburger Wall" and "Alteburger Platz".

With the elevation to provincial capital, Colonia was no longer a military base. The legions of the province were stationed in Vetera II near Colonia Ulpia Traiana (near present-day Xanten), Novaesium and Bonna. The name of the city varied in usage over time. In the 4th century AD it was known as Colonia Agrippina, which was shortened to Colonia sometime after the 5th century.

Late antiquity and the end of Roman rule

In AD 260 Postumus made Cologne the capital of the Gallic Empire, which included the Germanic and Gallic provinces, Britannia and the provinces of Hispania. The Gallic Empire lasted only fourteen years. By the 3rd century, only 20,000 people lived in and around the town as the city was badly affected by the crisis of the 3rd century.

In AD 310, Emperor Constantine I had a bridge over the Rhine constructed; this was guarded by the castellum Divitia (nowadays "Deutz"). In AD 321 Jews are documented in Cologne; when exactly the first Jews arrived in the Rhineland area cannot be established any more, but Cologne's Jewish community claims to be the oldest north of the Alps.

Colonia had to be temporarily abandoned in December 355 following a lengthy siege by the Franks. The archaeological strata of that time indicate that conquest and looting had catastrophic effects and the city lay in ruins. The Praetorium was reconstructed and enlarged circa 375 A.D. as seen in the model of the Roman-German Museum in Cologne The last dated reconstruction is from 392/393, when Arbogast, the Magister Militum of the Western half of the Empire, in the name of the emperor Eugenius renewed an unspecified public building. The city finally fell to the Ripuarian Franks in AD 459. Two lavish burial sites near the Cathedral date from this period of late antiquity.

Library

In Summer 2018, archaeologists declared that the foundations (located at 50°56′09.6″N6°57′12.8″E / 50.936000°N 6.953556°E / 50.936000; 6.953556 ) that they discovered in 2017 during excavations to build a Protestant church, might be related to the "oldest known library in Germany", dating back to the 2nd century. [4] [5]

The library, which has characteristics similar to those of the Library of Celsus in the ancient city of Ephesus, might have contained more than 20,000 scrolls. [6]

See also

Notes

  1. Stillwell, Richard; MacDonald, William L.; McAlister, Marian Holland (1976). "The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites: Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne) Germany". Perseus Digital Library. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  2. Campbell, Brian (15 August 2012). Rivers and the Power of Ancient Rome. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. p. 176. ISBN   978-0-8078-3480-0 . Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  3. Werner Eck: Die CCAA als Provinzhauptstadt und die Vertreter der staatlichen Macht. In: Köln in römischer Zeit. Geschichte einer Stadt im Rahmen des Imperium Romanum. (vol. 1 of the history of the city of Cologne in 13 volumes). Greven, Köln 2004, ISBN   3-7743-0357-6, pp. 242–272.
  4. "'Oldest library in Germany' unearthed by Cologne archaeologist". BBC. 2 August 2018.
  5. "Long-lost Roman library reemerges in Germany after 2,000 years in darkness". Washington Post. 6 August 2018.
  6. "Sensational archaeological find is likely Germany's oldest library". DW. 26 July 2018.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batavi (Germanic tribe)</span> Germanic tribe

The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is also applied to several military units employed by the Romans that were originally raised among the Batavi. The tribal name, probably a derivation from batawjō, refers to the region's fertility, today known as the fruitbasket of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AD 69</span> Calendar year

AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germania</span> Historical region in north-central Europe

Germania, also called Magna Germania, Germania Libera, or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a historical region in north-central Europe during the Roman era, which was associated by Roman authors with the Germanic people. The region stretched roughly from the Middle and Lower Rhine in the west to the Vistula in the east. It also extended at some point as far south as the Upper and Middle Danube and Pannonia, and to the known parts of southern Scandinavia in the north. Archaeologically, these people correspond roughly to the Roman Iron Age of those regions. While dominated by Germanic people, Magna Germania was also inhabited by a few other Indo-European people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postumus</span> Roman emperor from 260 to 269

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its allegiance to Gallienus around the year 260, and Postumus assumed the title and powers of Emperor in the provinces of Gaul, Germania, Britannia, and Hispania. He ruled for the better part of ten years before he was murdered by his own troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ubii</span> Roman-era Germanic people

The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the east bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river. They were transported in 39 BC by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to the west bank, apparently at their own request, as they feared the incursions of their neighbors, the Chatti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legio IV Macedonica</span> Roman legion

Legio IV Macedonica, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 48 BC by Gaius Julius Caesar with Italian legionaries. The legion was disbanded in AD 70 by Emperor Vespasian. The legion symbols were a bull and a capricorn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legio V Alaudae</span> Roman legion

Legio V Alaudae, sometimes also known as Legio V Gallica, was a legion of the Roman army founded in 52 BC by the general Gaius Julius Caesar. It was levied in Transalpine Gaul to fight the armies of Vercingetorix, and was the first Roman legion to comprise non-citizens. Historians disagree whether the legion was destroyed during the Batavian rebellion in AD 70, or during the First Battle of Tapae.

Legio I Germanica,, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army, possibly founded in 48 BC by Julius Caesar to fight for him in the civil war against Pompey. The title germanic is a reference to its service in the Germanic Wars, rather than the place of origin of its soldiers. After the Revolt of the Batavi, the remaining men of the Germanica were added to Galba's seventh legion, which became VII Gemina. The emblem of Legio I is unknown, but it was probably Taurus, like all the other legions levied by Caesar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolt of the Batavi</span> Uprising against the Roman Empire (69–70 CE)

The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between AD 69 and 70. It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi, a small but militarily powerful Germanic tribe that inhabited Batavia, on the delta of the river Rhine. They were soon joined by the Celtic tribes from Gallia Belgica and some Germanic tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Year of the Four Emperors</span> Battles for succession to rule the Roman Empire (AD 69)

The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the Julio-Claudians, the first imperial dynasty, to the Flavian dynasty. The period witnessed several rebellions and claimants, with shifting allegiances and widespread turmoil in Rome and the provinces.

Legio XV Primigenia was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Primigena ("firstborn") was one of the nicknames accorded to the Roman goddess Fortuna. Primigenia is an adjective, meaning "of Primigena".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germania Inferior</span> Roman province in Western Europe (83 AD – 475 AD)

Germania Inferior was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romano-Germanic Museum</span> Archaeological museum in Cologne, Germany

The Roman-Germanic Museum is an archaeological museum in Cologne, Germany. It has a large collection of Roman artifacts from the Roman settlement of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, on which modern Cologne is built. The museum protects the original site of a Roman town villa, from which a large Dionysus mosaic remains in its original place in the basement, and the related Roman Road just outside. In this respect the museum is an archaeological site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands in the Roman era</span>

For around 450 years, from around 55 BC to around 410 AD, the southern part of the Netherlands was integrated into the Roman Empire. During this time the Romans in the Netherlands had an enormous influence on the lives and culture of the people who lived in the Netherlands at the time and (indirectly) on the generations that followed.

<i>Ara trium Galliarum</i>

The Ara trium Galliarum, or ‘Altar of the three Gallic provinces’, was a Roman sanctuary near Lugdunum. The altar was consecrated to the goddess Roma and Augustus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classis Germanica</span> Naval fleet of the Roman Empire on the Rhine through to the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta

The Classis Germanica was a Roman fleet in Germania Superior and Germania Inferior. Besides the Channel Fleet, it was one of the largest naval forces of the Roman Empire, ranking above all other provincial fleets.

The Ara Ubiorum was a Roman sanctuary in the Oppidum Ubiorum. It was erected in the last decade of the 1st century BC and was dedicated to the goddess Roma and the Roman emperor. It was a central location for the Germans conquered by Augustus to demonstrate their loyalty to Rome and the Emperor through offerings. Like the Ara trium Galliarum, the altar was the site of the concilium provinciae for the planned province of Germania Magna. The priests who serviced the altar were drawn from high-ranking Germans.

Julius Segimundus was a nobleman of the Germanic Cherusci, a son of Segestes who was a close ally of the Roman Empire. They were followers of the imperial cult of Augustus. In this context, Segimundus worked as a high priest at the Ara Ubiorum, a sanctuary in Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, near Cologne, Germany.

Hercules Magusanus is a Romano-Germanic deity or hero worshipped during the early first millennium AD in the Lower Rhine region among the Batavi, Marsaci, Ubii, Cugerni, Baetasii, and probably among the Tungri.

References

50°56′17″N6°57′25″E / 50.93806°N 6.95694°E / 50.93806; 6.95694