Ulpiana

Ulpiana was an ancient Roman^[1] city located in what is today Kosovo^[a].It was also named Justiniana Secunda^[2].Ulpiana is situated in the municipality of Lipljan.

Under the Roman Empire, Ulpiana flourished it is mentioned as a glorious city "urb splendidissma". Ulpiana suffered numerous attacks from barbarian tribes (Huns, Goths), it was destroyed in 479^[3] when the Goth^[4] King Theodemir sent his son Theodoric the Great with 3,000 soldiers to destroy the city. A final blow came when an earthquake struck in 518 AD and destroyed what remained of Ulpiana.

Procopius teaches us that " He (Justinian) rebuilt^[5] all the falling walls of the city (Ulpiana) and after he decorated them with a splendour, he gave them the beauty of the present day and called them "Justiniana Secunda"

In the 6th century during the rule of Justinian the city was rebuilt, after whom it was called Iustiana Secunda.

Remains of this city - destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout history, with basilica, mosaics, and tombstones - have been unearthed west of Gračanica. In the early Christian period, Ulpiana was an important episcopal center. A number of articles were discovered here such as coins, ceramics, weapons, jewellery, and similar.

The remains of the city, only partially excavated, are situated approximately 1.3 km (0.81 mi) west of Gračanica, immediately to the north of the road connecting Gračanica with Laplje Selo. The approximate geographic coordinates (WGS84) of the excavation site are 42° 36' N and 21° 10' E.

Ulpiana is also an older name used to refer to the present-day Pristina, in Kosovo.

Notes and references

Notes:

a.	^ Template:Kosovo-note

References

^ Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith; Haynes, Ian; Adams, Colin E. P. (1997). The Roman army as a community. Journal of Roman Archaeology. p. 100. ISBN 1887829342.
^ Perseus edu,"Iustiniāna,1.Prima, a town in Illyria, near Tauresium, was the birthplace of Justinian, and was built by that emperor. It became the residence of the archbishop of Illyria, and, in the Middle Ages, of the Servian kings.2.Secunda, also a town in Illyria, previously called Ulpiana, was enlarged and embellished by Justinian. "
^ The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites,"ULPIANA (Gračanica) Yugoslavia. An important town of Dardania on the route Naissus (Niš)-Stobi. The ancient site is occupied by the Monastery at Gračanica in Kosovo ca. 10 km S of Priština. Ulpiana was founded on the site of a large Bronze Age settlement probably during the reign of Trajan. The fact that the town was a municipium by the middle of the 2d c. is attested by numerous inscriptions. Its territory included the fertile valley of the Lab and the Drenica. Its location on the major route from the Danube to the Via Egnatia and its proximity to important mining areas made it important during the Early Empire. It was the residence of a procurator by the 3d c. and continued to be of importance during the Early Christian period.The town was probably one of the many communities destroyed by the Gothic army of Theodoric in A.D. 479. Ulpiana, in any case, was in ruins when Justinian restored it in the early 6th c. and renamed it Justiniana Secunda.Excavations have revealed several buildings of the later city and some sections of the city wall, including one of the principal gates on the N side. A three-aisled basilica (34 x 14 m) was cleared within the settlement and two phases of construction were detected, dating to the 5th and 6th c. Parts of the cardo maximus were cleared as well as several dwellings within the fortified area.The N gate is flanked by two towers of horseshoe-shaped plan. Not far from the gate outside the wall a large industrial building of the 4th c. and a nearby basilica were excavated. Cemeteries to the N, W, and S of the town have been explored. Near the wall at the edge of the W necropolis a small Christian mortuary has been cleared which has two lateral apses in its principal room. The N cemetery has a three-aisled basilica with a crypt and numerous burials below it. Near the center of the necropolis was found a monumental marble sarcophagus probably 4th c.) and parts of a floor mosaic were uncovered, with geometric motives (early 4th c.) belonging to a building earlier than the basilica. Graves in the N cemetery date mainly to the 4th c., but the basilica was dated by the excavators to the time of Justinian.Most of the material from the excavations belongs to the 4th-6th c., but a number of stone inscriptions dating from the time of Trajan through the 3d c. were found and some contain the official name of the community, municipium Ulpiana. Among the works of art from Ulpiana are several statuettes in marble and two bronze statuettes of Apollo and Mercury. A large bronze medal-lion of the Emperor Probus is also of interest.Finds from Ulpiana are in the Museum of Kosovo and Metohija in Priştina."
^ Wolfram, Herwig; Dunlap, Thomas J. (1990). History of the Goths. University of California Press. p. 269. ISBN 0520069838.: "... Along the way the cities of Castrum Herculis-Kurvingrad Clisura, Ulpiana- Lipljan, Stobi near Gradsko, and Heraclea-Bitola, fell into his hands. ..."
^ A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284-641: The Transformation of the Ancient World (Blackwell History of the Ancient World) by Stephen Mitchell,ISBN-10: 1405108568,2006,page 363,"... Procopius claimed that Justinian also improved the city walls of Ulpiana (modern Ljubljana), Serdica, Naissus, and Pautalia, and refurbished the forts ..."

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[1] Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith; Haynes, Ian; Adams, Colin E. P. (1997). The Roman army as a community. Journal of Roman Archaeology. p. 100. ISBN 1887829342.

[2] Perseus edu,"Iustiniāna,1.Prima, a town in Illyria, near Tauresium, was the birthplace of Justinian, and was built by that emperor. It became the residence of the archbishop of Illyria, and, in the Middle Ages, of the Servian kings.2.Secunda, also a town in Illyria, previously called Ulpiana, was enlarged and embellished by Justinian. "

[3] The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites,"ULPIANA (Gračanica) Yugoslavia. An important town of Dardania on the route Naissus (Niš)-Stobi. The ancient site is occupied by the Monastery at Gračanica in Kosovo ca. 10 km S of Priština. Ulpiana was founded on the site of a large Bronze Age settlement probably during the reign of Trajan. The fact that the town was a municipium by the middle of the 2d c. is attested by numerous inscriptions. Its territory included the fertile valley of the Lab and the Drenica. Its location on the major route from the Danube to the Via Egnatia and its proximity to important mining areas made it important during the Early Empire. It was the residence of a procurator by the 3d c. and continued to be of importance during the Early Christian period.The town was probably one of the many communities destroyed by the Gothic army of Theodoric in A.D. 479. Ulpiana, in any case, was in ruins when Justinian restored it in the early 6th c. and renamed it Justiniana Secunda.Excavations have revealed several buildings of the later city and some sections of the city wall, including one of the principal gates on the N side. A three-aisled basilica (34 x 14 m) was cleared within the settlement and two phases of construction were detected, dating to the 5th and 6th c. Parts of the cardo maximus were cleared as well as several dwellings within the fortified area.The N gate is flanked by two towers of horseshoe-shaped plan. Not far from the gate outside the wall a large industrial building of the 4th c. and a nearby basilica were excavated. Cemeteries to the N, W, and S of the town have been explored. Near the wall at the edge of the W necropolis a small Christian mortuary has been cleared which has two lateral apses in its principal room. The N cemetery has a three-aisled basilica with a crypt and numerous burials below it. Near the center of the necropolis was found a monumental marble sarcophagus probably 4th c.) and parts of a floor mosaic were uncovered, with geometric motives (early 4th c.) belonging to a building earlier than the basilica. Graves in the N cemetery date mainly to the 4th c., but the basilica was dated by the excavators to the time of Justinian.Most of the material from the excavations belongs to the 4th-6th c., but a number of stone inscriptions dating from the time of Trajan through the 3d c. were found and some contain the official name of the community, municipium Ulpiana. Among the works of art from Ulpiana are several statuettes in marble and two bronze statuettes of Apollo and Mercury. A large bronze medal-lion of the Emperor Probus is also of interest.Finds from Ulpiana are in the Museum of Kosovo and Metohija in Priştina."

[4] Wolfram, Herwig; Dunlap, Thomas J. (1990). History of the Goths. University of California Press. p. 269. ISBN 0520069838.: "... Along the way the cities of Castrum Herculis-Kurvingrad Clisura, Ulpiana- Lipljan, Stobi near Gradsko, and Heraclea-Bitola, fell into his hands. ..."

[5] A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284-641: The Transformation of the Ancient World (Blackwell History of the Ancient World) by Stephen Mitchell,ISBN-10: 1405108568,2006,page 363,"... Procopius claimed that Justinian also improved the city walls of Ulpiana (modern Ljubljana), Serdica, Naissus, and Pautalia, and refurbished the forts ..."

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