Aquincum: Roman Budapest

Klara Póczy, a Hungarian archaeologist, has written a book about the Romans and the Roman monuments in Budapest: Aquincum: Das römische Budapest. The Hungarian text is translated into German by Gottlind Thurmann. As far as I can tell, the translation is OK. The book was published in 2005 by the German publishing house Philipp von Zabern, which specializes in ancient history, and whose motto is “Experience history in a new way.”

There are many illustrations in this book: 111 in colour and 31 in black-and-white. They are well-chosen and helpful. Unfortunately, many of them are rather small; they measure only 5 x 8 cm. This is due to the long and narrow format of the book. It measures 11 x 23 cm. Let me mention two examples:

* On page 18 there is a picture of a large stone block with a Latin inscription from the Roman army camp located south of the modern Arpad Bridge. Archaeologists discovered three pieces of a large stone block. Several sections were missing, but scholars have reconstructed the text of the missing sections. The reconstructed stone block shown in the picture is a modern copy which is placed in front of Hotel Aquincum.

* On page 27 there is a picture of a large stone monument from a Mithraeum. It shows Mithras killing the bull. The large stone block is flanked by two small statues of his attendants, Cautes (on the right) and Cautopates (on the left).

Both illustrations are excellent, but it is difficult to see the details, because the pictures are so small.

 
Chapter 1 presents background information about the ancient town (which the Romans called Aquincum) and the ancient region (which the Romans called Pannonia). The Romans came to this region towards the end of the first century BC and began to settle in during the first century AD.

Around AD 100 - during the reign of Trajan - the region was divided into two provinces: in the west, Pannonia Superior with the capital Carnuntum (in present-day Austria); in the east, Pannonia Inferior with the capital Aquincum. Around AD 300 - during the reign of Diocletian - the two provinces became four. Many emperors did not trust the provincial governors, and therefore they tried to limit the size of the land and the number of troops controlled by each governor.

Aquincum is located on the western side of the river Danube. For many years the Danube formed the northern and eastern border of the Roman Empire in Europe. But the Romans would often cross the river, and remains of two forts have been discovered on the eastern side of the Danube: Trans-Aquincum in the north and Contra-Aquincum in the south (chapter 9). The remains of Contra-Aquincum are still visible today (even though they are now covered by protective glass).

 

The front cover of the book is illustrated with a photo of Contra-Aquincum.

This picture was probably taken in 2004, before the remains of the Roman fort

were covered with concrete and glass in order to protect them.

Most chapters are devoted to the settlements on the western side of the river. The ancient Roman sites are presented one by one with text and illustrations. For reasons of space I will mention only some of them here:

In the north we have the remains of the civilian town (chapter 6). The archaeological museum (Aquincum Museum) is located next to the remains of the civilian town.

 

In the south we have the military fort (chapter 4) and the military town (chapter 5). Only minor parts of the fort and the military town are visible today.

There are two ancient amphitheatres in Budapest (chapter 8):

* The civilian amphitheatre is located north of the civilian town. The outside dimensions are 86.5 x 75.5 m. The auditorium (cavea) could seat 3-4,000 spectators.

* The military amphitheatre is located south of the fort and the military town. The author gives us the outside dimensions (131 x 107 m), but (for some reason) she does not tell us how many spectators it could seat. The answer is 10-14,000.

By way of comparison: the well-preserved amphitheatres in Arles (Arelate) and Nîmes (Nemausus) in the south of France could both seat ca. 20,000 spectators, while the Colosseum in Rome – the largest in the Roman Empire – could hold up to 50,000 spectators.

Chapters 10 and 11 provide additional historical context. Chapter 10 is devoted to Roman emperors who visited (or stayed in) Aquincum or Pannonia (once or twice). As the author explains on page 111, the ancient evidence is not always clear about the when and the where.

Chapter 11 is devoted to religion. The author presents a pagan religion, the Mithras cult, which was very popular among merchants and soldiers during the first and the second century AD, and Christianity, which was a minor religion in the Roman Empire during the first and second century. In the fourth century (during the reign of Theodosius) Christianity was proclaimed as the official religion of the Roman state.
 

At the end of the book (pages 141-142) the ancient Roman sites in Budapest are listed with a precise address. There is free access to most of them.

Smaller objects from antiquity are on display in three museums. The author provides the address as well as the opening hours for all of them: 

* Aquincum Museum
* Budapest History Museum
* Hungarian National Museum

At the end of the book (pages 143-144) there is a bibliography. Most entries are in German or English. Two important English language books are not included here:
 

* The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia edited by Alfonz Lengyel & George T. B. Radan (1980)

* The Roman Army in Pannonia edited by Szolt Visy (2003)

Detail of the front cover: Contra-Aquincum as it was before the recent reorganisation.

 

Inside the front cover there is a colour map which shows the northern section of Aquincum: fifteen Roman sites (including museums) are marked here. Unfortunately, this map is printed upside down!

Inside the back cover there is a colour map which shows the southern section of Aquincum: four Roman sites (including museums) are marked here.

 
If you are planning a visit to Budapest, and if you can read German, this book by Klara Póczy is highly relevant for you.

* * *

 

Klara Póczy,
Aquincum: Das römische Budapest,
Philipp von Zabern, 2005, 144 pages

* * *