The ancient Roman city of Asseria near Benkovac

It is a city of marvelous tombstones known as Liburnian cipuses, proud gates of Emperor Trajan, and a monumental altar depicting the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus.

Destination	Benkovac
Year(s) of creation	5. st. pr. Kr. do 6. st.
Period / Style	Ancient Rome
Tag(s)	Archaeology, Fortress
Region / County	Zadar Area

Asseria was a Roman municipium that developed from a Liburnian hillfort, located at the site of today’s village of Podgrađe near Benkovac town. The village is named Podgrađe because it means “under the town.”

The Liburnian and Roman settlement of Asseria, the most attractive tourist site in the immediate vicinity of Benkovac, is situated on a strategic high point where the fertile fields of Ravni Kotari give way to the rugged scrubland of Bukovica. It overlooks important roads that, 2,000 years ago, connected Roman Jader (Zadar) to the metropolis of Salona (Solin).

This important road was called the Via Magna (Great Road), and it runs parallel to the modern Benkovac-Knin road. During the Roman Empire, it connected the area from Zadar (Jader), through Podgrađe (Asseria), to Bribir, Skradin (Scardona), and Solin (Salona), which was the regional seat at the time.

Systematic archaeological research in Asseria has been conducted since 1998, leading to many interesting insights into life in this long-lost city.

Asseria was a Liburnian city that originated in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and was later expanded during the Roman Empire. It flourished from the 5th century BC to the 6th century AD, after which it was abandoned. It is surrounded by enormous stone walls, up to 7 meters high and 3 meters wide, stretching for about 2.5 kilometers. Transporting this quantity of stone today would require 2,000 railway wagons.

At the beginning of the 2nd century, Emperor Trajan passed through Asseria. During his reign, the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent and power. In memory of this event, the people of Asseria erected a triumphal arch at one of the city’s entrances.

The living standards of the former inhabitants are also evidenced by an aqueduct that brought water from nearby Lisičić and a forum with important public buildings.

The most interesting find is a large stone altar, which was incorporated into a late antique wall. The altar is cube-shaped and was originally likely located somewhere in the forum. The wider side features a relief of the Capitoline Wolf with Romulus and Remus, while the narrower sides depict scenes related to the offering of a sacrifice.

Asseria is significant because it was a center for the production of cipuses – a type of Liburnian tombstone. It is therefore not surprising that the largest number of cipuses has been found in this area.

Life in Asseria came to a halt during the great migrations and the invasions of the Avars and Slavs in the late 6th and early 7th centuries.

Sources:

Heritage Museum Benkovac

Ravni Kotar Tourist Board

Photos:

Heritage Museum Benkovac

Location

Benkovac

The first traces of human life in the Benkovac area were found around the village of Smilčić that belonged to the Danilo culture. Before Roman conquest the area was inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of Liburnians. During the Roman Civil war the Liburnians sided with Caesar. The Romans mention the following Liburnian settlements: Nedinum (Nadin), Carinium (Karin), Varvaria (Bribir) and Asseria (Podgrađe). In 7th century the area was settled by Croats. The area of Benkovac was at the crossroads of four Croatian župas – Novljanska, Sidraška, Bribirska and Karinska. Near the village of Šopot, an inscription from the 9th century was found that mentions Branimir as a Croatian Duke.

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Ancient Rome

Romans subdued the Greek colonial cities in the 3rd century BC. They imposed an organization based on a military-economical system. Furthermore, the Romans subdued the Illyrians in the first century BC and organized the entire coastal territory by transforming the citadels into urban cities. After that, the history of these parts is the history of the Illyrian provinces of the Roman Empire. Numerous rustic villas, and new urban settlements (the most impressive are Verige in Brijuni, Pula, and Trogir – formerly Tragurion) demonstrate the high level of Roman urbanization. There were at least thirty urban cities in Istria, Liburnia and Dalmatia with Roman citizenship (civitas). The best-preserved networks of Roman streets (decumanus/cardo) are those in Epetion (Poreč) and Jader (Zadar). The most perfectly preserved Roman monuments are in Pola (Pula); founded in the first century dedicated to Julius Caesar. It is full of classical Roman art such as: stone walls, two city gates, two temples on the Forum, and remains of two theaters, as well as the Arch from the year 30 AD, and the temple of Augustus built in the years 2 to 14 AD, and finally the Fluvian Amphitheater (so called – Arena) from the 2nd century. In the 3rd century AD, the city of Salona became the largest (it had 40,000 inhabitants) and most important city of Dalmatia. Near the city emperor Diocletian, born in Salona, built Diocletian’s Palace around the year 300 AD, which is the largest and most important monument of late antique architecture in the world. On its pathways, cellars, domes, mausoleums, arcades and courtyards we can trace numerous different art influences from the entire Empire. In the 4th century, Salona became the center of Christianity for the entire western Balkans. It had numerous basilicas and necropolises, and even two saints: Domnius (Duje) and Anastasius (Stošija).