The Latin word Vicus (plural vici ) means a city block or a settlement in an ancient Roman state . At the same time, the size of the settlement does not matter: Vicus could be either a small craft-trading village located along the road, or approach the city in size, but still not be a civitas, or even less a municipality .
Content
Vici in the city of Rome
Vicus in Rome is the name of one of the neighborhoods, or one of the parts of the city, which, according to Pliny the Elder, totaled 256. [1] At the same time, the term vicus also referred to the (main) street passing through the corresponding quarter.
Vici in the provinces
Vici arose and existed, as a rule, at the intersections of trade or military routes, close to crossings, or mineral deposits as small settlements focused on the provision of various kinds of services and small craft production. In many of them, there was a market that served as a outlet for agricultural produce produced in rural villas . In addition, vici could arise around places of religious worship and the release of healing mineral waters.
Roman vici did not have their own management and did not have an independent legal status, subject to special administrative units called civitas in whose territory they were located. In some cases, Vicus, however, could receive a higher status as the main city of civitas , such as Nida in the northwest of modern Frankfurt am Main , or Lopununum . At the same time, vici did not always have public buildings such as the term , temple, or theater.
Vici at military camps
A special type is formed by the civilian settlements at the castrum , [2] which are especially common along the borders of the Empire in the German provinces and are also called canabae (legionis) , if they appeared around the camp of the legion. In such vici, along with soldiers' wives and families, innkeepers, veterans, artisans and merchants who first of all settled the daily needs of the stationed military units settled in. Traces of farming are rather rare. In their existence, such settlements were largely dependent on the military camp, and with the relocation of the legion could disappear. On the other hand, many such vici could develop into full-fledged communities if they found their niche in the local market.
The term Vicus in the Middle Ages
Interestingly, even after the fall of the Roman Empire, the concept of vicus continued to be used to refer to a number of settlements: for example, the future city of Plauen in one of the letters of the Naumburg bishop Dietrich I for 1122 was first written as Vicus Plawe .
See also
- 14 counties of Rome
- Municipalities of Ancient Rome
Notes
- ↑ F. Kolb, Rom. Die Geschichte der Stadt in der Antike. München, CHBeck Verlag, 2002.S. 408.
- ↑ CSSommer, Kastellvicus und Kastell , Fundberichte Baden-Württemberg 13, 1988.
Literature
- T. Fischer, Vicus // Die römischen Provinzen. Eine Einführung in ihre Archeologie. Stuttgart, Theiss-Verlag 2001. S. 56-58. ISBN 3-8062-1591-X
- Harald von Petrikovits : Kleinstädte und nichtstädtische Siedlungen im Nordwesten des römischen Reiches. In: Herbert Jankuhn et al .: Das Dorf der Eisenzeit und des frühen Mittelalters. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1977. S. 86-135. ISBN 3-525-82380-0
- Monica Rorison: Vici in Roman Gaul. British Archaeological Reports International Series 933. Archaeopress 2001, Oxford. ISBN 1-84171-227-2
- Ludwig Wamser (Hrsg.): Die Römer zwischen Alpen und Nordmeer. Zivilisatorisches Erbe einer europäischen Militärmacht. Schriftenreihe der Archäologischen Staatssammlung München. 2000. S. 108-110.