The top-ranking towns in the Balkan and Pannonian provinces of the Roman Empire

DONEV D.

ARHEOLOSKI VESTNIK, vol.71, pp.193-215, 2020 (AHCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 71
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.3986/av.71.05
  • Journal Name: ARHEOLOSKI VESTNIK
  • Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, FRANCIS, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, L'Année philologique, Anthropological Literature, MLA - Modern Language Association Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.193-215
  • Keywords: the Balkan peninsula, the Danube, High Empire, urbanization, urban systems, SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS, CITY, SYSTEMS
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The Roman towns of the Balkan and Danube provinces have rarely been studied as parts of wider urban networks. This paper attempts to identify the principle features of these urban systems and their implications for the economy of the provinces at the time of the Severan dynasty, through the prism of the top-ranking towns in the provincial urban hierarchies. The focus will be on the size of the first-ranking settlements in relation to the size of the lower-ranking towns, their location and the agricultural riches of their hinterlands. One of the main conclusions of this study is that, from an economic perspective, the region under study was a peripheral part of the Roman Empire. Its main assets were its timber, wool, metallic ores and labour force. This is reflected in the basic geographic parameters of the first-ranking settlements: their relatively humble size, their peripheral locations and militaristic nature.