Najpomembnejša antična mesta balkanskih provinc in obeh Panonij

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.Rimska mesta balkanskih in podonavskih provinc so bila doslej le redko del raziskav širših mestnih mrež. Namen prispevka je prepoznati glavne značilnosti mestnih sistemov in na podlagi najpomembnejših mest provincialne mestne hierarhije poiskati njihovo vpetost v ekonomijo provinc v času severske dinastije. Avtor se osredotoča na primerjavo velikosti prvorazrednih mest z ostalimi naselbinami, upošteva pa tudi njihovo lego in kmetijsko bogastvo zaledja. Ugotavlja, da moramo obravnavano območje glede na ekonomske vire razumeti kot obrobje rimskega imperija. Glavna bogastva obravnavanih provinc so bili namreč les, volna, ruda in delovna sila, kar se jasno izraža tudi v osnovnih geografskih parametrih prvorazrednih mest: v njihovi relativno skromni velikosti, obrobni legi in vojaški naravi