Segestica

The paper gives an overview of the Late Iron Age and early Imperial
settlement phases at the Dunavski Lloyd and Frankopanska
b.b. positions in Sisak. Both are positioned on the left
bank of the Kupa river in Sisak, and the findings give us an insight
into the material culture of the Late La Tène settlement
and the beginnings of the early Roman imperial settlement.

Strabo and Cassius Dio make up the timeframe that encompasses the majority of historical sources dealing with Segestica / Siscia, or mentioning it in the context of the author's interest. This paper discusses data on pre-Roman Segestica, as well as its successor Siscia, that can be collected from narratives in the ancient sources. The main focus is on the Augustan period or, more precisely, his war in Illyricum when Segestica, along with the western part of the Pannonian Interfluve, fell under Roman authority. However, the time before this military campaign is not neglected, along with the period that ensued.

Članak obrađuje čamce monoksile pronađene u Kupi u Sisku 1983. i 1992. godine. Datirani su od kraja starijeg željeznog doba do početka rimske vladavine na prostoru Siska. U radu se daje njihov opis, pokušava se odrediti njihova namjena i smjestiti u njihov kulturni kontekst. / The paper examines the logboats found in the Kupa river in Sisak in 1983 and 1992. The boats date back to the period from the end of the late Iron Age to the beginning of the Roman rule over this territory.

The Slovenian abstract is followed by an English one.
(Izvleček) V letu 2017 bo veliko dela z urejanjem zbornika mednarodnega znanstvenega sestanka o latenizaciji na območju med jugovzhodnimi Alpami in hrvaško-srbskim Podonavjem, ki sva ga s prof. Karlom Stroblom iz Celovca priredila novembra 2012 v Kobaridu. Serena Vitri iz Trsta je zanj napisala članek o najmlajših grobovih grobišča Misincinis v Paularu, ki so zelo revni in večinoma vsebujejo najmlajše certoške fibule.
Moj članek o grobovih certoške stopnje v gomili 48 iz Stične je bil objavljen v reviji Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 33 za leto 2016. V njem je seznam ženskih in moških grobov te stopnje, na štirih tablah pa so predstavljene značilne najdbe (fibule, orožje, deli pasu, konjska oprema, obročast nakit, steklene in jantarne jagode, keramične in bronaste posode).
Za objavo v zborniku znanstvenega sestanka o Segestiki/Sisciji, ki je potekal septembra 2015 v Zagrebu, sem oddal članek o dačanskih brzdah iz pozne latenske in zgodnje cesarske dobe, ki so bile najdene v Kolpi v Sisku in v grobu konja, ki ga je pred letom 1904 pri Orešcu v dolini Drave izkopal župnik Stjepan Tompak.
Na mednarodnih sestankih sem imel tri predstavitve: aprila 2016 v Sarajevu o relativni kronologiji dolenjske halštatske skupine, maja 2016 v Trenčianskih Teplicah na Slovaškem o kovinskih najdbah iz naselja stopnje LT D1 pri Trenčianskih Bohuslavicah in oktobra 2016 v Forliju o grobnici etruščanskega princa in italski brzdi iz Stične ter o etruščanski bronasti skodeli iz Ljubljane.
Grob z negovsko čelado, ki je bil lani izkopan blizu Hrastnika, je vseboval tudi bogato okrašeno pasno spono z rebrom in dolgim kavljem, ki ima dve okrašeni primerjavi v Sloveniji (v Brezjah pri Trebelnem in v Ljubljanici) in tri neokrašene z najdišč v bližini Gardskega jezera v severni Italiji.
Na občasni razstavi Tolminskega muzeja Prapoti skozi praproti, ki je bila odprta 9. decembra 2016 (avtor Miha Mlinar), je predstavljen pomemben surovec iz žarnogrobiščne dobe. Leta 1964 sta ga na Kobilniku blizu Tolmina našla dva iskalca z detektorjem. Poklonjen je bil muzeju in inventariziran, potem pa dolgo let založen, dokler ni bil novembra 2016 ponovno odkrit.
Borut Bezjak s Trat blizu Šentilja je v začetku januarja letos na bregu Mure našel dva kosa železa. Ko sem 13. februarja s posredovanjem Saše Djure Jelenko iz Slovenj Gradca dobil 13 fotografij obeh kosov, se mi je posvetilo, da gre za dela izjemne poznolatenske brzde s podbradnico italskega izvora.
(Abstract)
Event: Research programme day at the Institute of Archaeology.
Presentation title: Early and Late Iron Age.
A lot of work will be devoted this year to the editing of the Acts of the International Scientific Conference on Latenization in the territory from the south-eastern Alps to the Croatian-Serbian Danube region, organized in November 2012 by Professor Karl Strobel in Klagenfurt and myself. Serena Vitri from Trieste has written a paper on the latest graves in the Hallstatt cemetery of Misincinis at Paularo in Carnia, which are quite modestly furnished and mostly contain the latest Certosa fibulae.
My paper on the graves of the Certosa phase in Early Iron Age barrow 48 from Stična was published in the journal Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 33 for 2016. The paper contains a list of the female and male graves of this phase and presents the typical finds on four plates (fibulae, weapons, belt parts, horse gear, annular jewellery, glass and amber beads, ceramic and bronze vessels).
For the Acts of the Conference on Segestica/Siscia, organized in September 2015 in Zagreb, I submitted a paper on Late La Tène and Early Imperial Dacian horse bits from the river Kupa in Sisak and from a horse grave excavated by parish priest Stjepan Tompak before 1904 near Orešac in the Drava Valley.
I gave three presentations at international conferences: in April 2016 in Sarajevo on the relative chronology of the Dolenjska Hallstatt group; in May 2016 in Trenčianske Teplice in Slovakia on some metal finds from the LT D1 settlement at Trenčianske Bohuslavice; and in October 2016 in Forli on the Etruscan princely grave and Italic horse bit from Stična, and also on an Etruscan bronze cup from Ljubljana.
The recently excavated grave with a Negova type helmet from the vicinity of Hrastnik in the Sava Valley also contained a richly decorated bronze belt plate that has two decorated parallels in Slovenia and three undecorated parallels in the surroundings of the Garda Lake in Northern Italy.
In the temporary exhibition Ancient Trails through Ferns in Tolminski muzej an important fragment of a bronze plano-convex ingot is displayed. It was found in 1964 by two metal detectorists on the Kobilnik hill near Tolmin, donated to the museum, misplaced, and on my initiative rediscovered in November 2016. 
Two iron objects were found in January 2017 in the river Mura by Borut Bezjak from Trate near Šentilj close to the Slovenian-Austrian border. On February 13 I obtained several photographs of them and discovered that they belong to an outstanding Italic curb bit from the Late La Tène period. 
The abstract was proof read by Nina Crummy from Colchester (UK).

BELLUM PANNONICUM (12–11 B.C.).
THE FINAL STAGE OF THE CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN PANNONIA
Greek and Roman authors mention Pannonia as a mountaineous country rich in forests and marshes and very cold in winter (Tibullus, Panegyr. Mess., 3.7,108–109; Strabo, 7.5,2 and 7.5,10; Ovid, Ad Liviam, 390; Velleius Paterculus, 2.115,4; Pliny the Elder, Nat. hist., 3.25,147; Pliny the
Younger, Panegyr. Traiani, 12.4; Tacitus, Ann., 1.17; Florus, 1.39,3; Appianus, Illyr., 4.18–19, 4.22, 5.25 and 27; Herodian, 6.7,6 and 8.1,1; Cassius Dio, 49.36,2–4 and 55.32,3; Aurelius Victor, Epit. de Caes., 41.5; SHA, Probus, 21.2; Enodius, Panegyr. ad Theod., 7.206; Zosimus, 2.18,2). Nevertheless,
Pannonian territory was of considerable strategical, trading and even economic importance to the Roman world from the late Republican times onwards. Therefore it is not surprising that
already in the 2nd century B.C. Rome showed its interest in the area southeast of the Alps, as it is obvious from Polybius’ report on the rich gold layer in the land of the Taurisci (in Strabo, 4.6,12), from Strabo’s report on early trading between Rome and the Danubian region (5.1,8; 4.6,10 and 7.5,2) (see also Pliny the Elder, Nat. hist., 3.18,128; Tacitus, Ann., 1.20) and also from Polybius’ fragment on what was probably the first war waged in Pannonia (frg. 64 Suda). As the most important trading points mentioned were Nauportus (Vrhnika on the Ljubljanica river), Emona (Ljubljana) and Segestica (Sisak, both on the Sava river), and Poetovio (Ptuj) as their counterpart on the Drava.
Until the middle of the 1st century AD, the term Pannonia covered the territory between the Drava and the Sava rivers, stretching to the south as far as the northern slopes of the Dinara mountain range (Strabo, 7.5,3 and 7.5,10; Florus, 2.24; Appian, Illyr., 3.14 and 4.22; Isidorus, Etymolog., 14.16). Not until Augustus’ administrative measures was the province of Illyricum divided into two separate provinces, Dalmatia and Pannonia, and after the annexation of the area north of the Drava river during the reign of Claudius, the name of Pannonia embraced the western part of Hungary as well, its south reaches stretching to the northern slopes of the Bosnian mountains.
Pannonia was a part of the Mediterranean oecumene, representing the northernmost edge of the world known to the Greeks (Herodotus, 4.49; Apollonius, Argonaut., 4.282–292 and 4.324–326; Pliny the Elder, Nat. hist., 3.18,128), The Danube and the Sava rivers (as well as the Ljubljanica) were a part of the praehistorical trans-European communication network which combined overland and fluvial routes intersecting the whole continent. Most important was the Amber Road, a
much travelled trade route beginning on the Baltic shore and ending in the north corner of the Adriatic. Nevertheless, the Greek knowledge of Pannonia was both incomplete and distorted (Strabo, 2.1,41, 7.5,1 and 7.5,9 – on Theopompus, Eratosthenes, Timosthenes and Polybius), excluding
Posidonius (passim in Strabo, especially in 7.5,2, 7.5,10 and 7.5,12 for the land of the Scordisci). Therefore, Rome could not have inherited much of the knowledge on Pannonia. During 150 years of conquering of the Pannonia, Rome gradually came to know well its geographical features and its inhabitants. The first reliable information on the area was gathered during the expedition of Octavianus Augustus (35–33 B.C.) and was recorded in Strabo’s and especially in Appian’s books.
The inhabitants of Pannonia were known as very brave and belligerent people (Velleius Paterculus, 2.110,5 and 2.115,4; Appian, Illyr., 4.24; Herodian, 2.9,11; Cassius Dio, 49.36,3; Mammertinus, Panegyr. Maxim. Aug., II(10)2). Their society was organized on a clan system, their settlements were mainly rural, with several protourban exceptions at important communication points (Nauportus, Emona, Segestica and Sirmium on the Save trade route, Poetovio and Mursa on the Drave – see Fig. 2).
This paper attempts to give an accurate distribution of ethnical communities in Pannonia south of the Drava based primarily on authoress’ analysis of classical literary and epigraphic sources.
It is, of course, only a suggestion. Unfortunately, the promise Velleius Paterculus gave to his readers (In another place I shall describe the tribes of the Pannonians and the races of Dalmatians, the situation of their country and its rivers, the number and extent of their forces, and the many glorious victories won in the course of this war by this great commander, 2.96,2–3) was not fulfilled, at least as far as we know. So, the proposed ethnical picture is based on other literary sources (Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Appian, Cassius Dio) which were themselves, based on the Orbis Pictus of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, dating from the very end of the 1st century B.C. The authoress proposes the following ethnical distribution (Fig. 3): in general, the area west of the Mons Claudius (mountains surrounding the Po`ega basin) was occupied by the Taurisci and the area east of the mountain by the Scordisci, both of the Celtic origin. The Taurisci, who settled the upper Sava valley, were predominant over several Pannonian communities, i. e. the Serretes and the Serapilli (upper Drava
valley), the Iasi (between Aquae Iasae/ Vara`dinske Toplice and Aquae Balizae/Daruvar, extending to the south as far as Pakrac and Lipik), theVarciani (from @umbera~ka Gora and Medvednica along the Sava north of Segestica/Sisak), the Colapiani (along the river Kupa, as far as its confluence with
the Sava, with eastern border in the lower Una valley) and the Osseriates (between the mouths of the Una and the Vrbas, probably as far as the mouth of the river Bosna).
The Scordisci were settled along the confluence of the Sava and the Danube. The area of their political influence covered the Andizeti (the lower Drava valley, Baranja and eastern Slavonia probably with Cibalae/Vinkovci as the southernmost point), the Amantini (Srijem), the Breuci (the Sava valley, from the mouth of the Orljava river eastwards, holding both banks of the Sava and reaching the Danube in the vicinity of Vukovar) and the community of the Cornacati (around Sotin, south of Vukovar) who were probably of Breucian origin.
South of the Sava river, in the area where the political influence of the Pannonian Celts was reduced to their more or less noticeable cultural influence, there were some of the most powerful Pannonian communities, mentioned by Strabo (7.5,3). Their ethnical territories spread over the vast mountaineous area ending on the northern slopes of the Velebit and the Dinara mountains in the hinterland of the Adriatic sea. There lay, according to Strabo (7.5,3) and Appian (Illyr., 3.14 and
4.22) the southernmost ethnical border of the Pannonians towards the non-Pannonian communities.
The southern Pannonians were the Maezaei (between the lower Una and Vrbas valleys, as far as the northern slopes of Grme~ and Srnetica to the south), the Ditiones (south of Maezaei, between the Mount Plje{evica to the west, the Vijenac and [ator mountains or perhaps even Dinara to the south, and the easternmost slopes of Klekovača and Lunjevača to the east), and the Daesitiates (between the Vrbas and perhaps the Drina valleys, extending as far as the mountains south of Sarajevo). There were also several smaller ethnical communities (cfr. Strabo, 7.5,3), probably the Deretini, the Dindari, the Glinditiones and the Melcumanni, all probably within the vast area of the Daesitiates who, according to the authoress, politically dominated the communities mentioned.
* * *
According to Greek and Roman written sources, Roman interest in Pannonia dates back to the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. at the latest. According to Polybius (in Strabo, 4.6,12), rich gold deposits were found in the land of the Taurisci. Rome showed interest in its northeastern neighbourhood during the final stage of the Roman Republic, and probably evolved a long-term plan for conquering the area beyond the southeastern Alps. The starting point of all Roman military expeditions to Pannonia was Aquileia, founded in the 2nd century B.C. as a trading post and a military base in the northern corner of the Adriatic.
It is widely supposed that the first historically confirmed armed conflict between the Romans and the Pannonians (Polybius, frg. 64 Suda) took place in the territory of Pannonian Segestica. If so, Segestica was the first and the principal target of the Roman army as early as 156 B.C., and was
periodically attacked during the next 120 years. In the same year there was a war against the Delmatae and the Scordisci (Livy, Per., 47; Strabo, 7.5.5; Florus, 2.25; Cassius Dio in Zonaras, 9.25; Iulius Obsequens, Prodig., 16). The Scordisci probably took part as the allies of the Delmatae, although it is possible that there was another (separated) war against them in the same year. Duringthe 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. Rome waged several wars against the Scordisci, all of them on the
northern border of the province of Macedonia, far away south of the Scordiscian central region around the mouth of the Sava (Livy, Per., 56 and 63; Eutropius, 4.24 and 4.27; Velleius Paterculus, 2.8.3; Appian, Illyr., 1.5). Only after the victorious expedition of Caius Scribonius Curio (cos. 76 B.C.), did the scene of further fighting move far north, to Scordiscian territory (Orosius, 5.23.20; Florus, 1.39.6); between 16 and 12 B.C. the Scordisci were subdued and became Roman allies
(Cassius Dio, 54.20.3; 54.31,3; Suetonius, Tib., 9).
The next historically testified military campaign in Pannonia was the penal expedition of Tiberius Sempronius Tuditanus (cos. 129 B.C.) against the Histri, the Carni, the Taurisci and the
Iapodes (Pliny the Elder, Nat. hist., 3.19.129; Appian, Illyr., 2.10; Livy, Per., 59). It is possible that Tuditanus reached Pannonian communities which were politically dependent on the Taurisci, at least those in the Sava valley, i. e. the Varciani. Tuditanus’ victory over the Iapodes south of Velika and Mala Kapela was the prior condition for further military successes in Pannonia, because the Roman legions controlled the upper course of the river, with Pannonian Segestica at arm’s reach.
The city was attacked ten years later (in 119 B.C.) by the consul Lucius Aurelius Cotta and by Lucius Caecilius Metellus Diadematus (cos. 117 B.C.), the cousin of the actual consul and his namesake (nicknamed Delmaticus). Although Appian gives contradictory information (Illyr., 2.10 and 4.22), it seems very probable that Segestica was not seized, although it was besieged for the second time in its history. During the same time, the second war against the Delmatae was completed successfully by L. Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus (Livy, Per., 62; Appian, Illyr., 2.10; Eutropius, 4.23; Orosius, 5.24).
The 1st century B.C. was a crucial period for the Roman Republic. During that time, Rome experienced the Bellum Italicum (the allied war, 91 B.C.) as well as the civil war (Marius vs. Sulla), and started long-term wars against the kingdom of Parthia. Given these circumstances, Pannonia
was probably not in the focus of interest of Roman foreign policy. Not even Caius Iulius Caesar, appointed as governor of the provinces of Gallia Cisalpina and Illyricum, was interested in the military advancing in Pannonia, although he planned to attack the Dacians, Pannonian northern neighbours, who were menacing Roman possession east of Italy (Strabo, 7.3.11; Suetonius, Caes., 44; Appian, Illyr., 4.18 and 3.15). Namely, holding Segestica was the main prerequisite to a successful campaign against the Dacians (Appian, Illyr., 4.22 and 4.23; Strabo, 4.6.10 and 7.5.2).
The final stage in conquering Segestica was the military expedition waged by Caius Iulius Caesar Octavianus in 35–33 B.C. The future emperor not only captured the city, but also subdued the territory south of the city, conquering the Kupa valley (the land of the Colapiani) as well as the regions of Lika and Gorski Kotar (the land of the northern Iapodes) (Appian, Illyr., 4.18–24; Cassius Dio, 49.35 and 49.37; Strabo, 7.5.4; Florus, 2.23; Livy, Per., 131; Rufius Festus, 7). Octavianus also
waged war against the Delmatae (Appian, Illyr., 5.25–27; Cassius Dio, 49.38; Livy, Per., 132 and 133; Strabo, 7.5.5; Suetonius, Aug., 20 and 22), reaffirming the Roman control over the Adriatic coast and its hinterland. It seems that Octavianus did not attempt to advance further east along the
Sava, but concentraded on his principal goal – taking Segestica. Possession over this settlement was
the prior precondition for conquering the rest of Pannonia and reaching the Danube. The area conquered or pacified by Octavianus during the Illyrian war (35–33 B.C.) is outlined in Appian’s account of these events; the eastern border of Roman Illyricum probably did not extend eastwards of
the territories of the Iasi (in the Drava valley) and the Colapiani (in the Sava valley), reaching the westernmost slopes of the mountains surrounding the Po`ega basin (Fig. 5; Fig. 6 shows the position of the Roman military camps controlling the Roman possessions after the campaign 35–33 B.C.).
Tiberius Claudius Nero, the adopted son of Octavianus Augustus and one of his best army commanders, completed the conquest of Pannonia in the Pannonian war 12–11 B.C. (Cassius Dio, 54.24.3; 54.28.1–2; 54.31; 54.34.3; 54.36.2–3; 55.2.4; Velleius Paterculus, 2.39.3; 2.96.2–3; Suetonius,
Aug., 20 and 21; Suetonius, Tib., 9 and 14; Res gestae, 30; Frontinus, Strateg., 2.1.5; Livy, Per., 141; Florus, 2.24; Festus, Brev., 7; Eutropius, 7.9). This war was traditionally dated to 13–9 B.C., but historical sources are quite clear concerning its beginning early in 12 B.C. (Cassius Dio, 54.28.1–2) as well as its termination in 11 B.C. (Cassius Dio, 54.36.2; 55.2.4).
During the campaign Tiberius subdued all Pannonian communities east of the Po`ega basin (including the basin itself), and reached the Danube in its reaches between the mouths of the Drava and the Sava rivers (Res gestae, 30). In this way the Andizeti in the Drava valley with their main
centre in Mursa (Osijek), came under direct Roman control and also the Breuci (Cibalae/ Vinkovci, Marsonia/ Slavonski Brod) and the Amantini (Sirmium/ Srijemska Mitrovica), both in the Sava valley; as is mentioned above, the Scordisci were acting as Roman allies during the war. After a thorough analysis of written sources regarding the Pannonian war 12–11 B.C. (above mentioned) and the great Batonian rebellion 6–9 AD (Velleius Paterculus, 2.110–115; Cassius Dio, 55.28–34;
56.11 and 16–17; Suetonius, Tib., 16 and 17), authoress concluded that Tiberius’ legions also overran the territories of Pannonian communities south of the Sava, in today’s Bosnia (Osseriates, Maezaei, Ditiones and Daesitiates) (Fig. 8).
Although Tiberius was only rewarded with an ovatio, his accomplishments in the Pannonian war were crucial for further Roman policy towards the Danube region. Rome could at last consolidate in the area between the Drava river and the Adriatic and organize the province of Illyricum as an integral entity. The province would soon be divided into two separate administrative units – Dalmatia and Pannonia. During Claudius’ principate Pannonia would expand to the areas of the
present-day western Hungary, reaching the middle Danube and embracing Celtic communities who were not hostile to Rome (there is no evidence of armed conflicts between the north-Pannonian Celts and Roman legions).
Tiberius’Pannonian war thus represents the final stage of the conquering of Pannonia and the precondition for reaching the middle Danube as the final northeast border of the Roman Empire.

You can read more on the two exceptional bridle bits of Dacian type, found in the bed of the Kupa river in Sisak and exhibited in the City Museum Sisak, in my texts 003_A well preserved bridle bit of Dacian type from Sisak (https://www.academia.edu/15358675) and 004_A bit of Magdalensberg variant of Dacian bits from Sisak (https://www.academia.edu/15383924)!
I have looked in my diary and found out that my first visit of Sisak hadn’t happened in 2003, as said by me in the lecture, but two years earlier, on Thursday, November 22, 2001. Mitja Guštin as a driver, Janka Istenič, Andrej Gaspari and me left Ljubljana in one car at 6 AM. In the City Museum Sisak (Gradski muzej Sisak, Ulica kralja Tomislava 10) we were accepted by the curators Zdenko Burkowsky and Zoran Wiewegh.
We have taken a look at the permanent exhibition displaying several very interesting objects (e. g. bridle bits and bronze vessels), two temporary exhibitions (on the coins through the centuries and on the fishing) and the locksmith’s workshop, in which from 1907 to 1910 was working my godfather Josip Broz Tito. We exchanged some literature, examined a lot of metal small finds and visited the museum depositary.
After that we have made a walk through the archaeological park (Roman period horreum and city walls with a corner tower) and drove to the old castle (Stari grad Sisak) at the confluence of the Kupa and Sava rivers as well as to the so-called Bitroff house, in which foundations Roman sarcophagi were built in (Lađarska ulica on the right bank of the Kupa river near a nice bridge).