No City Is an Island: the Impact of the Cities of Late Antique Thracia on Provincial Ecclesiastical Construction

BULLETIN OF THE NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, XLIV, 2018 Proceedings of the First International Roman and Late Antique Thrace Conference “Cities, Territories and Identities” (Plovdiv, 3rd – 7th October 2016) No City is an Island: The Impact of the Cities of Late Antique Thracia on Provincial Ecclesiastical Construction Fraser REED Abstract: Although the study of Late Antiquity has experienced a great deal of growth in recent years, there is still relatively little attention given to the economically and strategically important provinces of central and southern Thrace. Most studies of urbanism in the eastern Balkans have focused on the Danubian frontier area, particu- larly due to the influence of the excavations at Nicopolis ad Istrum. These studies, however, are inherently shaped by the heavily-militarized nature of the limes and its direct opposition to external threats to the empire; such factors cannot be assumed for cities located in the non-riparian provinces of Thrace south of the Stara Planina. This paper, therefore, analyzes the position of three inland Thracian cities – Philippopolis, Beroe, and Diocletianopolis – in the landscape and their effect on the ecclesiastical construction throughout the province of Late Antique Thracia. Specifically, it considers the archaeological data collected in the Tabula Imperii Romani K-35/2 to determine the location and distribution of known religious architecture from Late Antiquity. The analysis also draws comparisons with similar data from the neighbouring province of Moesia Secunda in order to contextualize properly the results from Thracia. The results of this investigation reveal the comparative strength of ecclesiastical construction in the inland province and confirm the primacy of urban centres in the religious organization of Thracia, although it is clear their influence was not limited to the intramural area. Key words: Late Antiquity, urbanism, ecclesiastical building, Thrace, landscape. Introduction The cities of Late Antique Thracia are described in written sources as important ecclesiastical centres. Philippopolis, for example, was the seat of the provincial metropolitan, and was also the city in which Arian bishops chose to hold a counter-synod in 343/4 as a response to the Council of Serdica (Soc. HE 2.20; 7.36-37; Soz. HE 3.11; Mansi 3.140). Similarly, Beroe was an episcopal seat as well, and a bishop of Beroe named Demophilos was even elected patriarch of Constantinople in 370 (Feder 1916, 78). Finally, Diocletianopolis was certainly an episcopal see by the 5th century, although it is possible a bishop of the city was present at the Council of Serdica in 343 or the Council of Ephesus 1 A bishop of Diocletianopolis is pres- in 431 (ACO II.1, 340; Beševliev 1964)1. ent at Serdica and Ephesus, but it is not Furthermore, the archaeological evidence recovered from exca- evident that this is Diocletianopolis in vations within the cities lends additional support to the conception Thracia. The first definite attestation of of these urban centres as major religious sites. In Philippopolis, ex- a bishop of Diocletianopolis in Thracia is the bishop Epictetus at the Council of cavators have discovered the remains of four Christian basilicas, with Chalcedon in 451. construction dates ranging from the mid-4th century to the mid-6th 372 Fraser REED century (Кесякова 1999, 66-75; 2006, 147-148; Чанева-Дечевска 1999, 253-254; Bospachieva 2002; Topalilov 2007, 53-54). A martyrium was also located outside of the East Gate of the city, and another extra-muros early Christian complex may have served as a monastery (Bospatchieva 2001; Topalilov 2007). The situation is similar in Beroe, in which at least three Christian basilicas have been identified as well as a martyrium and another monastery complex (Николов 1965; Nikolov 1987, 104-107). Perhaps the most interesting results come from Diocletianopolis, where ten separate churches have been identified, ranging in date from the 4th to the 6th century (Маджаров 1993, 124-141; Madjarov 1989). Significant ecclesiastical construction, therefore, took place in each of the major urban centres of Thracia in Late Antiquity. There are, however, problems with interpreting the religious importance of a site based on the apparent number of ecclesiastical buildings. An obvious example is Diocletianopolis. The city boasts the highest number of ecclesiastical buildings in Thracia during Late Antiquity, but it is clear from the historical sources that the see of Diocletianopolis was certainly subordinate to the metropolitan bishop of Philippopolis. As a result, in order to understand better the respec- tive religious significance of the cities of Late Antique Thracia, this paper broadens the scope of analysis to examine the situation at a regional level. By considering the landscape surrounding the urban centres and drawing comparisons with other ecclesiastical centres in the province, it is possible to contextualize properly the status of Thracian cities within the regional religious organization. Materials and methods In addition to major urban centres such as Philippopolis, Beroe, and Diocletianopolis, many smaller settlements throughout Thracia were also occupied between the 4th and the 6th century. The various site reports and excavation results from these smaller settlements are often difficult to consult, but the results of most have been collected in a recent volume of the Tabula Imperii Romani, specifically K-35/2 – Philippopolis (TIR K-35/2). This paper, therefore, uses the results presented in the TIR K-35/2 to analyze the settlement pattern and distribution of ecclesiastical building in Late Antique Thracia. Specifically, data has been collected about sites that were occupied during Late Antiquity – that is, roughly from the Tetrarchic period to the end of the 6th century. These sites include cities, fortresses, road stations, villas, other smaller settlements, and isolated buildings. A single type of site is not favoured over another in order to achieve a complete picture of settlement patterns across the province. Moreover, the sites included in the investigation must have demonstrated some archaeological evidence of occupation during the period of study. The most common form of such evidence is, not surprisingly, pottery and other ceramic material dated to Late Antiquity, but also includes coins, inscriptions, construction method, and the typological dating of structures. From the total number of sites with evidence of occupation in Late Antiquity, the locations with ecclesiastical buildings were then deter- mined. The ecclesiastical buildings identified in Thracia comprise primarily churches, but also include smaller chapels, martyria, and monastery complexes. In some cases, the exact purpose of a structure NO CITY IS AN island: THE impact OF THE CITIES OF Late ANTIQUE... 373 is unclear, such as whether a basilica was an episcopal basilica or a martyrium. Nevertheless, this is a largely irrelevant concern for the present discussion; it is important that the building had a religious function, regardless of what the exact function was. A closer analysis of the exact nature of the ecclesiastical buildings of Thracia will likely yield further interesting results, but is unfortunately beyond the scope of the present discussion. There is, however, a notable problem with using the data compiled in the TIR K-35/2. Specifically, the problem is one of dating. The chron- ological extent of this paper is purposefully extensive because there are very few cases in the TIR K-35/2 in which sites are dated precisely. What is more common is the categorization of sites or structures into broad periods without definition, such as a basilica at Dorkovo that is dated from the 2nd – 6th century or the “early Christian” basilica at Matenitsa (TIR K-35/2, 112, 217). Accordingly, it is difficult to examine processes in fine detail based on the data presented in the TIR K-35/2 and information such as precise dates of occupation is not available. As a result of this constraint, this paper necessarily focuses on long- term processes and addresses broad trends occurring in Late Antique Thracia. Nevertheless, the scope of the material in the TIR K-35/2 is impressive and provides a good starting point for an investigation of the landscape of Thracia in Late Antiquity. Results Based on the data available in the TIR K-35/2, a total of 236 sites in the territory of the province of Thracia demonstrate evidence of occupation in Late Antiquity. The major urban centres of Philippopolis, Beroe, and Diocletianopolis account for a small number of these locations, but the vast majority are much smaller and more modest sites. More significantly for this analysis, out of the total of 236 sites in Thracia, only 34 (14.4%) have any evidence of ecclesiastical construction. A summary of the sites with religious buildings in Thracia is presented in Table 1. Taken on their own, these figures are interesting but convey very little significant information. It is not immediately clear, for instance, whether having 14.4% of occupied sites with religious buildings is abnormal. Thus, in order to contextualize properly the results from Thracia, it is necessary to compare the results to similar data from another province. Consequently, a similar analysis was conducted on the material in the TIR K-35/2 from Moesia Secunda. Moesia Secunda provides a good comparison since it is geographically adjacent to Thracia and also part of the Diocese of Thracia. Furthermore, the province’s proximity to the Danubian border and its intense militari- zation are factors that may have influenced the character and develop- ment of the provincial organization in ways that are not relevant to an inland province such as Thracia, which may then become apparent in an analysis of landscape patterns. Accordingly, after analyzing the data in the TIR K-35/2 from Moesia Secunda, a total of 432 sites were identified with archaeological evidence of occupation in Late Antiquity.

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