Cities in the Balkans like Serdica entered an entirely new stage of development in Late Antiquity, between the late 3rd and beginning of the 7th century CE (Dinchev 2014). In these centuries, the importance of many cities increased because of numerous historical changes such as:
- the establishment of a new form of government – the Tetrarchy, the rule of four emperors, towards the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century;
- the persecutions of the Christians during this period;
- Christianity becoming an official religion in the Roman Empire in 311 and 313 and the only official religion at the end of the 4th century;
- the founding of Constantinople in 330 as the new capital of the Roman Empire and the division of the empire in 395 into Western and Eastern halves;
- the ongoing conflict between Christian Orthodoxy and numerous heresies;
- and the constant barbarian invasions in the Balkans and the creation of new states as a result.
A factor that strongly influenced the development of cities in the Balkans in Late Antiquity was that most emperors came from this area of the Mediterranean, which led to their long-term presence here and increased patronage of particular cities. For example, the famous utterance “Serdica is my Rome” was ascribed to Constantine the Great. While this declaration is not attested in authors from the time of Constantine, it still reflects that Late Antique emperors favored certain cities in the Balkans. After Emperor Aurelianus in 271 or 272 chose Serdica as the capital of the new province of Dacia (later divided into Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea), Serdica rose in importance among surrounding cities.
Under Aurelianus’ successors, Serdica developed further, particularly under the Tetrarchy and Galerius the junior emperor of the Roman Empire’s eastern provinces. The tetrarchs built imperial residences not only at Rome but also at many other cities like Treverorum (modern Trier, Germany), Nicomedia in Asia Minor (modern Izmit, Turkey), and several cities in the Balkans. Emperor Diocletian built his residence in his home city Spalato (modern Split, Croatia), where he retired after his abdication. Galerius had two residences: one in Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki, Greece) and a second in Romuliana (modern Zaječar, Serbia). Constantine the Great also built a couple residences in the Balkans in addition to his palaces at Rome and Constantinople: one at his birth city Naissus and likely a second one on the Via Militaris (Via Diagonalis) at Skretiska near Serdica (modern Kostinbrod, Bulgaria). One of his sons Constantius II built another residence at his birth city Sirmium (modern Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia).
Because they came from the Balkans, both Emperors Justin I and Justinian the Great contributed significantly to the development of Constantinople and other nearby cities. In the capital, they began intensive construction works that included the third phase of the “St. Sophia” church, which became an important world heritage monument. Both archaeological evidence and written sources confirm that under Justinian I, many fortresses were rebuilt and many new ones established in response to the numerous barbarian invasions. Serdica’s magnificent fourth and final “St. Sophia” basilica (there are three earlier churches in that location) also dates to Justinian’s reign (Dinchev, 2014).
Thus, the Balkans and its cities rose in profile from distant provincial lands that were occasionally visited by the emperors to dynamic political, economic, military, religious, and cultural centers adjacent to the new capital Constantinople. At the same time, a well-maintained road network spanning the Balkans allowed for fast travel between the two capitals of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire and facilitated exchange between them.
THE MOSAICS OF SERDICA. FUNCTION AND TECHNIQUES.
The city of Serdica has one of the richest mosaic collections of those found at Late Antique cities in Bulgaria such as Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv), Augusta Traiana-Beroe (Stara Zagora), Parthicopolis (Sandanski), Pautalia (Kyustendil), Nicopolis ad Nestum (Garmen, near the town of Gotse Delchev), and Odessos (Varna). The remains of Late Antique Serdica are spread out in two sections: Serdica I and Serdica II, which later became medieval Sredets and modern Sofia. At present, 22 buildings decorated with mosaics have been found during excavations in Sofia and its environs.
The earliest mosaics from late antique Serdica are from the supposed martyrium under the basilica of St. Sophia, and the latest are remnants of wall mosaics from the same basilica. There are another seven early Christian/Byzantine basilicas with mosaics at Serdica and in its vicinity, and another basilica mosaic found at nearby Germanea (modern Sapareva Banya) was influenced or even laid by a workshop based at Serdica. Serdica’s mosaics also include floors in three supposed imperial residences and three other elite houses. Moreover, two Roman villas with mosaics were found in the territory of Serdica, and a cist grave decorated with floor mosaics was discovered in Serdica’s Eastern necropolis near the basilica of St. Sophia.
Five basic techniques were used to craft Serdica’s mosaics:
Opus Signinum
Opus signinum was the cheapest and quickest technique used in the 4th century. In this technique, crushed brick and pottery fragments and dust are added to the mortar, which gives a typical red-pinkish color to the mosaic’s surface. Until the last decade of the 20th century, researchers thought that use of this technique ended sometime in the 2nd century CE. At both Serdica and Philippopolis, however, monuments marked by opus signinum and dating to the second quarter of the 4th century were discovered in the earliest churches for the provinces of Thrace and Dacia (Popova 2022). It is quite likely in these cases that the Christian Church could not at that time afford more expensive opus tessellatum pavements.
Opus Tessellatum
Opus Vermiculatum
Opus Sectile
Opus Musivum
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“Mosaic Tour Sofia” is a project of the Balkan Heritage Foundation funded by Sofia Municipality under the program “Culture – 2022-2023”, section “Cultural Heritage and Socialization”.