Medijana Archaeological Zone description and photos - Serbia: Nis (Topic)

Medijana archaeological zone description and photos - Serbia: Nis. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Medijana.

Photo and description

Mediana is an archaeological site of the Roman era, located in the city of Nis. In the vicinity of the city, this is not the only such monument, but in Nis the remains of a villa and other structures are best preserved.

Naiss (the ancient name of Nis) was the hometown of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. He was born in Naissa in 272. This ruler went down in history, among other things, by making Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire and moving its capital to the city of Byzantium, which Constantine called the New Rome, which later became Constantinople. The Roman Empire, divided several times by his predecessors and successors, under the leadership of Constantine the Great was a single state.

As an emperor, Constantine often came to his hometown, in which he built a magnificent palace for himself. Some decrees, especially in the last years of his life, were adopted in Naissa. After his death in 337, the residence was owned by his sons Constantius II and Constans. The imperial villa in Naissa also became the site of another historical division: in 364, the brothers Valentian and Valens met there, dividing the empire among themselves. The first of them was proclaimed emperor, but decided to share powers with his brother, taking the western part for himself, and he was given the eastern part of the empire. In 442, Naiss was destroyed by Attila, and the villa was abandoned.

Since the late 70s of the last century, Mediana has been a particularly important archaeological site of Serbia. It is located on the banks of the Nishava River. This excavation area represents the remains of ancient Naissa. In addition to the villa, on this site there are preserved baths, which were built next to thermal springs, a water tower and a barn. On the east side of the villa adjoined a nympheum - a small sanctuary, which was dedicated to water deities (nymphs) and built next to water sources. Also on the territory of the villa there was a peristyle - an open courtyard surrounded on all four sides by columns. The villa has been decorated with numerous marble elements, frescoes and mosaics, and sculptures. The Median area is about 40 hectares. Some of the finds made in this area are kept in the National Archaeological Museum here, in Nis.

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Topic: Medijana Archaeological Zone description and photos - Serbia: Nis.