Constantine's Bridge (Danube)
Constantine's Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Constantine's Bridge on the map | |
| Coordinates | 43°45′49″N24°27′25″E/ 43.76361°N 24.45694°E |
| Crosses | Danube |
| Locale | BetweenSucidava(present-dayCorabia,Romania) andOescus(modernGigen,Bulgaria) |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 2,437 m (7,995 ft) |
| Width | 5.7 m (19 ft) |
| Height | 10 m (33 ft) |
| History | |
| Construction end | 0328 |
| Opened | 5 July 328 AD[1][2][3] |
| Closed | mid-4th century |
| Location | |
 | |
Constantine's Bridge(Latin:Pons per Danuvium Ductus,[4]Bulgarian:Константинов мост,Konstantinov most;Romanian:Podul lui Constantin cel Mare) was aRoman bridgeover theDanubeused to reconquer Dacia. It was completed in 328 AD and remained in use for four decades.[5]
It was officially opened on 5 July 328 AD in the presence of emperorConstantine the Great.[2]With an overall length of 2,434 metres (7,986 ft), 1,137 metres (3,730 ft) of which spanned the Danube's riverbed,[6]Constantine's Bridge is considered the longestancientriver bridge and one of the longest of all time.[7]
History
[edit]The bridge was constructed betweenSucidava(present-day Corabia, Romania) andOescus(modern Gigen, Bulgaria),[8][9]during the reign ofConstantine the Great,being inaugurated on 5 July 328.[10]
The construction was certainly inspired, in technique and dimensions, by the famousTrajan's bridge,built byApollodorus of Damascus.It is not at all excluded that the architect of this bridge was also a renowned builder, perhaps the mysterious Theophilus Patricius,proconsul,quaestorand thenpraefectus Urbiin the new capital of the Empire.[3]
The inauguration of the bridge was commemorated by the minting of a gold medallion in the mint of Rome in 328, with the obvious purpose of immortalizing the great technical achievement. Today only two bronze copies of a lost original are known.[3]
The obverse of the medallion with a diameter of 37.6 mm shows the cuirassed, draped bust of Emperor Constantine to the right; the emperor wears a diadem decorated with rosettes, and around the effigy is the legend CONSTANTI - NVS MAX AVG. On the reverse is a stone bridge with three arches and a watch tower at one end.[11]
The bridge proved to be essential in the transfer of troops, equipment and supplies north of the Danube for the implementation of the imperial strategy north of the river. The resumption of control over the Lower Danube (ripa Gothica), included the raising of the bridge, the strengthening of the Sucidava fortress, the restoration of the strategic road towardsRomulaand the implantation of a new bridgehead on the left bank of the river, from where it could control the Romanian Plain -Constantiniana Daphne(still unlocated in the field).[12]
The bridge was apparently used until the mid-4th century,[1][13]the main reason for this assumption being thatValenshad to cross the Danube using abridge of boatsatConstantiana Daphneduring his campaign against theGothsin 367.[14]
In any case, the decommissioning of the bridge has most likely occurred before the floods of 376, when theGothscrossed the Danube. The dramatic events in which many barbarians drown, swallowed by the waters of the Fuvius, are chronicled by Ammianus Marcellinus, without the bridge being mentioned in any way (XXXI, 4.5).[3]
Technical data
[edit]The bridge was a construction with masonry piers and wooden arch bridge and with wooden superstructure, with a length of 2,434 metres (7,986 ft) and a wooden deck with a width of 5.7 metres (19 ft) at 10 metres (33 ft) above the water.[5]The bridge had twoabutmentpiers at each end, serving as gates for the bridge.
Ancient and medieval sources
[edit]The first mention of the bridge is from the fourth century, inLiber de Caesaribus,by Sextus Aurelius Victor. Later, it was mentioned by chronographers during the 7th - 9th centuries (Chronicon Pascaleand Theophanes Confessor inChronographia) and in the 11th century in the chronicle compiled by the Byzantine monk Georgios Kedrenos,Synopsis historion.
The construction is called "the brass bridge" by the locals on both sides of the river, as the popular belief was that its legs were cast from metal.
According to local legends, the Lord of Dew (” Domnul de Rouă” ) walked on the bridge during the night, heading to the court of Emperor Ler (Ler Împărat), located in the former Roman castra from Romula.[3]
Research
[edit]The bridge was subsequently mentioned in the end of the 17th century, in theIndex Geographicus Celsissimi Principatus Wallachiae,the map of Wallachia made by Romanian historianConstantin Cantacuzino.Shortly after that, the italian Anton Maria Del Chiaro, mentions the construction in theIstoria delle moderne rivoluzioni della Valachia(1718, Venice).
The construction is mentioned several times in the 18th-19th centuries by various historians or philologists, who overwhelmingly attribute it to emperorTrajan,perpetuating the erroneous information attributed to Anton Maria del Chiaro.[3]
WhileLuigi Ferdinando Marsigliattempted to locate the bridge in the 17th century andAlexandru PopoviciandCezar Bolliaccontinued this search in the 19th century, the first real scientific discoveries were performed byGrigore TocilescuandPamfil Polonicin 1902. In 1934Dumitru Tudorpublished the first complete work regarding the bridge, and other systematic work on the north bank of the Danube was performed in 1968 byOctavian Toropuand in 2002 by Lucian Amon and Petre Gherghe. Later, in the area was carried out a bathymetry in 2017 and a magnetometric survey in October 2022.[1]
See also
[edit]- List of Roman bridges
- Roman architecture
- Roman engineering
- List of crossings of the Danube
- Constantine's Wall
Notes
[edit]- ^abc"Podul lui Constantin; County: Olt; Site: Sucidava - Celei;".Cimec.ro.Retrieved8 December2023.
- ^abMadgearu 2013,p. 311.
- ^abcdefOpriș, Ioan Carol; Speriatu, Vicentiu S.; Călina, Vlad-Nicolae (2022).Pons per Danuvium ductus. Date noi despre podul lui Constantin cel Mare dintre Oescus și Sucidava.
- ^The bridge was first mentioned by Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390), in Liber de Caesaribus, 41.18, who writes the following: "Pons per Danuvium ductus; castra castellaque pluribus locis commode posita" (A bridge was constructed over the Danube; forts and fortlets were built in numerous proper places)Opriș, Ioan Carol; Speriatu, Vicentiu S.; Călina, Vlad-Nicolae (2022).Pons per Danuvium ductus. Date noi despre podul lui Constantin cel Mare dintre Oescus și Sucidava.
- ^abGherghe, P.; Amon, L. (2007).Noi date în legătură cu podul lui Constantin cel Mare de la Sucidava[New data in connection with the bridge of Constantine the Great from Sucidava]. Vol. 40. minac.ro. pp. 359–369.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^Both figures from:Tudor 1974,p. 139;Galliazzo 1994,p. 319
- ^Galliazzo 1994,p. 319
- ^"CCA 2008".www.cimec.ro.
- ^"Pamfil Polonic' Manuscripts".Cimec.ro(in Romanian).Retrieved19 November2016.
- ^Janberg, Nicolas (ed.)."Constantine's Bridge at Celei (Celei/Ghigi, 328)".Structurae.Retrieved19 November2016.
- ^"Constantinus I. - Medaillon".www.khm.at(in German). Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Münzkabinett.
- ^Opriș, Ioan Carol; Speriatu, Vicentiu S.; Călina, Vlad-Nicolae (2022).Pons per Danuvium ductus. Date noi despre podul lui Constantin cel Mare dintre Oescus și Sucidava/ Pons per Danuvium ductus. New data for the bridge of Constantine I between Oescus and Sucidava.pp. 645–648.
- ^"NOTES".Bvau.ro.Retrieved19 November2016.
- ^Kulikowski, Michael (2007).Rome's Gothic Wars.Cambridge University Press.pp. 116–117.ISBN978-0-521-84633-2.
Bibliography
[edit]- Opriș, Ioan Carol; Speriatu, Vicentiu S.; Călina, Vlad-Nicolae (2022).Pons per Danuvium ductus. Date noi despre podul lui Constantin cel Mare dintre Oescus și Sucidava/ Pons per Danuvium ductus. New data for the bridge of Constantine I between Oescus and Sucidava.
- Madgearu, Alexandru (2013).Operaţiuni militare la nord de Dunăre comandate de Constantin cel Mare, în Cruce şi misiune[Military operations north of the Danube ordered by Constantine the Great, cross and mission.] (in Romanian). Bucharest, Romania.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Galliazzo, Vittorio (1994),I ponti romani. Catalogo generale(in Italian), vol. 2, Treviso: Edizioni Canova, pp. 319f. (No. 645),ISBN88-85066-66-6
- Tudor, D. (1974), "Le pont de Constantin le Grand à Celei",Les ponts romains du Bas-Danube,Bibliotheca Historica Romaniae Études (in Romanian), vol. 51, Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, pp. 135–166
External links
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