Serdica

Serdica or Sardica is the historical Roman city that was located in today's Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

The name is found in the Serdica Fortress in the center of the city, and the administrative subdivision of Serdika.

The Celtic tribe Serdi gave their name to the city. The earliest mention of the city comes from an Athenian inscription from the 1st century BC, attesting Astiu ton Serdon, i.e. city of the Serdi. A local inscription and Dio Cassius recorded that the Roman general Crassus subdued the Serdi and beheaded the captives. Around 29 BC, Serdica was conquered by the Romans.

It gradually became the most important Roman city of the region and became a municipium, or centre of an administrative region, during the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117) and was renamed Ulpia Serdica.

The city was burnt and destroyed in 170 by the Costoboci, and the city was rebuilt, this time with its first defensive walls between 176-180 under Marcus Aurelius, as evidenced by inscriptions above the gates.

The city expanded again, as public baths, administrative and cult buildings, a civic basilica and a large theatre, were built. When Emperor Diocletian divided the province of Dacia into Dacia Ripensis (on the banks of the Danube) and Dacia Mediterranea, Serdica became the capital of the latter.

Roman emperors Aurelian (215–275) and Galerius (260–311) were born in Serdica.

In 268 a Gothic raid ravaged and burned parts of the city including the theatre which was abandoned.

The city continued to expand and became a significant political and economical centre, more so as it became one of the first Roman cities where Christianity was recognised as an official religion. The Edict of Serdica, an Edict of Toleration, was issued in 311 in Serdica by the Roman emperor Galerius, officially ending the Diocletianic persecution of Christianity. The Edict implicitly granted Christianity the status of "religio licita", a worship recognized and accepted by the Roman Empire. It was the first edict legalising Christianity, preceding the Edict of Milan by two years. Moreover, in the Edict of Milan, only one sentence was dropped: “Ne quid contra disciplinam agent.

Text adapted from “Serdica” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Serdica ranks #1,440 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #8 of the 23 mapped in Bulgaria. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 5,698 times in the last 60 days, more than 86% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Bulgaria compares in the castle statistics.

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