Pannonia

The Pannonia (in Latin Pannonia ) is an old area of the Central Europe, limited to North by the Danube and located at the site of current the Hungary, and partially of the Croatia and the Serbia.

The original inhabitants are Pannoniens, who are invaded by the Celtes and the Boïens at fourth century BC.

Roman conquest and organization of Pannonia

In -35, Pannonia is attacked by the troops of Octave (which is not avoided yet a title of Auguste). According to Suétone, Octave was wounded twice during this countryside. The power struggle against Marc Antoine monopolized then Octave.

Between -9 and -6, the Romans ordered by Tibère take again the conquest of Illyrie. Tibère must intervene again between years 6 and 9 to reduce a revolt of Illyrie during a difficult war, not engaging less than 15 auxiliary legions and as much of , is a considerable manpower ranging between 150.000 and 180.000 soldiers. After its victory, the Illyrie is divided into Dalmatie and Pannonia; Pannonia is organized in imperial Province controlled by a legate, with the head of three legions. In 14, with the advent of their former general Tibère, the legions of Pannonia are agitated and require a pay equal to that of Praetorian in station in Rome. The discipline is quickly restored (cf Annals of Tacite).

In 69, the army of the Danube is raised again, but for political reasons: to Rome, the Praetorian ones come to assassinate the emperor legitimates Galba, the army of the Rhine imposed Vitellius; the army of the Danube joins with Vespasien, and contributes a decisive share to its accession under emperor.

Vespasien remembered the importance of the Danubian provinces and founded several colonies of veterans in Pannonia: Sirmium and Siscia. The army becomes a factor of romanisation of the local populations and, as a large-scale consumer, an engine of the artisanal and commercial activity. The natives engaged in the Roman units acquire the citizenship and take the family name of the reigning emperor, which would explain the presence of Flavius such as Flavius Constance Chlorinates, of Valérius, of Aurélius. Pannonia becomes a crossroads of the military and commercial connections on the axes the Rhine - Balkans and Italy - Balkans, and of the trade route towards the Baltic. Two important roads cross of west is Pannonia:

one comes from Italy of North by the valley of the Drave,
the other is the by-pass which skirts the course of the Danube since the Rhétie and the Norique,
These two ways meets in Mursa and continues with Sirmium towards the Mésie

Towards 105, Trajan divides the province into Pannonia higher than the west and Pannonia lower than the east. These qualifiers are not only determined by the direction of the course of the Danube, but also by the distance compared to Rome while following the road routes: the traveller coming from Italy meets initially higher Pannonia, then lower Pannonia.

the principal cities of higher Pannonia were:

the capital, Carnuntum (auj. Petronell-Bad Deutsch Altenburg),
Brigetio (Szöny),
Siscia (Sziszek), seat of a monetary workshop since Gallien until towards 410,
and Vindobona (current the Vienna), which accommodated the general headquarter of the emperor Marc-Aurèle in his war against Quades and Marcomans.

Those of lower Pannonia were Acumincum (Szlankamen), Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), Mursa (Osijek) and Aquincum (Alt-Ofen close to Budapest).

Worsen Romain, key function of Pannonia

At the end of the 2nd century, Pannonia takes a major strategic importance for the communications between the west and Roman Empire is , which it is a question of pushing back the Germanic invaders and others which crossed the Danube or of going to face a candidate under Empereur.

Marc Aurèle pushes back the Quades, the Marcomans, the Iazyges and the Sarmates then faces them on their territories from 167 to 175, then and from 177 to 180. The losses of Quades and Marcomans are such as the border of the Danube means remained assured for more than two generations. Marc Aurèle dies in Vienna into 180.
In 193, Septime Sévère is proclaimed in Carnutum by the 15 legions of Germanic, Norique, Pannonia, Dalmatie and Mésie. Arrived at Rome, he lays off the Praetorian troops and replaces them by many soldiers illyriens. The force of the army of the Danube is essential against the other candidates on the Empire Pescennius Niger then against Clodius Albinus.
In 214, Caracalla carries out a round of inspection on the Danube before passing to Asia. The borders between the two provinces of Pannonia are slightly modified: thus the area of Brigetio passes to lower Pannonia.
In 235, Maximin Thrace installs the imperial court with Sirmium for better fighting Sarmates and Daces.
in 248, the pressure on the Danube increases, the Messiah is invaded by Goths and the Vandals, Balkans are plundered. The legions of Pannonia proclaim emperor their generals Pacatianus (assassinated by its soldiers shortly after), in 249 then Décius, which perishes as a Messiah against Goths.
From 249, Quades and Sarmates invade Pannonia, Goths cross the Messiah and devastate Balkans and the coast of minor Asia, the emperors while the legions proclaim transitory usurpers everywhere.
In 258, the emperor Gallien decides the sending of the troops of Pannonia into Germanic to reinforce the defense of the Rhine against the attacks of the Francs. Furious, the governor of Pannonia Ingenuus rises against this decision which exposes its province without defense. Gallien is constrained to send its chief of the cavalry Aureolus to overcome Ingenuus with Mursa, into 258.
In 259, the general Régalien in charge of the defense of Pannonia benefits from the capture from Valérien by Parthes to be made proclaim emperor. Sarmates, Quades and Roxolans also benefit to cross the Danube and sweep Regalien from it.
In 270 - 271, the emperor Aurélien restores safety in Pannonia by its victories over the German ones.
In 278 - 279, the emperor Probus cleans Pannonia of the last bands of Germanic plunderers. In 282, it makes undertake with its soldiers of the drainage works around Sirmium. Its soldiers prefer to assassinate it.

The Reorganization of the Empire

Dalmatian the Dioclétien arrives at the capacity in 284, and puts an end to the usurpations in series by the Tétrarchie. The pannonien Maximien is associated with the capacity in 285. The tétrarques ones reorganize the provinces to improve the administration and defense of it.

lower Pannonia is still divided into two: in north Valeria, family name of Dioclétien, with for capital Aquincum; in the south, Pannonia Secunda, with for Sirmium capital.
higher Pannonia is also divided into two: in north, Pannonia Preceded, with for capital Savaria (Stein on Anger), in the south the Pannonia ripariensis or Savia (of the name of Save), with for capital Siscia (Sziszek).

Pannonia considered as a whole preserves its importance in the power struggles for the Empire, by the power of the army of Illyrie.

In the second tétrarchie, another pannonien Sévère becomes César in 305, then Auguste in 306. Disputed in Italy by Maxence, it is eliminated in 307 by Maximien.
In 308, Dioclétien, Maximien and Galère, joined together in Carnutum name Auguste Illyrien Licinius. Licinius remains confined in Pannonia, Rhétie and on Balkans, before being able to impose in the East against Maximin Daïa in 313.
In 326 and 327, Constantin which eliminated Licinius strengthens the border of the Danube, threatened by the pressure of Goths, of the Vandals and Sarmates, the latter vis-a-vis Pannonia. In 331/332, Goths are massacred, while thousands of Sarmates are accommodated in the Empire and are divided in Thrace, Macedonia and Italy. The safety of the border of the Danube is restored for a few years.
In 350, Magnence kills the emperor Constant Ier and usurps in Occident. Pannonia is again the stake of the competitions of being able. The sister of the emperor Constance II pushes the Master of the militia of Illyrie Vetranio to be made proclaim emperor, to prevent Magnence from taking the control of the army of Illyrie. Vetranio is given up by its soldiers as of the arrival of the army of Constancy II end 350, and abdicates. In 351, Pannonia is the theater of the bloody confrontations between the armies of Magnence and Constance II, in Sirmium then with Mursa.
In 364, it is still a general of origin pannonienne which is proclaimed emperor by the army: Valentinien Ier . In 375, it inflicted a defeat cuisante in Quades and Sarmates which had crossed the Danube and devastated Pannonia, when it dies in Aquincum. The army of the Danube proclaims majestic his/her son Valentinien II, a child of four or five years, whose Justine mother is regent.

In the middle of the 4th century, lower Pannonia is also implied in the religious conflict between orthodoxe and ariens:

the Photin bishops with Sirmium, Valens with Mursa and its Ursace neighbor with Singidunum as a Messiah are ariens
Concile S are held in Sirmium into 351 and 357-359, on the initiative of the emperor Constance II.
In 376, the bishop Ambroise of Milan imposes an orthodoxe bishop on Sirmium.

From Roman Pannonia to the kingdom of Hungary

In 387, Sarmates seize Pannonia definitively, from where they threaten Italy starting from 392.

In 388, Théodose Ier beats Maxime with Siscia on Save, and captures it in Aquilée.

In 395, the ultimate division of the Roman Empire allots Pannonia to the Roman Empire of Occident. In practice, the Romans do not dominate any more but some small islands of this territory where the barbarians settled and continue to flow. From 400, the Visigoths of Alaric do nothing but pass before attacking Italy. Towards 440, the Romans evacuate the last cities threatened by the Huns. Pannonia is included in the transitory empire of Attila, from where it launches its raids on the Byzantine Empire, then of Occident. Some pannoniens collaborate, such Flavius Oreste, as secretary of Attila.

After the death of the king of Huns Attila in 453, Pannonia is successively occupied by the Ostrogoths, the Gépides then the Lombards with the beginning of the year 500. They agglomerate with the remains of various people (Sarmates, Hérules, Ruges, Suèves, etc). Their king Wacho (towards 510-540) maintains positive ratios with the Byzantine Empire, which took again Dalmatie and battles for the reconquest of Italy. In 568, Lombards and their allies leave Pannonia for Italy.

They are at once replaced by the Avars which occupy the basin of the Danube, and seize Sirmium in 582. The romanisation of Pannonia is already unobtrusive, and their presence durably cuts trade route between Adriatique and the Baltic. Their kingdom was more solid and more durable than that of Huns; he threatened the Byzantine Empire, then ran up against the expansion towards the East of the Francs in the middle of the 7th century. They were subjected by Charlemagne in 811.

The Slaves of the South of Ljudevit Posavski expelled the Francs with (9th century), the Hungarian settle in Pannonia in 901.

The history of Pannonia finishes here, and is connected on the Chronologie of the history of Hungary.

See too

Sources

Small Paul, general History of the Roman Empire , Threshold, 1974,
Small Paul, Roman peace , PUF, New collection Clio - history and its problems, Paris, 1967, 2nd edition 1971
Roger Remondon, the crisis of the Roman Empire , PUF, New collection Clio - history and its problems, Paris, 1964, 2nd edition 1970

Internal bonds

Roman Governor
late Antiquity

External bonds

Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire: Celts, Romans, German Yann Bohec, Professor of Roman history at the university Paris Iv-Sorbonne.

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