Sremska Mitrovica

• Sremska Mitrovica is a city located on the river Sava in Serbia and holds the Ruins of the Roman city of Sirmium.
• Sirmium was the capital of Pannonia Inferior and was the birthplace of ten Roman Emperors known as the Illyrian Emperors.

Roman Sites

• Sirmium Imperial Palace
  • Located at Pivarska 2, Sremska Mitrovica, 320510, Serbia.
  • The excavated section of the ruins is housed in this dedicated building and can be visited.

Museums

• Museum of Srem
  • Located at 15 St. Stefan Square, Sremska Mitrovica.
  • The Lapidarium of the museum holds a collection of Roman stone monuments, along with mosaics and other artefacts excavated from Sirmium.

History

• In 293 CE, with the formation of the Tetrarchy under Diocletian, Sirmium became one of the four Capitals of the Roman Empire along with Augusta Treverorum Trier, Mediolanum Milan and Nicomedia (Izmit).
• In 318 CE, Sirmium became the Capital of the Praetorian Prefecture of Illyricum.
• In 379 CE, Sirmium and western Illyricum was attached to the Praetorian Prefecture of Italia and eastern Illyricum continued as a separate Prefecture whose capital was at Thessalonica.
• In 441 CE Sirmium was lost to the Hunnic Empire.
• Between 567-582 CE, Sirmium briefly returned to the Eastern Roman Empire, but then was lost permanently.

The Illyrian Emperors

• The Illyrian Emperors were a group of 18 Roman Emperors who between 249-565 CE, were born in or near to Sirmium  in Pannonia Inferior.

Meditations

• ‘Meditations’ by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, is thought to have been partly written whilst he was in Sirmium and also whilst he was based in Aquincum, Pannonia.
• It was written in 167 CE, in 12 books, consisting of guides to self awareness and self improvement. Marcus Aurelius wrote whilst he was staying at the Emperor’s Palace in Sirmium.

Sites Nearby

• Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad
  • Labelled the ‘Gibraltar of the Danube’, Petrovaradin Fortress overlooks the Danube and the city of Novi Sad on the opposite bank.
  • It is built over the Roman Fortress of Cusum.
• Fruska Gora National Park
  • Fruska Gora is a mountain shared with Croatia, in a region called Smyrna.
  • The Serbian part reaches 50 miles (80km) east to west and 9 miles (15km) from north to south.
  • The Romans called Fruska Gora ‘Alma Mons’ meaning ‘fertile mountain’. The first vines were planted during the reign of the Roman Emperor Marcus Valerius Probus (276-282 CE), one of the Illyrian Emperors.
  • It is a large wine producing area, producing some prestigious wines such as ‘Bermet’.
  • There are 16 Serbian Orthodox monasteries on the mountain, leading the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church to declare Fruska Gora a Holy Mountain.

Sremska Mitrovica (Sirmium)