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64-809: Remains are still visible today near the Porta Maggiore and the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme . The area near the Porta Prenestina (now Porta Maggiore) where the Via Labicana and the Via Prenestina branched off was called ad spem veterem . The name derives from a republican temple to the goddess Spes (Hope) built in 477 BC after the victory over Veii at the Battle of the Cremera . The "veterem" qualification

128-480: A building about 14 m wide and 16 high, probably covered with a roof, in whose walls were doors and windows at irregular intervals, determined by the disposition of the adjacent buildings and the paths that led to it; at some points the external elevation was enlivened by niches. The building is very similar to the Pecile of Hadrian's Villa and that of the villa of Domitian at Terracina , though at 369 m long ( / 4 of

192-509: A coalition under Aetius's leadership at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains and calling off a subsequent invasion after negotiations led by Pope Leo I . The emperor later fell out with Aetius and killed him. Valentinian was assassinated in turn by Aetius's bodyguards, ending a reign marked by the ongoing collapse of the western empire . Valentinian was born in Ravenna , the capital of

256-432: A fire, were reconstructed between 323 and 326 (therefore renamed Thermae Helenianae). A residential area for members of the court (e.g. the so-called "Constantinian domus" excavated between 1996 and 2008) was created close to the aqueduct, and the part of the circus that remained inside the walls was restructured for service, connection and perhaps residences for the servants of the imperial court. After Helena's death in 330

320-499: A joint response with the eastern court, with large numbers of Roman troops sent to defend the island from Gaiseric. Hunnic invasions forced the government to abandon this defense and transfer the troops to the Danube. In 442, Aetius and Valentinian were compelled to acknowledge the Vandal conquests of Proconsular Africa, western Numidia, and Byzacena , in exchange for which Rome was returned

384-494: A law on 14 July 444, ending bureaucrats' exemption from the recruitment tax. In that year, two additional taxes were issued in Valentinian's name, one a sales tax of around four percent and another on the senatorial class, specifically to recruit and supply new troops. Senators of illustrious rank were required to contribute the money for maintaining three soldiers, senators of the second class money for one soldier, and senators of

448-512: A mile) it was longer even than the "Pecile” of Hadrian's Villa. The thermal baths date from the Severan age from brick stamps, confirmed by a dedication to Julia Domna wife of Septimius Severus found here. The plan of the complex has been handed down to us from the Renaissance drawings of Andrea Palladio and Giuliano da Sangallo, while the remains of the cistern that fed it are still visible at

512-620: A peace with Gaiseric, whereby the Vandals kept all their possessions in North Africa in return for a payment of tribute to the empire, while the Huns were granted new territory in Pannonia Savia to occupy. Galla Placidia's regency came to an end in 437 when Valentinian travelled to Constantinople to marry his fiancée, Licinia Eudoxia . On his return to Rome, he was nominally the emperor, but in truth

576-503: A slow phase of decline began during which, however, the palace was still the site of important public and religious events, such as the council convened in 433 by Pope Sixtus III in the presence of Valentinian III , the execution of Odoin in 500 commissioned by Theodoric and the Roman council held by Pope Symmachus in 510. With the end of the empire, the area, which had become absolutely peripheral, went through centuries of depopulation; around

640-856: A son, Theodosius, in Barcelona in 414; but the child had died early in the following year, thus eliminating an opportunity for a Romano-Visigothic line. In either 421 or 423, Valentinian was given the title of nobilissimus by Honorius, although this title was not initially recognized in the eastern court of Theodosius II. After the death of Constantius in 421, court intrigue forced Galla Placidia to flee from Honorius and move to Constantinople , where she, Valentinian and Honoria were taken in by Theodosius. In 423, Emperor Honorius died, and his primicerius notariorum Joannes took power in Rome. To counter this threat to his power, Theodosius posthumously recognised Valentinian's father as augustus (emperor) and nominated

704-511: A subterranean Neopythagorean Porta Maggiore Basilica was discovered nearby on the Via Praenestina, dating from the 1st century. The groundplan shows three naves and an apse, a design similar to that which began to be adopted in Christian basilicas during the 4th century. The vaults are decorated with white stuccoes symbolizing Neopythagorean beliefs, although the precise meaning of elements of

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768-513: A swarm of bees descended on the corpse of Valentinian and sucked up his blood. The day after the assassination Petronius Maximus had himself proclaimed emperor by the remnants of the Western Roman army after paying a large donative. He was not as prepared as he thought to take over and stabilize the depleted empire, however; after a reign of only 11 weeks, Maximus was stoned to death by a Roman mob. King Gaiseric and his Vandals captured Rome

832-422: A victory for Aetius, who sought to retain his position by allowing Attila and a significant number of his troops to escape. Attila regrouped, and, in 452, invaded Italy. He sacked and destroyed Aquileia and took Verona and Vincentia ( Vicenza ) as well. Aetius was shadowing the Huns but did not have the troops to attack, so the road to Rome was open. Although Ravenna was Valentinian's usual residence, he and

896-663: The Amphitheatrum Castrense . He also built the great atrium (later to become S. Croce) and a triumphal arch. The "public" part was already called the Sessorium in his time as the sessions of the Council of State were held there. Until the accession to the throne of Aurelian after a dozen emperors had followed one another, construction of the Aurelian Walls between 271 and 275 interrupted the horti's vast continuity, cutting in two

960-500: The Rhine and entered the Belgic provinces, capturing Divodurum Mediomatricum ( Metz ) on 7 April. Aetius gathered together a coalition of forces, including Visigoths and Burgundians, and raced to prevent Attila from taking the city of Aurelianum ( Orléans ), successfully forcing the Huns to retreat. The Roman-Germanic forces met Hunnic forces at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains , resulting in

1024-504: The Western Roman Empire , as the only son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III , who briefly ruled as emperor in 421. His mother was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius ( r.  393–423 ), while his father was at the time a patrician and the power behind the throne . Through his mother, Valentinian was a descendant both of Theodosius I , who was his maternal grandfather, and of Valentinian I , who

1088-417: The 1.8 m thick perimeter wall delimited a room with an external diameter of about 30 m and at least 16 m high, i.e. as high as the large driveway portico of which it constituted the western end. The fabric of the curtain walls of the circular building, the amphitheatre and the atrium shows that they were conceived and built almost simultaneously, as part of a grandiose unitary project carried out by Elagabalus on

1152-528: The 5-year-old Valentinian caesar (heir-apparent) for the West in 23 October 424. Theodosius also betrothed his daughter Licinia Eudoxia to Valentinian, who would eventually marry her in 437 when he was 18. On 23 October 425, after Joannes had been defeated in a combined naval and land campaign, Helion , the eastern patricius et magister officiorum , installed Valentinian as augustus in Rome . Given his minority ,

1216-503: The African provinces between themselves. Concerned by this turn of events and determined to hold onto the African provinces at all costs, the court at Ravenna sought reconciliation with Bonifatius, who agreed in 430 to affirm his allegiance to Valentinian III and stop the Vandal king Gaiseric . In 431, Bonifatius was crushed and fled to Italy, abandoning western North Africa. The imperial court, and especially Galla Placidia, worried about

1280-695: The Circus Varianus and incorporating the Amphitheatrum Castrense into the walls as a bastion. Emperor Constantine the Great converted the Horti into his imperial seat from 306. When he decided to move his capital to Constantinople in Byzantium from 324 his mother, empress Helena Augusta , remained in Rome at the Horti to represent him. The beginning of the 4th century thus marked the last phase of expansion of

1344-590: The Emperor Titus [etc.] at his own expense, had the Curtian and Caerulean waters, introduced by the deified Claudius and afterwards repaired for the city by Titus’s deified father Vespasian, restored with new structures, beginning from its source, after the aqueduct was ruined to its foundations from age.) Close by the gate, just outside the wall, is the unusual Tomb of the Baker , built by Marcus Virgilius Eurysaces. In 1917,

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1408-639: The Emperor Vespasian [etc.] restored to the city at his own expense the Curtian and Caerulean waters, which had been led to the city by the deified Claudius but had fallen into intermittent use and disrepair for nine years.) IMP. T. CAESAR DIVI F. VESPASIANUS AUGUSTUS PONTIFEX MAXIMUS TRIBUNIC. / POTESTATE X IMPERATOR XVII PATER PATRIAE CENSOR COS. VIII / AQUAS CURTIAM ET CAERULEAM PERDUCTAS A DIVO CLAUDIO ET POSTEA / A DIVO VESPASIANO PATRE SUO URBI RESTITUTAS CUM A CAPITE AQUARUM A SOLO VETUSTATE DILAPSAE ESSENT NOVA FORMA REDUCENDAS SUA IMPENSA CURAVIT. ([In AD 81]

1472-472: The Gallic provinces, having allegedly been bribed by the Vandal king Gaiseric to attack Gaul's population of Visigoths. Valentinian was furious over the invasion. The man who had carried Honoria's message to Attila was tortured to reveal all the details of the arrangement and then beheaded, and the emperor spared Honoria herself only after a great deal of persuasion from Galla Placidia. In early 451, Attila crossed

1536-654: The Horti Spei Veteris was developed under Elegabalus from a circus-palace association model for imperial and other luxurious palaces completely integrated with the other buildings. This model was first created in the Horti Pompeiani and continued with the Domus Augustana linked to the Circus Maximus , used as a sumptuous scenic backdrop. The model was also used in other imperial palaces such as Hadrian's Villa ,

1600-517: The Horti Variani, an architectural hub that connected the living quarters with the circus and the amphitheatre and was originally covered by a flat ceiling, into a place of worship (later the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme), where she placed in 327 the relics she brought after her visit to Jerusalem and the eastern provinces including large parts of the " True Cross ". The residential rooms of

1664-563: The Suebi extended their control. By 444 the Spanish provinces of Lusitania and Hispania Baetica had been lost, and Roman authority in Hispania Tarraconensis was challenged by continued Bagaudic uprisings. This loss of territory caused severe financial problems, with the Roman state openly acknowledging that there was insufficient revenue to meet its military needs. The emperor issued

1728-541: The aqueducts are prominently displayed on the attic of the Porta Maggiore: TI. CLAUDIUS DRUSI F. CAISAR AUGUSTUS GERMANICUS PONTIF. MAXIM., / TRIBUNICIA POTESTATE XII, COS. V, IMPERATOR XXVII, PATER PATRIAE, / AQUAS CLAUDIAM EX FONTIBUS, QUI VOCABANTUR CAERULEUS ET CURTIUS A MILLIARIO XXXXV, / ITEM ANIENEM NOVAM A MILLIARIO LXII SUA IMPENSA IN URBEM PERDUCENDAS CURAVIT. ([In AD 52] the Emperor Claudius [etc.] had

1792-451: The basilica-convent complex of Santa Croce, the ruins of the minor buildings ended up buried or overwhelmed by vineyards or uncultivated land, as can be seen in Bufalini 's plan of 1551. Sporadic excavations have been carried out in parts of the horti starting in 1955 and continued to the present day. Between 1996 and 2008 the so-called "Constantinian domus" were excavated. The complex of

1856-465: The city became more crowded and noisy. The Horti Spei Veteris were included in the imperial properties by emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) who built the first imperial residence in the area. Emperor Caracalla (r. 198–217) built the Circus Varianus there, and later emperor Elagabalus (r. 218–222) raced chariots under the family name of Varius. The subsequent name of Horti Variani is due to

1920-526: The court moved back to Rome as Attila approached. Valentinian sent Pope Leo I and two leading senators to negotiate with Attila. This embassy, combined with a plague among Attila's troops, the threat of famine, and news that the Eastern Emperor Marcian had launched an attack on Hun homelands along the Danube, forced Attila to turn around and leave Italy. The death of Attila in Pannonia in 453 and

1984-477: The crossroads between the modern via Eleniana and via G. Sommeiller, made up of twelve chambers arranged in two parallel rows. In the Middle Ages, one of these rooms was turned into a Christian chapel of which fragments of frescoes were still preserved in the eighteenth century. The remains of the baths were demolished at the end of the 16th century by Domenico Fontana at the behest of Pope Sixtus V in order to allow

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2048-537: The decoration remains a subject of debate. [REDACTED] Media related to Porta Maggiore at Wikimedia Commons Valentinian III Valentinian III ( Latin : Placidus Valentinianus ; 2 July 419 – 16 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful generals and

2112-413: The emperor Aurelian thus truly turning it into an entrance (gate) to the city. Experts refer to this as an early example of “architectural recycling,” essentially adapting one existing structure to another use, in this case using an aqueduct as a wall. It was modified further when the emperor Honorius augmented the walls in 405. The foundations of a guardhouse added by Honorius are still visible, while

2176-605: The gate ran two ancient roads: the Via Praenestina and the Via Labicana . The Via Prenestina was the eastern road to the ancient town of Praeneste (modern Palestrina ). The Via Labicana (now called the Via Casilina ) heads southeast from the city. The Porta Maggiore is by far the best urban site to visit for an understanding and view of the ancient aqueducts. It is a monumental double archway built of white travertine . It

2240-501: The imperial dynasty would be the next best thing. Consequently, sometime before 446, he convinced Valentinian to agree to a marriage between his eldest daughter, Eudocia, and Gaiseric's son, Huneric. The idea came to nothing, since Huneric was already married to the daughter of the king of the Visigoths. The imperial presence in Hispania continued to diminish during the early-to-mid 440s as

2304-460: The imperial family before the construction of the church were probably located in this area, given the discovery of sections of the corridor that connected them to the pulvinar (the royal box from which the emperor and the court watched the shows in the Circus). The name Palatium Sessorianum was most likely used for the complex from this time. The existing nearby public baths, after being destroyed in

2368-454: The inclusion of the nearby land belonging to Sextus Varius Marcellus , father of emperor Elagabalus, into imperial state property. Elagabalus made it his favourite retreat and designed it (as for Nero's Domus Aurea project) as a vast suburban villa divided into various building and landscape nuclei, modifying the circus (later replicated by Maxentius in his villa on the Appian Way) and building

2432-540: The invasions of late antiquity 's Migration Period . He was the son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III , and as the great-grandson of Valentinian I ( r.  364–375 ) he was the last emperor of the Valentinianic dynasty . As a grandson of Theodosius I ( r.  379–395 ), Valentinian was also a member of the Theodosian dynasty , to which his wife, Licinia Eudoxia , also belonged. A year before assuming

2496-537: The loyalty of its remaining provinces was impaired in consequence. The initial period of Valentinian's reign was further troubled by a power struggle among the three principal military leaders of the west – Felix , the senior magister militum praesentalis , Bonifatius , the magister militum per Africam and Aetius , the magister militum per Gallias . In 427, Felix accused Bonifatius of treason and demanded that he return to Italy. Bonifatius refused and defeated an army sent by Felix to capture him. Weakened, Felix

2560-616: The management of imperial policy in the west was in the hands of Aetius. From 436 to 439, Aetius was focused on the situation in Gaul. Serious Gothic defeats in 437 and 438 were undone by a Roman defeat in 439, which saw the status quo restored through a new truce. He also enjoyed initial success against the Franks and the Burgundians , as well as putting down a revolt by the Bagaudae by 437. In 438, peace

2624-552: The new augustus ruled under the influence of his mother Galla Placidia, one of whose first acts was to install Felix as the magister utriusque militiae in the west. This period was marked by a vigorous imperial policy and an attempt to stabilize the western provinces as far as the stretched resources of the empire could manage. In 425, the court at Ravenna negotiated with the Huns who had accompanied Aetius to Italy in support of Joannes. The Huns agreed to leave Italy, and to evacuate

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2688-407: The now devastated provinces of Tripolitana , Mauretania Sitifensis , Mauretania Caesariensis , and the remainder of Numidia. Gaiseric soon disregarded this arrangement and retook Mauretania Sitifensis and Mauretania Caesariensis, as well as taking Sardinia and Corsica and conducting devastating raids on Sicily . Unable to pacify Gaiseric by military means, Aetius decided that linking him to

2752-421: The opening of the section of the road in front of the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. Four elaborate domus have been identified on the site close to the aqueduct and probably intended for members of the court: Porta Maggiore The Porta Maggiore ("Larger Gate"), or Porta Prenestina, is one of the eastern gates in the ancient but well-preserved 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome . Through

2816-520: The opportunity to create at this location a sort of triumphal arch to the conquest of nature and its conqueror, the emperor Claudius. The two channels of these aqueducts, (the Aqua Claudia and Aqua Anio Novus), one lying on top of the other, can be seen when viewing the cross-section running through the travertine attic at the top of the gate. The gate was incorporated in the Aurelian Wall in 271 AD by

2880-419: The power being wielded by Aetius, stripped him of his command and gave it to Bonifatius. In the civil war that followed, Bonifatius defeated Aetius at the Battle of Ravenna , but died of his wounds. Aetius fled to the Huns and, with their help, was able to persuade the court to reinstate him to his old position of magister militum praesentalis in 434. As a consequence, in 435, Valentinian was forced to conclude

2944-499: The power struggle that erupted between his sons ended the Hunnic threat to the empire. With the Hun invasion thwarted, Valentinian felt secure enough to begin plotting to have Aetius killed, egged on by Petronius Maximus , a high ranking senator who bore Aetius a personal grudge, and his chamberlain, the eunuch Heraclius. Aetius, whose son had married Valentinian's youngest daughter, Placidia ,

3008-551: The province of Pannonia Valeria , which was returned to the empire. This allowed Felix and the imperial government to restructure the defences along the Danubian provinces in 427 and 428. In addition, there were significant victories over the Visigoths in Gaul in 426/7 and 430 and the Franks along the Rhine in 428 and 432. Nevertheless, there were significant problems that threatened

3072-428: The rank of augustus , Valentinian was given the imperial rank of caesar by his half-cousin and co-emperor Theodosius II ( r.  402–450 ). The augusta Galla Placidia had great influence during her son's rule, as did the military commander Flavius Aetius , who defended the western empire against Germanic and Hunnic invasions. Attila the Hun repeatedly menaced Valentinian's domains, being repulsed by

3136-461: The rape of his wife Lucina by Valentinian. The assassination occurred as Valentinian rode his horse on the Campus Martius. As the emperor dismounted to practise archery, the conspirators attacked. Optelas struck Valentinian on the side of the head, and when he turned to see who had hit him, Optelas delivered the death-blow. Meanwhile, Thraustelas slew Heraclius. Priscus reports a curious occurrence:

3200-503: The site in which it became an even more luxurious palace and the pole (also due to its proximity to the Lateran ) of the Christian reorganisation of Rome. The expansion included the construction of the civil basilica intended for official functions (which was for a long time considered the Temple of Venus and Cupid due to the statue found there) and the transformation of a large rectangular atrium of

3264-495: The third class one-third the cost of maintaining a soldier. Valentinian himself was not exempt, sacrificing part of his reduced personal income to help the State in its financial straits. In the 440s Valentinian made the Hunnic chieftain Attila honorary magister militum of the western empire, hoping thereby to reduce the threat the Huns posed to the Danubian provinces. To the relief of

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3328-657: The upper part of the gate, as built by Honorius, has been moved to the left side of the Porta. It is currently known as the Porta Maggiore, possibly designated as such because of the road that runs through the gate leads to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore . The church is an important place of prayer dedicated to the Virgin Mary . The following inscriptions in praise of the emperors Claudius, Vespasian , and Titus for their work on

3392-422: The viability of the Roman state in the west. The Visigoths were a constant presence in south-eastern Gaul and could not be dislodged. The Vandals in Hispania continued their incursions, and, in 429, commenced an invasion of Mauretania Tingitana . The loss of these territories seriously impacted the state's ability to function. The burden of taxation became more and more intolerable as Rome's power decreased, and

3456-513: The villas of Domitian at Albano and Terracina , and the Villa of Maxentius . A large circular building in opus testaceum came to light between 1995 and 1999, next to the Castrense Amphitheatre, connecting the rear part of the villa Sessorium with the Circus Varianus as part of a structure with a long covered driveway which flanked the large atrium. The building had monumental dimensions:

3520-536: The waters of the Claudia brought to Rome from the springs called Caeruleus and Curtius at the 45th milestone, and likewise the Anio Novus from the 62nd milestone, both at his own expense.) IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANUS AUGUST. PONTIF. MAX. TRIB. POT. II IMP. VI COS. III DESIG. IIII P. P. / AQUAS CURTIAM ET CAERULEAM PERDUCTAS A DIVO CLAUDIO ET POSTEA INTERMISSAS DILAPSASQUE / PER ANNOS NOVEM SUA IMPENSA URBI RESTITUIT. ([In AD 71]

3584-623: The weaponless Aetius and struck him on the head, killing him on the spot. When Valentinian later boasted that he had done well to dispose of Aetius in such a way, a counsellor famously replied "Whether well or not, I do not know. But know that you have cut off your right hand with your left." On March 16 of the following year, the emperor himself was assassinated in Rome by two Scythian followers of Aetius: Optelas and Thraustelas . According to Priscus, these men were put up to it by Petronius Maximus, whose aims of political advancement were thwarted by Heraclius. He may also have been taking revenge for

3648-460: The western court, Attila concentrated on raiding the eastern empire's provinces in the Balkans from 441 through to 449. In 449, Honoria wrote to Attila, offering him half the western empire if he would rescue her from an unwanted political marriage arranged by her brother Valentinian. Attila had been looking for a pretext to invade the West. In 450 he secured peace with the eastern court and entered

3712-424: The western elevation of the residence. The large circular room represents the end of a porticus triumphi building, a very particular type of public building of late Republican origin converted here for private use. This type of building of monumental dimensions consists of a long portico divided in half by a central spine or colonnade into parallel passages and ending with two circular rooms. The sections found show

3776-582: Was also achieved with the Suebi in Spain, the same year Valentinian's daughter, Eudocia , was born. With Aetius occupied in Gaul, Valentinian was unable to do anything to prevent the Vandals completely overrunning the remaining western African provinces, culminating in the fall of Carthage on 19 October 439. This was a major blow because taxes and foodstuffs from these wealthy provinces supported Rome. By 440, Vandal fleets were ravaging Sicily and Aetius coordinated

3840-399: Was first known as the Porta Prenestina, perhaps a reference to the road over which it passes (the Via Praenestina). The "gate," built in 52 AD by the emperor Claudius, was originally intended to provide a decorative section of support for two aqueducts, the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus . At that time these aqueducts crossed the ancient Via Labicana and Praenestina roads thereby providing

3904-431: Was murdered by Valentinian on 21 September 454. The ancient historian Priscus reported that Aetius was presenting a financial statement before the Emperor when Valentinian suddenly leapt from his throne and accused him of drunken depravity. He held him responsible for the empire's tribulations and accused him of plotting to take the empire away from him. Valentinian then drew his sword and together with Heraclius, rushed at

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3968-406: Was the father of his maternal grandmother . It was also through his mother's side of the family that he was the nephew of Honorius and first cousin to Theodosius II (the son of Honorius' brother Arcadius ), who was eastern emperor for most of Valentinian's life. Valentinian had a full sister, Justa Grata Honoria . His mother had previously been married to Ataulf of the Visigoths , and had borne

4032-403: Was unable to resist Aetius who, with the support of Galla Placidia, replaced him as magister militum praesentalis in 429, before having him killed in 430. Bonifatius, in the meantime, had been unable to defeat Sigisvultus , whom Galla Placidia had sent to deal with the rebel. Bonifatius, therefore, entered into an agreement with the Vandals to come to his aid and, in return, they would divide

4096-401: Was used to distinguish this temple from the one built in the 3rd century BC in the Forum Holitorium , at the time of the first Punic war . The area was suburban but close to the Forum and well supplied with water by virtue of the fact that, by the middle of the 1st c. BC, eight of Rome's eleven aqueducts converged there. At the same time it became a prestigious residential area, accentuated as

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