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 City map of Mogontiacum in the period 1st century BCE to 5th century CE | |
| Alternative name | Moguntiacum |
|---|---|
| Location | Mainz, Germany |
| Type | Roman city |
| History | |
| Founded | 13/12 BCE |
| Periods | Roman Empire |
Mogontiacum (also Moguntiacum) is the Latin name of today's city of Mainz, which it bore during its almost 500 years as part of the Roman Empire. Mogontiacum had its origins in the legionary camp built by Drusus in 13/12 BCE, which was strategically located on a hill above the Rhine and opposite the mouth of the Main on the Roman Rhine valley road.
The civilian settlements (vici) in the vicinity of the camp, which spread down the Rhine, quickly grew together to form a larger, urbanised settlement. However, unlike Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne) or Augusta Treverorum (Trier), Mogontiacum was primarily a military centre until the second half of the 4th century and was apparently not a colonia either. As a result, the city never had the urban character of the other large Roman cities in Germany. Nevertheless, several monumental buildings were also erected here, as Mogontiacum was the provincial capital of the Roman province of Germania Superior with the seat of the governor as of the year 90 at the latest. After the middle of the 3rd century, when the Decumatian Fields were cleared, Mogontiacum once again became a border town and was devastated several times over the next 150 years by members of various Germanic peoples. After the end of the Roman period, but at the latest around 470, Mogontiacum belonged to the Frankish Kingdom after a brief transitional phase.
Some important remains of Mogontiacum have been preserved in the present-day city of Mainz, for example the Roman stage theatre, the Great Mainz Jupiter Column, the Drusus Stone and the Roman Stones, remains of the aqueduct of the legionary camp. The Roman-Germanic Central Museum, the Mainz State Museum and the Museum of Ancient Seafaring preserve numerous artefacts from Roman rule in Mainz.