Editing Caesaraugusta (section)

== The foundation as an inmune mixed colony ==
[[File:Zaragoza - Museo - Drusus Minor 03.jpg|thumb|244x244px|Bust of [[Drusus Julius Caesar]] from Caesaraugusta (first quarter of the 1st century AD).]]
Caesar Augusta was founded in 14 B.C. — although other dates have been proposed for the foundation of the city, ranging from 25 to 12 B.C.— as a ''Colonia inmunis'' where soldiers from the legions that fought with [[Caesar Augustus]] in [[Hispania]] between 29 and 26 B.C. were integrated into the Iberian [[Salduie]], forming a new Roman colonial city of mixed character, as [[Strabo]] reflects in his ''Geographica'' (III, 2, 15).

The new Colonia inmune occupied an area of 44 [[Hectare|hectares]], delimiting an area of more than 900 x 500 m around two axial axes of communication: the ''[[Decumanus|maximum decumanus]]'' (present-day [[Calle Mayor Zaragoza|Mayor]] and [[Espoz y Mina Zaragoza|Espoz y Mina]] and [[Manifestación Zaragoza|Manifestación]] streets) and the [[cardo]], which coincided approximately in its route with [[Jaime I street]], although the confluence with the decumanus at the southern limit —located in the present-day [[Coso Alto]] and which could be found at any point from the [[Main Theater Zaragoza|Main Theater]] to the ''[[Puerta Cinegia|Cinegia Gate]]''— is uncertain, since the layout of the [[Don Jaime I street|aforementioned street]] in its southern half dates from a reform of the 18th century.

The city had four main entrances, whose location was preserved until the 15th century, at both ends of the cardo and the decumanus:

* Puerta de Toledo. It was located at the western end of the ''decumanum'', between the present walls<ref name="muralla" /> of [[San Juan de los Panetes]] and the [[Central Market Zaragoza|Central Market]]. In its Roman site there was a gate flanked by two crenellated towers —whose starts were probably Roman wall cubes— until 1848 when it was demolished. Its foundations still remain, discovered in the last quarter of the 20th century. A monument by [[Martín Trenor]] and the bronze statue of ''[[Augustus of Prima Porta|Augusto di Prima Porta]]'', a gift from [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] in 1940, on a pedestal of [[Black Calatorao|black Calatorao stone]], commemorate the site since 1989.
* Gate of Valencia. East end of the decumanum, in the middle of the current [[Coso Bajo]]. An inscription to the "''Porta romana''" was found on an ashlar, indicating its location.
* North Gate, or Angel Gate, located at the northern end of the cardo, and that led to the [[Puente de Piedra (Zaragoza)|Stone Bridge]]. It was preserved until the [[First siege of Zaragoza|Sieges of Saragossa]], at the beginning of the 19th century, and can be seen in full use in 1647 in the View of Zaragoza (''[[Vista de Zaragoza en 1647]]'') by [[Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo]].
* Cinegia Gate. South end of the thistle. Its name comes from the Arab quarter of [[Sinhaya arab|Sinhaya]], and its location is uncertain, as it may have been somewhere between the [[Main Theater Zaragoza|Main Theater]] and [[Plaza España in Zaragoza]].

[[File:Zaragoza - Museo - Triclinio de la calle Añón 01.jpg|thumb|''[[Triclinium]]'' of the [[Roman house in Añón street]], from the [[Claudius|Claudian period]] (mid 1st century A.D.).]]
The city of Caesaraugusta thus became the most influential city in the middle valley of the Ebro, and its coinage spread throughout the interior of [[Hispania Tarraconensis|Tarraconensis]], becoming predominant even in the current [[province of Soria]].

The whole design of the colony was meticulously planned before its execution. The city was soon provided with a bridge, probably made of stone, a ''forum'', aqueducts and a sewage system with drainage sewers. However, the most recent studies support the hypothesis that these infrastructures, bridge, river port, ''forum'', market, pre-existed the Roman foundation, although in many cases they were reformed and enlarged, as happened with the forum, in the time of [[Tiberius]]. The bridge, the port and the baths may have been part of the endowments of the highly Romanized [[Salduie]] of the years 50-14 B.C. Due to this, the construction activity between 14 B.C. and 14 A.D. was limited if we consider the enormous urban works undertaken from the government of Tiberius, with the construction of the [[Roman Theater (Zaragoza)|theater]] or the remodeling of the forum, among other actions.

Until the end of the 20th century, the limits of the 1st century city were considered to be established by the remains of the preserved walls. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, a different evolution of the Roman city of Caesaraugusta took hold. According to the remains of the first and second centuries found outside the perimeter of the preserved walls (Plaza de la Magdalena, Antonio Agustín, Rebolería, Añón and Teniente Coronel Valenzuela streets, to cite a few examples), the initial extension of the city would occupy the current [[neighborhood of Magdalena]] and Tenerías to the east until the course of the Huerva river, and to the south a strip of land that would reach Cinco de Marzo and San Miguel streets, parallel to the [[Coso Alto]]. One of the arguments presented is that in the second half of the 2nd century, houses in this area were abandoned, suggesting the construction of the wall to the south and east at this time, which would cause the population to move from this area to the interior of the walls. A probable hypothesis is that the western and northern limits would have remained stable since the foundation of the city, even with a wall of ''[[Roman concrete|opus caementicium]]'' that protected the most unprotected area, while in the east the wall was unnecessary in its early days thanks to the natural protection of the course of the [[Huerva]], which would mark the eastern limit. In the 3rd century, in any case, the perimeter described above was definitively built or rebuilt with an [[ashlar]] wall, of which abundant remains are preserved.
[[File:Murallas romanas de Zaragoza.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Northwest section of the [[Roman wall of Caesaraugusta]] (3rd century).]]

=== Wall ===
The ritual [[plowing]] of a {{lang|la|[[sulcus primigenius]]}}{{mdash}}an act long shown on the reverses of the city's [[ancient Roman coins|coinage]]{{mdash}}and erection of a [[ancient Roman defensive walls|city wall]] were general requisites of [[ancient Roman urban planning]], particularly with regard to its formal colonies. Therefore, the existence of a wall at the founding of the colony and its subsequent rebuilding in the 3rd century were long taken for granted. However, abundant archaeological remains make it doubtful that Caesaraugusta had a wall that surrounded the entire perimeter of the city until the 3rd century, at least not in the appearance shown by the remains of canvases preserved today, especially on the eastern side, where the city was protected by the [[Huerva|Huerva river]].

The discovery in 2000 of the [[House of Añón Street]] and its location in the eastern part of the city, outside the walls of what was supposed to be the area included within the [[walls of Caesaraugusta]], together with other archaeological remains found, have led to the assumption that the urbanized area extended in its beginnings beyond the walled Roman city of the 3rd century and it has even been postulated (according to research from 2003),<ref name="muralla" /> that the Roman colony of Caesaraugusta may have initially lacked walls, particularly those located to the east.

=== Bridge ===
The existence of a bridge over the [[Ebro|Ebro River]] at the location of the current Stone Bridge (probably already existing in [[Salduie's]] time) is documented from the discovery of lead pipes that supported the bridge and brought drinking water from the nearby [[Gállego (river)|Gallego River]] to the city. It is more difficult to elucidate whether the bridge was already built in ashlar stone in Roman times, although the prestige of the capital of the Caesaraugustan legal convent and the required solidity derived from its function as an aqueduct of heavy pipes leads us to think that it was a stone bridge.
[[File:Museo de Zaragoza-Estatua varonil.jpg|thumb|Statue of a male (second half of the first century A.D.) from the time of [[Nero]] or [[Domitian]], whom it could represent as a young man,<ref name=":0">Eva M. Koppel and Isabel Rodá, [https://books.google.com/books?id=DAL-lG7Ts48C&pg=PA109 «La escultura»], in F. Beltrán Lloris, ''Zaragoza. Colonia Caesar Augusta'', Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2007, pp. 85-96 (''Ciudades romanas de Hispania'', 4). ''Apud'' Mostalac and Biel, ''loc. cit.'' in Fatás (dir.), ''Guía histórico-artística de Zaragoza'', 2008, p. 694.</ref> found in the Roman Forum of Caesaraugusta.]]

=== Augustan Forum ===
The forum of the Augustan or [[Saluitan]] period (located in the current [[Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza|Plaza de la Seo]] and the [[museum of the river port]]) had a mercantile character linked to the transport of goods to and from [[Tortosa]] across the [[Ebro]], and was very possibly in operation before the Roman colonial foundation. Attached to the east of the cardo, it consisted of a quadrangular square open to the river, limited only on its long sides, which housed two bodies of commercial premises (seven tabernacles preserved on the east side), erected on plinths of ''[[opus vittatum]]'' and painting of the early style III. A simple covered portico closed the forum on the south side.

=== Hydraulic equipment ===
The Roman colony of Caesaragusta had a whole network of sewers, with drains and pipes and drinking water supply guaranteed through aqueducts that collected the water in large collecting cisterns, and whose archaeological remains have been excavated mainly since the last decade of the 20th century. In addition, in the [[district of the Tanneries]], there was a drainage system for the periodic flooding of the [[Ebro]], consisting of a field of amphorae grouped together and placed inverted.

Under the forum, and perpendicular to the Ebro, a large drainage sewer was designed: 2.82 m high and 2 m wide. It was built in ''[[Roman concrete|opus caementicium]]'' with ''[[opus incertum]]'' lining. Other drainage systems in the city had notable dimensions, without reaching those of the main sewer. Thus, there is a section in Espoz y Mina Street made of ''[[opus vittatum]]'' 1.2 m high by 0.6 m wide. The proportions of the sewers of Caesaraugusta are similar to those of other large Roman cities, and comparable, for example, to those of [[Augusta Emerita]].

=== High-Imperial Administration ===
From the time of the foundation of the city, Caesar Augusta was governed by two groups formed from the preeminent Roman citizens: the ''[[ordo decuriornum]]'' or [[curia]] (the local senate) and the ''ordo Caesaragustanum'' (a group of magistrates), which made up an ordo or order of citizens of the highest rank, initially drawn from among the officers and veterans of the legions and appointed by the commanders to establish the first curia.

At the head of the government of the city were two [[Duumviri|duumvirs]], equivalent to the Roman consuls at the local level, whose name appeared on the coinage. Exceptionally, they could be substituted by a [[Praefectus|prefect]] with attributions directly emanating from Rome.
[[File:Conventus juridici in Hispania valeira.jpg|thumb|350x350px|Juridical demarcations in [[Hispania]].]]
The duumvirs were assisted by a couple of [[Aedile|''aediles'']], in charge of the good functioning of the industries, public works and grain supply silos (''[[Horreum|horrea]]''), and a ''[[quaestor]]'' who was in charge of the administration.

The first [[Duumviri|duumvirs]] of Caesar Augusta were ''Quintus Lutatius, Marcus Fabius, Gaius Alsanus, Titus Cervius, Lucius Cassius'' and ''Gaius Valerius Fenestella'', whose names refer to Italic families. Only the name of one aedile is known, ''Marcus Julius Antonianus'', documented in the inscriptions on the lead pipes that, with aqueduct functions, were integrated into the bridge over the Ebro.

Caesaraugusta was the capital of one of the seven judicial districts (''[[conventus iuridicus]]'') of the [[Hispania Tarraconensis|province of Tarraco]]. The ''[[conventus Caesaraugustanus]]'' was one of the largest and included [[Pamplona]] and [[Irun|Irún]] to the north, [[Calahorra]] to the west, [[Alcalá de Henares]] to the south and [[Lleida|Lérida]] to the east.

Thus, Caesaraugusta was a center where legal matters were to be resolved in the second instance, whenever they could not be solved in the municipal jurisdiction. In addition, it had a religious capital, with its own cult, since it had a ''Genius conventus caesaraugustani'' with its own priesthood and received tributes and sacred offerings from all the cities of the administrative demarcation. According to [[Guillermo fatás cabeza|Fatás]] and [[Antonio Beltrán Martínez|Beltrán]] (1998), the remains of the [[Basilica]] found in the ''[[Museo Goya - Colección Ibercaja - Museo Camón Aznar|Palacio de los Pardo]]'', at the confluence between the cardo and the decumanus, would constitute the solemn and religious forum; while the forum excavated under the plaza of [[Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza|La Seo]] would serve as the commercial and administrative forum of the city.