Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)

HALL 6 - The Roman Age (6 A.D.-420 A.D.) (László Kocsis, Endre Tóth)

inhabited by the Sarmatians (a people allied to Rome) during the 4th century. Enormous military supply bases, used as operational bases by the mobile field army, were built in southern Transdanubia (Környe, Ságvár, Alsóhetény, Keszthely-Fenékpuszta). Several bridge-heads were built along the limes in order to ensure the troops' secure crossing and, perhaps, to control the movement of merchants. The peaceful development was shattered by the crisis brought on by the military governor's clumsy political move in the summer of 374. The Sarmatians and the Marcomanns launched a concerted attack against Transdanubia. This incursion and the several months' long occupation was the prelude to five turbulent decades which ultimately led to the cessation of Roman authority over Pannónia. The westward migration of the Huns from Asia sparked off a series of population movements in the northern Pontic and gradually pushed various peoples against the empire's frontiers; many of these peoples plundered Pannónia during their march to the southwest, where the rich Italian towns lay. The fate of Transdanubia was sealed. Around 430, the province of Valeria was handed over to the Huns and the remnants of the provincial population, who had not fled the barbarian advance, were re-settled in southwest Pannónia. A new province called Valeria Media was created for the refugees and for preserving at least a semblance of imperial authority. The abandonment of Valeria meant that the advance of the Huns and their allies was no longer curbed by the limes, and they could now march freely to the inland provinces. The disappearance of Roman toponyms in eastern Transdanubia is an indication that the provincial population either fled or perished. In western Transdanubia, however, the survival of Roman place names in a slightly changed form (Zala, Marcal, Rába, Sabaria, Vienna, etc.) suggests that the provincial population did not suffer catastrophic losses. The exhibition presents the changes in the life of the pre-Roman population as reflected by the archaeological finds with the aid of various reconstructions, as well as the overall military nature of Pannonian society in the Roman Age and the relics of the province's culture. The reconstructed fort gate at the entrance to the exhibition's Roman and barbarian hall symbolises both the empire's impenetrability, the gate of the military forts and the peoples barred from the Roman world. 1-4. THE LIFE OF THE MILITARY The army troops initially stationed along the roads leading to the empire's frontiers were gradually transferred to the Danubian limes. They began building their new forts from the mid1st century. The four legions, each with a strength of five to six thousand soldiers, formed the backbone of the army defending Pannónia; they were stationed along the western border of the province which coincided with the empire's frontier, on the frontier with the Germanic peoples (Vindobona/Vienna, Carnuntum/Deutschaltenburg, Brigetio/Szőny-Komárom) and on the Germanic-Sarmatian front in the east (Aquincum). The legions' positions indicate that incursions were chiefly expected from the northern, Germanic peoples, this being the reason that no legion was stationed on the eastern, Sarmatian front along the Danube. Auxiliary camps were positioned between the legionary forts in strategic locations and a chain of watchtowers between them ensured the regular patrol of the frontier, the security of the forts and camps and, also, communication between them. The legions were recruited from Roman citizens, who were obligated to twenty years of military service. The auxiliary troops were raised from the local populations; after completing their twenty-five years' long service, they were granted Roman citizenship. The military camps of the legions, the infantry (Conors) and equestrian (ala) troops were built according to the same plan, although their size differed, conforming to the size of the troops