On a small sandy spit about 500 meters long and 4 meters above sea level, the city of Aenona developed in the early Iron Age, from which Nin, the city of Prince Branimir, King Peter Krešimir IV, and Gregory of Nin later emerged…
The Liburnians settled there in the 9th century BC. Greek influence can be observed on utilitarian objects, and Aenona traded with the Japods and Etruscans, in addition to Magna Graecia. It is not known for certain when the Liburnian rule was replaced by Roman rule, and it has not been determined when the city gained the status of municipium, or when it gained its own self-government. It is assumed that this may have happened between the end of the 1st century BC and the beginning of the 1st century AD. Under Roman rule, Aenona acquired city walls, a network of streets, and a monumental temple, which is also the largest known Roman temple on the eastern Adriatic coast.
Roman Temple in Aenona
The development and appearance of the Roman temple were influenced by Etruscan and Greek sacred architecture. The elevated podium and internal concept of the temple were Roman in nature. The Romans adopted from the Etruscans. Unlike the Greeks, for whom the external experience of the temple was important, the Romans decorated the interior of the temple with niches and shrines, simplifying the exterior appearance. Interestingly, the faithful rarely entered the cella; most ceremonies were held outside, in the entrance vestibule.
It is assumed that the Roman Aenona did not have the classical octagonal system characteristic of a Roman city, where streets intersect at right angles, because it was built on an irregular oval surface and adapted to the Liburnian Aenona. The main street (cardo maximus) led from the southern city gates to the western part of the city where the forum was located. The forum occupied the most prominent place in the Roman city, and in cities that had the status of a colony or municipality, it housed a temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, built in the image of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill. The temple in Aenona was probably also dedicated to the Capitoline Triad and was located on the forum, surrounding it. A portico was built around it. Before the Roman temple, there was an older, smaller temple whose remains are located in its foundations.
The temple in Aenona was built in the second half of the 1st century as the inscription on the facade dedicates it to Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian, the founder of the Flavian dynasty. It was built on a high podium, 33 meters long and 23.5 meters wide. A monumental staircase on the eastern side led to a spacious portico with six columns on its facade and three columns on each side, of which the bases and capitals are preserved. From the portico, one would enter the cella or sanctuary, which was divided into three parts by columns, with the central part being twice as wide. It is assumed that sculptures of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva were located there, of which the sculpture of Juno is preserved and is currently located in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. Niches were located in the side walls, and it is assumed that sculptures of Roman emperors were placed in them. In addition to that, the discovery of eight marble sculptures of Roman emperors buried near the forum, and excavated in the 18th century, is also noteworthy. Out of the total of eight imperial sculptures found, the Archaeological Museum in Zadar houses four: sculptures of emperors Augustus and Tiberius, as well as two headless statues that probably belong to the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Apart from Nin, temples dedicated to the Capitoline triad could also be found in other ancient Roman cities in Croatia. Only remnants of these temples have survived to this day, which are used to attempt to reconstruct how they looked. However, a temple is not just walls, colonnades, and statues; what makes them alive is the relationship of their builders towards the sacred. The temple is a material expression of people’s respect towards the idea they consider holy. In the case of these temples, it was the supreme Roman deity of the sky, Jupiter, associated with the virtues of honor and justice; the goddess Juno, protector of the home, marriage, and fidelity; and the goddess of wisdom, Minerva.