And cities have a fate, just like humans…
Apianus of Alexandria (95-165)
Nesactium was the main center of the Illyrian tribe Histris, after which Istria is named. The Histri are first mentioned in the work Periegesis or Description of the Earth by the Greek geographer Hecataeus of the 6th century BC, which provides us with the oldest description of the routes along the eastern coast of the Adriatic and presents local tribes.
Traces of settlement in this area date back to prehistoric times. Stone slabs and sculptures were discovered in 1900 during archaeological excavations within the western walls, at the entrance to the city, where a rich prehistoric necropolis was located. The stone slabs are decorated with spirals and meanders, and among the almost life-sized stone sculptures, the depiction of a fertility goddess and a horseman stands out. The Histri arrived in this area only in the early 11th century BC, when Nesactium was established. J is experiencing his protourban phase, i.e. when he acquires the basic prerequisites for growing into a true urban environment.
According to the method of construction, Nezakcij was a fortified settlement or a citadel where life took place. These citadels were built on hard-to-reach natural elevations, above fertile valleys. They were surrounded by defensive walls built with carefully carved stone blocks, often of megalithic dimensions. They had a circular shape or were adapted to the shape of the elevation on which they were located. For example, houses in round or oval citadels were positioned along the walls, narrowing down in concentric rows towards the center of the settlement. Almost all the hilltop cities in central Istria, such as Buje, Grožnjan, Motovun, Pićan, and Žminj, were built on the foundations of these citadels around the 5th century.
Nezakcij is located about two and a half kilometers from the Budava bay, which served as its port and a resting place for ships that stopped there in a natural shelter from the northern winds and The southern winds were favorable for lively trade, and many objects imported from Greece and Etruria were found, which served as models for the production of ceramic and metal objects in non-agricultural craft workshops. Among the discovered objects, the metal buckets or so-called situlas, fans, and black-figure ancient pitchers or oinochoes stand out for their fine craftsmanship and high aesthetic beauty.
The Histrians were carriers of the “urnfield culture,” the main characteristic of which was the burial of cremated remains in burial urns. The urns were decorated with concentric circles, waves, ridges (groove decorations), diamonds, or triangles. The same motifs were engraved on bronze knives and needles.
All of the aforementioned finds indicate that Nesactium has long been a meeting point and intersection where Mediterranean trade routes met with the Etruscan and ancient world in the south. It was located on the outskirts of the so-called amber route – a trade route through which amber was transported from both places. the Mediterranean. Due to the ruggedness of the Italian coast, ships that sailed the Adriatic had to pass through the eastern coast, which was protected from winds by its numerous bays and natural harbors. The trading exchange with developed civilizations of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor promoted the economic and social progress of Histria.
According to the historian Titus Livius, the Romans conquered Nesactium in the spring of 177 BC after the heroic resistance of Histria led by the brave Epulo. Livius reports that they chose to take their own lives rather than surrendering to the Romans.
Vase from Nesactium from the pre-Roman period. Photo taken from Wikipedia.
The thermal complex in Nesactium was built in the style of the earliest Roman baths, as can be seen in Pompeii. It consisted of two sections, male and female baths, connected by a common central area. Private buildings were located on the slopes of the hillfort, and the necropolis stretched along the road leading out of the city.
With the weakening of the Roman Empire, the city becomes a late antique fortified settlement, and the rooms of luxurious baths become residential and economic buildings. Christianity arrives in Istria in the late 3rd century, and in the 4th century, a Christian community is established, which builds two early Christian basilicas with a baptistery.
Although there are no historical records of the downfall of Nesactium, the thousand-year-old city life extinguishes after the 7th century. It is assumed that this happened due to Avar and Slavic invasions in Istria, when Nesactium suffers the fate of many ancient cities that are abandoned. However, the name survives in local toponymy.
Plan of the western part of Nesactium
1. Prehistoric gate, 2. Prehistoric necropolis with remains of walls, 3. Roman forum, 4. Baths, 5. North basilica, 6. South basilica, 7. Cisterns, 8. Roman Capitoline, 9. Remains of Roman residential buildings, 10. Roman necropolis,
11. Walls.
In the Middle Ages, it appears in the form of Mesazo. Isacium and Ixazium, from which the Croatian form Vizače originated, as the site is now called. The search for Nesactium, known from Livy’s description of the siege of the city, began when the historian and archaeologist Pietro Kandler in the 19th century first connected the toponym Vizače with Nesactium. The local altar to Emperor Gordian III from the 3rd century, which mentions Res Publica Nesactiensium, provided final confirmation that Vizače represents the remains of a forgotten ancient city.