And cities have destinies just like people…
Apian of Alexandria (95-165)
Nesactium was the main center of the Illyrian tribe Histri, after which Istria is named. The Histri are mentioned for the first time in the work “Periegesis” by the Greek geographer Hecataeus from the 6th century BC, which provides the oldest description of the eastern coast of the Adriatic and presents the local tribes.
Traces of settlement in this area date back to prehistoric times. Stone slabs and sculptures discovered in 1900 during archaeological excavations within the western walls, at the entrance to the city, originate from that time, where a rich prehistoric necropolis was located. The stone slabs are decorated with spirals and meanders, and among the life-size stone sculptures, the depiction of a fertility goddess and a horseman stand out. The Histri arrive in this area only at the beginning of the 11th century BC when Nesactium J is experiencing his protourban phase, i.e. when he acquires the basic prerequisites for growing into a real urban environment.
According to the way it was built, Nezakcij was a fortified settlement or stronghold where life took place. Strongholds were built on difficult-to-reach natural elevations, above fertile valleys. They were surrounded by defensive ramparts 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 strongholds were positioned along the ramparts, 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 such strongholds around the 5th century.
Nezakcij is located about two and a half kilometers away from the bay of Budava, which served as its port and a resting place for ships that stopped there in a natural shelter from the north winds and of southern winds. This favored lively trade, and many objects imported from Greece and Etruria were found, based on which ceramic and metal objects were made in the non-Zakcian artisan workshops. Among the found objects, the metal buckets or so-called situlae, fans, and black-figure ancient jugs or oinochoe stand out with their finest craftsmanship and high aesthetic beauty.
The Histrians were carriers of the “urnfield culture”, whose main characteristic was the burial of cremated remains in urns. The urns were decorated with concentric circles, waves, flutes (grooved ornaments), diamonds, or triangles. The same motifs were engraved on bronze knives and needles.
All the mentioned findings indicate that Non-Zakcian has been a meeting point and a crossroads of Mediterranean trade routes with the Etruscan and ancient world in the south since ancient times. It lay on the outskirts of the so-called amber route – a trade route through which amber was transported from both From the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean. Due to the ruggedness of the Italian coast, ships sailing the Adriatic had to pass along the eastern coast, which is protected from winds by its numerous bays and natural harbors. Trade exchanges with developed civilizations in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor stimulated the economic and social progress of Histria.
According to historian Titus Livius, the Romans conquered Nesactium in the spring of 177 BC after heroic resistance by Histri led by the brave Epulo. Titus Livius reports that they chose to take their own lives rather than surrendering to the Romans alive.
A vase from Nesactium from the pre-Roman period. Photo taken from Wikipedia.
The thermal complex in Nesactium was designed based on the earliest Roman baths, similar to those found 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.
By the weakening of the Roman state, the city becomes a late antique fortified settlement, and the rooms of luxurious baths become residential and economic buildings. In the late 3rd century, Christianity arrives in Istria, and in the 4th century, a Christian community is founded, 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 fades away after the 7th century. It is assumed that this happened due to the Avar and Slavic invasions of Istria when Nesactium suffers the fate of many ancient cities that are abandoned. However, the name has survived in the 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. Northern basilica, 6. Southern basilica, 7. Cisterns, 8. Roman Capitol, 9. Remains of Roman residential buildings, 10. Roman necropolis, 11. Walls.
In the Middle Ages, it appears in the form of Mesazo. Isacio, Ixazio, and from that derives the Croatian form Vizače, as the site is called today. The search for Nezakcija, which was 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 Nezakcija. The local altar to Emperor Gordian III from the 3rd century, which mentions the Res Publica Nesactiensium, provided the final confirmation that Vizače represents the remains of a forgotten ancient city.