When and why did Augustus found Mérida in Spain?
Augustus founds Mérida
Augusto funda Mérida
25 BC. In 25 BC, as his generals were finishing the Cantabrian wars, Augustus founded a colony for discharged veterans (emeriti) on the river Guadiana and named it…
Where: Spain, Mérida (Spain)
What happened
In 25 BC, as his generals were finishing the Cantabrian wars, Augustus founded a colony for discharged veterans (emeriti) on the river Guadiana and named it Emerita Augusta. It became the capital of Lusitania, one of the three provinces into which he divided Hispania, and later of the whole Hispanic diocese. The city was given everything a Roman capital needed: a theatre and amphitheatre, a circus, temples, a long bridge, aqueducts and an arch. Much of it still stands, which is why Mérida's Roman ensemble is a World Heritage Site and home to the National Museum of Roman Art. Under the Visigoths and the emirs it remained an important city, before declining into a quiet Extremaduran town.
Say it
El teatro romano de Mérida todavía se usa hoy.
The Roman theatre of Mérida is still used today.
Why it matters
Mérida shows what Romanisation meant in stone: Latin-speaking veterans settled among local people, in a city that still hosts a classical theatre festival every summer.
There today
- See
- In Mérida you can walk through the Roman theatre, amphitheatre, circus, aqueduct and bridge, and visit the National Museum of Roman Art.
- Do
- Every summer the Roman theatre hosts a classical theatre festival.
Read about it
Connected
- The Romanisation of Hispania (218 BC–409)
- Rome lands in Hispania (218–19 BC)
- Trajan, an emperor from Hispania (98)
- Before: The fall of Numantia
- After: Trajan, an emperor from Hispania
Sources
- Conjunto Monumental de Mérida — Consorcio de la Ciudad Monumental de Mérida
- Las Médulas: vocabulario y conceptos – Guerras Cántabras — Museo Virtual de la Ciencia, CSIC