Roman Route
Introduction
On this route you can relive Zaragoza's Roman past, exploring evocative sites that will take you on a genuine trip back in time.
History
Zaragoza is the only Roman city that enjoyed the privilege of being given the full name of its founder, Caesar Augustus. Founded in the last quarter of the 1st century BC on the site of the ancient Iberian-Sedetano city of Salduie, Caesaraugusta was awarded the status of privileged colony of Roman citizens.
Veterans from the IV Macedonica, VI Victrix and X Gemina legions helped found the city, fresh off campaigns against the Cantabri.
Right from the outset Caesaraugusta took on a leading role within the region, replacing the Colony of Celsa in that regard, taking advantage of its excellent strategic location as a bridgehead over the River Ebro, near the mouth of the Rivers Gállego and Huerva. It thus immediately became the capital of the vast administrative territory that made up the "Convento Jurídico Caesaraugustano".
The city's heyday came in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, although the town walls date from around a century later. In the late Roman period, Caesaraugusta was not exempt from the widespread crisis occurring throughout the Roman world, although documents from the period speak of the city's flourishing cultural life, led by its bishops, the leaders of a Christian community renowned for its martyrs.
At the end of the 5th century AD Caesaraugusta, like the rest of the Western Roman Empire, was embroiled in a process of collapse of imperial power, culminating in the occupation of the city by Visigoth troops led by Count Gauterit, in the year 472.
Route
Monuments included in the visit:
Other Monuments:
