2. COSMIC BUILDINGS OF THE 4TH AND 5TH AD. CENTURY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Among the most characteristic secular buildings of the 4th AD. century is definitely the Villa Casale in Piazza Armerina, Sicily, which was associated with agricultural production. It is a complex with two large atriums (a square and a horseshoe-shaped), purely Roman elements. There are also baths and basilicas. Outdoors there is the water element. The complex has fortification elements and an independent side entrance.

The shell of the building has decoration. 2000 square meters of mosaic decoration represent scenes, such as ladies in bikinis, patricians fishing, the Cyclops Polyphemus and a warrior fighting a monster. These are performances that have nothing to do with Christianity, although the Roman Empire is already in its early Christian period from a historical point of view.

The Roman buildings of Carthage date back to the Constantine period. These include a fortress, a theater and various vaulted buildings. One of the famous Roman residences of the city is Villa Junius.

Another well-known complex of secular buildings of the 3rd-4th AD. century is found in Tabarka, Tunisia.

The palace of Ostrogoth Theodoric in Ravenna dates back to the 5th century A.D.. The Ostrogoths were Christian Arians, so the palace has Arian elements.

The Palace of Diocletian at Spalato is also placed in the secular monuments of the early Christian period of the Roman Empire. In it there are walls and towers while on the sea side, which was the safest, there is a portico.

Extremely interesting works of this period were the "Dead Cities", between Antioch and Aleppo in Syria. These are about 700 settlements that were built before the 5th A.D. century. Their buildings have amazing carved stone structures, which are decorated.

In the case of the city of Serjilla, its entire urban fabric with its church survives to this day. It seems that there were baths in it, as well as the so-called "andron", that is, a community store where men gathered to talk about the operation of the settlement. Evidence shows that in the city there was domestic livestock. Olive mills were also found in Serjilla. It seems that the city produced oil, fruits and vegetables. It is not known, however, whether the trade in the goods produced was taking place daily or only at trade fairs.The dead cities were abandoned in the 7th AD. century, after the Arab invasions.

Serjilla's houses were wooden-roofed, with double roofs. Their floor plans are reminiscent of the Mycenaean mansion. Shields are preserved on their walls. The main place of their daily life was the balcony. On their faces there were niches with rings for the lamps. Finally, there were warehouses in them.

The construction of the palace of Constantine the Great in the city of Trier is dated at the beginning of the 4th AD. century, too. The building is a basilica 30 meters long.

Giving a very brief look at the history of the basilicas, it can be noted that they are found in the Roman Empire since the first Roman times. However initially they were used for assemblies and trials. The famous Forum of Trajan, in Rome, was dominated by three basilicas: the Basilica Ulpia, the Basilica Julia (4 BC - 9 AD) and the Basilica Aemilia (22 AD), which were spaces supported with colonnades.

Basilica Ulpia, Rome

Basilica Ulpia, Rome

In Rome there was also the Basilica of Maxentius (308 AD), completed by Constantine the Great (312-337 AD). It was reminiscent of Roman baths and had an interesting vault.

With the rise of Christianity, Christian basilicas gradually began to be built and their symbolism completely changed.

In 395 AD, after the death of Theodosius the Great, the vast Roman Empire was divided into western and eastern parts. The east is now known as the Byzantine Empire.

Gradually Rome began to collapse irreparably while the Western Roman Empire accepted the settlement of various tribes from other geographical areas. Thus the Longobards, the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths settled in Italy. The Visigoths settled in Spain. Vandals settled in North Africa. Finally, in the Iberian Peninsula, in the 8th century BC. the Arabs settled.

Thus under these conditions, Europe went from early Christian times to the Middle Ages. Some postpone its beginning to 476 BC, the last year that the western Roman state was united under the emperor Romulus Augustus. Others postpone the beginning of the Middle Ages two centuries later, during the period of the beginning of piracy and the cessation of transport and trade.

In the complex history of the Middle Ages there was also Byzantium that flourished mainly in the 11th and 12th century. From then on, it began to decline, granting commercial rights to major powers such as Venice, Genoa and Pisa. The capital of the Byzantine state was Constantinople, which has always been a place of claim due to the fact that it was a crossroads of east and west.