Ulpiana is one of the oldest cities in the Balkan

admin ♦ August 5, 2010 ♦ 1 Comment

Ulpiana is  one of the oldest cities in the Balkan peninsula is just 20-30 minutes away from Pristina towards Gjilan and that is the city that is know to have been re-constructed by Justinian I emperior.

Ulpiana was an ancient city located in what is today Kosovo.It was also named Justiniana Secunda.Ulpiana is situated in the municipality of Lipljan. In 1990, Ulpiana was added to the Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance list, protected by Republic of Serbia.

Under the Roman Empire, Ulpiana flourished it is mentioned as a glorious city “urb splendidissma”. Ulpiana suffered numerous attacks from barbarian tribes (Huns, Goths), it was destroyed in 479 when the Goth King Theodemir sent his son Theodoric the Great with 3,000 soldiers to destroy the city. A final blow came when an earthquake struck in 518 AD and destroyed what remained of Ulpiana.

Procopius teaches us that “He (Justinian) rebuilt all the falling walls of the city (Ulpiana) and after he decorated them with a splendour, he gave them the beauty of the present day and called them “Justiniana Secunda”.”

In the 6th century during the rule of Justinian the city was rebuilt, after whom it was called Iustiana Secunda.

Remains of this city – destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout history, with basilica, mosaics, and tombstones – have been unearthed west of Gračanica. In the early Christian period, Ulpiana was an important episcopal center. A number of articles were discovered here such as coins, ceramics, weapons, jewellery, and similar.

The remains of the city, only partially excavated, are situated approximately 1.3 km (0.81 mi) west of Gračanica, immediately to the north of the road connecting Gračanica with Laplje Selo. The approximate geographic coordinates (WGS84) of the excavation site are 42° 36′ N and 21° 10′ E.

Ulpiana is also an older name used to refer to the present-day Pristina, in Kosovo.Error processing request