River

The Danube is one of the most famous rivers in the world, along with the Nile, the Yangtze, the Amazon and the Mississippi. Along their routes are places of great natural and man-made beauty, as well as key sites of human history and culture.

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe. His path takes him through much of central and southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. The river crosses 10 nations – more than any other river in the world. The Danube begins in Germany and flows southeast for 1,770 miles. Along its course, it crosses or borders Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before flowing into the Black Sea. The river’s catchment area extends into nine other countries. Many European borders, especially in the Balkans, also follow the route of the Danube.

Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and Bratislava are among the largest cities on the Danube. They are also the capitals of their respective countries, which also means that the river passes through more national capitals than any other river in the world. In addition, five other capitals are in the Danube basin – Bucharest, Sofia, Zagreb, Ljubljana and Sarajevo.

Interestingly, it is not called the Danube in any of the countries it passes through. For example, in Germany the river is called the Donau, the Dunaj in the Czech Republic and the Duna in Hungary. The Romans called him Danubius, after an ancient Celtic name from which all modern names derive.

The Danube divided nations and provided a route for trade

The banks of the Danube have been the site of human habitation for millennia, and the river has been instrumental in many historical events and has defined historical borders. For almost its entire length, the Danube was once the northern border of the Roman Empire. It provided a defensive line for the empire, as well as a “water highway” to transport troops and materials to Roman settlements downstream.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Danube continued to provide a defensive border for the Eastern Roman Empire and then for the Ottoman Empire. The river’s separation between East and West would define the river’s history for centuries, particularly through World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

Since ancient times, the Danube has also served as a traditional trade route in Europe. Today more than 1,500 miles of its total length is navigable. In addition, the Danube is now connected to the North Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, which connects the Danube at Kelheim to the Main at Bamberg. The river is also an important source of hydroelectric power, drinking water and food.

Constantine the Great

Constantine I (February 27, 272 – May 22, 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Emperor of the Roman Empire from AD 306 to 337. He was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. Born in what is now Niš, Serbia, Constantine was the son of Flavius ​​Constantius, a Roman army officer who had served as one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293 to rule the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two senior emperors and two junior emperors. The Tetrarchy marks the end of the Third Century Crisis. Constantine served with distinction under Diocletian and Galerius. His career as a soldier began with campaigns in the eastern provinces (against the barbarians and the Persians). Then, in AD 305, he was called back to fight with his father in Britain.

After the death of his father in 306, Constantine became emperor. He was acclaimed by Roman legions at Eboracum (now York, England) and was ultimately victorious after civil wars against Emperors Maxentius and Licinius. Constantine became sole ruler of the Roman Empire in 324.

Following his ascension to emperor, Constantine began a series of reforms to strengthen the empire. He separated the civilian and military rulers, restructuring the government. To fight against inflation, he introduced a new gold coin (the solidalso known as nomism or the kissing). Constantin introduced the coin and its weight of around 4.5 grams remained relatively constant. It became the standard for Byzantine and European coins for over 1,000 years.

Constantine also reorganized the Roman legions into two different forces – mobile units (counties) and garrison troops (limitanei) – to make the army better able to counter internal threats and barbarian invasions. Constantine then went on successful military campaigns against various tribes on the Roman frontiers (such as the Franks, Alamanni, Goths, and Sarmatians). He then resettled the territories abandoned by his predecessors during the crisis of the 3rd century with citizens of Roman culture.

Although Constantine lived much of his life as a pagan, he began to favor Christianity in 312. He became a Christian and was baptized. Constantine played a key role in the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire. He also convened the First Council of Nicaea in 325; he produced the statement of Christian belief known as the Nicene Creed. On his orders, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built on the alleged site of Jesus’ tomb in Jerusalem and was considered the holiest site in all of Christendom. Constantine has historically been called the “first Christian emperor” and is credited with moving Christianity into the mainstream of Roman culture.

Constantine’s reign was a distinct era in the history of the Roman Empire; many consider that he initiated the transition of the empire from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Among his actions, he built a new imperial residence in Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople (now known as Istanbul) after himself. Constantinople then became the new capital of the empire for over 1,000 years. The last Eastern Roman Empire is called the Byzantine Empire by modern historians. It replaced Diocletian’s Tetrarchy; Constantine established the principle of dynastic succession, leaving the empire to his sons and other members of the Constantinian dynasty.

July 5, 328

A bridge built over the Danube made its official debut on this date 1,694 years ago. Constantine was present for the opening of the bridge, which became known as Constantine’s Bridge. It was built between the town and fortress of Sucidava (now the Romanian port town of Corabia) and the town of Oescus (near the current Bulgarian village of Gigen).

Roman architect Theophilus Patricius designed the Constantine Bridge. Among the key architectural features of the wooden arch bridge were its masonry piers and wooden superstructure. It also had two abutment pillars at each end. “Abutments are used at the ends of bridges to retain embankment and to carry vertical and horizontal loads from the superstructure to the foundation.” The abutments also served as gates for the bridge, helping to protect it from attack at either end. The bridge’s wooden deck was 19 feet wide and crossed the river 33 feet above the water.

Although the bridge was destroyed within 50 years of its construction, it is still remembered today due to its overall length of 7,995 feet. Of this length, 3,730 feet spanned the bed of the Danube. The Constantine Bridge was the longest ancient river bridge and one of the longest ever.

One of the main reasons for the construction of the bridge of Constantine was the effort to reconquer Dacia. A Dacian kingdom of varying size existed between 82 BC until the Roman conquest in 106 AD. The capital of Dacia was located in modern Romania; it was destroyed by the Romans, but the same name was used by the Romans for the new city built as the capital of the Roman province of Dacia.

As the Roman Empire weakened, the Dacians overthrew their Roman rulers until Constantine again conquered the region. The Dacian kingdom included the present-day countries of Romania and Moldavia, as well as smaller parts of Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine.