Sremska Mitrovica (; , , ) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava river. , the city has a total population of 40,144 inhabitants, while its administrative area has a population of 72,580 inhabitants.
As Sirmium, it was a capital of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy of 4th century CE. Ten Roman emperors were born in or near this city, Emperors Herennius Etruscus (251), Hostilian (251), Decius Traian (249–251), Claudius Gothicus (268–270), Quintillus (270), Aurelian (270–275), Probus (276–282), Maximian (285–310), Constantius II (337–361) and Gratian (367–383).
Name
The modern town name is Sremska Mitrovica (). The Hungarian name was Szávaszentdemeter while in Croatian it is referred to as Srijemska Mitrovica.
Mitrovica stems from Saint Demetrius or "Sveti Dimitrije" in Serbian. Sremska Mitrovica means Mitrovica of Syrmia with Sremska distinguishing it from Kosovska Mitrovica.
The name of the city during the reign of the Roman Empire was Sirmium. Beginning in 1180 AD the name changed from "Civitas Sancti Demetrii" to "Dmitrovica", "Mitrovica", and finally to the present form - "Sremska Mitrovica".
History
Ancient Sirmium
Sremska Mitrovica is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Archaeologists have found a trace of organized human life dating from 5000 BC onwards. Ionian jewellery dating to 500BC was excavated in the city. When the Romans conquered the city in the 1st century BC, Sirmium already was a settlement with a long tradition. In the 1st century, Sirmium gained a status of a colony of the citizens of Rome, and became a very important military and strategic location in Pannonia province. The war expeditions of Roman emperors Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Claudius II, were prepared in Sirmium.
In 103, Pannonia was split into two provinces: Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior, and Sirmium became the capital city of the latter. In 296, Diocletian implemented a new territorial division of Pannonia. Instead of previous two provinces, there were four new provinces established in former territory of original Pannonia: Pannonia Prima, Pannonia Valeria, Pannonia Savia and Pannonia Secunda. Capital city of Pannonia Secunda was Sirmium.
In 293, with the establishment of tetrarchy, the Roman Empire was split into four parts; Sirmium became one of the four capital cities of the Empire, the other three being Augusta Treverorum, Mediolanum, and Nicomedia (modern Trier, Milan and Izmit). During the tetrarchy, Sirmium was the capital of emperor Galerius. With the establishment of praetorian prefectures in 318, the capital of the prefecture of Illyricum was Sirmium.
Beginning in the 4th century, the city was an important Christian centre, and was a seat of the Episcopate of Sirmium. Four Christian councils were held in Sirmium. At the end of the 4th century, Sirmium was brought under the sway of the Goths, and later, was again annexed to the Eastern Roman Empire. In 441, Sirmium was conquered by the Huns, and after this conquest, it remained for more than a century in the hands of various Germanic tribes, such were Eastern Goths and Gepids.
For a short time, Sirmium was the center of the Gepide State and the king Cunimund minted golden coins in it. After 567, Sirmium was again incorporated into Eastern Roman Empire. The city was conquered and destroyed by Avars in 582. This event marked the end of the period of late Antiquity in the history of Sirmium.
11 luxurious golden belts of Avar handicraft dating to the 6th century was excavated in the vicinity.
After the Avar conquest
For the next two centuries Sirmium was a place of little importance. At the end of the 8th century, Sirmium belonged to the Frankish State. The historical role of Sirmium increased again in the 9th century, when it was part of the Bulgarian Empire. Pope Adrian II gave St Methodius the title of Archbishop of Sirmium. After having adopted Christianity, the Bulgarians restored in Sirmium the Christian Episcopate, having in mind old Christian traditions and the reputation this city had in the ancient world.