Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/557

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

PANIUM. PANIUM (^ndvtov, Hieiool. p. 632 ; Const. Porph. de Them. ii. 1. p. 47; Suidas, s. v.), a town on the coast of Thrace, neai- Heracleia; perhaps the modern Bunados. [T. H. D.] PA'NNONA (Jlavvova), a town in the interior of Crete, S. of Cnossus, retaining the name of Panon. (Ptol. iii. 17. § 10.) PANNO'NIA (Uavvovia, Ptol. ii. 1. § 12 ; or Tlatovia, Zosim. ii. 43), one of the most important provinces of the Roman empii'e, on the south and •west of the Danube, which forms its boundary in the north and east ; in the south it bordered on Illyricum and Moesia, while in the west it was sepa- rated from Noricum by Mount Cetius, and from Italy by the Julian Alps. The country extended along the Danube from Vindobona (^Vie7ma) to Singidunum, and accordingly comprised the eastern jtortions of Austria, Carinthia, Carnlola, the part of Hungary between the Danube and Save, Slaronia, and portions of Croatia and Bosnia. After its subju- gation by the Romans, it was divided into Pannonia Superior (j) &vw Ylavvovia') and Pannonia Inferior ( r KOLTU) Xlavvuvia), by a straight line ruiming from Arabima in the north to Servitium in the south, so that the part west of this line constituted Upper Pannonia, and that on the east Lower Pannonia. (Ptol. ii. 15. § 16.) In consequence of this division the whole country is sometimes called by the plural name Pannuniae (Jlavvoviai, Ptol. ii. 16. § 1 ; Zosim. ii. 43; Plin. sxsvii. 11. s. 2). In the fourth century, the emperor Galerius separated the district of Lower Pannonia between the liaab, Danube, and Drave, and constituted it as a separate province under the name of Valeria, in honour of his wife who bore the same name. (Aur. Vict, de Cues. 40 ; Amm. Marc. xvi. 10, xxviii. 3.) But as Lower Pannonia seemed by this measure to be too much reduced, Constantino the Great added to it a part of Upper Pannonia, viz., the districts about the Upper Brave and Save; and Upper Pannonia was henceforth called Pannonia Prima, and Lower Pannonia, Pan- nonia Secunda. (Amm. Marc. xv. 3, xvii. 12.) All these three provinces belonged to the diocese of Illyricum. It should be observed, however, that Pannonia Secunda is sometimes also called Inter- amnia, Savia, or Ripensis. (Sest. Ruf. Brev. 11 ; Notit. Imp.) The three provinces into which Pan- nonia was thus divided were governed by three diffe- rent officers, a praeses residing at Sabaria, a consular residing at Sirmium, and a praefect who had his seat at Siscia. The part bordering upon Germany, which stood most in need of protection, hail always the strongest garrisons, though all Pannonia in genenil was protected by numerous armies, which were gradu- ally increased to seven legions. Besides these troops the fleet stationed at Vindobona was the strongest of the three fleets maintained on the Danube. Dion Cassius (xlix. 30) menticms an unfortunate etymology of the name of Pannonia from "pannus," a rag or piece of cloth," referring to a peculiar article of dress of the inhabitants, though he also states at the same time that the natives called themselves Pan- nonians, whence it follows that the name can have nothing to do with the Latin ])annus. As to the identity of the name with that of Paeonians we shall have occasion to speak jirescnt ly. In its physical configuration, Pannonia forms a vast plain enclosed only in the west and south by mountains of any considerable height, and traversed only by hills of a moderate size, which t'onri the terminations of the Alpine chains in the PANNONIA. 541 west and south, and are for this reason called by Tacitus (Hist. ii. 28) and Tibullus (iv. 1. 109) the Pannonian Alps. The separate parts of these ramifi- cations of the Alps are mentioned under the names of Mount Cauvanoas, Cetius, Albii Months, Claudius, and Alma or Almus. The mountains on the western and southern frontiers contain the sources of some important rivers, such as the Dka- vus and Savus, which flow almost parallel and empty themselves into the Danube. Only one northern tributary of the Dravus is mentioned, viz., the MuRius ; while the Savus receives from the south the Nauportus, Carcokus, Colapis, Oe- NEus, UuPANUs, Valdasus, and Drinus. The only other important river in the north-west is the Arraro. The northern part of Pannonia contained a great lake called the Pelso or Peiso (the Plat- ierisee), besides which we may notice some smaller lakes, the Ulcaei Lacus, between the Save and the Drave, near their mouth. The climate and fertility of Pannonia are described by the ancients in a manner which httle corresponds with what is now known of those countries. It is said to have been a rough, cold, rugged, and not very productive country (Strab. vii. p. 317; Dion Cass. xlix. 37 ; Herodi.an, i. 6), though later writers acknowledge the fertility of tiie plains. (Solin. 21; comp. with Veil. Pat. ii. 110.) Both statements, however, may be reconciled, if we recollect how much the emperors Probus and Ga- lerius did to promote the productiveness cf the country by rooting out the large forests and render- ing the districts occupied by them fit for agriculture. (Plin. iii. 28; Appian, Illi/r. 22; Hygin. de Limit. Const, p. 206; Aurel. de Cues. 40.)" As the forests in those times were probably much more extensive than at present, timber was one of the principal articles of export from Pannonia, and great quan- tities of it were imported into Italy. (Solin. 22.) Agriculture was not carried on to any great extent, and was for the most part confined to the rearing of barley and oats, from which the Pannonians brewed a kind of beer, called Sabaia (Dion Cass. xlix. 36 ; Annn. Marc. xxvi. 8), and which formed the chief articles of food for the natives. Olives and vines do not appear, at lea.st in early times, to have grown at all in Pannonia, until the emperor Probus introduced the cultivation of the vine in the neighbourhood of Sir- mium. (Vopisc. Pi-ob. 1, 18; Eutrop. ix. 17; Aurel. Vict, de Caes. 37.) Among the valuable productions of the vegetable kingdom, the fragrant saliunca is mentioned (Plin. xxi. 20), and among the animals dogs excellent for the cliase are spoken of by Nemesianus {Cyneg. 126), the cattae by Mar- tial (xiii. 69), and the ch.arax or black-cock by Athenaeus (ix. p. 398). The rivers must have pro- vided the inhabitants with abundance of fish. The ancients do not speak of any metals found in Pannonia, either because the mines were not worked, or be- cause the metals imported from Pannonia were vaguely said to come from Noricum, where mining was carried on to a great extent. The inhabitants of Pannonia (Pannonii, TVavvivioi, narrorej, or naioves) were a very numerous race, which, in the war against the Romans, could send 100,000 armid men into the field. (A])pian, llhjr. 2-J.) Appian (/. c. 14) states that the Romans regarded them as belonging to Illyricum. Some have inferred from this that the great body of the people were Ulyrians; and some tribes, such as the Pyrustae, JIazani, and Daesitiatao, are actually de- scribed by some as Illyriaii and by others as Pan-