Concept in Definition ABC

Nowadays we are used to talking about the limits of cities, and to using words like the suburbs, urbanizations, downtown or residential neighborhoods, as well as dormitory towns. But in classical antiquity, the limits were even more marked, and even more so in the civilization Roman, thanks to what was known as Pomerium.

The Pomerium It was a mental, religious and administrative limit, rather than a physical one, that initially framed what the Romans regarded it as Rome strictly, and by extension, it applied to the other cities of the empire.

Thus, the Pomerium of Rome did not coincide with the walls of the city, nor with any delimitation physical, leaving important places in the city (such as some of the famous seven hills) outside its jurisdiction. Likewise, the Pomerium of Rome than the rest of the cities.

The origin of the pomerian of Rome is found in the legendary delimiting action of the city carried out by Romulus, which led to the murder by this of his brother Remus.

Within the area delimited by the Pomerian, marked by stones (cairns), the Roman magistrates did not have absolute power (imperium), foreign sovereigns could not enter it, all activity military was to be celebrated outside said sacred precinct (the Field of Mars was outside the Pomerium), and they couldn't even carry weapons inside it.

Political, religious and social activities were also subject to some restrictions and changes regarding what could be done outside the pomerium. This is the case of burials, which could not be done within this area. A exception Notable to this ruler is that of Emperor Trajan, whose ashes were buried at the base of the column bearing his name.

We can see, then, that the rules were well marked, but that they were not strict and could be broken if the Senate and the augurs (priests who performed divination rituals) indicated that he could thus to be made.

Although its practically divine nature suggests that the Pomerium it was something untouchable, the truth is that it underwent several extensions throughout its history.

These extensions, in addition to responding to practical needs as the city of Rome grew and so did its power over the world, they also responded to the need for ego and demonstration of power of the rulers who would end the Republic and would establish the Empire.

The first of them would be Servio Tulio, still in the time of the kings prior to the Republic (the same monarch who gives their name to the Serbian walls. They were followed by dictators Lucio Cornelio Sila, Julius Caesar, and the already emperors Claudius and Vespasiano.

By extension, the ritual of delimiting an area in the foundation of a city, in the image and likeness of the Pomerium from Rome, it continued to be practiced by the Romans when they began the construction of a new city.

However, these areas (we could speak of the pomeria of the cities) did not have legal importance, civic and religious that he had Pomerium original from Rome.

Photo: Fotolia - Tom