page_title: Pula
section_title: Ancient period
hierarchical_section_title: Pula / History / Ancient period
caption_attribution_description: Amphitheater in Pula (Dalmatien); aus: Francesco Scipione Maffei: De gli Anfiteatri e singolarmente del Veronese libri due. Verona, Giovanni Alberto Tumermani, 1728.
context_page_description: Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia and the eighth largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula, with a population of 57,460 in 2011. It is known for its multitude of ancient Roman buildings, the most famous of which is the Pula Arena, one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters. The city has a long tradition of wine making, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism. It was the administrative centre of Istria from ancient Roman times until superseded by Pazin in 1991.
context_section_description: In classical antiquity, it was inhabited by the Histri, a Venetic or Illyrian tribe.
  Strabo, Pomponius Mela and Lycophron wrote that it was inhabited by Colchians.
  The Istrian peninsula was conquered by the Romans in 177 BC, starting a period of Romanization. The town was elevated to colonial rank between 46–45 BC as the tenth region of the late Roman Republic, under Julius Caesar. During that time the town grew and had at its zenith a population of about 30,000. It became a significant Roman port with a large surrounding area under its jurisdiction.
  During the civil war of 42 BC of the triumvirate of Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus against Caesar's assassins Brutus and Cassius, the town took the side of Cassius, since the town had been founded by Cassius Longinus, brother of Cassius. After Octavian's victory, the town was demolished. It was soon rebuilt at the request of Octavian's daughter Iulia and was then called Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola Pollentia Herculanea. The colony was part of Venetia et Histria, a region of Roman Italy. Great classical constructions were built of which a few remain.
  A great amphitheatre, Pula Arena, was constructed between 27 BC and 68 AD, much of it still standing to this day. The Romans also supplied the city with a water supply and sewage systems. They fortified the city with a wall with ten gates. A few of these gates still remain: the triumphal Arch of the Sergii, the Gate of Hercules (in which the names of the founders of the city are engraved) and the Twin Gates. During the reign of emperor Septimius Severus the name of the town was changed to "Res Publica Polensis". The town was the site of Crispus Caesar's execution in 326 AD and Gallus Caesar's execution in 354 AD. In 425 AD the town became the centre of a bishopric, attested by the remains of foundations of a few religious buildings.
caption: Pula Arena in 1728
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