Lyla Lindsey
Austria has a rich and complex history, with many changes in sovereignty and territorial borders. The region that is now Austria was settled in the Paleolithic Age, and later, from around 750 BC, a large Celtic community settled in the Danube Valley, where they mined salt and iron. The territory of present-day Austria was then annexed by the Roman Empire around 15 BC, marking the beginning of a 500-year rule known as Austria Romana. During this period, the Romans established settlements and fortifications, including Carnuntum, the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia in today's Lower Austria. The Romans also traded with the region, importing iron ore from eastern Styria and the Burgenland.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time Period | 15 BC – 400s AD |
| Territory | Present-day southern and eastern Austria, part of Slovenia, and the Pannonian region |
| Important Settlements | Carnuntum, Noricum, Virunum, Kulm, Idunum, Burg, Braunsberg, Linz |
| Rulers | Charlemagne, King of Franks and Holy Roman Emperor; Emperor Francis II/I |
| Events | Annexation of Noricum (15 BC), Battle of Adrianople (380 AD), Formation of Austrian Empire (1804), Dissolution of Holy Roman Empire (1806) |
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What You'll Learn
The Roman province of Noricum
Noricum, a kingdom or federation of tribes, became a province of the Roman Empire in 16 BC. It included most of modern Austria and parts of Slovenia, Bavaria, and Salzburg. The region was bordered by the Danube to the north, Raetia and Vindelicia to the west, and Pannonia to the east and southeast. Noricum was originally a kingdom controlled by a Celtic confederacy that dominated an earlier Illyrian population. The kingdom reached its greatest extent during the early period, including Carnuntum, Savaria, Poetovio, and Emona, together with the portion of the tribe of the Taurisci that lived near the source of the Sava River.
Noricum was annexed by Rome, apparently as a bloodless conquest, and the new province was placed under an equestrian governor, first called a praefectus but later a procurator. As a Roman province, its western boundary, against Raetia, was approximately the Inn River; in the south, it met Italy at the summit of the Carnic Alps. Noricum was a major provider of weaponry for the Roman army, and its ore, rich in manganese and containing little to no phosphorus, was ideal for making steel. The region's capital was at the royal residence at Virunum on the Magdalensberg.
Under Diocletian (245–313), Noricum was divided into Noricum ripense ("Noricum along the river", the northern part southward from the Danube) and Noricum mediterraneum ("landlocked Noricum", the southern, more mountainous district). The Roman colonies and chief towns were Virunum, Teurnia, Flavia Solva, Celeia, Juvavum, Ovilava, and Lauriacum. Noricum was a frontier province in direct contact with the Germanic tribes across the Danube, and several fortifications (limes) guarded both the river crossings and passes through the Alps.
In the mid-160s AD, Legio II Italica Pia, along with numerous local auxiliaries, was permanently stationed in Noricum. The region was mountainous and rich in iron and salt. It supplied material for the manufacturing of arms in Pannonia, Moesia, and northern Italy. Noric steel was famous throughout the empire, and Roman swords were made of the best-quality steel available from this region.
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Roman trading outposts
The territory of present-day Austria was once part of the Roman province of Noricum, which was annexed by the Roman Empire around 15 BC. This marked the beginning of 500 years of "Austria Romana". The western and eastern extremities of present-day Austria were within the Roman provinces of Raetia and Pannonia. The most important Roman settlement in Austria was Carnuntum, the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia in present-day Lower Austria.
The Romans built many Austrian cities that survive to this day, including Vindobona (Vienna), Juvavum (Salzburg), Valdidena (Innsbruck), and Brigantium (Bregenz). Other important towns included Virunum (north of modern Klagenfurt), Teurnia (near Spittel), and Lauriacum (Enns). Lauriacum was a legionary camp in the area of today's city of Enns, from where the Roman military directed a network of forts and bases to protect the northern border of the Roman Empire along the Danube. The Romans provided their cities with clean potable water through an elaborate system of aqueducts, canals, and large subterranean pipes.
Vindobona, a Roman military camp or castra in the province of Pannonia, was located on the site of modern-day Vienna. The settlement had a population of 15,000 to 20,000 people and was provisioned by the surrounding Roman country estates (villae rusticae). A centre of trade with a developed infrastructure, as well as agriculture and forestry, developed around the town. Communities developed outside the fortifications (canabae legionis), and a Germanic marketplace settlement faced Vindobona on the far side of the Danube from the second century onwards. The uncharacteristically asymmetrical layout of the military camp is still recognisable in Vienna's street plan.
The remains of the walls of Vindobona date from the 1st to the 5th century AD. The houses were typical Roman villas, with living quarters and working spaces set around a middle courtyard with columned halls. Over 3,000 stamped bricks, several stone monuments, and written sources prove that several legions, cavalry units, and marines were stationed in Vindobona. About 6,000 soldiers were stationed in the Roman camp, many of whom were free from active duty during peaceful times and had other jobs. These so-called immunes were needed for the supply of goods and for the production and maintenance of weapons and commodities.
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Celtic salt settlements
During the Roman Empire, the territory of present-day Austria corresponded roughly with the Roman province of Noricum, which was annexed by the empire around 15 BC. This marked the beginning of 500 years of "Austria Romana".
Before the Roman Empire's annexation of the region, several Celtic salt settlements existed in the area that is now Austria. These included Dürrnberg and Hallein (Salzburg), where the Celts mined salt, which they called "white gold". The wealth generated by the salt trade gave the Celtic princes of the Dürrnberg and later the Salzburg prince-archbishops great power and influence. The Hallstatt period, from 750 to around 450 BC, is named after the large prehistoric salt-mining area in modern-day Austria.
The Celts first settled in the eastern Alps around 400 BC, and by the second century BC, a Celtic state, Noricum, had developed around the region's ironworks. The Hallstatt culture, which succeeded the Urnfield culture, is often described in two zones, Western and Eastern, through which flowed the rivers Enns, Ybbs, and Inn. The West Hallstatt area traded with the Greek colonies on the Ligurian coast.
The Romans arrived in the region in 200 BC, and by 15 BC, they dominated the entire area. The most important Roman settlement in Austria was Carnuntum, the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia in what is now Lower Austria. Carnuntum became the centre of Roman fortifications along the Danube.
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The Holy Roman Empire
The term "Holy Roman Empire" was not used until the 13th century, with the empire referred to as universum regnum ("the whole kingdom"), imperium christianum ("Christian empire"), or Romanum imperium ("Roman empire") beforehand. The Emperor's legitimacy rested on the concept of translatio imperii, that he held supreme power inherited from the ancient emperors of Rome.
Austria was an independent dominion within the Holy Roman Empire, and its southern neighbour, the Duchy of Styria, was bequeathed to Austria in 1186. The territory of the Duchy of Styria included parts of present-day Slovenia and Upper Austria, as well as parts of Lower Austria. The Ostmark (Eastern March), a territory established by Charlemagne in the Danube valley, was first referred to as "Ostarrichi" in 996, a forerunner of the modern German word "Österreich" ("Austria" in English).
During the Roman Empire, the territory of present-day Austria corresponded roughly to the Roman province of Noricum, which was annexed around 15 BC, beginning 500 years of "Austria Romana". The Romans arrived in the region in 200 BC, and by 15 BC, they dominated the entire area. However, by the mid-500s, various German tribes were making incursions into Roman territories, and the Bavarians controlled the territory between the eastern Alps and the Wienerwald region.
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The Austrian Empire
During the Napoleonic Wars, Emperor Francis II renounced the crown of the Holy Roman Empire and declared Austria its own empire. This new empire comprised all the lands of the Habsburg monarchy, which had previously been legally separate realms. The Austrian Empire was legally a single state, although the overarching structure and the status of its component lands initially remained similar to the composite monarchy that preceded it.
The Kingdom of Hungary, for example, had always been considered a separate realm and continued to be administered by its own institutions separately from the rest of the empire. The status of Hungary as a "'Regnum Independens'" was affirmed by Article X, added to its constitution in 1790. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814-15, Austria once again became the leader of the German states. However, the rise of nationalism and independence movements across Europe made it difficult for the Austrian Empire to maintain its territories.
In 1866, Austria was expelled from the German Confederation following its defeat in the Austro-Prussian War. This led to the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which joined the Kingdom of Hungary and the Empire of Austria to form Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual Monarchy. This empire lasted until it collapsed after World War I in 1918, after which Austria was reduced to its current frontiers and became the Republic of German-Austria.
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Frequently asked questions
The territory of present-day Austria roughly corresponded with the Roman province of Noricum, which was annexed by the Roman Empire around 15 BC.
Noricum was known for its ironworks and salt mining. The region supplied the Romans with Noric iron, which was exported from mining sites in eastern Styria and the Burgenland.
After the Romans left, Austria became a center of migration. German tribes and Hunnic horsemen came in from the west, while Slavic communities settled in from the east.
