Halikan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Halikan (Halicanum) within Pannonia Superior on a 17th-century map showing several ancient Roman provinces | |
  Halikan Shown within Croatia | |
| Alternative name | Halicanum, Halycanum, Alicanum |
|---|---|
| Location | Croatia |
| Region | Međimurje |
| Coordinates | 46°32′N 16°23′E / 46.53°N 16.38°E |
| Type | Municipium |
| Part of | Roman Empire |
| Width | 270px |
| History | |
| Founded | 1st century |
| Periods | Classical antiquity |
| Cultures | Roman |
| Associated with | Roman citizens |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1977–2018 |
| Management | Međimurje County Museum |
Halikan[1] (Latin: Halicanum, Halycanum, Alicanum)[2] is an ancient Roman municipium located in present-day Croatia. It is situated in the municipality of Sveti Martin na Muri in Međimurje County. Founded in the 1st century AD, the municipium had an area of about 3 square kilometres and was a square in ground plan.[3] An ancient Roman road passed by it, having led from Aquileia through the cities of Aemona and Poetovio - today's Ljubljana and Ptuj in Slovenia - to the east and north, forking near Halican in the direction of Carnuntum, a settlement east of modern-day Vienna in Austria, and Aquincum, today's Budapest. The site has been more thoroughly investigated archaeologically since 1977, but recently it was interrupted, and for the sake of protection and restoration, the site was closed.
Halikan was an important ancient Roman settlement that quite surely had the status of a municipium at the time of Emperor Hadrian[4] (ruled 117 - 138 AD), as evidenced by the discovery of two well-preserved Roman denarii (silver coins) with his image, a type of money which value was behind the aureus (gold coin), and ahead of the brass sestertius and the copper as.
The settlement was established in the 1st century AD, or perhaps a little earlier, during the early conquests of Emperor Octavian Augustus (ruled 27 BC - 14 AD). It gained town status most likely during the process of urbanization of parts of the Pannonia province at the time of the reign of Emperor Vespasian (ruled 69 - 79 AD). The wider area was already inhabited earlier by members of the Pannonian tribes, and on the Mura river there was a suitable crossing over that river from one bank to the other. The Romans noticed this and established a military stronghold to monitor the river crossing. Over the time, the settlement developed so much that it became some kind of commercial centre of the surrounding area.[5]
The town itself had a regular square shape, more precisely the shape of a square (so-called "urbs quadrata")[6] with traffic routes in an orthogonal system, where the streets intersect at right angles. Archaeological researches have shown that Halikan had town quarters (insulae) and a forum, the main square.
The municipium flourished until the middle of the 3rd century AD, spreading the ancient Roman culture and way of life to the surrounding area. With the weakening of the Roman Empire and the subsequent settling of Slavs, Halikan lost its significance, and finally found itself deeply covered with soil.[citation needed]
