Slovenia · 2,000 years of the Roman settlement of Emona

The occasion for the issue was the 2,000th anniversary of the Roman city of Emona, a predecessor of present-day Ljubljana. The dating is based on ancient inscriptions according to which the city wall and towers were erected around AD 14/15. The anniversary therefore referred less to a clearly documented founding date than to the archaeologically and epigraphically identifiable period in which the Roman city emerged.

Emona was situated on the left bank of the Ljubljanica, in the area of what is now the southern city centre of Ljubljana. The settlement lay along important routes between northern Italy, the Alpine region, the Danube region and the western Balkans. In Roman times, it was developed into a planned, fortified city. Its rectangular street grid divided it into insulae; there was also a forum, public buildings, residential houses, sewers and city walls. Burial grounds were located outside the walls.

The ancient name appears in various spellings, including Emona and Aemona. The city held the rank of a Roman colony and bore the designation *Colonia Iulia Emona*. Its inhabitants made their living from trade, crafts, agriculture and services arising from its location on transregional routes. In the course of the political and military crises of Late Antiquity, Emona lost its former urban function.

Several remains have survived or have been archaeologically uncovered in present-day Ljubljana. These include parts of the city wall in the Mirje area, remains of Roman residential buildings and an early Christian complex. The ancient city is therefore not only a historical predecessor of Ljubljana, but can also be traced in the present-day cityscape.

The choice of theme was connected with the anniversary year, during which Ljubljana commemorated its Roman origins with exhibitions and archaeological programmes. The coin transferred this local city anniversary to a means of payment circulating throughout the euro area.