Cibalae
CI´BALAE(Κιβάλαι), a town in Lower Pannonia. In the Itin. Hieros. p. 563, and the Geogr. Rav. 4.19, its name appears in the ablat. Cibalis, whence some writers, mistaking this for the nominative, give its name in the form Cibalis (Κιβαλίς; Dio Cass.; Ptol. 2.16.7; Zosim. 2.18). The town was one of considerable importance, and situated on an eminence near lake Hiulcas, at an equal distance between the rivers Dravus and Savus, on the high road leading from Mursa to Sirmium. It was the birthplace of the emperor Valentinian (Ammian. 30.7, 24), and in its vicinity Constantine, in A.D. 314, gained a decisive victory over Licinianus. (Eutrop. 10.5; Zosim. l. c.) According to Zosimus, the place had an amphitheatre surrounded by a shady wood. Its exact site has not yet been discovered, but it is generally believed to have been situated near the modern town of Mikanofzior near Vinkoucze. (Comp. Aur. Vict. Epit. 41, 45; Sozom. Hist. Eccles. 1.6; Itin. Ant. pp. 131, 261,267, 268.)
[L.S]A town of Lower Pannonia, situated on the Savus, about fifty miles from Sirmium, and about one hundred from the confluence of the Savus and the Danube. It was famous for the defeat of Licinius by Constantine, A.D. 314, and was also the birthplace of Gratian.
On the river Bosut a significant prehistoric site, first mentioned as a municipium (CIL III, 3267), probably in Hadrian's time, then as colonia Aurelia Cibalae (CIL III, 14038, Péecs), perhaps in the Severan period. The walls surrounded an area 860 by 650 m. It was situated at the intersection of roads leading to Sirmium, to Siscia, and to Mursa-Aquincum. Here Licinius was defeated by Constantine in 314. Presumably the town was the seat of a bishop. It existed to the beginning of the 6th c.
Recent excavations have uncovered remains of aqueducts and sewers, houses with hypocausts, lead water mains, mosaics and marble paneling. Kilns have yielded some knowledge on domestic production of pottery and oil lamps. The finds can be seen in the local museum and in the Archaeological Museum at Zagreb.
BIBLIOGRAPHYJ. Brunšmid, “Colonia Aurelia Cibalae,” VHAD 6 (1902) 117-66PI; V. Hoffiller, “Spomenici rimskog lončarskog obrta u Vinkovcima,” VHAD 14 (1919) 186-95I; J. Korda, “Tragom Limesa od Vukovara do Iloka s osobitim obzirom na Cibalae,” Limes u Jugoslaviji, I (1961) 61-64PI; B. Vikić-Belančić, “Istraživanja u Vinkovcima 1966. godine,” Vjesnik Arheoloskog muzeja u Zagrebu 3, 4 (1970) 159-76PI.
D. PINTEROVIĆ