Caesaraugusta
- a town in Hispania Tarraconensis, on the Ebro, so called after the emperor Augustus, who colonized it; acc. to some, the native town of Prudentius, now Saragossa, Mel. 2, 6, 4; Plin. 3, 3, 4, § 24.
CAESARAUGUSTA (Καισαραυγουστα, Strab. iii. pp. 151, 161, 162 ; Mela, 2.6; Plin. Nat. 3.3. s. 4; Itin. Ant.), or CAESAREA AUGUSTA (Καισάρεια Αὐγούστα, Ptol. 2.6.63; Auson. Epist. 24.84; Inscr. ap. Golz. Thesaur. p. 238: coins generally have C. A., CAES. AUGUSTA, or CAESAR. AUGUSTA, whence it may perhaps be inferred that the common shorter form has arisen from running together the two parts of the last-mentioned abbreviation: now Zaragoza, merely a corruption of the ancient name; in English works often Saragossa), one of the chief inland cities of Hispania Tarraconensis, stood on the right bank of the river Iberus (Ebro), in the country of the Edetani (Plin., Ptol.), on the borders of Celtiberia (Strab.). Its original name was SALDUBA which was changed in honour of Augustus, who colonized it after the Cantabrian War, B.C. 25. (Plin. l. c. Isid. Orig. 15.1). It was a colonia immunis, and the seat of a conventus juridicus, including 152 communities (populos clii., Plin.) It was the centre of nearly all the great roads leading to the Pyrenees and all parts of Spain. (Itin. Ant. pp. 392, 433, 438, 439, 443, 444, 446, 448, 451, 452). Its coins, which are more numerous than those of almost any other Spanish city, range from Augustus to Caligula. (Florez, Esp. S. vol. 4. p. 254; Med. de Esp. vol. 1. p. 186, vol. 2. p. 636, vol. 3. p. 18; Eckhel, vol. i. pp. 36--39 ; Sestini, Med. Isp. p. 114 ; Rasche, s. v.). There are no ruins of the ancient city, its materials having been entirely used up by the Moors and Spaniards. (Ford, Handbook of Spain, p. 580.)
The first Christian poet, Aurelius Prudentius, is said to have been born at Caesaraugusta (A.D. 348); but some assign the honour to Calagurnis (Calahorra). The place is one of Ptolemy's points of recorded astronomical observations, having 15 1/12) hours in its longest day, and being distant 3 1/15 hours W. of Alexandria (Ptol. 8.4.5).
[P.S]or Caesarēa Augusta. The modern Saragossa; a town of Hispania Tarraconensis, named from its founder, Augustus Caesar. It was the birthplace of the poet Prudentius.