Pax Iulia or Colonia Civitas Pacensis was a city in the Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

 of Lusitania

Lusitania

Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...

, today Beja, Portugal

Beja (Portugal)

Beja is a city in the Beja Municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The municipality has a total area of 1,147.1 km² and a total population of 34,970 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 21,658....

. Already inhabited in Celtic

Celtic

The words Celt and Celtic can refer to:In ethno-linguistics:*Celts, a people of the Celtic nations*Celts , the modern Celtic identity*Celtic languages...

 times around 400 BC, there are indications of a Carthaginian presence, and the city is mentioned by Polybius

Polybius

Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...

 and Claudius Ptolemy in the second century BC. It was renamed Pax Iulia, "peace of the gens Julia", by Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 in 48 BC after peace was made with the Lusitani. The town became a capital of a conventus iuridicus

Conventus iuridicus

In Ancient Rome territorial organization, a conventus iuridicus was the capital city of a subdivision of some provinces with functions of seat of a district court of justice and maybe others.-External links:...

, Pacensis, in the province of Lusitania, as it was situated at a strategic road junction, with connection to Myrtilis Iulia

Myrtilis Iulia

Myrtilis Iulia was the roman name given to present day Mértola, Portugal.During Classical Antiquity, Mértola was inhabited by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and finally the Romans, who called it Myrtilis Iulia....

, a harbor city in the Guadiana

Guadiana

The Guadiana , or Odiana, is an international river located on the Portuguese–Spanish border, separating Extremadura and Andalucia from Alentejo and Algarve...

 river.

Sometime between 31 and 27 BC, during the reign of the emperor Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

, the city was granted the municipium

Municipium

Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...

following the Battle of Actium

Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman...

. The colonists were ascribed to the gens Galeria. A new designation, "Pax Augusta" (peace of Augustus), appears at this time, as mentioned by Strabo

Strabo

Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...

,

Archeology has uncovered the remains of a large Roman temple (30 x 19.4 metres) from the first century AD, several inscriptions, a Roman arch, fortifications and an aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

.