The word basilica is a Latin one and was used to describe a public building that is Roman and is located in the centre of a Roman town. You can find the mention of this kind of buildings in 2nd century BC in Hellenistic cities.
These buildings had large roofed halls and they were mostly used for transacting business and also to settle legal matters. They have interior colonnades that divided the space and at one side of it sat the magistrate and at another the parties in dispute.
The oldest basilica that is known to us is called the Basilica Porcia and was erected in Rome around 184 BC. There are some other basilicas also like the one at Pompeii which was also built in the 2nd century BC.
These buildings had large roofed halls and they were mostly used for transacting business and also to settle legal matters. They have interior colonnades that divided the space and at one side of it sat the magistrate and at another the parties in dispute.
The oldest basilica that is known to us is called the Basilica Porcia and was erected in Rome around 184 BC. There are some other basilicas also like the one at Pompeii which was also built in the 2nd century BC.