The borders of the Roman Empire, which fluctuated throughout the empire's history, were realised as a combination of military roads and linked forts, natural frontiers (most notably the Rhine and Danuberivers) and man-made fortifications which separated the lands of the empire from the countries beyond.
The Roman Empire at its greatest extent in AD 117 (vassals in pink)
Map of the Roman Empire in 125 during the reign of emperor Hadrian
The word limes is sometimes used by modern scholars to denote the frontier of the Roman Empire but was not used by the Romans as such. After the third century it was an administrative term, indicating a military district, commanded by a dux limitis.[1]
The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk marking off the boundaries of fields; a boundary line or marker; any road or path; any channel, such as a stream channel; or any distinction or difference between two things.
In Britannia the Empire built two walls one behind the other; for Mauretania there was a single wall with forts on both sides of it. In other places, such as Syria and Arabia Petraea, there was no continuous wall; instead there was a net of border settlements and forts occupied by the Roman army. In Dacia, the limes between the Black Sea and the Danube were a mix of the latter and the wall defenses: the Limes Moesiae was the conjunction of two, and sometimes three, lines of vallum, with a Great Camp and many minor camps spread through the fortifications.[citation needed]
In continental Europe, the borders were generally well defined, usually following the courses of major rivers such as the Rhine and the Danube. Nevertheless, those were not always the final border lines; the province of Dacia, modern Romania, was completely on the far side of the Danube, and the province of Germania Magna, which must not be confused with Germania Inferior and Germania Superior, was the land between the Rhine, the Danube and the Elbe (Although this province was lost three years after its creation as a result of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest).
In Great Britain both Hadrian and Antoninus Pius built defences to protect the province of Britannia from the Caledonians. Hadrian's Wall, constructed in 122 held a garrison of 10,000 soldiers, while the Antonine Wall, constructed between 142 and 144, was abandoned by 164 and briefly reoccupied in 208, under the reign of Septimius Severus.
The eastern borders changed many times, as the Roman Empire was facing two major powers, The Parthian Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The Parthians were a group of Iranian peoples ruling most of Greater Iran that is in modern-day Iran, western Iraq, Armenia and the Caucasus.[2] The Sasanians succeeded the Parthians in 224–226 and were recognised as one of the leading world powers alongside its neighbouring arch-rival the Roman (Byzantine) Empire for a period of more than 400 years.
The southern borders
Limes Africanus under Septimius Severus (The frontier of Roman Africa (dark tan) in the late 2nd century AD: Septimius Severus expanded the Limes Tripolitanus dramatically (medium tan), even briefly holding a military presence (light tan) in the Garamantian capital Garama in 203)
At the greatest extent of the Empire, the southern border lay along the deserts of Arabia in the Middle East and the Sahara in North Africa, which represented a natural barrier against expansion. The Empire controlled the Mediterranean shores and the mountain ranges further inland. The Romans attempted twice to occupy the Siwa Oasis and finally used Siwa as a place of banishment. However, the Romans controlled the Nile many kilometres into Africa up to Syena, Berenice, Hyerasykaminos and even Qasr Ibrim, (the southernmost of all), near the modern border between Egypt and Sudan, then Meroe, lying very near the tropic.[citation needed] The period in which each aforementioned town represented the final frontier of Rome is uncertain.
In the south of Mauritania Tingitana Romans made a limes in the third century, just north of the area of actual Casablanca near Sala and stretching to Volubilis.
Septimius Severus expanded the "Limes Tripolitanus" dramatically, even briefly holding a military presence in the Garamantian capital Garama in AD 203. Much of the initial campaigning success was achieved by Quintus Anicius Faustus, the legate of Legio III Augusta.
Following his African conquests, the Roman Empire may have reached its greatest extent during the reign of Septimius Severus,[4][5] under whom the empire encompassed an area of 5 million square kilometres (2 million square miles).[4]
De Agostini (2005). Atlante Storico De Agostini. Novara: Istituto Geografico De Agostini. ISBN88-511-0846-3.
Camer, Augusto and Renato Fabietti. Corso di storia antica e medievale 1 (seconda edizione). ISBN88-08-24230-7.
Grant, Michael (1994). Atlas of Classical History (5th ed.). New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN0-19-521074-3.
Scarre, Chris (1995). The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome. London: Penguin. ISBN0-14-051329-9.
Further reading
Breeze, David J. 2011. The Frontiers of Imperial Rome. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword.
Cordovana, Orietta Dora. 2012. "Historical Ecosystems. Roman Frontier and Economic Hinterlands in North Africa." Historia 61.4: 458-494.
Dyson, Stephen. 1985. The Creation of the Roman Frontier. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
Gambash, Gil. 2015. Rome and Provincial Resistance. London: Routledge.
Heckster, Olivier, and Ted Kaizer, eds. 2011. Frontiers in the Roman World: Proceedings of the Ninth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
Hingley, Richard. 2012. Hadrian’s Wall: A Life. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Isaac, Benjamin. 2000. The Limits of Empire: The Roman Army in the East. Rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Keppie, Lawrence. 2012. The Antiquarian Rediscovery of the Antonine Wall. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Sterk, Andrea. 2010. "Mission from Below: Captive Women and Conversion on the East Roman Frontier." Church History 79.1:1-39.
Zietsman, J.C. 2009. "Crossing the Roman frontier: Egypt in Rome (and beyond)." Acta Classica 52: 1-21.
External links
April 18, 2023
borders, roman, empire, also, roman, military, frontiers, fortifications, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sou. See also Roman military frontiers and fortifications This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Borders of the Roman Empire news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The borders of the Roman Empire which fluctuated throughout the empire s history were realised as a combination of military roads and linked forts natural frontiers most notably the Rhine and Danube rivers and man made fortifications which separated the lands of the empire from the countries beyond The Roman Empire at its greatest extent in AD 117 vassals in pink Map of the Roman Empire in 125 during the reign of emperor Hadrian Contents 1 The limes 2 The northern borders 3 The Pannonian Limes 4 The eastern borders 5 The southern borders 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Further reading 10 External linksThe limes EditMain article Limes Roman Empire The limes that protected the Empire from German raids The word limes is sometimes used by modern scholars to denote the frontier of the Roman Empire but was not used by the Romans as such After the third century it was an administrative term indicating a military district commanded by a dux limitis 1 The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings a path or balk marking off the boundaries of fields a boundary line or marker any road or path any channel such as a stream channel or any distinction or difference between two things In Britannia the Empire built two walls one behind the other for Mauretania there was a single wall with forts on both sides of it In other places such as Syria and Arabia Petraea there was no continuous wall instead there was a net of border settlements and forts occupied by the Roman army In Dacia the limes between the Black Sea and the Danube were a mix of the latter and the wall defenses the Limes Moesiae was the conjunction of two and sometimes three lines of vallum with a Great Camp and many minor camps spread through the fortifications citation needed The northern borders EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Location of Hadrian s Wall and the Antonine Wall in Scotland and Northern England In continental Europe the borders were generally well defined usually following the courses of major rivers such as the Rhine and the Danube Nevertheless those were not always the final border lines the province of Dacia modern Romania was completely on the far side of the Danube and the province of Germania Magna which must not be confused with Germania Inferior and Germania Superior was the land between the Rhine the Danube and the Elbe Although this province was lost three years after its creation as a result of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest In Great Britain both Hadrian and Antoninus Pius built defences to protect the province of Britannia from the Caledonians Hadrian s Wall constructed in 122 held a garrison of 10 000 soldiers while the Antonine Wall constructed between 142 and 144 was abandoned by 164 and briefly reoccupied in 208 under the reign of Septimius Severus The Pannonian Limes EditMain article Pannonian Limes Map of Limes in Austria Slovakia Hungary Croatia and SerbiaThe eastern borders EditFurther information Roman Persian Wars The eastern borders changed many times as the Roman Empire was facing two major powers The Parthian Empire and the Sasanian Empire The Parthians were a group of Iranian peoples ruling most of Greater Iran that is in modern day Iran western Iraq Armenia and the Caucasus 2 The Sasanians succeeded the Parthians in 224 226 and were recognised as one of the leading world powers alongside its neighbouring arch rival the Roman Byzantine Empire for a period of more than 400 years The southern borders Edit Limes Africanus under Septimius Severus The frontier of Roman Africa dark tan in the late 2nd century AD Septimius Severus expanded the Limes Tripolitanus dramatically medium tan even briefly holding a military presence light tan in the Garamantian capital Garama in 203 At the greatest extent of the Empire the southern border lay along the deserts of Arabia in the Middle East and the Sahara in North Africa which represented a natural barrier against expansion The Empire controlled the Mediterranean shores and the mountain ranges further inland The Romans attempted twice to occupy the Siwa Oasis and finally used Siwa as a place of banishment However the Romans controlled the Nile many kilometres into Africa up to Syena Berenice Hyerasykaminos and even Qasr Ibrim the southernmost of all near the modern border between Egypt and Sudan then Meroe lying very near the tropic citation needed The period in which each aforementioned town represented the final frontier of Rome is uncertain In Africa the Romans controlled the area north of the Sahara from the Atlantic Ocean to Egypt with the borders being controlled by many sections of fortifications such as the Limes Arabicus called the Limes Uranus Limes Mauretaniae Fossatum Africae Fossa regia Limes Tripolitanus Limes Numidiae etc 3 In the south of Mauritania Tingitana Romans made a limes in the third century just north of the area of actual Casablanca near Sala and stretching to Volubilis Septimius Severus expanded the Limes Tripolitanus dramatically even briefly holding a military presence in the Garamantian capital Garama in AD 203 Much of the initial campaigning success was achieved by Quintus Anicius Faustus the legate of Legio III Augusta Following his African conquests the Roman Empire may have reached its greatest extent during the reign of Septimius Severus 4 5 under whom the empire encompassed an area of 5 million square kilometres 2 million square miles 4 Tabula PeutingerianaSee also Edit Ancient Rome portalRoman military frontiers and fortificationsReferences Edit Benjamin Isaac The Meaning of Limes and Limitanei in Ancient Sources Journal of Roman Studies 78 1988 pp 125 147 Benjamin Isaac The Limits of Empire the Roman Army in the East Oxford University Press revised ed 1992 Map of Roman Africa www gutenberg org a b David L Kennedy Derrick Riley 2012 Rome s Desert Frontiers page 13 Routledge R J van der Spek Lukas De Blois 2008 An Introduction to the Ancient World page 272 RoutledgeBibliography EditDe Agostini 2005 Atlante Storico De Agostini Novara Istituto Geografico De Agostini ISBN 88 511 0846 3 Camer Augusto and Renato Fabietti Corso di storia antica e medievale 1 seconda edizione ISBN 88 08 24230 7 Grant Michael 1994 Atlas of Classical History 5th ed New York Oxford Univ Press ISBN 0 19 521074 3 Scarre Chris 1995 The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome London Penguin ISBN 0 14 051329 9 Further reading EditBreeze David J 2011 The Frontiers of Imperial Rome Barnsley UK Pen amp Sword Cordovana Orietta Dora 2012 Historical Ecosystems Roman Frontier and Economic Hinterlands in North Africa Historia 61 4 458 494 Dyson Stephen 1985 The Creation of the Roman Frontier Princeton NJ Princeton Univ Press Gambash Gil 2015 Rome and Provincial Resistance London Routledge Heckster Olivier and Ted Kaizer eds 2011 Frontiers in the Roman World Proceedings of the Ninth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire Leiden The Netherlands Brill Hingley Richard 2012 Hadrian s Wall A Life Oxford Oxford Univ Press Isaac Benjamin 2000 The Limits of Empire The Roman Army in the East Rev ed Oxford Oxford Univ Press Keppie Lawrence 2012 The Antiquarian Rediscovery of the Antonine Wall Edinburgh Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Sterk Andrea 2010 Mission from Below Captive Women and Conversion on the East Roman Frontier Church History 79 1 1 39 Zietsman J C 2009 Crossing the Roman frontier Egypt in Rome and beyond Acta Classica 52 1 21 External links Edit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Borders of the Roman Empire amp oldid 1144407092, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
