Places

Provinces and regions, cities, ports and the frontier centres.

Provinces and regions 93

Achaia

Separate Augustan province from 27 BCE · Southern Greece

Province centered on Corinth and incorporating many Greek communities with older civic traditions; imperial supervision coexisted with local prestige, benefaction and autonomy claims.

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Aegyptus

30 BCE to Arab conquest in 7th century CE, with Sasanian occupation 619-629 CE · Nile valley and delta

Imperial province governed by an equestrian prefect, important for grain, taxation and Red Sea trade; late antiquity divided its civil administration into several provinces.

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Africa Nova

From 46 BCE; later merged · North Africa

Julius Caesar organized former Numidian royal territory after defeating the Pompeian coalition; its later merger helped form imperial Africa Proconsularis.

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Africa Proconsularis

Augustan organization onward · Tunisia and neighboring North Africa

Wealthy senatorial province with Carthage as center, major grain and oil production, estates and prosperous cities; its extent shrank through later provincial divisions.

Read the province in Provinces →

See also Carthage, Grain supply, Olive oil

In the volumes Book VIII · Chapter 5: Aetius, Africa, and Attila

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books XVI-XVII

Africa Vetus

From 146 BCE · Northeastern modern Tunisia

Territory acquired after Carthage's destruction; later combined with other African lands. Its boundaries should not be equated with the modern African continent.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Alpes Cottiae

Client kingdom to annexation in 63 CE · Western Alps

Pass territory long governed through the Cottian dynasty before direct provincial administration; a good example of client authority becoming annexed government.

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Alpes Graiae et Poeninae

Early imperial annexation and later combined administration · Northwestern Alps

Pass regions around the Great and Little St Bernard, important for communication between Italy, Gaul and the Rhine; their arrangements changed across the Empire.

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Alpes Maritimae

Early imperial administration from Augustan/Claudian period · Southwestern Alps

Small Alpine province controlling routes between Italy and Mediterranean Gaul; its administrative history differs from the larger neighboring Gallic provinces.

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Arabia Petraea

106 CE onward · Southern Levant and northwestern Arabia

Province created by annexing the Nabataean kingdom, with Bostra and Petra as principal cities. Later division transferred southern territory into Palaestina Tertia.

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Arcadia Aegypti

Late 4th century CE onward · Middle Egypt

Late Roman province in middle Egypt, distinct from the Greek region of Arcadia; agriculture, estate administration and monastic settlements shaped its economy.

See also Oxyrhynchus, Aegyptus, Monasticism

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books XVI-XVII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Armenia as Roman province

114-117 CE; later Roman Armenian provinces followed different settlements · Armenian highlands

Trajan briefly annexed the Armenian kingdom, but Hadrian abandoned direct provincial rule. Later Roman Armenia resulted from other partitions and should not be back-projected.

Armenia Minor

Client arrangements before annexation in 72 CE · Eastern Anatolia

Territory west of the Euphrates was distinct from Greater Armenia and was incorporated into Roman frontier administration under the Flavians.

Asia

Roman organization from 129 BCE after Attalid bequest 133 BCE · Western Anatolia

Rich province of the former Pergamene kingdom, with major Greek cities, taxation and provincial imperial cult; its name denotes a province rather than all Asia.

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Assyria as Trajanic province

Claimed for 116-117 CE; status and location disputed · Mesopotamian east

Later sources mention a Trajanic province named Assyria, but its existence, borders and administrative substance remain debated; it should not be mapped as a secure lasting unit.

Augustamnica

Fourth century CE onward · Eastern Nile delta

Late Roman Egyptian province covering eastern-delta districts and routes toward Palestine; provincial divisions changed further within late antiquity.

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Baetica

Augustan settlement from 27 BCE · Southern Iberia

Senatorial province centered on the Baetis valley, with wealthy cities, estates and olive-oil exports. Its provincial elite contributed heavily to imperial administration.

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In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 4: The Antonine Noon and Its Wars

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV

Bithynia et Pontus

Bithynian annexation 74 BCE; combined provincial settlement in 60sBCE · Northern Anatolia

A combined jurisdiction formed from Bithynian royal territory and parts of conquered Pontus; coastal cities and inland regions retained varied institutions.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books XI-XIV

Britannia

Conquest began 43 CE; Roman government receded in early 5th century CE · Britain

Imperial province created by Claudius' invasion, with changing northern frontiers. Roman authority never amounted to permanent incorporation of the whole modern British Isles.

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In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 4: Britain: Conquest and Revolt

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV · English Heritage Romans Power and Politics

Britannia Superior and Inferior

Division in early 3rd century CE · Britain

Severan-era division separated southern and northern commands, reducing a governor's combined military power; later reforms subdivided Britain further.

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV · English Heritage Romans Power and Politics

Byzacena

Late 3rd century CE onward · Central and southern Tunisia

Late Roman subdivision of Africa, containing rich agricultural districts and towns. It later passed through Vandal and Justinianic regimes.

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Cappadocia

17 CE onward · Eastern central Anatolia

Former client kingdom annexed by Tiberius, later a major eastern military province facing Armenia; temporary unions with other territories complicate its administrative chronology.

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Carthaginiensis

Late 3rd/early 4th century CE onward · Southeastern Iberia

Late Roman subdivision of Tarraconensis named for Carthago Nova, linking inland agriculture, mining districts and Mediterranean ports.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

PlateProvincesLate Roman Iberia: rivers and provincial subdivision

Cilicia

Republican military command from 102 BCE; territorial forms changed; unified province in 72 CE · Southern Anatolia

Its coastal plain, mountain districts and pirate-suppression command were never identical categories. Flavian consolidation followed centuries of mixed direct and client rule.

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Commagene

Client kingdom to annexation in 72 CE · Upper Euphrates

Dynastic kingdom at a strategic crossing zone, incorporated into Syria under Vespasian; Samosata became an important military base.

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In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 5: The Eastern Question: Corbulo, Armenia, and Parthia · Book VI · Chapter 8: The Flavian Consolidation and the Wars of Domitian

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Creta et Cyrenaica

Late Republic to late 3rd-century reforms · Crete and northeastern Libya

A geographically separated combined province joining Crete with Cyrenaica; later reforms gave the two regions separate administrative frameworks.

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Cyprus

Annexed 58 BCE; senatorial province from 22 BCE · Eastern Mediterranean

Island province with copper, agriculture and ports; it had earlier connections to Cilician administration and Ptolemaic royal politics.

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In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 2: The Eastern Maximum and the Great Recoil

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Cyrenaica and Libya Pentapolis

Republican bequest 96 BCE; provincial organization in 1st century BCE; later separate province · Northeastern Libya

Greek-founded cities and agricultural hinterland were first linked with Crete, then reorganized separately in late antiquity; Pentapolis denotes the five-city region.

Dacia Aureliana

From the 270sCE · South of the lower Danube

Aurelian reused the Dacian provincial name after evacuation north of the river. This southern province must be distinguished from Trajan's conquered Dacia.

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Dacia north of the Danube

106 CE to withdrawal in the 270sCE · Carpathian basin

Trajan's conquered province included valuable mines and a dense military network. Subdivision changed over time; abandonment of imperial government did not empty the land of people.

Dacia Ripensis and Mediterranea

Early 4th century CE onward · Northern and inland Balkans

Successor provinces divided river defense from the inland region around Serdica. Their names preserve administrative continuity rather than identical geography with northern Dacia.

Dalmatia

Early 1st century CE provincial form · Adriatic Balkans

Province linking coastal cities such as Salona with mountainous inland communities. Roads and military recruitment tied the interior to imperial structures.

Read the province in Provinces →

Danube

Republic and Empire · Central and southeastern Europe

Major transport and military corridor connecting frontier provinces and neighboring peoples; campaigns, settlement and supply crossed as well as followed the river.

In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 8: The Flavian Consolidation and the Wars of Domitian · Book VII · Chapter 1: The Dacian Wars of Trajan · Book VI · Proem · Book VI · Chapter 1: The Augustan Conquests · Book VI · Chapter 7: The Year of the Four Emperors and the Batavian Revolt · Book VI · Epilogue: The World-State at 96 · Book VII · Proem · Book VII · Chapter 5: Marcus Aurelius: The Double Emergency and 12 more

Dardania

Late 3rd century CE onward · Central Balkans

Late Roman province separated from Upper Moesia, important for routes through the interior Balkans and later military recruitment.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Eastern themes

Developed mainly from 7th century CE onward · Eastern Roman Empire

Military-administrative districts emerged through a gradual transformation of eastern armies and territories; they were not simply new names for every classical province.

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Epirus

Separate province under Trajan; later divided · Western Balkans

Adriatic region facing Italy, later divided into Epirus Vetus and Nova; coastal routes and the Via Egnatia connected it to wider imperial communications.

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Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa

Late 6th century CE onward · Italy and North Africa

Regional commands combined extensive civil and military authority amid Lombard and other pressures; Ravenna and Carthage anchored these late eastern imperial systems.

Galatia

25 BCE onward · Central Anatolia

Province formed after the death of client king Amyntas, including lands beyond ethnic Galatia; later subdivisions separated several Anatolian regions.

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Gallaecia

Separate late Roman province by early 4th century CE · Northwestern Iberia

Administrative unit formed from northwestern Tarraconensis, containing important gold-mining districts and later a Suevic kingdom; distinct from every earlier use of the regional name.

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Gallia Aquitania

Augustan organization from 27 BCE · Southwestern Gaul

Province between the Pyrenees and Loire in its early imperial form, broader than Caesar's ethnographic Aquitania; Bordeaux became a major commercial center.

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Gallia Belgica

Augustan organization from 27 BCE · Northeastern Gaul

Province incorporating varied northern communities and routes toward the Rhine armies; Belgic literary identity and later provincial boundaries were not identical.

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Gallia Cisalpina

Republican command; absorbed into Italia in 42 BCE · Northern Italy

Gaul on Rome's side of the Alps became a recruitment and settlement zone. Its integration into citizen Italy transformed the political geography of the late Republic.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Gallia Lugdunensis

Augustan organization from 27 BCE · Central and western Gaul

Province named for Lugdunum, a major administrative and cult center. Its early boundaries extended far beyond the city's immediate region.

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Gallia Narbonensis

Roman conquest in 120sBCE; Augustan provincial form · Southern Gaul

The Mediterranean corridor between Italy and Spain, anchored by Narbo and later prominent cities such as Nemausus and Arelate; separate from Caesar's later northern conquests.

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Gaul

Republic and Empire · Western Europe

Broad regional designation rather than one unchanged province; distinguishes Cisalpine and Transalpine histories and later Narbonensis, Aquitania, Lugdunensis and Belgica.

In the volumes Book V · Chapter 7: Caesar in Gaul · Book I · Chapter 1: The Gallic Catastrophe · Book II · Chapter 3: The Interwar Years: Mercenary War, Sardinia, Gauls, and Illyrians · Book II · Chapter 4: The Coming of Hannibal: From Saguntum to the Alps · Book VIII · Chapter 2: The House of Constantine at War: Persia, Strasbourg, and the Road to Ctesiphon · Book VIII · Chapter 4: Stilicho, the Rhine Crossing, and the Sack of Rome · Book III · Chapter 4: Hasdrubal's March and the Metaurus · Book V · Proem and 17 more

Germania Inferior

Military district before formal province in later 1st century CE · Lower Rhine

Lower Rhine frontier province centered on Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, with major bases at Bonn and Xanten and close auxiliary-recruitment ties to local peoples.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Germania Superior

Military district before formal province in later 1st century CE · Upper Rhine

Upper Rhine province with headquarters at Mogontiacum; legionary bases and the limes linked river defense, roads and lands east of the Rhine.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Hellespontus

Late Roman province · Northwestern Anatolia

Province around the Asian shores of the Hellespont and Propontis, including Cyzicus; vital crossings connected Anatolian and European routes.

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Hispania

Republic and Empire · Iberian peninsula

Broad geographical name covering changing provinces, cities and peoples; Roman conquest proceeded unevenly from the Punic-war footholds to the northern campaigns.

Hispania Citerior

197 BCE to Augustan reorganization · Iberia

The nearer Spanish command developed from Rome's northeastern conquests. Its expanding jurisdiction should not be confused with a fixed modern eastern-Spain boundary.

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In the volumes Book III · Chapter 5: Ilipa and the End of Carthaginian Spain · Book IV · Chapter 4: The Spanish Wars: Lusitanians, Celtiberians, Viriathus, and Numantia

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV

Hispania Tarraconensis

Augustan settlement; later subdivided · Iberia

Large imperial province covering much of northern and eastern Iberia, with Tarraco as administrative center and major military and mining districts.

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Hispania Ulterior

197 BCE to Augustan reorganization · Iberia

The farther Spanish province incorporated southern and western territories through prolonged wars and negotiated submission; Augustus divided its jurisdiction between Baetica and Lusitania.

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In the volumes Book III · Chapter 5: Ilipa and the End of Carthaginian Spain · Book IV · Chapter 4: The Spanish Wars: Lusitanians, Celtiberians, Viriathus, and Numantia

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books III-IV

Illyricum

Republican command; reorganized into Dalmatian and Pannonian jurisdictions in early Empire · Adriatic and western Balkans

A changing Roman command and later broader administrative/geographical name, not a permanently bounded nation; the great revolt of 6-9 CE reshaped its military governance.

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In the volumes Book V · Chapter 7: Caesar in Gaul · Book VI · Chapter 1: The Augustan Conquests · Book VII · Chapter 8: The Recovery, 260–284 · Book VII · Epilogue: The World-State at 284

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Insulae province

Late 3rd century CE onward · Aegean islands

Late Roman island province centered on Rhodes, illustrating how maritime communication could define an administrative network distinct from mainland provinces.

Isauria

Older region; separate late Roman province · Southern Anatolian mountains

Mountain region and late Roman province whose communities supplied soldiers and emperors; ancient claims of endemic brigandage reflect administrative and literary viewpoints.

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Italia

Republic to late Empire; provincial subdivision in late 3rd century CE · Italy

The citizen heartland was not an ordinary overseas province under the Republic or early Principate. Late Roman reforms divided it into governed provincial units.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Judaea

Direct rule 6-41 CE and from 44 CE; renamed Syria Palaestina after Bar Kokhba revolt · Southern Levant

Territory alternated between client monarchy and direct administration. War transformed Jerusalem, taxation and provincial government; Jewish society was never reducible to rebellion alone.

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Late Roman British provinces contested

Early 4th century CE onward; details partly uncertain · Britain

Britannia Prima, Secunda, Maxima Caesariensis and Flavia Caesariensis appear in late lists; Valentia was added later. Exact borders and some capitals remain disputed.

Lusitania

Augustan reorganization from 27 BCE · Western Iberia

Province centered on Emerita Augusta, including much of modern Portugal south of the Douro and neighboring Spanish territory; provincial and ethnic Lusitanian boundaries differed.

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Lycia

43 CE annexation; later combined with Pamphylia · Southwestern Anatolia

Region with a prominent federation of cities before direct Roman annexation. Its civic traditions continued within changing provincial arrangements.

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Lycia et Pamphylia

Combined province from Flavian period, commonly dated 74 CE · Southern Anatolia

Joined Lycian and Pamphylian districts, with ports, fertile plains and inland connections; later late Roman reforms separated their administrations.

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Macedonia

Roman province from 148 BCE · Southern Balkans

Province formed after the fourth Macedonian conflict; its jurisdiction initially included extensive neighboring territories and changed as Greece and Balkan provinces were reorganized.

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Mauretania Caesariensis

Early 40sCE onward · Central and western Algeria

Eastern half of annexed Mauretanian royal territory, named for Caesarea; coastal cities and inland defense depended on negotiated relations as well as force.

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Mauretania Tingitana

Early 40sCE onward · Northern Morocco

Western Mauretanian province around Tingis and Volubilis, linked across the straits to Iberia; Roman control was geographically limited and variable.

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Mesopotamia

Short-lived Trajanic province 116-117 CE; northern province from 198 CE · Upper Tigris and Euphrates

Roman provincial identity applied to different territories in the second and third centuries; Severan Mesopotamia centered on northern strongholds, not all modern Iraq.

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In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 2: The Eastern Maximum and the Great Recoil · Book VII · Chapter 6: The Auction and the Severan Reconstruction · Book IV · Chapter 2: The Syrian War: Antiochus, Thermopylae, and Magnesia · Book VII · Chapter 3: Hadrian: The Wall, the Army in Being, and the Last Jewish War · Book VII · Chapter 5: Marcus Aurelius: The Double Emergency · Book VII · Chapter 7: The Breaking, 235–260 · Book VIII · Chapter 1: The Tetrarchy and the Wars of Constantine

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Moesia

Early 1st century CE; divided 86 CE · Lower Danube

Danubian command and province controlling communications between the Balkans and Black Sea; a major base for operations north of the river.

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Moesia Inferior

86 CE to late Roman reforms · Lower Danube and western Black Sea

Lower Moesian province included Novae, Durostorum and coastal communities; military and river transport tied its settlements to the frontier.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Moesia Superior

86 CE to late Roman reforms · Central Balkans

Upper Moesian province with Viminacium and Singidunum, guarding approaches to the central Danube and supplying troops for Dacian and eastern wars.

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Nile

Ptolemaic, Roman and Late Roman periods · Egypt

Floodplain and river transport system underpinning Egyptian agriculture, revenue and urban provisioning; harvests and shipping connected local communities with imperial demands.

See also Aegyptus, Alexandria, Grain supply

In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 1: The Augustan Conquests · Book V · Proem · Book VI · Proem

Noricum

Incorporated under Augustus; province by Claudian period · Eastern Alps

Former kingdom whose mining, iron production and Alpine roads were incorporated into Roman government; later divided into inland and riverine provinces.

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Numidia

Military district before separate province around 200 CE · Northeastern Algeria

Region of former Numidian kingdoms and the African army, with III Augusta at Lambaesis; military administration and civil provincial boundaries evolved separately.

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Osrhoene

Client kingdom centered on Edessa; annexation in early 3rd century CE · Upper Mesopotamia

A frontier kingdom became a Roman administrative unit while Edessa's royal status and provincial arrangements changed; precise phases must be dated separately.

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Palaestina Tertia

Fourth century CE onward · Southern Palestine Sinai and former southern Arabia province

Late Roman province also called Palaestina Salutaris, linking Petra, the Negev and Sinai; distinct from the surviving northern province of Arabia.

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Pannonia

Early 1st century CE; divided early 2nd century · Middle Danube

Military province around the middle Danube and Sava corridor, important for frontier garrisons, recruitment and the rise of military emperors.

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In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 3: Germanicus and the Julio-Claudian North · Book VI · Chapter 8: The Flavian Consolidation and the Wars of Domitian · Book VI · Chapter 4: Britain: Conquest and Revolt · Book VII · Chapter 6: The Auction and the Severan Reconstruction · Book VII · Epilogue: The World-State at 284 · Book VIII · Chapter 2: The House of Constantine at War: Persia, Strasbourg, and the Road to Ctesiphon · Book VIII · Chapter 5: Aetius, Africa, and Attila

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Pannonia Inferior

Early 2nd century CE to late Roman subdivision · Middle Danube

Lower Pannonian province centered on Aquincum, facing Sarmatian neighbors across the river; later divided again into smaller jurisdictions.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

SlideNotebookLMDefense of Pannonia from The Dominate Forged in Iron

Pannonia Superior

Early 2nd century CE to late Roman subdivision · Middle Danube

Upper Pannonian province with major legionary bases, including Carnuntum; command changes reflected the strategic importance of the Danubian army.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Phrygia Pacatiana and Salutaris

Late Roman provincial divisions · Western and central Anatolia

Two administrative subdivisions of the older Phrygian region; their Christian episcopal geography became important while older local identities persisted.

Pisidia

Older region; late 3rd-century provincial form · Southwestern Anatolian interior

Highland region with cities and military colonies, reorganized as a late Roman province; regional labels and provincial borders did not always align.

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Pontus Polemoniacus

Client territory annexed in 64 CE · Southern Black Sea

Eastern Pontic royal lands entered direct Roman administration under Nero; later provincial boundaries changed repeatedly along the Black Sea frontier.

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Praetorian prefectures and dioceses

Principally 4th-6th centuries CE · Empire-wide

Higher administrative groupings coordinated multiple provinces. Their names and extent changed, and civil prefectures should not be confused with the early imperial Praetorian Guard.

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Praevalitana

Late 3rd century CE onward · Southeastern Adriatic

Late Roman province carved from southern Dalmatian territory, with coastal and inland routes; its name is administrative rather than a timeless ethnic designation.

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Raetia

Conquered 15 BCE; provincial government in early Empire · Alpine and upper Danubian region

Alpine approaches and the upper Danube linked Italy with northern frontiers; later divided into Raetia Prima and Secunda. Legion III Italica anchored its second-century defense.

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Rhine

Republic and Empire · Western and northern Europe

River corridor associated with military bases, transport and shifting frontier arrangements; neither an impermeable ethnic border nor a permanent limit in every period.

In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 1: The Augustan Conquests · Book VI · Chapter 3: Germanicus and the Julio-Claudian North · Book V · Chapter 7: Caesar in Gaul · Book VI · Chapter 2: The Great Illyrian Revolt and the Varian Disaster · Book VI · Chapter 8: The Flavian Consolidation and the Wars of Domitian · Book VI · Chapter 7: The Year of the Four Emperors and the Batavian Revolt · Book VIII · Chapter 2: The House of Constantine at War: Persia, Strasbourg, and the Road to Ctesiphon · Book VIII · Chapter 5: Aetius, Africa, and Attila and 14 more

Sardinia et Corsica

Annexed 238/237 BCE; province from 227 BCE · Western Mediterranean

Island province acquired after the First Punic War; coastal cities, grain and mines coexisted with difficult interior control. Its administrative relationship later varied.

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Scythia Minor

Late 3rd century CE onward · Dobruja and Danube delta

Late Roman province separated from Lower Moesia, with Tomis and delta defenses; its name does not mean that all inhabitants were ethnic Scythians.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Sicilia

Roman control from 241 BCE; regular praetorian province from 227 BCE · Central Mediterranean

Rome's first overseas territorial province, enlarged after Syracuse fell. Grain taxation and maritime routes made it central to Republican imperial government.

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See also First Punic War, Syracuse, Cicero

In the volumes Book II · Chapter 2: The First Punic War: Africa, Sicily, and the Long Resolution

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Spania contested

Justinianic conquests in 550sCE to loss in 620sCE · Southern Iberian coast

Limited eastern Roman possessions recovered from Visigothic territory, not restoration of Roman government over all Iberia; their precise limits remain uncertain.

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Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books V-VII

Syria

Roman provincial settlement 64 BCE · Levant

Pompey's annexation of the Seleucid remnant produced a major eastern province centered on Antioch, with powerful armies, wealthy cities and diverse communities.

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See also Pompey, Antioch, Seleucid kingdom

In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 2: The Great Illyrian Revolt and the Varian Disaster · Book V · Chapter 6: Pompey and the Conquest of the East · Book V · Chapter 8: The Civil Wars and the End of the Republic · Book VI · Chapter 5: The Eastern Question: Corbulo, Armenia, and Parthia · Book VII · Chapter 5: Marcus Aurelius: The Double Emergency · Book II · Chapter 3: The Interwar Years: Mercenary War, Sardinia, Gauls, and Illyrians · Book III · Chapter 7: Zama and the Peace · Book IV · Proem and 11 more

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books XVI-XVII

Syria Coele and Syria Phoenice

Division in 194 CE onward · Northern and central Levant

Septimius Severus divided Syria after civil war, separating military and civic jurisdictions; later reforms produced further subdivisions.

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Syria Palaestina

Second century CE onward; late Roman subdivisions · Southern Levant

Provincial name following the second-century revolts, later divided into Palaestina Prima, Secunda and Tertia; these administrative labels differ from modern state boundaries.

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In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 3: Hadrian: The Wall, the Army in Being, and the Last Jewish War

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer · Strabo Geography Books XVI-XVII · Notitia Dignitatum compilation study

Thebaid

Late Roman province and older regional name · Upper Egypt

Southern Nile region with agriculture, quarries, monasteries and frontier contacts; its late Roman provincial identity should be distinguished from the wider geographical term.

Thracia

Annexed 46 CE · Eastern Balkans

Former client kingdom made a province under Claudius, later divided into several provinces; its routes linked the Danube, Aegean and Constantinople.

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Tres Daciae

Second-century CE administrative grouping · Carpathian basin

Collective administration of Dacian subdivisions, commonly known as Apulensis, Porolissensis and Malvensis in the later second century; their borders and names changed.

Tripolitania

Late 3rd century CE onward · Northwestern Libya

Province of the three great coastal cities and their hinterlands, connecting olive-growing districts, caravan routes and desert-frontier communities.

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Cities, ports and frontier centres 89

Agrigentum

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Major Sicilian agricultural and urban center; its capture marked an important phase of the First Punic War.

Alexandria

Hellenistic and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Egyptian metropolis and great port; grain shipment administration scholarship and religious conflict made it central to imperial politics.

Amida

Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Fortified upper-Tigris city, modern Diyarbakir; major sieges exposed the strategic and civilian pressures of Roman-Persian war.

Antinoopolis

from 130 CE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Hadrian's Egyptian foundation commemorating Antinous; a useful case of imperial patronage Greek civic identity and local administration.

Antioch

Hellenistic and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Syrian metropolis and eastern military/court base; commerce Christian institutions and imperial residence shaped its prominence.

Aquileia

Republic and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Northeastern Italian commercial and military gateway to the Alps and Balkans; siege resistance ended Maximinus's reign.

Aquincum

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Danubian legionary and civilian center at modern Budapest; governor army and urban economy shared a frontier setting.

Arelate

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Arles, Rhone port and imperial/administrative center with important late-antique Christian connections.

Ariminum

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Northern Adriatic colony at a strategic road junction near the boundary crossed by Caesar in 49 BCE.

In the volumes Book I · Chapter 6: The Consolidation of Italy · Book II · Chapter 5: The Year of Hannibal: Ticinus, Trebia, Trasimene, and the Fabian Strategy · Book I · Epilogue: Rome in 264 BC · Book II · Chapter 3: The Interwar Years: Mercenary War, Sardinia, Gauls, and Illyrians · Book VIII · Chapter 5: Aetius, Africa, and Attila

Artaxata

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Armenian royal capital whose control figured in Roman-Parthian rivalry; royal succession mattered as much as direct occupation.

Athens

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Greek city whose philosophical educational and sacred prestige survived political subordination; schools and patronage changed under imperial rule.

Augusta Emerita

from 25 BCE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Merida, veteran colony and capital of Lusitania; monumental civic life reveals imperial investment in Iberia.

Augusta Treverorum

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Trier, a northern imperial residence and administrative/mint center, illustrating government beyond Rome.

Augusta Vindelicorum

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Augsburg, a Raetian administrative and communications center linking Alpine and Danubian regions.

Bononia

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Bologna; colony and road node on the Via Aemilia, linking northern Italy's settlements and agricultural hinterlands.

In the volumes Book I · Chapter 1: The Gallic Catastrophe · Book V · Chapter 8: The Civil Wars and the End of the Republic

Bostra

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Capital of the province Arabia and base associated with III Cyrenaica; linked military administration and regional trade.

Brundisium

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Adriatic departure port linking Italian roads to Balkan sea routes; repeatedly important in civil-war movements.

Burdigala

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Bordeaux, an Aquitanian commercial and educational center, associated with Ausonius's literary world.

Caesarea Maritima

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Herodian port and Roman administrative center in Judaea; civic communal and imperial claims intersected in a major coastal city.

Camulodunum

first century CE onward · Britain

Modern Colchester, former royal center and Roman veteran colony whose imperial temple became a focus during Boudica's revolt.

Capua

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Wealthy Campanian center with a contested relationship to Rome; Hannibalic allegiance and gladiatorial connections made it historically prominent.

Carnuntum

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Danubian legionary and provincial center associated with trade military acclamations and the tetrarchic conference of 308.

In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 5: Marcus Aurelius: The Double Emergency

Carthage

Punic and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Punic metropolis destroyed in 146 BCE and later refounded as a Roman colony; became a major African administrative commercial and Christian center.

In the volumes Book III · Chapter 7: Zama and the Peace · Book IV · Chapter 5: The Third Punic War and the Destruction of Carthage · Book III · Chapter 6: Scipio in Africa · Book II · Chapter 2: The First Punic War: Africa, Sicily, and the Long Resolution · Book II · Chapter 3: The Interwar Years: Mercenary War, Sardinia, Gauls, and Illyrians · Book I · Chapter 6: The Consolidation of Italy · Book II · Chapter 1: The First Punic War: Opening and the Birth of Roman Sea-Power · Book I · Chapter 5: The Pyrrhic War and 28 more

Carthago Nova

Punic and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Cartagena, strategic southeastern Iberian harbor near mining resources; captured by Scipio in 209 BCE.

Chalcedon

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

City across the Bosporus from Constantinople; the council of 451 became a defining point in Christian doctrinal division.

Colonia Agrippinensis

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Cologne, a colony and Lower German center; major events included Agrippina's patronage and Postumus's rising.

Constantinople

330-1453 CE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Refounded from Byzantium as an imperial capital; straits defenses administration and a great court sustained eastern Roman government.

Corduba

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Cordoba, leading Baetican city linked to provincial elites and the Senecan literary family.

Corinth

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Destroyed in 146 BCE and refounded as a Roman colony; isthmian location sustained trade provincial administration and religious diversity.

Cremona

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Po-valley colony associated with the battles of 69 CE; its destruction exposed the civilian costs of imperial civil war.

Ctesiphon

Parthian and Sasanian periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Royal center near the Tigris, repeatedly targeted by Roman expeditions; its capture did not automatically mean Persia's lasting subjugation.

Cyrene

Hellenistic and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Greek city in eastern Libya, center of a distinctive regional economy and religious culture, later paired administratively with Crete.

In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 2: The Eastern Maximum and the Great Recoil · Book I · Epilogue: Rome in 264 BC · Book V · Chapter 8: The Civil Wars and the End of the Republic

Damascus

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Ancient Syrian city integrated into Roman provincial networks; a crossroads of commerce local cult and later Christian tradition.

Dara

from early sixth century CE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Anastasian fortress-city near the Sasanian frontier, developed in the early sixth century as a Roman military counterweight to nearby Nisibis.

Deva

Empire · Britain

Modern Chester, legionary fortress with an associated civilian economy and regional military role.

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer

Dura-Europos

Parthian and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Euphrates frontier town with military religious and domestic evidence, including synagogue and Christian building paintings; captured by Sasanians.

Dyrrachium

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Adriatic port at the western end of the Via Egnatia, linking Italy to Balkan military and commercial routes.

Eboracum

from 71 CE · Britain

Modern York, legionary and political center where Severus died and Constantine was acclaimed.

Read further Pleiades ancient place gazetteer

Edessa

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Osrhoenian royal and later Roman city; diplomacy Christian literature and repeated eastern warfare made it a key frontier center.

Ephesus

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Major Asian port and provincial center with Artemis's sanctuary; trade civic patronage and Christian disputes shaped its history.

Gades

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Cadiz, old Phoenician foundation with Atlantic and Mediterranean commerce and a celebrated Melqart/Hercules sanctuary.

Hatra

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Fortified Mesopotamian city and regional kingdom combining local cult and eastern political connections; resisted Roman sieges before Sasanian conquest.

Herculaneum

Republic-79 CE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Vesuvian town preserved in distinctive volcanic conditions; houses wooden objects and papyri illuminate elite and ordinary life.

Isca Augusta

Empire · Britain

Caerleon in Wales, base of II Augusta; distinct from Isca Dumnoniorum at Exeter.

Jerusalem

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Judean religious and political center; temple destruction in 70 CE and refoundation as Aelia Capitolina altered its institutions and sacred geography.

Leptis Magna

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Prosperous North-African city enriched by agriculture and commerce; Septimius Severus's birthplace received exceptional monumental patronage.

Londinium

from first century CE · Britain

Commercial river-crossing center and later provincial administrative hub; Boudica's revolt destroyed its early settlement.

Lugdunum

from 43 BCE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Lyon, colonial foundation and Gallic administrative religious and commercial hub, near the confluence of Rhone and Saone.

In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 6: The Auction and the Severan Reconstruction

Massalia

Greek and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Marseille, a Greek maritime city allied with Rome before civil-war defeat; retained a distinctive cultural identity.

Mediolanum

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Milan; northern Italian road and court center important to fourth-century imperial government and Christian politics.

Memphis

Roman Egypt · Mediterranean and frontiers

Old Egyptian royal and cult center remaining important under Roman rule, especially through enduring local religious institutions.

Messana

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Strait-side city whose Mamertine crisis helped trigger the First Punic War; controlled a crucial crossing between Italy and Sicily.

Mogontiacum

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Mainz, a major Rhine military base and provincial administrative center whose garrisons repeatedly affected imperial politics.

In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 1: The Augustan Conquests · Book VII · Chapter 6: The Auction and the Severan Reconstruction · Book VIII · Chapter 4: Stilicho, the Rhine Crossing, and the Sack of Rome

Naissus

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Balkan road junction, Constantine's birthplace and a name associated with Gothic warfare; battle dating and attribution need care.

Narbo Martius

from 118 BCE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Roman colony in southern Gaul, important to roads administration and Mediterranean trade.

Neapolis

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Greek-founded city in Campania whose language education and urban culture remained conspicuous under Roman rule.

Nicaea

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Bithynian city famous for the council of 325; later a Byzantine successor capital after 1204, a different historical setting.

In the volumes Book IV · Chapter 1: The Second Macedonian War: Flamininus and Cynoscephalae

Nicomedia

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Bithynian city serving as a major eastern residence under Diocletian and his successors before Constantinople's predominance.

Nicopolis in Epirus

Founded after Actium, 31 BCE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Augustus's foundation commemorating Actium; a planned victory-city whose population and prestige reshaped its surrounding region.

Nisibis

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Strategic Mesopotamian city contested with Persia; its surrender in 363 shifted the frontier and displaced its Roman inhabitants.

Olisipo

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Lisbon, a Lusitanian Atlantic port connected to regional production and maritime exchange.

Ostia

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Tiber-mouth town and port linking Rome with Mediterranean commerce; warehouses mills associations and housing reveal economic and social change.

Oxyrhynchus

Roman and Late Roman Egypt · Mediterranean and frontiers

Provincial city whose papyri preserve taxation contracts petitions literature and everyday relationships across legal and religious change.

Palmyra

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Syrian oasis city connecting caravan networks; Odaenathus and Zenobia built a powerful regional regime during imperial crisis.

Panormus

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Palermo; north-Sicilian harbor contested during the First Punic War and integrated into Rome's island network.

Pergamum

Hellenistic and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Attalid capital transferred into Rome's Asian sphere; prominent through sanctuaries civic institutions and intellectual patronage.

Petra

Nabataean and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Nabataean capital and trading center incorporated into the empire with Arabia's annexation; local traditions continued under Roman government.

Philippi

late Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Macedonian battle site and Roman veteran colony; civic status and the memory of 42 BCE shaped its imperial identity.

Pompeii

Republic-79 CE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Campanian town preserved by Vesuvius; shops houses graffiti shrines and political notices provide unusually detailed urban evidence.

Portus

from first century CE · Mediterranean and frontiers

Artificial harbor complex expanded under Claudius and Trajan; large ships transferred cargo toward Rome through a connected port system.

Puteoli

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Major Bay of Naples harbor and commercial center, especially important to Mediterranean exchange before Portus expanded.

Ravenna

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Adriatic fleet base and protected western court center from Honorius's reign; later Ostrogothic and Byzantine administration continued its importance.

Rome

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Political ritual and monumental center; its population depended on imported food water systems labor and a wide imperial revenue network.

Sabratha

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Tripolitanian port participating in Mediterranean and inland trade; surviving monuments demonstrate provincial civic investment.

Salona

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Dalmatian provincial center near Diocletian's retirement palace; commercial military and Christian networks tied it to the Adriatic.

Seleucia on the Tigris

Hellenistic and Roman periods · Mediterranean and frontiers

Hellenistic metropolis opposite the later royal zone around Ctesiphon; commerce and repeated warfare shaped its relations with Roman armies.

Sirmium

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Pannonian city and imperial residence controlling Balkan routes; an important center in fourth-century military and religious politics.

Siscia

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Pannonian river and road center with mint and military significance, connecting Italian and Danubian regions.

Smyrna

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Aegean commercial city distinguished by civic competition imperial cult and literary/religious networks.

Syracuse

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Sicilian Greek metropolis captured by Rome in 212 BCE; later an important provincial city and temporary residence of Constans II.

Tarentum

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Greek city and strategic harbor in southern Italy; its conflict with Rome brought Pyrrhus into Italian warfare.

Tarraco

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Modern Tarragona, military foundation and major administrative center of Roman Spain.

In the volumes Book III · Chapter 3: The Spanish Theater: The Elder Scipios and the Rise of the Younger · Book VI · Chapter 1: The Augustan Conquests

Thessalonica

Empire and Late Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Macedonian port and Balkan communications center; imperial residence and Christian institutions made it a regional hub.

See also Macedonia, Via Egnatia, Galerius

In the volumes Book VIII · Chapter 1: The Tetrarchy and the Wars of Constantine

Tigranocerta

late Republic onward · Mediterranean and frontiers

Royal foundation associated with Tigranes II and Lucullus's campaign; exact identification and geography require care.

SlideNotebookLMTACTICAL ANALYSIS: THE BATTLE OF TIGRANOCERTA (69 B.C.) "If they are here as ambassadors, they are too many… from The Mithridatic Wars: A Military Chronology, 88–63 BC

Trapezus

Empire and Eastern continuation · Mediterranean and frontiers

Black Sea port and military supply center; later capital of the separate empire of Trebizond after 1204.

Utica

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

North-African port and early Roman provincial center; associated with Cato's death after Caesar's African victory.

In the volumes Book III · Chapter 6: Scipio in Africa · Book IV · Chapter 5: The Third Punic War and the Destruction of Carthage · Book V · Chapter 8: The Civil Wars and the End of the Republic · Book III · Chapter 7: Zama and the Peace · Book III · Epilogue: Rome in 201 BC

Verona

Republic and Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Adige crossing and northern Italian communications center, repeatedly significant to military movement and control of approaches.

In the volumes Book VI · Chapter 7: The Year of the Four Emperors and the Batavian Revolt · Book VII · Chapter 7: The Breaking, 235–260 · Book VIII · Chapter 1: The Tetrarchy and the Wars of Constantine · Book VIII · Chapter 4: Stilicho, the Rhine Crossing, and the Sack of Rome

Vindobona

Empire · Mediterranean and frontiers

Frontier military center at modern Vienna; the surrounding civilian settlement formed part of the Danubian supply network.

In the volumes Book VII · Chapter 5: Marcus Aurelius: The Double Emergency

Vindolanda

Empire · Britain

Auxiliary fort south of Hadrian's Wall; writing tablets preserve personnel supply household and personal correspondence.