Pontus Polemoniacus · Imperium Romanum

The later Balkan provincial landscape. Dacia south of the Danube, the two Epiri… — The later Balkan provincial landscape. Dacia south of the Danube, the two Epiri, Thessaly, Macedonia, Achaia, and the Thracian districts illustrate the replacement of large commands by smaller jurisdictions. The river network helps relate frontier districts to the Adriatic, Aegean, and imperial straits.

The old Polemonian kingdom’s annexation under Nero was an earlier stage, not the creation of an unchanged late province lasting continuously with one border. Subsequent redistribution and reorganization produced the later jurisdiction. Mountain valleys, roads, coastal connections, agriculture, and local towns shaped its society.

Neocaesarea’s Christian and regional importance contributed to provincial coherence. The Black Sea and Armenian approaches made communications strategically significant. Later imperial reforms altered the jurisdiction again. The province therefore preserves a dynastic-geographical name within an administrative arrangement that must be distinguished from both the former monarchy and neighbouring Pontic provinces.

LE-38 Pontus Polemoniacus