Limes Arabicus
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The Limes Arabicus was a desert frontier of the
The reason of this defensive limes was to protect the Roman province of Arabia from attacks of the nomadic tribes of the
Next to the Limes Arabicus Emperor
Fortification
During the
Emperor Diocletian partitioned the old province of Arabia by transferring the southern region to the province of Palaestina. Later in the 4th century, Palaestina was made into three provinces, and the southern one was eventually called Palaestina Tertia. Each province was administered by a praeses with civil authority and a dux with military authority.
Personnel
There were castra every 100 kilometres (62 mi) with the purpose to create a line of protection and control:[7] in the south there was the legionary fortress at Adrou (Udruh), just east of Petra. It probably housed the Legio VI Ferrata, which was moved from Lajjun (in modern-day Israel) by Diocletian.[8] It is similar to Betthorus (al-Lajjun in modern-day Jordan) in size (4.9 hectares (12 acres)) and design, and is in the plain of Moab, south of Wadi Mujib . Alistair Killick, who excavated the site, dates it to the early 2nd century, but Parker suggests a date in the late 3rd or early 4th century.
A legionary camp may have also existed at Aila (modern Aqaba), which has been excavated by Parker since 1994. The city was located at the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba where it was a centre of sea traffic. Several land routes also intersected here. Legio X Fretensis, originally stationed in Jerusalem, was transferred here to the terminus of the Via Nova. So far, a stone curtain wall and projecting tower have been identified, but it is uncertain whether they were part of the city wall of Aila or the fortress. The evidence suggests the fort was constructed in the late 4th or early 5th century.
Troops were progressively withdrawn from the Limes Arabicus in the first half of the 6th century and replaced with native Arab foederati, chiefly the Ghassanids.[9] After the Muslim Arab conquest, the Limes Arabicus was largely left to disappear, though some fortifications were used and reinforced in the following centuries.
History
The limes was overrun in 611 during the war with the Sasanians.
See also
- Strata Diocletiana
- Roman Arabia
- Via Traiana Nova
- Sassanian defense lines#Wall of the Arabs
- Walls-of-the-Ruler
References
- JSTOR 1356476.
- ^ Young, Gary K. Rome's Eastern Trade: International commerce and imperial policy, 31 BC – AD 305 p. 119
- ^ "None". Archived from the original on December 9, 2012.
- ^ Parker 1986, p. 6
- ^ Gichon 1991
- ^ Isaac 1990, pp. 408 – 409
- ^ "None". Archived from the original on April 16, 2013.
- ISBN 9781405181440.
- ^ "None". Archived from the original on September 19, 2012.
Bibliography
- Gichon, Mordechai (1991). "When And Why Did The Romans Commence The Defence of Southern Palestine". In Maxfield, V.A.; Dobson, M. J. (eds.). Roman Frontier Studies 1989 – Proceedings of the XVth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies. Exeter: University of Exeter Press. pp. 318–325.
- Graf, D. The Via Militaris and the Limes Arabicus in "Roman Frontier Studies 1995": Proceedings of the XVIth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies, ed. W. Groenman-van Waateringe, B. L. van Beek, W. J. H. Willems, and S. L. Wynia. Oxbow Monograph 91. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
- Gregory, Shelagh, Kennedy, David and Stein, Aurel, Sir Aurel Stein's Limes Report: Part 1 & 2 (British Archaeological Reports (BAR), 1985)
- Gregory, S. Was There an Eastern Origin for the Design of Late Roman Fortifications?: Some Problems for Research on Forts of Rome's Eastern Frontier in "The Roman Army in the East", ed. D. L. Kennedy. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series, 18. Ann Arbor, MI: Journal of Roman Archaeology.
- Isaac, B. The Limits of Empire: The Roman Army in the East Clarendon Press. Oxford, 1990.
- Parker, S.T. (1986). Romans and Saracens: A History of the Arabian Frontier. American Schools of Oriental Research.
- Parker, S. The Roman Frontier in Central Jordan Interim Report on the Limes Arabicus Project, 1980–1985. BAR International Series, 340. British Archaeological Reports. Oxford, 1987
- Young, Gary K. Rome's Eastern Trade: International commerce and imperial policy, 31 BC – AD 305 Routledge. London, 2001
- Welsby, D. Qasr al-Uwainid and Da'ajaniya: Two Roman Military Sites in Jordan Levant 30: 195–8. Oxford, 1990
External links
- Forts of the Limes Arabicus[permanent dead link], from Virtual Karak Resources Project
- Qasr Bsshir (Roman castrum)