Map of all the territories once occupied by the Roman Empire. The lands in cyan represent those whose conquest was just considered, unsuccessfully attempted or rapidly abandoned, but never truly achieved. The lands in magenta were abandoned for military or economical reasons. Yellow lines are Limes

. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 518 pixels Full resolution (910 × 589 pixel, file size: 31 KB, MIME type: image/gif) IMPORTANT IRELAND IS PAINTED BECAUSE THERE DID EXIST AN ATTEMP TO IVADE IT, EVEN IF IT DIDNT WORK. cyan means that the conquered land... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 518 pixels Full resolution (910 × 589 pixel, file size: 31 KB, MIME type: image/gif) IMPORTANT IRELAND IS PAINTED BECAUSE THERE DID EXIST AN ATTEMP TO IVADE IT, EVEN IF IT DIDNT WORK. cyan means that the conquered land... The limes Germanicus, 2nd century. ...

The borders of the Roman Empire, which fluctuated throughout the empire's history, were a combination of natural frontiers (most notably the Rhine and Danube rivers) and man-made fortifications (limes), which separated the lands of the empire from the "barbarian" countries beyond. Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ... The limes Germanicus, 2nd century. ...

The limes

The limes that protected the Empire from German rides.

A limes was a border fortification system of the Roman Empire. The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any distinction or difference. Hence it was utilized by Latin writers to denote marked or fortified frontiers. The name given to proper Walls was vallum, which might have represented a border. In Brittania 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 wasn't a 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. Image File history File links Karte_limes. ... Image File history File links Karte_limes. ... Map of Upper Germanic Limes The Limes Germanicus (Latin for Germanic frontier) was a remarkable line of frontier (limes) forts that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Superior and Raetia, and divided the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes, from the years 83 to 260. ... The limes Germanicus, 2nd century. ... Arabia Petraea Arabia Petraea, also called Provincia Arabia or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Empire beginning in the second century; it consisted of the former Nabataean kingdom in modern Jordan, southern modern Syria Sinai, and northwestern Saudi Arabia. ... Dacia, in ancient geography the land of the Daci, named by the ancient Greeks Getae, was a large district of Southeastern Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisa, on the east by the Tyras or Nistru, now...

The northern borders

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 Antonius Pius built defences to protect the province of Britannia from the Scots, given that conquering Scotland was, from their point of view, a huge waste of money. 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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x995, 287 KB) This map shows the location of Hadrians Wall and the Antonine Wall in Scotland and Northern England. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x995, 287 KB) This map shows the location of Hadrians Wall and the Antonine Wall in Scotland and Northern England. ... The Rhine (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Romansh: ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820 miles), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. ... The Danube (ancient Danuvius, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river of the European Union and Europes second-longest[3] (after the Volga). ... Dacia, in ancient geography the land of the Daci, named by the ancient Greeks Getae, was a large district of Southeastern Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisa, on the east by the Tyras or Nistru, now... Map of the Roman Empire and the free Germania, Magna Germania, in the early 2nd century For other uses, see Germania (disambiguation). ... The Roman province of Germania Inferior, 120 AD Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in todays southern and western Netherlands, the whole of Belgium and Luxembourg, parts of north-eastern France, and western Germany. ... Categories: Historical stubs | Ancient Roman provinces | German history | Germany | History of the Germanic peoples ... This article is about a river in Central Europe. ... Battle of the Teutoburg Forest Conflict Roman-Germanic wars Date 9 Place Teutoburg Forest Result German victory In the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (AD 9) an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius (also known in German as Hermann), the son of Segimerus of the Cherusci, ambushed and wiped... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Antonine Wall, looking east, from Barr Hill between Twechar and Croy The Antonine Wall, remains of Roman fortlet, Barr Hill, near Twechar Location of Hadrians Wall and the Antonine Wall in Scotland and Northern England. ...

The eastern borders

The eastern borders changed many times, of which the longest lasting was the Euphrates river, eventual to be left behind as the Romans defeated their rivals, the Parthians, with the march on their capital, Susa. The Parthians were a people that lived in modern day Iran and western Iraq. However they didn't attempt to romanize the whole Parthian Empire, they left a puppet king for the remainder of the empire and took only the lands that comprise modern Iraq, which became Assyria and Mesopotamia. Surfer Rosa The Euphrates (IPA: /juːˈfreɪtiːz/; Greek: Euphrátēs; Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu; Hebrew: פְּרָת Pĕrāth; Syriac: Prâth; Arabic: الفرات Al-Furāt; Turkish: Fırat; Kurdish: فرهات, Firhat, Ferhat, Azeri: Fərat) is the western of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other... Parthia[1] (Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was a civilization situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as regions of the modern countries of Armenia, Iraq, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf... Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa. ... Roman province of Assyria, 120 CE Assyria was a province of the Roman Empire, roughly situated in modern-day northern Iraq. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ...

The southern borders

At its greatest extent, the southern border was the deserts of Arabia and Sahara, that represented a natural barrier to prevent expansion. The Empire controlled the Mediterranean shores and the mountains opposing it. However the Romans attempted twice to occupy effectively the Siwa Oasis (and failed) and controlled the Nile many miles into Africa up to the modern border between Egypt and Sudan. The Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert. ... The Nile (Arabic: , transliteration: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. ...

See also

• Limes
• Roman Empire
• Antonine Wall
• Hadrian's Wall

The limes Germanicus, 2nd century. ... Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ... The Antonine Wall, looking east, from Barr Hill between Twechar and Croy The Antonine Wall, remains of Roman fortlet, Barr Hill, near Twechar Location of Hadrians Wall and the Antonine Wall in Scotland and Northern England. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

References

• De 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 edition). 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.