ROMANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, SYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA

MIDDLE EAST UNDER THE ROMANS

Adonis synagogue at Dura Europos, at the eastern extreme of the Roman Empire

The Romans claimed Greece, Macedonia, Syria and Asia Minor after the Macedonian Wars (214–148 B.C.). In 63 B.C. The defeat of the Carthaginians gave Rome almost complete control of the Mediterranean. Romans conquered most of Asia Minor in 188 B.C., Syria and Palestine in 64 and 63 B.C. By the time Caesar became emperor, the Roman Empire had expanded about halfway across Asia Minor and Syria after a series of victories against former Greek colonies and small Middle Eastern kingdoms.

Asiatic Provinces of the Roman Empire In Southwestern Asia.
Syria (64 B.C.).
Judea (Israel, 63 - A.D. 70).
Arabia Petraea (A.D. 105).
Armenia (A.D. 114).
Mesopotamia (A.D. 115).
Assyria (A.D. 115). \~\

Pompey the Great of Rome defeated the king of Pontus, Mithridates VI Eupator, who controlled lands in what is now Turkey. The death of Mithridates allowed Rome to gain a strong foothold in the eastern Mediterranean and to expand in the region. Egypt was taken in 30 B.C. after the suicide of Antony and Cleopatra. Before then it was under the rule of the Greek Ptolemies. Egypt was the populated province of the Roman Empire and a melting pot of Greeks, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Syrian, Lybians, Nubians and others. When Egypt fell completely under the control of Rome the entire Mediterranean was conquered and would remain part of the Roman empire for 500 years. Trajan extended the empire into Mesopotamia.

The two main enemies of the Romans in the Middle East were the Parthians, North Iranian tribesmen), who controlled eastern Hellenistic world 250 B.C.- A.D. 229, and their successors the Sasanians (Sassanids, 229-651). Both fought with Romans from time to time.

According to Archaeology magazine: Under Roman rule, the Red Sea port of Berenice blossomed into an important trade hub, connecting Africa with India during the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. Excavation of an animal necropolis revealed that along with spices, textiles, and luxury goods, rhesus macaques were also imported from across the Indian Ocean, to be kept as household pets. The skeletons of more than a dozen of the Indian monkeys were found carefully buried, some surrounded by grave goods and positioned like sleeping children. [Source: Archaeology magazine, November-December 2020]

Websites on Ancient Rome: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Rome sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Late Antiquity sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; BBC Ancient Rome bbc.co.uk/history; Perseus Project - Tufts University; perseus.tufts.edu ; Lacus Curtius penelope.uchicago.edu; The Internet Classics Archive classics.mit.edu ; Bryn Mawr Classical Review bmcr.brynmawr.edu; Cambridge Classics External Gateway to Humanities Resources web.archive.org; Ancient Rome resources for students from the Courtenay Middle School Library web.archive.org ; History of ancient Rome OpenCourseWare from the University of Notre Dame web.archive.org ; United Nations of Roma Victrix (UNRV) History unrv.com

Romans Defeat the Seleucid Empire and Claim Syria and Asia Minor

After the defeats of Carthage in the Punic Wars (264 – 146 B.C.) and Macedonia (one of heirs to Alexander the Great’s kingdom) in the Macedonian Wars (214–148 B.C.), there was only one great power in Mediterranean which could claim to be a rival of Rome. That power was Syria, under its ambitious ruler, Antiochus III, 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire (another heir to Alexander the Great’s kingdom). David Silverman of Reed College wrote: “A number of things led to the conflict between Rome and this great power in Asia. Rome and Flamininus did not deal so well with Antiochus on the diplomatic plane; he wanted the Romans to define the limits of his sphere of influence in Thrace, but they were unwilling or unable to do so. The senatorial treaty of 196 B.C. (ratifying the decision of Flamininus) had carried a not-so-subtle warning to Antiochus: all the Greeks states were to be free, without tribute or garrison, both in Europe and in Asia. [Source: David Silverman, Classics 373 ~ History 393 Class, Reed College ^*^]

Antiochus

A series of naval battles saw the Romans temporarily in command of the seas. Meanwhile a Roman army was marching across Thrace. Its commander was officially L. Scipio, but at his side was his elder brother P. Scipio Africanus, calling the shots. Antiochus tried to negotiate, but the price demanded by the Romans, that he give up most of the Seleucid empire, was too high. The next year the Romans followed him, and fought their first battle upon the continent of Asia. The Roman army was nominally under the command of the new consul, L. Cornelius Scipio, but really under the command of his famous brother, Scipio Africanus, who accompanied him. The decisive battle was fought at Magnesia (190 B.C.), not far from Sardis in western Asia Minor. Forty thousand of the enemy were slain, with a comparatively small loss to the Romans. [Source: David Silverman, Classics 373 ~ History 393 Class, Reed College]

At the battle at Magnesia in 190 B.C., the Roman forces were outnumbered over 2 to 1, but despite heavy losses on their left flank to the Persian cavalry the Roman legions made short work of the Syrians in the center and the affair ended in Rome's favor. Had the settlement rested with the Scipios, Antiochus would have been left as a major power in the region and, incidentally, a stabilizing force. But the absence of the Scipios from Rome had exposed them to political attack, and their replacements in Asia Minor imposed such harsh terms upon Antiochus that a power vacuum was created in the Middle East.

Scipio imposed the terms of peace, which required Antiochus: 1) to give up all his possessions in Asia Minor—the most of which were added to the kingdom of Pergamum, with some territory to the republic of Rhodes; 2) to give up his fleet and not to interfere in European affairs; 3) to pay the sum of 15,000 talents (nearly $20,000,000) within twelve years; and 4) to surrender Hannibal, who had taken an active part in the war. [Source: “Outlines of Roman History” by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L. New York, American Book Company (1901) \~]

Silverman wrote: “The terms barred Antiochus from military activity west of the Taurus mountain range, effectively ejecting him from most of Turkey. Again, Gruen's method is to divine the original motive from the outcome; after Antiochus was defeated, the Romans parceled out his land between the Rhodians and Eumenes of Pergamum. Rhodes' tenure was destined to be short, however. In the years 169-167 a revolution at Rhodes brought an anti-Roman party to power, and even though the Rhodians tried to make amends after Roman supremacy was demonstrated yet again at Pydna, it was too late. [Source: David Silverman, Classics 373 ~ History 393 Class, Reed College ^*^]

Pompey’s Annexation of Syria

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus(106–48 B.C.) — better known as Pompey or Pompey the Great — was one of ancient Rome’s greatest generals. The final collapse of the Seleucid Empire and the Third Mithridatic War, gave Rome and Pompey the opportunity to annex Syria in 64 B.C.. but its dissolution destabilised the region, and many of its cities used the power vacuum to achieve independence. Pompey created the Province of Syria and had spent the years of 64 and 63 B.C. in bringing law and order to the region

In early 63 BC, Pompey left Antioch and marched south, occupying coastal cities like Apamea, before crossing the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and capturing Pella, Jordan and Damascus. Pompey's incursion further south, into Judea lead to the seige of Jerusalem, which led to the Roman takeover of Judea (Israel-Palestine), which became subordinate to the new province of Syria.

Other organisational changes included creating the province of Bithynia and Pontus, with the rest of Mithridates' territories distributed among Roman allies. Elsewhere, Ariobarzanes I of Cappadocia was restored to his throne, while Lesser Armenia was taken from Tigranes and incorporated into Galatia, with Pompey's client Deiotarus becoming ruler of the new kingdom. Finally, Cilicia received the coastal region of Pamphylia, previously a centre of piracy, along with other inland areas and reorganised into six parts. These actions significantly increased Roman state income and presented Pompey with multiple opportunities to increase his personal wealth and patronage base.

Roman Era in Palestine-Israel

The Romans took over what is now Israel and Palestine in 63 B.C. They named the region Judea Palestine after the earlier coastal inhabitants (the Philistines). Julius Caesar allowed the Jews to practice their religion and collect a tax for upkeep of their temple. However, subjects from all religions were expected to make sacrifices to the Roman gods and worship the Roman emperor as a god.

Major Dates at the Beginning of the Roman Period in Israel
63 B.C. Rome (Pompey) annexes the land of Israel.
66-73 C.E. First Jewish Revolt against Rome.
69 C.E. Vespasian gives Yochanan ben Zakkai permission to establish a Jewish center for study at Yavneh that will become the hub for rabbinic Judaism.
70 C.E. Destruction of Jerusalem and the second Temple.

What is nowadays called the 'Current Era' (C.E.) traditionally begins with the birth of a Jewish teacher called Jesus. His followers came to believe he was the promised Messiah and later split away from Judaism to found Christianity, a faith whose roots are firmly in Judaism. “Current Era” used to be — and still is by many people — called anno Domini (A.D.) The term anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord". It is taken from the full original phrase "anno Domini nostri Jesu Christi", which translates to "in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ". [Source: BBC, Wikipedia ]

Baalbek Temple in Lebanon

Romans in Syria

Replacing the Greeks and the Seleucids, Roman emperors inherited already thriving cities — Damascus, Tadmur (once called Palmyra), and Busra ash Sham in the fertile Hawran Plateau south of Damascus. Under the emperor Hadrian, Syria was prosperous and its cities, major trading centers; Hawran was a well-watered breadbasket. After making a survey of the country, the Romans established a tax system based on the potential harvest of farmlands; it remained the key to the land tax structure until 1945. They bequeathed Syria some of the grandest buildings in the world, as well as aqueducts, wells, and roads that were still in use in modern times. [Source: Thomas Collelo, ed. Syria: A Country Study, Library of Congress, 1987 *]

Neither the Seleucids nor the Romans ruled the area without conflict. The Seleucids had to deal with powerful Arab peoples, the Nabataeans, who had established an empire at Petra (in present-day Jordan) and at Busra ash Sham. The Romans had to face the Palmyrenes, who had built Palmyra, a city even more magnificent than Damascus and the principal stop on the caravan route from Homs to the Euphrates.*

By the time the Romans arrived, Greater Syrians had developed irrigation techniques, the alphabet, and astronomy. In A.D. 324 the Emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople (modern Istanbul). From there the Byzantines ruled Greater Syria, dividing it into two provinces: Syria Prima, with Antioch as the capital and Aleppo the major city; and Syria Secunda, ruled frequently from Hamah. Syria Secunda was divided into two districts: Phoenicia Prima, with Tyre as the capital; and Phoenicia Secunda, ruled from Damascus. (Most of Phoenicia Prima is now Lebanon.) The ruling families of Syria during this period were the Ghassanids, Christian Arabs loyal to Byzantium, from whom many Syrians now trace descent.*

Romans in Lebanon

The Romans erected many great buildings in present-day Lebanon. They founded a law school in Beirut and built huge temples in Baalbek. The last century of Seleucid rule was marked by disorder and dynastic struggles. These ended in 64 B.C., when the Roman general Pompey added Syria and Lebanon to the Roman Empire. Economic and intellectual activities flourished in Lebanon during the Pax Romana. The inhabitants of the principal Phoenician cities of Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre were granted Roman citizenship. These cities were centers of the pottery, glass, and purple dye industries; their harbors also served as warehouses for products imported from Syria, Persia, and India. They exported cedar, perfume, jewelry, wine, and fruit to Rome. Economic prosperity led to a revival in construction and urban development; temples and palaces were built throughout the country, as well as paved roads that linked the cities. [Source: Thomas Collelo, ed. Lebanon: A Country Study, U.S. Library of Congress, 1987 *]

The Baalbek archaeological site in Lebanon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, According to UNESCO: “This Phoenician city, where a triad of deities was worshipped, was known as Heliopolis during the Hellenistic period. It retained its religious function during Roman times, when the sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter attracted thousands of pilgrims. Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee. [Source: UNESCO World Heritage Sites, =]

“The complex of temples at Baalbek is located at the foot of the south-west slope of Anti-Lebanon, bordering the fertile plain of the Bekaa at an altitude of 1150 m. The city of Baalbek reached its apogee during Roman times. Its colossal constructions built over a period of more than two centuries, make it one of the most famous sanctuaries of the Roman world and a model of Imperial Roman architecture. Pilgrims thronged to the sanctuary to venerate the three deities, known under the name of the Romanized Triad of Heliopolis, an essentially Phoenician cult (Jupiter, Venus and Mercury). =

Romans in Jordan

The region of present-day Jordan roughly corresponds to the biblical lands of Ammon, Bashan, Edom, and Moab. The area was conquered by the Seleucids in the 4th cent. BC and was part of the Nabatean empire, whose capital was Petra, from the 1st cent. BC to the mid-1st cent. AD, when it was captured by the Romans under Pompey.

In A.D. 106 Emperor Trajan formally annexed the satellite Nabataean kingdom, organizing its territory within the new Roman province of Arabia that included most of the East Bank of the Jordan River. For a time, Petra served as the provincial capital. The Nabataeans continued to prosper under direct Roman rule, and their culture, now thoroughly Hellenized, flourished in the second and third centuries A.D. Citizens of the province shared a legal system and identity in common with Roman subjects throughout the empire. Roman ruins seen in present-day Jordan attest to the civic vitality of the region, whose cities were linked to commercial centers throughout the empire by the Roman road system and whose security was guaranteed by the Roman army. [Source: Helen Chapin Metz, ed. Jordan: A Country Study, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

After the administrative partition of the Roman Empire in 395, the Jordan region was assigned to the eastern or Byzantine Empire, whose emperors ruled from Constantinople. Christianity, which had become the recognized state religion in the fourth century, was widely accepted in the cities and towns but never developed deep roots in the countryside, where it coexisted with traditional religious practices.*

a visualization of Jerash's South Theater, from National Geographic

Jerash, a Roman Treasure in Jordan

Eva Tobalina wrote in National Geographic History: In 63 B.C. Pompey annexed the province of Syria, to the north of Jerash in present-day Jordan. Jerash itself, and its neighboring Hellenistic cities, were singled out by Rome for special treatment as oases of classical culture in a region of Semitic customs. The city was grouped with nine other Hellenistic settlements—including, according to the first-century A.D. Roman writer Pliny the Elder, Scythopolis, Damascus, and Philadelphia. The Romans termed these the Decapolis, a Greek term meaning “10 cities,” which were permitted to function as semi-independent city-states. When Emperor Nero conquered the Nabataean Kingdom in the first century A.D., its capital, Petra, was tied ever closer to the Roman world. The region boomed as a result, and Jerash was an immediate beneficiary as wealth from the Nabataean caravans flowed through the streets.[Source Eva Tobalina, National Geographic History, September 19, 2019]

At the beginning of the second century, Emperor Trajan formally incorporated the city, and the Nabataean lands, into the new province of Arabia Petraea. Swathes of roadways were paved, including the old King’s Highway—from then known as the Via Nova Traiana (Trajan’s New Road)—which brought the wealth of the east flooding up to Jerash through Aqaba. Jerash used its wealth to build a huge Temple of Artemis in the mid-second century. Its grandeur, together with its Oval Plaza, South Theater, and arch dedicated to Emperor Hadrian, still amazes visitors today. Viewed here from the ruins of the Temple of Zeus-Jupiter, the magnificent Oval Plaza of Jerash linked the city’s southern entrance with the colonnaded Cardo Maximus, which cut north through the city. Spectacular oval forums are only found in the eastern Roman Empire. the Oval Plaza of Jerash is prized both for its size and the careful civic planning that allowed it to gracefully link different elements of the city.

Jerash's south theater is one of the most remarkable Roman theaters in the ancient world. With the capacity to hold 3,000 spectators, it was erected at the end of the first century A.D. during the reign of Emperor Domitian and was embellished and remodeled by his successors, Trajan and Hadrian. Located near the hill of the Temple of Zeus-Jupiter, the theater was supported by the rich. An inscription notes that one T. Flavius paid 3,000 drachmas for the installation of a section of seating.

Begun in A.D. 150, during the reign of Antoninus Pius, the temple honored. Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting (her Roman equivalent is Diana) and patron goddess of Jerash. The temple complex was vast and sprawled a third of a mile from its eastern access to the temple itself. was accessed through a splendid portico, known as the propylaea. After ascending a staircase, visitors would then enter a large sacred precinct or temenos, enclosed by a portico supported by Corinthian columns. This terrace was where most of the religious ceremonies took place. An altar for sacrifices was placed near the steps leading up to the temple.

Although Rome’s wider economic crisis in the third century disrupted its lucrative trade flow, Jerash’s ability to adapt ensured it underwent a second flush of prosperity when it fell under the aegis of the Byzantine Empire in the fourth century. An earthquake destroyed much of the city in 749, but the ruins were located in 1806 by German explorer Ulrich Jasper Seetzen. Today Jerash is considered to be among the best preserved of all Roman ruins in the Middle East; the city’s remains are prized by UNESCO as an “ancient meeting place of East and West.”

Strabo on the Nabataeans

Strabo wrote in A.D. 22:“XVI.iv.21. The Nabataeans and Sabaeans, situated above Syria, are the first people who occupy Arabia Felix. They were frequently in the habit of overrunning this country before the Romans became masters of it, but at present both they and the Syrians are subject to the Romans. [Source: Strabo: Geography, Book XVI, Chap. iv, 1-4, 18-19, 21-26, c. A.D. 22, Strabo, The Geography of Strabo: Literally Translated, with Notes, trans. by H. C. Hamilton & W. Falconer (London: H. G. Bohn, 1854-1857), pp. 185-215]

“The capital of the Nabataeans is called Petra. It is situated on a spot which is surrounded and fortified by a smooth and level rock (petra), which externally is abrupt and precipitous, but within there are abundant springs of water both for domestic purposes and for watering gardens. Beyond the enclosure the country is for the most part a desert, particularly towards Judaea. Through this is the shortest road to Jericho, a journey of three or four days, and five days to the Phoinicon (or palm plantation). It is always governed by a king of the royal race. The king has a minister who is one of the Companions, and is called Brother. It has excellent laws for the administration of public affairs.

“Athenodorus, a philosopher, and my friend, who had been to Petra, used to relate with surprise that he found many Romans and also many other strangers residing there. He observed the strangers frequently engaged in litigation, both with one another and with the natives; but the natives had never any dispute amongst themselves, and lived together in perfect harmony.

“XVI.iv.26. The Nabataeans are prudent, and fond of accumulating property. The community fine a person who has diminished his substance, and confer honors on him who has increased it. They have few slaves, and are served for the most part by their relations, or by one another, or each person is his own servant; and this custom extends even to their kings. They eat their meals in companies consisting of thirteen persons. Each party is attended by two musicians. But the king gives many entertainments in great buildings. No one drinks more than eleven cupfuls, from separate cups, each of gold. The king courts popular favor so much, that he is not only his own servant, but sometimes he himself ministers to others. He frequently renders an account before the people, and sometimes an inquiry is made into his mode of life.

“The houses are sumptuous, and of stone. The cities are without walls, on account of the peace which prevails among them. A great part of the country is fertile, and produces everything except oil of olives; the oil of sesame is used instead. The sheep have white fleeces, their oxen are large; but the country produces no horses. Camels are the substitute for horses, and perform the labor. They wear no tunics, but have a girdle about their loins, and walk abroad in sandals. The dress of the kings is the same, but the color is purple.”

Parthian Empire, Rome’s Great Rival in the East

The Parthian empire was the most enduring of the empires of the ancient Near East. It began as a small kingdom of tribal warriors in northeast Persia. After the Parthians defeated the Seleucids — a Macedonian dynasty that ruled in the Asian territories of the former Persian Empire — they controlled most of Persia, Mesopotamia and parts of eastern Arabia. At its height, the Parthian empire occupied all of modern Iran, Iraq and Armenia, parts of Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and -for brief periods- territories in Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. The Parthians endured from 250 B.C. to A.D. 229 until they were replaced by the Sassanians, another Persian dynasty. The Parthians are often called the second Persian Empire and were one of the great rivals of Rome.

Parthians in chains

The Parthian Empire was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran founded by Arsaces I, the leader of the Parni tribe of nomadic horsemen. Its name comes from Parthia, a region in northeast Iran conquered by Arsaces I in the mid-3rd century B.C. when it was a satrapy (province) in rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. After that Parni nomads settled in Parthia and built a small independent kingdom. They rose to power under king Mithradates I of Parthia (171-138 B.C.). Also known as Mithridates the Great, he greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce.

After the victories of Mithradates II, the Parthians began to claim descent from both the Greeks and the Achaemenids. They spoke a language similar to that of the Achaemenids, used the Pahlavi script, and established an administrative system based on Achaemenid precedents.

The Parthian empire was smaller than that of the Persian Achaemenid Empire and was far less centralized. It lacked a standing army. Instead it relied garrisons of towns and forts as well as armed retinues of tribal chiefs and feudal lords. Although they came under the command of the King of Kings their power was limited and disunited. Even so, the Parthian Empire dominated central Asia and formed a barrier to Roman expansion. At the same time it served as an important communications and trading centre, at the crossroads of north-south and east-west routes. [Source: Iran Chamber Society, UNESCO]

Marc Antony’s Early Military Campaign in Syria

Plutarch wrote in “Lives”: “After some stay in Greece, he was invited by Gabinius, who had been consul, to make a campaign with him in Syria, which at first he refused, not being willing to serve in a private character, but receiving a commission to command the horse, he went along with him. His first-service was against Aristobulus, who had prevailed with the Jews to rebel. Here he was himself the first man to scale the largest of the works, and beat Aristobulus out of all of them; after which he routed in a pitched battle, an army many times over the number of his, killed almost all of them and took Aristobulus and his son prisoners. This war ended, Gabinius was solicited by Ptolemy to restore him to his kingdom of Egypt, and a promise made of ten thousand talents reward. Most of the officers were against this enterprise, and Gabinius himself did not much like it, though sorely tempted by the ten thousand talents. [Source: Plutarch (A.D. c.46-c.120): Life of Anthony (82-30 B.C.) For “Lives,” written A.D. 75, translated by John Dryden MIT]

“But Antony, desirous of brave actions and willing to please Ptolemy, joined in persuading Gabinius to go. And whereas all were of opinion that the most dangerous thing before them was the march to Pelusium, in which they would have to pass over a deep sand, where no fresh water was to be hoped for, along the Acregma and the Serbonian marsh (which the Egyptians call Typhon's breathing-hole, and which is, in probability, water left behind by, or making its way through from, the Red Sea, which is here divided from the Mediterranean by a narrow isthmus), Antony, being ordered thither with the horse, not only made himself master of the passes, but won Pelusium itself, a great city, took the garrison prisoners, and by this means rendered the march secure to the army, and the way to victory not difficult for the general to pursue.

The enemy also reaped some benefit of his eagerness for honour. For when Ptolemy, after he had entered Pelusium, in his rage and spite against the Egyptians, designed to put them to the sword, Antony withstood him, and hindered the execution. In all the great and frequent skirmishes and battles he gave continual proofs of his personal valour and military conduct; and once in particular, by wheeling about and attacking the rear of the enemy, he gave the victory to the assailants in the front, and received for this service signal marks of distinction. Nor was his humanity towards the deceased Archelaus less taken notice of. He had been formerly his guest and acquaintance, and, as he was now compelled, he fought him bravely while alive, but on his death, sought out his body and buried it with royal honours. The consequence was that he left behind him a great name among the Alexandrians, and all who were serving in the Roman army looked upon him as a most gallant soldier.”

Trajan’s Conquests in Mesopotamia

Trajan

Since the death of Augustus there had been made no important additions to the Roman territory, except Britain. But under Trajan (r. A.D. 98–117) the Romans became once more a conquering people. The new emperor carried his conquests across the Danube and acquired the province of Dacia. He then extended his arms into Asia, and brought into subjection Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria, as the result of a short war with the Parthians. Under Trajan the boundaries of the empire reached their greatest extent. \~\

Trajan's armies extended the Roman Empire to the Persian Gulf by capturing Armenia in A.D. 114 and defeating several Middle eastern kingdoms, including the arch rivals of the Romans, the Parthians. Trajan died in 117 without yet receiving the news of these conquests. Qasr Bashir was a Roman fort on the eastern fringes of Roman Empire in present-day Jordan. Covering three quarters of an acre, it embraced stone walls and three-story-high towers and was situated on a low hill surrounded by rocks and sand.

In 113, Trajan launched a war against the Parthian Empire. In A.D. 114, he conquered Armenia, which was made into a province, and by the end of 115, he had conquered northern Mesopotamia. This too was organized as a province in early 116, when coins were minted to celebrate the fact. Later in the same year, Trajan marched into central and southern Mesopotamia (enlarging and completing the province of Mesopotamia) and across the river Tigris to Adiabene, which he annexed into another Roman province, Assyria. But he did not stop there. In the last months of 116, he captured the great Persian city of Susa. He deposed the Parthian king Osroes I and put his own puppet ruler Parthamaspates on the Parthian throne. Never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east. Ss soon as Trajan died, however, his successor Hadrian (r. 117–138) relinquished his conquests east of the Euphrates river, which became again the Roman Empire's eastern. [Source: Wikipedia]

Romans Versus the Persian Sasanians

All the threats to Rome did not come from the north. The new Persian monarchy, the Sasanians (Sassanids), under its second great king, Shapur I (died A.D. 272), was attempting to expel the Romans from their Asiatic provinces. After Shapur brought under his control Armenia, which had remained an independent kingdom since the time of Hadrian, he overran the Roman provinces of Syria, Cilicia, and Cappadocia; Antioch and other cities of the coast were destroyed and pillaged.. [Source: “Outlines of Roman History” by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L. New York, American Book Company (1901) \~]

The Sasanians battled with Romans, Huns, Turks and Byzantines. Shapur I captured the Roman emperor Valerian in Edessa in A.D. 260 and made him a slave and held him prisoner until his death. The story of Sapor’s pride and of Valerian’s disgrace has passed into history; to humiliate his captive, it is said, whenever the Persian monarch mounted his horse, he placed his foot on the neck of the Roman emperor. The Sasanians were successful defending their homeland but lost most of their campaigns outside of Persia and were able only to hold on to Babylon and the lower Tigris-Euphrates Valley.

Pat Southern wrote for the BBC: “The east was also restless, but for different reasons. The Parthian empire, bordering on the eastern edges of the Roman world, had been weakened by civil war, but this changed in the first years of the third century when the SasaniansPersians expelled the Parthian rulers. By 226 AD, Ardashir, an Iranian prince descended from Sasan (from whom the Sasanians take their name) had established himself as Shahanshah, 'king of kings'. “His declared intention was to restore the ancient Persian empire to its former glory, pushing his borders westwards into Roman-controlled territories. [Source: Pat Southern, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

“His son and successor, Shapur, followed these aggressive expansionist policies, which meant trouble for Rome. The search for a stable frontier between these two rival empires had been a continual problem. (It must be acknowledged that the aggressors were nearly always the Romans, in response to perceived threats.) The Persians were determined to deal with Rome more firmly, and by the middle of the third century they had defeated the armies of three Roman emperors. |::|

Palmyra and Zenobia

Temple of Bel in Palmyra

Palmyra (90 miles east of Homs in present-day Syria) is magnificent ruined city built on a plateau above a beautiful palm-fringed oasis. Possessing virtually the only water found along a 250-mile stretch of desert between the Orontes and Euphrates river, this ancient city grew rich from taxes collected from caravans, loaded down with spices, perfumes, ivory and silk, on the way from Asia, the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean Sea. So extensive was the trade that Palmyra grew into a wealthy metropolis that endured for over a 1,000 years.

Palmyra reached its height under an extraordinary half-Arab, half-Greek queen named Zenobia (c. A.D. 240–c. 274), the second wife of King Septimius Daenathus, She took control of the kingdom after her husband, , and her son were assassinated under mysterious circumstances. From A.D. 266 to 273 CE. Palmyra was led by Zenobia, the "Queen of the East". She was a woman of courage and energy, who almost founded an Asian empire to the detriment of Rome. During her time, Palmyra was a thriving and powerful city situated upon an oasis in the Syrian desert. [Source: William Stearns Davis, ed., “Readings in Ancient History: Illustrative Extracts from the Sources,” 2 Vols. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1912-13), Vol. II: Rome and the West]

During the disasters of the middle of the third century A.D. the Asiatic provinces of the Empire were nearly torn away, first by the Persians, then by the rulers of Palmyra, a thriving and powerful city situated upon an oasis in the Syrian desert. From 266 to 273 CE. the sovereign of this city was Zenobia. From this dismemberment the Roman world was saved by the Emperor Aurelian, who among his other conquests overcame Zenobia and destroyed Palmyra (273 A.D.), after no puny struggle.

Zeugma: A Border Town on the Eastern Roman Frontier

Zeugma is an ancient Roman border town being submerged by a dam and reservoir in southeast Turkey. On its history, Matthew Brunwasser wrote in Archaeology magazine: “In the third century B.C., Seleucus I Nicator (“the Victor”), one of Alexander the Great’s commanders, established a settlement he called Seleucia, probably a katoikia, or military colony, on the western side of the river. On its eastern bank, he founded another town he called Apamea after his Persian-born wife. The two cities were physically connected by a pontoon bridge, but it is not known whether they were administered by separate municipal governments, and nothing of ancient Apamea, nor the bridge, survives. In 64 B.C., the Romans conquered Seleucia, renaming the town Zeugma, which means “bridge” or “crossing” in ancient Greek. After the collapse of the Seleucid Empire, the Romans added Zeugma to the lands of Antiochus I Theos of Commagene as a reward for his support of General Pompey during the conquest. [Source: Matthew Brunwasser, Archaeology, October 14, 2012]

“Throughout the imperial period, two Roman legions were based at Zeugma, increasing its strategic value and adding to its cosmopolitan culture. Due to the high volume of road traffic and its geographic position, Zeugma became a collection point for road tolls. Political and trade routes converged here and the city was the last stop in the Greco-Roman world before crossing over to the Persian Empire. For hundreds of years Zeugma prospered as a major commercial city as well as a military and religious center, eventually reaching its peak population of about 20,000–30,000 inhabitants. During the imperial period, Zeugma became the empire’s largest, and most strategically and economically important, eastern border city.

“However, the good times in Zeugma declined along with the fortunes of the Roman Empire. After the Sasanians from Persia attacked the city in A.D. 253, its luxurious villas were reduced to ruins and used as shelters for animals. The city’s new inhabitants were mainly rural people who employed only simple building materials that did not survive.” Kutalmis Gorkay of Ankara University, has directed work at Zeugma, since 2005, “is now looking for more evidence of how this multicultural city functioned as the transition between east and west, and the Persian and Greco-Roman worlds. He is also seeking to understand how the shift from the Hellenistic Greek world to the domination of the Roman Empire affected the city. “We don’t know of any other big cities in this area that changed from a Hellenistic city into a Roman garrison city in such an important geopolitical location, making it an ideal place to study the cultural changes between the two,” says Gorkay.

Residents of a “once upscale neighborhood were likely high-ranking civil and military officials and merchants grown wealthy from trade. There is ample evidence of a sophisticated sewage and water supply system. Grooves cut into the stone streets once held pipes that delivered water from at least four reservoirs and cisterns on the Belkis Tepe, the city’s highest point, through spouts capped with bronze lion heads. Sunny courtyards in the center of the houses allowed fresh air to circulate inside. Some had shallow pools, called impluvia, to collect rainwater and cool the air before it entered the house. These courtyards also once contained some of Zeugma’s most famous mosaics, many of which have water themes: Eros riding a dolphin; Danae and Perseus being rescued by fishermen on the shores of Seriphos; Poseidon, the god of the sea; and other water deities and sea creatures.

“There is also much yet to learn about the practice of religion in Zeugma. Through further excavation, Gorkay wants to examine the place of politics and nationality in the practice of religion during the transformative periods in Zeugma’s history. In 2008, atop the Belkis Tepe, archaeologists excavated a temple and sanctuary where three colossal cult statues of Zeus, Athena, and probably Hera, were found, marking it as one of the city’s most important religious sites. But there are still many questions left to answer about the ways in which the traditional Greco-Roman gods were worshipped alongside the Persian deities who were also honored in the city. Similarly, says Gorkay, “In the time of the Commagene rulers, Antiochus I consecrated many sanctuaries and depicted himself in all of them,” including stelae on which the king is shown shaking hands with gods. But during the Roman period, these temples were stripped of their political character and the gods were portrayed alone, signifying a change in the cult dedicated to the worship of the ruler.”

Dura-Europos

Dura-Europos was a Roman garrison town on the Euphrates River in modern Iraq. Called Europos by the Greeks and Dura by the Romans, it was near the frontier fought over by Romans and The eastern frontier of the Roman Empire became a particularly dangerous place when Persians under a new dynasty, the Sasanians, overthrew Rome's old foe, the Parthians in A.D. 224. They were more aggressive than the Parthians had ever been for they dreamed of restoring the Old Persian Empire that Alexander the Great had overthrown. Dura-Europos was discovered during World War I, and in 1931 excavations got underway under the auspices of Yale University.

Andrew Curry wrote in National Geographic: “Today Dura sits about 25 miles from the Syrian border with Iraq, an eight-hour bus ride through the desert from Damascus. It first came to light in 1920, when British troops fighting Arab insurgents accidentally uncovered the painted wall of a Roman temple. A team from Yale University and the French Academy put hundreds of Bedouin tribesmen to work with shovels and picks, moving tens of thousands of tons of sand with the help of railcars and mine carts. “At times it was like the Well of Souls scene from Indiana Jones,” says University of Leicester archaeologist Simon James. [Source: Andrew Curry, National Geographic, September 2012 ]

“Ten years of frenzied digging uncovered a third-century Roman city frozen in time. Fragments of plaster still cling to mud-brick and stone walls, and the rooms of palaces and temples—including the world’s oldest known Christian church—are tall enough to walk through and imagine what they looked like when they had roofs.

“Founded by Greeks around 300 B.C., Dura was conquered by the Romans nearly 500 years later. Its tall, thick walls and perch above the Euphrates made it a perfect frontier outpost. The northern end was walled off and turned into a Roman-era “green zone” with barracks, an imposing headquarters for the garrison commander, a redbrick bathhouse big enough to wash the dust off a thousand soldiers, the empire’s easternmost known amphitheater, and a 60-room palace suitable for dignitaries “roughing it” in the hinterlands.

“Just as Hadrian’s Wall shows the Roman frontier at its strongest, an abandoned fortress on the Euphrates River vividly captures the moment the borders began to collapse. Duty rosters show at least seven outposts reported to Dura. One of the outposts was staffed by just three soldiers; another lay nearly a hundred miles downstream. “This was not a city under constant threat,” James told me.“Soldiers here were probably busier policing the locals than defending against raids and attacks.”

Roman Empire in the East Under Trajan in AD 117

Fall of Dura-Europos to the Persian Sasanians

Andrew Curry wrote in National Geographic: “The quiet didn’t last. Persia emerged as a major threat along the empire’s eastern border a half century after the Romans seized Dura. Beginning in 230, war between the rivals raged across Mesopotamia. It was soon clear the frontier strategy that had served Rome for more than a century was no match for a determined, sizable foe. Dura’s turn came in 256. Working with a Franco-Syrian team of archaeologists interested in the site’s pre-Roman history, James has spent ten years unraveling the walled city’s final moments. He says the Romans must have known an attack was imminent. They had time to reinforce the massive western wall, burying part of the city—including the church and a magnificently decorated synagogue—to form a sloping rampart. [Source: Andrew Curry, National Geographic, September 2012 ]

“The Persian army set up camp in the city cemetery, a few hundred yards from Dura’s main gate. As catapults lobbed stones at the Romans, the Persians built an assault ramp and dug beneath the city, hoping to collapse its defenses. Dura’s garrison struck back with tunnels of their own. As fighting raged on the surface, James says, a squad of 19 Romans broke through into a Persian tunnel. A cloud of poison gas, pumped into the underground chamber, suffocated them almost instantly. Their remains are some of the oldest archaeological evidence of chemical warfare. James believes the bodies, found 1,700 years later, stacked in a tight tunnel, were used to block the tunnel while the Persians set it on fire.

“The Persians failed to topple Dura’s wall but eventually succeeded in taking the city, which was later abandoned to the desert. Surviving defenders were slain or enslaved. Persian armies pushed deep into what had been Rome’s eastern provinces, sacked dozens of cities, and overpowered two emperors before capturing a third, the hapless Valerian, in 260. The Persian king, Shapur, reportedly used Valerian as a footstool for a while, then had him flayed and nailed his skin to a wall.

“The crisis was a turning point. Around the time Dura fell, the careful balance of offense, defense, and sheer intimidation along the frontier fell apart.For nearly 150 years the border had helped Rome ignore a painful reality: The world beyond the walls was catching up, in part thanks to the Romans themselves. Barbarians who served in the Roman army brought back Roman knowledge, weapons, and military strategy, says Michael Meyer, an archaeologist at Berlin’s Free University.”

Diocletian Tetrarchy in the late AD 3rd century

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Rome sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Late Antiquity sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “Outlines of Roman History” by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L. New York, American Book Company (1901) ; “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932); BBC Ancient Rome bbc.co.uk/history/ ; Project Gutenberg gutenberg.org ; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Live Science, Discover magazine, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, The New Yorker, Wikipedia, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia.com and various other books, websites and publications.

Last updated October 2024