Brief History and Topography

As noted in the introduction, much of the expansion and provincial organization in the East was carried out under Pompey, Caesar, and Augustus. A brief presentation of the chronology will allow further insight in the nature of the foundation of the different provinces and cities within. The widely accepted chronologies are followed here; however, it is important to note that current work is beginning to challenge the more traditionally accepted chronologies for province-creation.

Following on from his success in the Mithridatic wars (after the Third Mithridatic war Bithynia ceded to Rome and Pompey was victorious over King Mithridates of Pontus in CE 65B), Pompey set about solidifying some of this control with the organization of some of the provinces, such as Cicilia (conquered in 102 BCE and reorganized 66 BCE). Pompey annexed Syria in 64 BCE and in this way she functioned as a peace monitor, having to ensure that the Cilician tribes behaved. In the same region, Pompey also organized for Judea to become a client kingdom under local monarchs. Octavian Augustus consolidated this arrangement and Judea came under the authority of the governor of Syria (as Cilica already was). The provinces were somewhat pillaged by both Pompey and Caesar to support their bids for control of Rome and the instability the civil wars gave Mithridates VI the opportunity to reclaim some of the lost land in the East in the middle of the first century BCE.

Following his victories over Pompey and his success in Egypt, Caesar began a process of ensuring the loyalty of the elite, secured and founded client kingdoms in the East and also finally put an end to the Pontus uprisings in 47 BCE, thereby obtaining the province. The work of Pompey and Caesar gave Augustus a good foundation for the expansion and consolidation of the Empire. At this point, various provinces had been inherited (e. g., Cyprus), victories in Egypt had provided a good economic base and obstreperous regions such as Judea and Pontus were annexed along with Moesia (44 BCE). These actions of strengthening borders and policing uncontrolled regions served to unify the Eastern Empire geographically. After Augustus, the Julio-Claudians continued on a small scale to expand the Eastern Empire with the inclusion of Cappadocia (CE 17), Lycia (CE 43), and Thrace (CE 46). The next concentrated expansion did not occur until Trajan. Trajan extended the holdings with the inclusion of new provinces and previous client kingdoms such as Arabia Petraea (CE 105) and Armenia (CE 114). At this point, the Empire was expanded to include Dacia (CE 106) which functioned as a buffer zone to the unconquered peoples of the East. Hadrian’s view of the Empire was quite different from that of his predecessor Trajan. Much against the views of factions within the Senatorial elite, Hadrian envisioned that a smaller Empire would be both more manageable and more profitable and thus he began a process of contracting the borders. Although Severus motivated further consolidation and re-organization of the Empire with the inclusion of Osroene and the expansion into northern Mesopotamia, by the third century the nature of the Roman Empire had changed. At this point a clear eastern koine was identifiable throughout the Eastern provinces but at the same time the external threats of the Goths and Vandals created a need for defense rather than expansion.