In the year AD 121, Hadrian left Rome and set off on an ambitious tour of the western provinces. His first intended destination was the German frontier (limes) which he probably reached in the autumn or winter of that year. A passage in Dio Cassius describing Hadrian bareheaded in the "German snows" (Dio 69.9.4) plausibly… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 1 Germania Superior (#Hadrian1900)
Hadrian's deep concern with consolidating and defining the Empire started very early in his reign. Upon ascending the throne, the new emperor abandoned Trajan's newly conquered provinces beyond the Euphrates and rapidly took the opportunity to carry out his new frontier policy. He first embarked on a quick inspection of the military bases along the… Continue reading AD 120 – The army erects a wooden palisade on the German frontier (#Hadrian1900)
Last week, I was fortunate enough to visit the archaeological site of Augusta Raurica, the Roman town on the river Rhine at Augst (Switzerland). 2000 years ago, Roman army veterans and local Celts established a large town there. At that time Augusta Raurica was located on the edge of the Roman Empire on the border… Continue reading Picture of the day: the Roman theatre at Augusta Raurica (Augst, Switzerland), the best-preserved ancient complex north of the Alps
From one end of the empire to another! The Roman empire encircled the Mediterranean Sea, and beyond that, lay its frontiers. At its height, the empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea, through the deserts of the Middle East to the Red Sea, and across North Africa. The “Limes” represents the border line… Continue reading Exploring the Limes Germanicus – images from Rome’s Germanic Frontier
