Three Farthermost Roman Forts example essay topic

The Roman Frontiers The reign of Augustus was the last great time of Roman conquests. When he died, he gave Tiberius his advice not to expand the frontiers of the empire further. Afterwards there were only two major wars leading to permanent Roman settlement, Britain in 43 and Dacia in 105-106. But even the relatively peaceful period up to the 220's was filled with constant change in the army and the frontiers.

In the beginning of the period you could hardly recognize any existing frontiers. In the west there were three legions in the interior of Spain. Legionary camps were also grouped along the Rhine, but no forts were established beyond it. The land between the Rhine and the Danube was not yet occupied. The first legionary camp on the Danube itself was established in about only AD 15. It was located on the lower Danube towards the Black Sea.

The main advancement of the period in this area, was the upgrading of the upper Rhine and Danube frontiers, first of forts and lines of communications to a fortified line with forts, look-out posts, a palisade or stone wall, and a defensive ditch. This advancement created a fixed and visible frontier line. On the lower Danube and in Dacia very little is known of the frontier works. But aerial pictures have revealed a complex pattern of roads, forts, and settlements related to a defensive ditch and fortified line which stretch through the desert of southern Algeria. The date of construction of the line is still obscure and will require archaeological work on the ground. Farther East in Tripolitan ia, the three farthermost Roman forts were built in the first half of the third century.

Along with these preserved Roman forts in the desert are wide-spread remains of farm-houses. Earlier investigators thought that these were the settlements of soldier-farmers. The soldiers farmers would work the land until it was time to defend the border, then they would gather arms a fight for the defence of the frontier. But closer investigations have explained that the area had been settled quite a bit, before the Romans came and built their forts. In the East, Rome was faced by the power of Parthia until the 220's. The two powers fought for the dominance over Armenia.

They engaged in moderate sized wars roughly every half of a century. A new phase in Roman military and frontier history starts in the 220's with the overthrow of Parthia, by the new Persian dynasty. The new Persian dynasty of the Sassanids, soon invaded Mesopotamia and Syria. In the 230's, the series of barbarian attacks across the Rhine and Danube frontiers began. The barbarian groups eventually overran the weakened Roman army. The main contributor to the weakening of the military was the replacement of legion to mercenaries who watched the border for little pay.

They usually had little or no loyalty to Rome. This then led to the fall of Rome.