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TheLimes Arabicus was a desert frontier of theRoman Empire, running north from its start in the province ofArabia Petraea. It ran northeast from theGulf of Aqaba for about 1,500 kilometers (930 mi) at its greatest extent, reaching northernSyria and forming part of the wider Romanlimes system. It had severalforts andwatchtowers.
The reason of this defensivelimes was to protect the Roman province of Arabia from attacks of the nomadic tribes of theArabian desert.[1] The main purpose of theLimes Arabicus is disputed; it may have been used both to defend fromArab raids and to protect the commercial trade routes from robbers.
Next to theLimes Arabicus EmperorTrajan built a major road, theVia Nova Traiana, fromBosra toAila on theRed Sea, a distance of 430 km (270 mi). Built between 111 and 114 AD, its primary purpose may have been to provide efficient transportation for troop movements and government officials as well as facilitating and protecting trade caravans emerging from the Arabian Peninsula. It was completed under EmperorHadrian.[2]
During theSeveran dynasty (AD 193–235), the Romans strengthened their defences on the Arabian frontier. They constructed severalcastra (forts) at the northwest end of theWadi Sirhan, and improved the roads. One important fort wasQasr Azraq, another was atHumeima (Latin: Auara), from the late 2nd century AD, on theVia Traiana Nova fromPetra toAila, where up to 500 auxiliary troops could have resided. It was probably abandoned in the fourth century.[3]
EmperorDiocletian partitioned the old province ofArabia by transferring the southern region to the province ofPalaestina. Later in the 4th century, Palaestina was made into three provinces, and the southern one was eventually calledPalaestina Tertia. Each province was administered by apraeses with civil authority and adux with military authority.
Diocletian engaged in a major military expansion in the region, building a number ofcastella, watchtowers, and fortresses along the fringe of the desert just east of the Via Nova. This line of defence extended from south ofDamascus toWadi al-Hasa. The region fromWadi Mujib toWadi al-Hasa contained fourcastella and alegionary camp. The frontier south of Wadi al-Hasa, which extended to theRed Sea at Aila (Aqaba), may have been called theLimes Palaestina.[4] In this region, ten castella and a legionary camp have been identified. The term may have referred to a series of fortifications and roads in the northernNegev, running fromRafah on theMediterranean to theDead Sea,[5] or to the region under the military control of thedux Palaestinae, the military governor of the Palaestinian provinces.[6]
There werecastra every 100 kilometres (62 mi) with the purpose to create a line of protection and control:[7] in the south there was the legionary fortress atAdrou (Udruh), just east ofPetra. It probably housed theLegio VI Ferrata, which was moved fromLajjun (in modern-day Israel) by Diocletian.[8] It is similar toBetthorus (al-Lajjun in modern-day Jordan) in size (4.9 hectares (12 acres)) and design, and is in the plain of Moab, south of Wadi Mujib . Alistair Killick, who excavated the site, dates it to the early 2nd century, but Parker suggests a date in the late 3rd or early 4th century.
A legionary camp may have also existed at Aila (modernAqaba), which has been excavated by Parker since 1994. The city was located at the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba where it was a centre of sea traffic. Several land routes also intersected here.Legio X Fretensis, originally stationed inJerusalem, was transferred here to the terminus of the Via Nova. So far, a stonecurtain wall and projecting tower have been identified, but it is uncertain whether they were part of the city wall of Aila or the fortress. The evidence suggests the fort was constructed in the late 4th or early 5th century.
Troops were progressively withdrawn from theLimes Arabicus in the first half of the 6th century and replaced with native Arabfoederati, chiefly theGhassanids.[9] After theMuslim Arab conquest, theLimes Arabicus was largely left to disappear, though some fortifications were used and reinforced in the following centuries.
Thelimes was overrun in 611 during thewar with the Sasanians.