TheDanubian provinces of theRoman Empire were theprovinces of theLower Danube, within a geographical area encompassing the middle and lowerDanube basins, theEastern Alps, theDinarides, and theBalkans.[2] They includeNoricum, Dacia (Trajana andAureliana), the northern part ofDalmatia,Moesia (Inferior and Superior),Scythia Minor, andPannonia (Superior andInferior). TheDanube defined the region to the north, with theCarpathian Mountains to the north and east.[3] These provinces were important to the Imperial economy as mining regions,[4] and their general significance in theEmpire of the 3rd century is indicated by theemperors who came from the region.[5]
The Roman presence in the region can be described as having four phases fromAugustus toHadrian: military conquest underAugustus, and consequent military actions; the establishment of military bases along roads and river crossings underClaudius; the establishment ofcamps along the river for stationinglegions andauxiliaries carried out by theFlavian dynasty andTrajan; and further expansion into Dacia north of the Danube. Hadrian's approach was to defend and maintain, a policy that remained more or less in effect until the latter 4th century, when Roman control disintegrated.[6] The pattern of Roman settlement after the time of Hadrian became standard: a fort(castra), a military town(canabae) associated with it, and a town(municipium) developing two or three miles away.[7]
The Danubian population has been estimated as at least 2 million during the reign of Augustus, and 3 million in the 2nd century, but these figures are not based on hard data, and later archaeological investigations indicate a greater degree of development than had been recognized.[8] In the time of theAntonines, there were perhaps 3 to 6 million inhabitants.[9]
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