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Marc Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.;These two volumes document the topography, monuments, inscriptions, and sighted coins of the north-eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, looking in detail at strategic roads, bridges, forts, watch and signalling systems, and interpreting the literary and epigraphic evidence for the frontier and its garrisons.
Brief Description:
"The north-eastern frontier of the Roman Empire--one of the great gaps in modern knowledge of the ancient world--has long eluded research. It has defied systematic exploration and been insulated against all but passing survey by wars, instability, political sensitivities, language, and the region's wild, remote mountains, mostly accessible only on horseback or on foot. Its path lay across eastern Turkey, following the Euphrates valley northwards from Syria, through gorges and across great ranges, and passing over the Pontic Alps to reach the further shores of the Black Sea. Vespasian established Rome's frontier against Armenia half a century before Hadrian's Wall. Five times as long, and climbing seven times as high, it was garrisoned ultimately by four legions and a large auxiliary army, stationed in intermediate forts linked by military roads. The two volumes of East of Asia Minor: Rome's Hidden Frontier--based on research, field work conducted largely on foot, and new discoveries--document the topography, monuments, inscriptions, and sighted coins of the frontier, looking in detail at strategic roads, bridges, forts, watch and signalling systems, and navigation of the Euphrates itself. Study of the terrain provides a foundation for interpreting the literary and epigraphic evidence for the frontier and its garrisons. Military activity, which extended to the Caucasus and the Caspian, is placed in the context of climate, geography, and inter-regional trade routes."--
Table of Contents:
VOLUME IForewordPrefaceList of Maps, Plates, and FiguresAncient Sources
Chapter I: The Geography and Climate of the Frontier and Adjacent Areas
Chapter II: Historical Outline
Chapter III: The Course of the LimesCommageneIII.1. SamasotaCappadociaIII.2. The TaurusIII.3. The Taurus GorgeIII.4. East of Melitene: The Euphrates CrossingIII.5. MeliteneIII.6. North of Melitene: CiacaIII.7. The Basin of the Arabkir Çay: DascusaIII.8. The Southern Approaches to the Antitaurus: SabusIII.9. The AntitaurusIII.10. The Antitaurus GorgeArmenia MinorIII.11. From the Çalti Çay to the Karabudak: ZimaraIII.12. The Road System of Armenia MinorIII.13. Per Ripam to SatalaIII.14. From the Euphrates to NicopolisIII.15. Nicopolis and the Support Roads to SatalaIII.16. Across the Mountains to SatalaIII.17. SatalaPontusIII.18. The Pontic MountainsIII.19. TrapezusIII.20. The Pontic Coast
VOLUME II
Chapter IV: The GarrisonVI.1. The Legionary GarrisonVI.1.1. XII FulminataVI.1.2. XVI Flavia FirmaVI.1.3. XV ApollinarisVI.1.4. I PonticaVI.2. The AuxiliaVI.2.1. AlaeVI.2.2. Cohorts
Chapter V: Coin Finds
Chapter VI: InscriptionsAppendix 1: Ancient Geographical SourcesAppendix 2: Notitia Dignitatum: Dux Armeniae (Oriens 38)Appendix 3: Turkish Place-names, Maps, and MeaningsAppendix 4: Notes on Provisions, Transport, and Population in Late Ottoman TimesAppendix 5: Beyond the Euphrates: Some Points of TopographyJournals and Book AbbreviationsBibliographyIndex 1: EpigraphicIndex 2: TopographicalIndex 3: GeneralIndex 4: Personal NamesIndex 5: General
Review Quotes:
"magnificent publication" --
Times Literary Supplement
"By any definition, this two-volume set is a
magnum opus, a veritable treasure trove of information about the eastern
limes of the Roman Empire...Mitford deserves huge praise for his selfless and endless devotion to a task that he set himself back in 1962" -- C S. Lightfoot, Metropolitan Museum, New York,
Journal of Roman Archaeology
"[A] gripping but discreetly understated account . . . Mitford's lifetime of exploration, presented with extraordinary generosity between the covers of this Jahrhundertbuch, has produced as full a record as we are ever likely to possess of the remains of this hidden frontier, but still leaves questions about its nature and purpose open to further debate." --
JRS
"The workmanship is as intricate and careful as that of a watchmaker ... The two volumes of
East of Asia Minor are beautifully produced ... The reviewer is dumbfounded at the amount of material gathered and the lucidity with which it is presented." -- James Howard-Johnston,
Pelican Record
"[A] detailed encyclopedic and highly referenced two-volume work documenting regional climate, geography, history, trade routes, inscriptions, and numismatics (c. 130 BCE-CE 677) [...] Research on this scale sets new standards of academic scholarship unlikely to be surpassed. Summing Up: Essential." -- C. C. Kolb, independent scholar,
CHOICE
Dr Mitford was awarded a British Academy Medal for
East of Asia Minor (2018).
Biographical Note:
Timothy Bruce Mitford,
Associate Member, Corpus Christi College Centre for the Study of Greek and Roman Antiquity, University of Oxford
Timothy Bruce Mitford is an Associate Member of the Corpus Christi College Centre for the Study of Greek and Roman Antiquity at the University of Oxford and Commander, Royal Navy. In 2018, Dr Mitford was awarded a British Academy Medal for
East of Asia Minor: Rome's Hidden Frontier, Vols I & II (Oxford University Press, 2018).
Publisher Marketing:
The north-eastern frontier of the Roman Empire - one of the great gaps in modern knowledge of the ancient world - has long eluded research. It has defied systematic exploration and been insulated against all but passing survey by wars, instability, political sensitivities, language, and the region's wild, remote mountains, mostly accessible only on horseback or on foot. Its path lay across eastern Turkey, following the Euphrates valley northwards from Syria, through gorges and across great ranges, and passing over the Pontic Alps to reach the further shores of the Black Sea. Vespasian established Rome's frontier against Armenia half a century before Hadrian's Wall. Five times as long, and climbing seven times as high, it was garrisoned ultimately by four legions and a large auxiliary army, stationed in intermediate forts linked by military roads.
The two volumes of
East of Asia Minor: Rome's Hidden Frontier - based on research, field work conducted largely on foot, and new discoveries - document the topography, monuments, inscriptions, and sighted coins of the frontier, looking in detail at strategic roads, bridges, forts, watch and signalling systems, and navigation of the Euphrates itself. Study of the terrain provides a foundation for interpreting the literary and epigraphic evidence for the frontier and its garrisons. Military activity, which extended to the Caucasus and the Caspian, is placed in the context of climate, geography, and inter-regional trade routes. 28 colour maps and over 350 photographs, plans, and travellers' sketches not only document the history of eastern Turkey as a frontier region of the Roman empire, but also reveal an ancient way of life, still preserved during the 1960s and 1970s, but now almost obliterated by the developments of the modern world.
Review Citations:
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Foreword 04/30/2018 (EAN 9780198725176, Hardcover)
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Choice 09/01/2018 (EAN 9780198725176, Hardcover)
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