Frontiers of the Roman Empire: The Eastern Frontiers

Rome's eastern frontier, stretching from the Black Sea to the Red Sea, served as a critical bulwark against Parthia and later Sasanian Persia. This volume highlights the Levant region—modern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine—as Rome’s primary defensive zone, while also covering the annexed Nabataean kingdom (later Arabia) and the strategically significant but understudied Cappadocian frontier in Turkey. Though much of this remote frontier lies submerged beneath reservoirs, the volume includes a unique account by Arrian of the Caucasian forts along the Black Sea, offering rare archaeological insight into Rome’s least-explored eastern defenses. The study underscores the region's geopolitical and topographical challenges, while acknowledging gaps—such as the Cappadocian frontier—that warrant future investigation.

Breeze, D. J., Abudanah, F., Braund, D., Driessen, M., James, S., Konrad, M., & Polak, M. (2022). Frontiers of the Roman Empire: The Eastern Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.15135991