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Province, 117 CE

Armenia and Mesopotamia

Imperial province, consular legateCapital: not formally established

Trajan's biggest gamble — three brand-new provinces (Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria) carved out of the Parthian war of 114–116, with Ctesiphon itself captured and a Parthian client king installed on the throne. By the exact week this map is frozen on, the gamble is already failing: revolts across the new territory and Trajan's own fatal illness are forcing the retreat Hadrian will make official within days of taking power, abandoning all three east of the Euphrates.

3 places on the map

Sources

  • Cassius Dio, Roman History 68.26–33
  • Eutropius, Breviarium 8.3

Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →