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Province, 117 CE

Syria

Imperial province, consular legateCapital: AntiochRoman since 64 BCE

The empire's most important eastern command — four legions at its Trajanic peak, more than any other province — because it borders Parthia. Hadrian, its sitting legate in 117, is at Antioch the moment Trajan dies at Selinus and will be acclaimed emperor here within the day, the succession settled before Rome even hears the news. A massive earthquake had struck Antioch itself just two years earlier, in December 115, with Trajan barely escaping the collapsing building he was staying in.

Annexed by Pompey in 64 BCE, ending the last Seleucid remnant — by 117 the empire's most important eastern military command.

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Sources

  • Cassius Dio, Roman History 68.24–25 (Antioch earthquake), 69.1–2 (accession)

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 →