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Castra (Latin, singular castrum) were military forts of various sizes used by the Roman army throughout the Empire in Europe, Asia and Africa. The largest castra were permanent legionary fortresses. [1]
The disposition of the castra reflects the most important zones of the empire from a military point of view. Many castra were disposed along frontiers particularly in Northern and Central Europe. Another focal point was the Eastern border, where the Roman Empire confronted one of its long-term enemies, the Persian Empire. Other castra were located in strategically important zones, as in Egypt, from which most of the wealth of the empire came. Finally, other castra were located in zones in which the Romans experienced local unrest, such as Northern Spain and Judea. Provinces where the Roman power was unchallenged, such as Italy, Gaul, Africa and Greece, were provided with few or no castra.
In the long history of the Roman Empire, the character of the military policy of the Roman Empire changed, and consequently the location and dimension of the castra changed. Under Emperors Gallienus and Aurelian (and later Diocletian), the Roman army was organized into a high-mobility central army (the comitatus ) and in local troops (the limitanei ). Some castra lost importance, others were built in new zones, and in general they lost the role of permanent quarter for huge corps of troops.
See also Syria Palaestina. Included here are the Galilee and Perea.
The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between AD 69 and 70. It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi, a small but militarily powerful Germanic tribe that inhabited Batavia, on the delta of the river Rhine. They were soon joined by the Celtic tribes from Gallia Belgica and some Germanic tribes.
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word castrum was a military-related term.
Novae was initially one of the few great Roman legionary fortresses along the empire's border, forming part of the defences along the Danube in northern Bulgaria. The settlement later expanded into a town in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior, later Moesia Secunda.
Isca Dumnoniorum, also known simply as Isca, was originally a Roman legionary fortress for the Second Augustan Legion in the Roman province of Britannia at the site of present-day Exeter in Devon.
The Limes Arabicus was a desert frontier of the Roman Empire, running north from its start in the province of Arabia Petraea. It ran northeast from the Gulf of Aqaba for about 1,500 kilometers (930 mi) at its greatest extent, reaching northern Syria and forming part of the wider Roman limes system. It had several forts and watchtowers.
Dinogetia was an ancient Geto-Dacian settlement and later Roman fort located not far from the right (southern) bank of the Danube near the junction of the Siret River. The Dinogetia site is situated in Northern Dobruja, Romania, 8 km east of Galați and 2 km north of Garvăn, a village in Jijila commune.
Pons Aelius, or Newcastle Roman Fort, was an auxiliary castra and small Roman settlement on Hadrian's Wall in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, situated on the north bank of the River Tyne close to the centre of present-day Newcastle upon Tyne, and occupied between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD.
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north against the Brigantes, and rebuilt completely over the next few decades by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix. In the early 3rd century the fortress was again rebuilt. The legion probably remained at the fortress until the late 4th or early 5th century, upon which it fell into disuse.
Isca, variously specified as Isca Augusta or Isca Silurum, was the site of a Roman legionary fortress and settlement or vicus, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day suburban town of Caerleon in the north of the city of Newport in South Wales. The site includes Caerleon Amphitheatre and is protected by Cadw.
The National Roman Legion Museum (Wales) is a museum in Caerleon, near Newport, south-east Wales. It is one of three Roman sites in Caerleon, along with the Baths museum and the open-air ruins of the amphitheatre and barracks. It is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.
Concangis was an auxiliary castra in the Roman province of Lower Britain. Its ruins are located in Chester-le-Street, Durham, in England, and are now known as Chester-le-Street Roman Fort. It is situated 6 miles (10 km) north of Durham and 8 miles (13 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Augusta may refer to:
Gobannium was a Roman fort and civil settlement or Castra established by the Roman legions invading what was to become Roman Wales and lies today under the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire in south east Wales.
Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa was the capital and the largest city of Roman Dacia, named after Sarmizegetusa the former Dacian capital, located some 30 km away. The present village of Sarmizegetusa has been built over parts of it.
The Limes Alutanus was a fortified eastern border of the ancient Roman province of Dacia built by the Roman emperor Hadrian to stop invasions and raids from the east.
Morisena was a castra in the Roman province of Dacia. Morisena was a Roman auxiliary camp and part of the outline in the western fortress chain of the Dacian Limes. It was located within the modern municipality of Cenad, Romania.
The castra of Buciumi was a fort in the Roman province of Dacia in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Remains of the surrounding vicus were also unearthed. The castra's ruins are located in Buciumi, Romania.
Potaissa was a legionary fortress and later a city in the Roman province of Dacia, located in today's Turda, Romania.
Petavonium was a Roman Legionary Fortress (castrum) of the Legio X Gemina, and later a Roman city formed from the canabae, or civilian camp. It was located in the valley of Vidriales in an area of the modern Santibanez de Vidriales and its hamlet Rosinos de Vidriales, in the province of Zamora.
The twin towns of Apulum were a major urban centre of Roman Dacia, nowadays completely covered by the city of Alba Iulia. They developed in the vicinity of the legionary fortress of Legio XIII Gemina: Colonia Aurelia Apulensis and Colonia Nova Apulensis.
