The Roman Empire
Luke 2:1 · a decree from Caesar Augustus
The Roman Empire
At the end of the first century AD
The frontier drawn is the one of about AD 100: the Rhine and the Danube, the upper Euphrates, and the edge of the Syrian and Libyan deserts. Dacia, Arabia and Mesopotamia lie outside it because Trajan had not yet taken them, and the Nabataean kingdom around Petra was still a client state. The frame is cut above the northern frontier of Britannia and above the upper Nile, so both run off the plate: the empire went on, and a frame that held all of it would leave the Mediterranean world too small to letter. Provinces are named and not bounded - their borders moved often and are not the subject here - except Iudaea, which is drawn in its own color. Provincial names are given in Latin and cities in the form the period used, so Jerusalem is Ierusalem and Constantinople is still Byzantium. The battles are turning points in the expansion rather than a complete list, and are marked with a saltire in neutral ink, since a battle belongs to both sides.