Roman limes

[Aldarion]

Roman Limes

Limes means road – originally, it really was a road connecting border fortifications with each other. Over time, it began denoting a geographically shaped or fortified border. It is incorrect to us…

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Limes means road – originally, it really was a road connecting border fortifications with each other. Over time, it began denoting a geographically shaped or fortified border. It is incorrect to use limes as a term for all borders of the Roman Empire, though the world will sometimes be used in such a manner as well. System of border fortifications fulfilled its functions generally from 1st until 4th century AD, though in places it continued to function until 5th century AD.

In most places, not much has survived of Roman border fortifications. Hadrian’s Wall is by far the best known of them, and even it does not approach the preservation of the Great Wall of China. Limes in Germany is for the most part little more than some stretches of slightly raised ground. But when it was in function, stone wall was three meters tall and stretched for hundreds of kilometers, guarded strictly by watchtowers. Wall itself was plastered and whitewashed. Roman engineering was incredibly precise: a 50 kilometre long segment of the wall curves only 92 centimeters away from straight line (curvature of 0,00184%).

Roman borders were guarded by a network of walls, rivers, fortresses and watchtowers. Soldiers had to guard border stretching from Irish Sea to the Red Sea, from Caucasus to the Red Sea, and from the Red Sea to the African Atlantic coast. Best known part of this border is Hadrian’s Wall in England, declared by UNESCO in 1987 to be a part of world heritage. In 2005 UNESCO founded a mixed conservatory encompassing 550 kilometers of the German border. But question remains: why were the walls built?

 

[skip.knox]

I'm curious about this guarding business. I'm aware of the elements you describe and their roles, but I'm trying to picture the specifics.

So, the easy bit first. Howling barbarians with blue tattoos (you know who you are) come roaring in. The borders definitely need to be guarded against them, because howling barbarians have a habit of making off with cattle and slaves and pretty much anything that catches their fancy. This makes the people on the Roman side of the border upset.

At the other extreme, though, what about a merchant looking to sell, or a tradesman looking for work?

Is the whole system of limes intended to keep that sort out? Is it intended to act as a port of entry? But long stretches of the border is nothing but empty land. Sure there were walls. There were ditches like down in Numidia. But there was not an unbroken wall. So there were places people could get through. Herds of livestock could browse through.

So, were the limes aimed mainly or exclusively at invasions? Besides the ditches and the walls, what other types of defenses were employed? Do we know? As the Empire expanded, did they have to keep making new forts? What happened with the old ones? Abandoned? Repurposed?

I'm realizing I was taking much for granted when I would hear "limes" mentioned.

 

[Aldarion]

I'm curious about this guarding business. I'm aware of the elements you describe and their roles, but I'm trying to picture the specifics.

So, the easy bit first. Howling barbarians with blue tattoos (you know who you are) come roaring in. The borders definitely need to be guarded against them, because howling barbarians have a habit of making off with cattle and slaves and pretty much anything that catches their fancy. This makes the people on the Roman side of the border upset.

At the other extreme, though, what about a merchant looking to sell, or a tradesman looking for work?

Is the whole system of limes intended to keep that sort out? Is it intended to act as a port of entry? But long stretches of the border is nothing but empty land. Sure there were walls. There were ditches like down in Numidia. But there was not an unbroken wall. So there were places people could get through. Herds of livestock could browse through.

So, were the limes aimed mainly or exclusively at invasions? Besides the ditches and the walls, what other types of defenses were employed? Do we know? As the Empire expanded, did they have to keep making new forts? What happened with the old ones? Abandoned? Repurposed?

I'm realizing I was taking much for granted when I would hear "limes" mentioned.

Limes was... a guarded border. With everything it implies. And that doesn't mean just keeping the howling hordes out. In fact, argument could be made that that was what the limes was worst at.

However...
1) Limes would prevent small-scale cattle raids and such.
2) Limes would prevent large war bands from returning home with their prey... humans can climb a lightly guarded wall easily enough, but getting cattle across it? Not so easy.
3) Limes acted as a taxation line. Your merchant or tradesman has to cross it, and cross it with goods. Which again means that he has to go through the gates... where he will be checked and taxed.

And that "empty land" is oftentimes a barrier in and by itself. Mules and oxen do not run on diesel... they run on grain. So for an honest merchant, getting around limes would be very much impossible. Even armies had to keep to well-known invasion routes.

Also, here I wrote about limes, but limes was merely one component of the Roman defense system. Romans relied heavily also on spies and allied barbarian tribes to provide advance warning - ideal was to intercept the enemy in open battle before invasion even reached limes. Limes itself would only become a factor if that failed, and if limes itself failed (which it typically did against a major incursion) then the enemy would have to be intercepted by a field army somewhere in the depth of the Roman territory.

My understanding is that the Empire generally didn't have to "keep making" new forts as it expanded, because permanent forts and defenses only really became a thing after it stopped expanding. At least when it comes to major fortifications. Smaller fortresses were simply built and then remained in use, as supply depots, police stations, whatever. Though I might be wrong here, so don't take me on my word.