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The borders of the Roman Empire, which fluctuated throughout the empire's history, were a combination of natural frontiers (most notably the Rhine and Danube rivers) and man-made fortifications which separated the lands of the empire from the "barbarian" countries beyond. ==The Limes== A ''limes'' was a border fortification system of the Roman Empire. The Latin noun "limes" had a number of different meanings: a path or balk marking off the boundaries of fields; a boundary line or marker; any road or path; any channel, such as a stream channel; or any distinction or difference between two things. Hence it was utilized by Latin writers to denote marked or fortified frontiers. The name given to proper Walls was ''vallum'', which might have represented a border. In ''Britannia'' the Empire built two walls one behind the other, for ''Mauretania'' there was a single wall with forts on both sides of it. In other places, such as ''Syria'' and ''Arabia Petraea'', there wasn't a continuous wall; instead there was a net of border settlements and forts occupied by the Roman army. In ''Dacia'', the limes between the Black Sea and the Danube were a mix of the latter and the wall defenses: the ''Limes Moesiae'' was the conjunction of two, and sometimes three, lines of ''vallum'', with a Great Camp and many minor camps spread through the fortifications. So far the traditional use of the term. It is now more common to accept that this is an anachronistic terminology, reflecting the views of modern scholars more than Roman reality. Limes was in fact not used to indicate the imperial frontier or a fortified border. After the third century it was an administrative term, indicating a military district, commanded by a dux limitis.〔Benjamin Isaac, The Meaning of "Limes" and "Limitanei" in Ancient Sources, Journal of Roman Studies 78(1988), 125-147〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Borders of the Roman Empire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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