Research Article
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The Late Milestones of Asia Minor

Year 2018, Volume: 16, 173 - 183, 15.11.2018
https://doi.org/10.37095/gephyra.480120

Abstract

The
impressive corpus of milestones recently edited by the late David Henry French
and set online by the British Institute at Ankara provides an extensive and
in-depth knowledge of more than 1200 stones erected alongside the Roman roads
of Asia Minor from the late Republic to the Later Empire. Even if milestones
were the commonest epigraphic display of power in the Roman world, modern
activity tends to obliterate them, and consequently it was more than urgent to
collect the remains before they vanish. This paper studies the unbalanced
geographical and chronological distribution of milestones. They seem to be more
or less scattered throughout Asia Minor, but they are mainly concentrated in
the north-western part of the Anatolian plateau. Besides most of them were
built, inscribed or frequently reused in Late Antiquity, especially between the
late third century and the early fourth century, that is from Diocletian to
Constantine, both emperors overrepresented in this medium although they rarely
journeyed in Asia Minor. According to the study of late milestones found in the
region, it did exist a close relation between the advent of a ruler and the
multiplication of milestones, which had merely become dynastic monuments
erected by local communities in honour of a new emperor. For this reason, they
lost any practical purpose and completely disappeared from Asia Minor at the
beginning of the sixth century.

References

  • E. Banza, I miliari come fonte topografica e storica. L’esempio della XI regio (Transpadana) e delle Alpes Cottiae, Roma 1999.
  • T. D. Barnes, The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine, Cambridge (Mass.) - London 1982.
  • T. D. Barnes, Athanasius and Constantius. Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire, Cambridge (Mass.) - London 1993.
  • T. Bekker-Nielsen, Roads, Roman Empire, Encyclopedia of Ancient History 10, 2012, 5852-5857.
  • K. Belke, Von der Pflasterstrasse zum Maultierpfad? Zum kleinasiatischen Wegenetz in mittelbyzantinischer Zeit, in Η Βυζαντινή Μικρά Ασία, Athens 1998, 267-284.
  • K. Belke, Communications, Roads and Bridges, in: E. Jeffreys, J. Haldon - R. Cormack (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, Oxford 2008, 295-308.
  • K. Belke, Verkehrsmittel und Reise- bzw. Transportgeschwindigkeit zu Lande im Byzantinischen Reich, in: E. Kislinger, J. Koder - A. Külzer (eds.), Handelsgüter und Verkehrswege. Aspekte der Warenversorgung im östlichen Mittelmeerraum (4. bis 15. Jahrhundert), Wien 2010, 45-57.
  • W. Blümel, Inschriften aus Karien 1, Epigraphica Anatolica 25, 1995, 35-64.
  • R. Chevallier, Les voies romaines, 2nd ed., Paris 1997.
  • P. O. Cuneo, La legislazione di Costantino II, Costanzo II e Costante (337-361), Milan 1997.
  • S. Destephen, Le voyage impérial dans l’Antiquité tardive: des Balkans au Proche-Orient, Paris 2016.
  • S. Destephen, La naissance de Constantinople et la fin des voyages impériaux (IVe-Ve siècle), Antiquité Tardive 24, 2016, 157-169.
  • S. Destephen, From Mobile Centre to Constantinople: the Birth of Byzantine imperial government, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, forthcoming.
  • O. A. W. Dilke, Itineraries and Geographical Maps in the Early and Late Roman Empires, in: J. B. Harley - D. Woodward (eds.), The History of Cartography 1. Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and Mediterranean, Chicago - London 1987, 234-257.
  • D. Feissel, Les inscriptions latines dans l’Orient protobyzantin, Akten des XIV. internationalen Kongresses für christliche Archäologie, Vatican – Wien 2006, 99-129.
  • D. H. French, The Roman Road-System of Asia Minor, Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II, 7, 2, 1980, 698-729.
  • D. H. French, Roman Roads and Milestones of Asia Minor 1. The Pilgrim’s Road, Oxford 1981.
  • D. H. French, Roman Roads and Milestones of Asia Minor 3. Milestones, 10 vols, Oxford 2012-2016.
  • R. N. Frye, The Political History of Iran under the Sassanians, in: E. Yarshater (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran 3.1, The Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanian Periods, Cambridge 1983, 116-177.
  • G. Greatrex – S. N. C. Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars 2. AD 363-628, London – New York 2002.
  • P. Herrmann, Itinéraires des voies romaines, de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge, Paris 2007.
  • K. Herrmann, Gordian III: Kaiser einer Umbruchszeit, Speyer 2013.
  • F. Hild, Meilensteine, Strassen und das Verkehrsnetz der Provinz Karia, Wien 2014.
  • F. Hild – H. Hellenkemper, Tabula Imperii Byzantini 5. Kilikien und Isaurien, 2 vols., Wien 1990.
  • C. Kelly (ed.), Theodosius II. Rethinking the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity, Cambridge 2013.
  • Kolb A., Römische Meilensteine: Stand der Forschung und Probleme, in: R. Frei-Stolba (ed.), Siedlung und Verkehr im römischen Reich. Römerstrassen zwischen Herrschaftssicherung und Landschaftsprägung, Bern 2004, 135-155.
  • I. König, Die Meilensteine der Gallia Narbonensis, Bern 1970.
  • I. König, Zur Dedikation römischer Meilensteine, Chiron 3, 1973, 419-427.
  • G. Lafaye, Milliarium, Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines III, 2, 1877, 1897-1899.
  • P. Maraval, Les fils de Constantin, Paris 2013.
  • C. Marek, Epigraphy and the provincial organisation of Paphlagonian cities in the Roman Empire, in: K. Winther-Jacobsen – L. Summerer (eds.), Landscape Dynamics and Settlement Patterns in Northern Anatolia during the Roman and Byzantine Period, Stuttgart 2015, 307-328.
  • F. Millar, A Greek Roman Empire: Power and Blief under Theodosius II 408-450, Berkeley – Los Angeles 2006.
  • T. Pekáry, Untersuchungen zu den römischen Reichsstrassen, Bonn 1968.
  • F. Pergami, La legislazione di Valentiniano e Valente 364-375, Milano 1993.
  • D. S. Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395, London – New York 2004.
  • P. Salama, Bornes milliaires d’Afrique proconsulaire. Un panorama historique du Bas Empire romain, 2nd ed., Rome 1987.
  • S. Schmidt-Hofner, Die Regesten der Kaiser Valentinian und Valens in den Jahren 364 bis 375 n. Chr., ZRG 125, 2008, 498-602.
  • K. Schneider, Miliarium, Realencyclopädie, Supplementband 6, 1935, col. 395-431.
  • H.-C. Schneider, Altstraßenforschung, Darmstadt 1982.
  • O. Seeck, Regesten der Kaiser und Päpste für die Jahre 311 bis 476 n. Chr. Vorarbeit zu einer Prosopographie der christlichen Kaiserzeit, Stuttgart 1919, repr. Munich 1984.
  • R. J. A. Talbert, Rome’s World: The Peutinger Map Reconsidered, Cambridge 2010.
  • G. Walser, Die römischen Strassen in der Schweiz 1. Die Meilensteine, Bern 1967.
  • G. Walser, Die römischen Strassen und Meilensteine in Raetien, Stuttgart 1983.
  • J. Wilkes, Imperial Movements, A.D. 193-337, in: A. K. Bowman, P. Garnsey – A. Cameron (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History 12. The Crisis of Empire, A.D. 193-337, 2nd ed., Cambridge 2008, 714-723.

Küçük Asya’nın Geç Dönem Miltaşları

Year 2018, Volume: 16, 173 - 183, 15.11.2018
https://doi.org/10.37095/gephyra.480120

Abstract

Merhum David Henry French tarafından yakın zamanda edisyonu
yapılan ve Ankara’daki İngiliz Enstitüsü tarafından online ortama konulan
etkileyici miltaşları corpus’u, geç Cumhuriyet’ten Geç İmparatorluk Dönemi’ne
kadar Roma yolları boyunca dikilmiş 1200’den fazla taşın derinlemesine ve
kapsamlı bir bilgisini sunmaktadır. Miltaşları, Roma dünyasının gücünün en sık
epigrafik görünümü olsa da, modern aktiviteler onları yok etme eğilimindedir ve
sonuç olarak onlar ortadan kaybolmadan bu kalıntıları toplamak her zamankinden
daha acil durumdur. Bu makale, miltaşlarının dengesiz coğrafik ve kronolojik
yayılımını incelemektedir. Bunlar, hemen hemen tüm Küçük Asya boyunca dağılmış
görünmektedir ve temel olarak Anadolu platosunun kuzey batı bölümüne
yoğunlaşmıştır. Ayrıca, birçoğu Geç Antik Çağ’da, özellikle de geç 3. yüzyıl
ile erken 4. yüzyıl arasında, yani Diocletianus’dan Constantinus’a kadar geçen
dönemde yapılmış, kazınmış ve sık sık yeniden kullanılmıştır. Bu iki imparator,
Küçük Asya’da nadiren seyahat etmesine rağmen bu yolla aşırı şekilde temsil
edilmişlerdir. Bölgede bulunan Geç Antik Dönem miltaşları hakkında yapılan
çalışmaya göre, bir yöneticinin gelişiyle miltaşlarının artması arasında yakın
bir ilişki mevcuttu. Bu miltaşları, yalnızca yeni bir imparatorun onuruna yerel
topluluklar tarafından dikilen hanedanlığına ait eserlerdi. Bu sebepten pratik
amacını kaybederek 6. yüzyılın başında tamamıyla Küçük Asya’dan kayboldular.

References

  • E. Banza, I miliari come fonte topografica e storica. L’esempio della XI regio (Transpadana) e delle Alpes Cottiae, Roma 1999.
  • T. D. Barnes, The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine, Cambridge (Mass.) - London 1982.
  • T. D. Barnes, Athanasius and Constantius. Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire, Cambridge (Mass.) - London 1993.
  • T. Bekker-Nielsen, Roads, Roman Empire, Encyclopedia of Ancient History 10, 2012, 5852-5857.
  • K. Belke, Von der Pflasterstrasse zum Maultierpfad? Zum kleinasiatischen Wegenetz in mittelbyzantinischer Zeit, in Η Βυζαντινή Μικρά Ασία, Athens 1998, 267-284.
  • K. Belke, Communications, Roads and Bridges, in: E. Jeffreys, J. Haldon - R. Cormack (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, Oxford 2008, 295-308.
  • K. Belke, Verkehrsmittel und Reise- bzw. Transportgeschwindigkeit zu Lande im Byzantinischen Reich, in: E. Kislinger, J. Koder - A. Külzer (eds.), Handelsgüter und Verkehrswege. Aspekte der Warenversorgung im östlichen Mittelmeerraum (4. bis 15. Jahrhundert), Wien 2010, 45-57.
  • W. Blümel, Inschriften aus Karien 1, Epigraphica Anatolica 25, 1995, 35-64.
  • R. Chevallier, Les voies romaines, 2nd ed., Paris 1997.
  • P. O. Cuneo, La legislazione di Costantino II, Costanzo II e Costante (337-361), Milan 1997.
  • S. Destephen, Le voyage impérial dans l’Antiquité tardive: des Balkans au Proche-Orient, Paris 2016.
  • S. Destephen, La naissance de Constantinople et la fin des voyages impériaux (IVe-Ve siècle), Antiquité Tardive 24, 2016, 157-169.
  • S. Destephen, From Mobile Centre to Constantinople: the Birth of Byzantine imperial government, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, forthcoming.
  • O. A. W. Dilke, Itineraries and Geographical Maps in the Early and Late Roman Empires, in: J. B. Harley - D. Woodward (eds.), The History of Cartography 1. Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and Mediterranean, Chicago - London 1987, 234-257.
  • D. Feissel, Les inscriptions latines dans l’Orient protobyzantin, Akten des XIV. internationalen Kongresses für christliche Archäologie, Vatican – Wien 2006, 99-129.
  • D. H. French, The Roman Road-System of Asia Minor, Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II, 7, 2, 1980, 698-729.
  • D. H. French, Roman Roads and Milestones of Asia Minor 1. The Pilgrim’s Road, Oxford 1981.
  • D. H. French, Roman Roads and Milestones of Asia Minor 3. Milestones, 10 vols, Oxford 2012-2016.
  • R. N. Frye, The Political History of Iran under the Sassanians, in: E. Yarshater (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran 3.1, The Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanian Periods, Cambridge 1983, 116-177.
  • G. Greatrex – S. N. C. Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars 2. AD 363-628, London – New York 2002.
  • P. Herrmann, Itinéraires des voies romaines, de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge, Paris 2007.
  • K. Herrmann, Gordian III: Kaiser einer Umbruchszeit, Speyer 2013.
  • F. Hild, Meilensteine, Strassen und das Verkehrsnetz der Provinz Karia, Wien 2014.
  • F. Hild – H. Hellenkemper, Tabula Imperii Byzantini 5. Kilikien und Isaurien, 2 vols., Wien 1990.
  • C. Kelly (ed.), Theodosius II. Rethinking the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity, Cambridge 2013.
  • Kolb A., Römische Meilensteine: Stand der Forschung und Probleme, in: R. Frei-Stolba (ed.), Siedlung und Verkehr im römischen Reich. Römerstrassen zwischen Herrschaftssicherung und Landschaftsprägung, Bern 2004, 135-155.
  • I. König, Die Meilensteine der Gallia Narbonensis, Bern 1970.
  • I. König, Zur Dedikation römischer Meilensteine, Chiron 3, 1973, 419-427.
  • G. Lafaye, Milliarium, Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines III, 2, 1877, 1897-1899.
  • P. Maraval, Les fils de Constantin, Paris 2013.
  • C. Marek, Epigraphy and the provincial organisation of Paphlagonian cities in the Roman Empire, in: K. Winther-Jacobsen – L. Summerer (eds.), Landscape Dynamics and Settlement Patterns in Northern Anatolia during the Roman and Byzantine Period, Stuttgart 2015, 307-328.
  • F. Millar, A Greek Roman Empire: Power and Blief under Theodosius II 408-450, Berkeley – Los Angeles 2006.
  • T. Pekáry, Untersuchungen zu den römischen Reichsstrassen, Bonn 1968.
  • F. Pergami, La legislazione di Valentiniano e Valente 364-375, Milano 1993.
  • D. S. Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395, London – New York 2004.
  • P. Salama, Bornes milliaires d’Afrique proconsulaire. Un panorama historique du Bas Empire romain, 2nd ed., Rome 1987.
  • S. Schmidt-Hofner, Die Regesten der Kaiser Valentinian und Valens in den Jahren 364 bis 375 n. Chr., ZRG 125, 2008, 498-602.
  • K. Schneider, Miliarium, Realencyclopädie, Supplementband 6, 1935, col. 395-431.
  • H.-C. Schneider, Altstraßenforschung, Darmstadt 1982.
  • O. Seeck, Regesten der Kaiser und Päpste für die Jahre 311 bis 476 n. Chr. Vorarbeit zu einer Prosopographie der christlichen Kaiserzeit, Stuttgart 1919, repr. Munich 1984.
  • R. J. A. Talbert, Rome’s World: The Peutinger Map Reconsidered, Cambridge 2010.
  • G. Walser, Die römischen Strassen in der Schweiz 1. Die Meilensteine, Bern 1967.
  • G. Walser, Die römischen Strassen und Meilensteine in Raetien, Stuttgart 1983.
  • J. Wilkes, Imperial Movements, A.D. 193-337, in: A. K. Bowman, P. Garnsey – A. Cameron (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History 12. The Crisis of Empire, A.D. 193-337, 2nd ed., Cambridge 2008, 714-723.
There are 44 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Sylvain Destephen

Publication Date November 15, 2018
Submission Date June 20, 2018
Published in Issue Year 2018 Volume: 16

Cite

APA Destephen, S. (2018). The Late Milestones of Asia Minor. Gephyra, 16, 173-183. https://doi.org/10.37095/gephyra.480120
AMA Destephen S. The Late Milestones of Asia Minor. GEPHYRA. November 2018;16:173-183. doi:10.37095/gephyra.480120
Chicago Destephen, Sylvain. “The Late Milestones of Asia Minor”. Gephyra 16, November (November 2018): 173-83. https://doi.org/10.37095/gephyra.480120.
EndNote Destephen S (November 1, 2018) The Late Milestones of Asia Minor. Gephyra 16 173–183.
IEEE S. Destephen, “The Late Milestones of Asia Minor”, GEPHYRA, vol. 16, pp. 173–183, 2018, doi: 10.37095/gephyra.480120.
ISNAD Destephen, Sylvain. “The Late Milestones of Asia Minor”. Gephyra 16 (November 2018), 173-183. https://doi.org/10.37095/gephyra.480120.
JAMA Destephen S. The Late Milestones of Asia Minor. GEPHYRA. 2018;16:173–183.
MLA Destephen, Sylvain. “The Late Milestones of Asia Minor”. Gephyra, vol. 16, 2018, pp. 173-8, doi:10.37095/gephyra.480120.
Vancouver Destephen S. The Late Milestones of Asia Minor. GEPHYRA. 2018;16:173-8.