![Limes2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Limes2.png)
The Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes (german: Donau-Iller-Rhein-Limes) or DIRL was a large-scale defensive system of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
that was built after the project for the
Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes
The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (german: Obergermanisch-Raetischer Limes), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the Roman Empire between the rivers Rhine and Danube. It runs from Rheinbrohl to Eining on the ...
in the late 3rd century AD. In a narrower sense the term refers only to the fortifications between
Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
(''Lacus Brigantinus'') and the
River Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
(''Danubius'');
[Burns (1994), p. 117.] in a broader sense it also includes the other
Late Roman
Late may refer to:
* LATE, an acronym which could stand for:
** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia
** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law
** Local average treatment effect, ...
fortifications along the river Rhine (''Rhenus'') on the
High Rhine
The High Rhine (german: Hochrhein) is the name used for the part of the Rhine that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel. The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine ...
(between Lake Constance and Basle) and on the
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the sc ...
(below Basle til Bingen) as well as the Upper Danube.
Location and function
The mainly
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
c raids, especially around the middle of the 3rd century AD, necessitated a new military security plan for the northwestern borders of the Roman Empire. The Upper German-Rhaetian Limes had never been thought of as a military defensive system and was therefore abandoned after 260 (the so-called ''
Limesfall
The Limesfall is the name given to the abandonment of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (built in 1st century) in the mid-3rd century AD by the Romans and the withdrawal of imperial troops from the provinces on the far side of the rivers Rhine and ...
''). The frontier troops were withdrawn to positions behind the more easily controlled rivers of the Rhine ("Rhenus"), Danube ("Danuvius") and
Iller
The Iller (; ancient name Ilargus) is a river of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube, long.
It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Breitach, Stillach and Trettach near Oberstdorf in the Allgäu ...
("Hilaria"). Around 290, the systematic expansion of the new military border defences began.
The defensive facilities there, as illustrated by the large number of small fortresses, were not intended to ward off major attacks, but to ensure an almost unobstructed surveillance of the ''limes'' and deter plundering. Up to 378, the Romans invariably invaded the settlements of the Germani living beyond the ''limes'' (for example, under the emperors
Julian Apostata
Julian ( la, Flavius Claudius Julianus; grc-gre, Ἰουλιανός ; 331 – 26 June 363) was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplaton ...
or
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...
) to punish the tribes living there and intimidate them so that they refrained from attacks on the Empire. So late-Roman frontier defence was based, on the one hand, on the fortified belt of the Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes and, on the other hand, on offensive operations and preventive strikes in the tribal areas, as well as on alliances with Germanic princes. When around 400, these punitive expeditions were discontinued, the security situation deteriorated rapidly.
Gallery
File:Notitia Dignitatum - Dux Raetiae.jpg, ''Notitia Dignitatum
The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...
'': the forts under the command of the ''Dux Raetiae''
File:ND Dux Sequanica BL.jpg, Painting of '' Castrum Olinone'' as a symbol of the responsibility of the Comes for the section of the Rhine Limes in the Province of ''Maxima Sequanorum''
File:ND Vignette des Comes Argentoratensis.png, ''Notitia Dignitatum'': painting of ''Castrum Argentoratum'' as a symbol of the responsibility of the Comes for the section of the Rhine Limes in the region around '' Argentorate''
File:Notitia Dignitatum - Dux Mogontiacensis.jpg, ''Notitia Dignitatum'': the castra
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term.
In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
and fortified towns under the command of the '' Dux Mogontiacensis''
File:Konstanz RoemerTurm.jpg, Remains of a Roman fighting tower in Constance (as at 2004)
File:Kastell_Irgenhausen.jpg, Enceinte of the road fort of Irgenhausen (CH)
File:Kastell schaan.png, Artist’s impression of the road fort of Schaan (LI)
File:Abusina Popp 1903.jpg, Ditch plan at Eining Roman Fort (D) with late antiquity reduction in the northwest corner of the castrum
File:Cella2.jpg, Reconstructed foundation walls of the fort of ''Caelius Mons The name Caelius (sometimes spelled Coelius) is an ancient Roman Roman naming conventions, nomen and may refer to:
*Caelius Vibenna (8th century BC), a noble Etruscan
*Gaius Coelius Caldus or Caelius (2nd–1st century BC), a consul of the Roman Re ...
'' (Kellmünz
Kellmünz ''(official: Kellmünz a.d.Iller)'' is a municipality in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria in Germany.
Geographic location
Kellmünz is located in Upper Swabia at the river Iller, approximately 30 km south of Ulm and 15 km ...
/D)
File:Turm 6 Arbon.jpg, Preserved foundations of a late Roman horseshow tower in Arbon
, neighboring_municipalities= Egnach, Roggwil TG, Berg SG, Steinach, Horn
, twintowns = Langenargen (Germany), Binn (Switzerland)
Arbon is a historic town and a municipality and district capital of the district of Arbon in the canton ...
(CH)
See also
*
Limes (Roman Empire)
(Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting system of Ancient Rome marking the borders of the Roman Empire, but it was not used by the Romans for that purpose. The term has been ex ...
References
Literature
* Burns, Thomas S. ''Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome: A Study of Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians, ca. 375-425 AD'', Bloomington: IUP, 1994.
* Jochen Garbsch: ''Der spätrömische Donau-Iller-Rhein-Limes.'' (Kleine Schriften zur Kenntnis der römischen Besetzungsgeschichte Südwestdeutschlands 6), Stuttgart, 1970.
* Norbert Hasler, Jörg Heiligmann, Markus Höneisen, Urs Leutzinger, Helmut Swozilek: ''Im Schutze mächtiger Mauern. Spätrömische Kastelle im Bodenseeraum.'' publ. by the Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg, Frauenfeld, 2005, .
* Michael Mackensen: ''Raetia: late Roman fortifications and building programmes.'' In: J. D. Creighton und R. J. A. Wilson (eds.): ''Roman Germany. Studies in Cultural Interaction'' (Journal Roman Arch. Suppl. 32), Portsmouth, 1999, pp. 199–244.
* Walter Drack, Rudolf Fellmann: ''Die Römer in der Schweiz'', Stuttgart, 1988, pp. 64–71, .
* Erwin Kellner: ''Die Germanenpolitik Roms im bayerischen Anteil der Raetia secunda während des 4. und 5. Jahrhunderts.'' In: E. Zacherl (ed.): ''Die Römer in den Alpen. Historikertagung in Salzburg, Convegno Storico di Salisburgo, 13–15 November 1986'', Bozen, 1989, pp. 205–211,
* Michaela Konrad, Christian Witschel: ''Spätantike Legionslager in den Rhein- und Donauprovinzen des Imperium Romanum.'' In: M. Konrad, C. Witschel (ed.): ''Römische Legionslager in den Rhein- und Donauprovinzen'', Munich, 2011, pp. 3–44.
* Sebastian Matz: ''Die ›Barbarenfurcht‹ und die Grenzsicherung des spätrömischen Reiches. Eine vergleichende Studie zu den limites an Rhein, Iller und Donau, in Syrien und Tripolitanien mit einem Fundstellenkatalog zum spätrömischen Rhein-Iller-Donau-Limes'', Jena, 2014.
* Jördis Fuchs: ''Spätantike militärische horrea an Rhein und Donau. Eine Untersuchung der römischen Militäranlagen in den Provinzen Maxima Sequanorum, Raetia I, Raetia II, Noricum Ripense und Valeria.'', Diplomarbeit, Vienna, 2011.
External links
Antikefan - Donau-Iller-Rhein-Limes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danube-Iller-Rhine Limes
Roman frontiers
Roman fortifications in Switzerland
Roman fortifications in Austria
Heritage sites in Baden-Württemberg
Heritage sites in Bavaria
3rd-century fortifications
Roman fortifications in Germania Superior
Roman fortifications in Raetia