![Qobustan inscription](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Qobustan_inscription.jpg)
This article discusses the Roman influence in
Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...
(located largely in the North and Northwestern parts of the present day
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
).
Characteristics
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 ...
controlled Caucasian Albania only as a vassal state, never fully incorporating it as
it temporarily did with neighboring Armenia. This influence started in the first century BC and lasted until around 250 AD, but around 299 Albania was again briefly a Roman vassal state under Emperor
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
.
A later influence came from the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, when Emperor
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
was able to take control of Caucasian Albania in 627 with help from the
Gokturks during the
Third Perso-Turkic War
The Third Perso-Turkic War was the third and final conflict between the Sassanian Empire and the Western Turkic Khaganate. Unlike the previous two wars, it was not fought in Central Asia, but in Transcaucasia. Hostilities were initiated in 627 AD ...
.
Client state
There was an enduring relation of Caucasian Albania with
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
.
![Caucasus 300 map alt de](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Caucasus_300_map_alt_de.png)
Indeed, in 65 BC the Roman general
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
, who had just subjugated Armenia and Iberia and had conquered
Colchis
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia (country), Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians a ...
, entered Caucasian Albania at the head of his army. He clashed with the forces of Oroezes, king of Albania, and quickly defeated them. Pompey ensured the control of Albanians nearly reaching the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
before returning to
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. But the Albanians, influenced by the Parthian Empire were not slow to revolt against Rome: in 36 BC
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...
found himself obliged to send one of his lieutenants to bring an end to their rebellion. Zober, who was then king of Albania, capitulated and Albania thus became – at least in name – a "Roman protectorate", starting a condition of vassalage that lasted for nearly three centuries.
A king of Albania appears in the list of dynasties whose ambassadors were received by
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
.
In 35 AD King
Pharasmanes of Iberia and his brother Mithridates, with the support of Rome, confronted the
Parthians Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
in Armenia: the Albanians proved effective allies, contributing to the defeat and temporary eviction of the Parthians.
Emperor
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
prepared in 67 AD a military expedition in the Caucasus: he wanted to defeat the barbarian
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
and conquer for Rome all the northern shores of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
from actual Georgia-Azerbaijan to what is now Romania-Moldavia, but his death stopped it.
Successively,
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
was determined to restore and reinforce the full authority of Rome in the Caucasus as far as the Caspian Sea. He probably founded a Roman town called Laso, recently rediscovered inside the actual city of
Ganja
Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689.
Etymology
''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: aːɲd ...
.
Despite the growth of Roman influence, Albania never ceased to remain in commercial, ethnical, and cultural contact with
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, but with
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
in 114 AD Roman control over Caucasian Albania was nearly complete, with top social levels fully Romanized.
During the reign of Roman Emperor
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
(117–138), Albania was invaded by the Alans, an Iranian nomadic group. This invasion promoted an alliance between Rome and the Albanians that was reinforced under
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatoria ...
in 140 AD. Sassanians occupied the area around 240 AD but after a few years the Roman Empire regained control of Caucasian Albania.
Indeed, in 297 the Treaty of Nisibis stipulated the re-establishment of the Roman protectorate over Caucasian Iberia and Caucasian Albania, but fifty years later Rome lost the area that since then remained an integral part of the
Sassanian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
for more than two centuries.
In the late sixth century, the territory of Albania became again an arena of wars between Sassanian Persia and the
Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire. During the third Perso-Turkic War, the Khazars (Gokturks) invaded Albania, and their leader Ziebel declared himself ''Lord of Albania'' in 627 under the Roman Heraclius rule, levying a tax on merchants and the fishermen of the Kura and Araxes rivers, which was "in accordance with the land survey of the kingdom of Persia". The Albanian kings retained their rule by paying tribute to the regional powers.
Caucasian Albania was later conquered by the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
in 643, during the
Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
Th ...
.
Stone inscription from Legio XII Fulminata
The presence of a detachment of the
Legio XII Fulminata
Legio XII Fulminata ("Thunderbolt Twelfth Legion"), also known as ''Paterna'', ''Victrix'', ''Antiqua'', ''Certa Constans'', and ''Galliena'', was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was originally levied by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, and the leg ...
at a distance of some kilometers from the shores of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
, in
Gobustan National Park
Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve ( az, Qobustan dövlət tarixi-bədii qoruğu) is located west of the settlement of Gobustan, about southwest of the centre of Baku. It was established in 1966, when the area was declared a national ...
, near
Qobustan Qobustan or Gobustan may refer to:
* Gobustan District, Azerbaijan
* Qobustan (town), administrative center of Gobustan District, Azerbaijan
* Qobustan, Baku, a settlement and municipality in Azerbaijan
** Gobustan National Park, World Heritage Site ...
(69 km south of
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
) is attested by an inscription drawn up between 83 and 96 AD in the reign of
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
. This is one of the most eastern places reached by Roman legions.
In 75 AD, XII ''Fulminata'' was in Caucasus, where Emperor Vespasian had sent the legion to support the allied kingdoms of
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and Albania.
Indeed, in Azerbaijan, an inscription has been found which reads: IMP DOMITIANO CAESARE AVG GERMANICO LVCIVS IVLIVS MAXIMVS LEGIONIS XII FVL, (Under imperator
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
, Caesar, Augustus Germanicus, Lucius Julius Maximus, Legio XII Fulminata).
Some historians argue that the actual settlement of ''
Ramana
Ramana may refer to:
* Ramana, Pakistan, place in Pakistan
* Ramana, Azerbaijan, place in Azerbaijan
* Chintapalli Ramana, Telugu film writer
* Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, Telugu scriptwriter
* Ramana Maharshi, Hindu spiritual figure
* Ramana Reddy ...
'' near
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
was possibly founded by the Roman troops of Lucius Julius Maximus from "Legio XII Fulminata" in the first century AD
[Ашурбейли Сара. История города Баку: период средневековья. Баку, Азернешр, 1992; page 31] and derives its name from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Romana''.
Among the facts that strengthen this hypothesis are the military-topoghraphical map of
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
published in 1903 by Russian Administration which spells name of town as "Romana", various Roman artefacts found in the Absheron region, and also old inhabitants' referring to the town as Romani.
Additionally, Ramana is positioned in an area perfectly suited for a Roman ''
castrum
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
'' to control nearby Baku' s port, on the commercial sea route (through the Caspian Sea) between the Caucasus and the Central Asia plains.
See also
*
Caucasian campaign of Pompey
Caucasian campaign of Pompey ( ka, პომპეუსის ლაშქრობა კავკასიაში) was a military campaign led by Pompey that took place in 65 BC and was a consequence of the third Mithridatic War fought over G ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Bais, Marco. ''Albania caucasica: ethnos, storia, territorio attraverso le fonti greche, latine e armene''. Editore Mimesis Edizioni. Roma, 2001
* Mommsen, Theodore. ''The Provinces of the Roman Empire''. Barnes & Noble. Ed. New York, 1999.
* Kalankatuatsi, Movses. ''History of Albania''. Translated by L. Davlianidze-Tatishvili, Tbilisi, 1985.
* Ilia Abuladze. ''About the discovery of the alphabet of the Caucasian Albanians''. - "Bulletin of the Institute of Language, History and Material Culture (ENIMK)", Vol. 4, Ch. I, Tbilisi, 1938.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romans In Caucasian Albania
Foreign relations of ancient Rome
Caucasian Albania