Osroene (Roman province)

Provincia Osroene

Province of the Roman Empire

←

244–637

→

Capital

Edessa / Resaena

Historical era

Antiquity

•

Established

244

•

Muslim conquests

637

Today part of

Iraq

Turkey

Syria

Osroene, also spelled Osrohene and Osrhoene (Ancient Greek: Ὀσροηνή; was a Roman province which existed for nearly 400 years after it was formed after the absorption of the Kingdom of Osroene in 244 CE and served as a frontier province a against the Sassanid empires, until the Muslim conquests of the 7th Century.

Warzone

For the whole of its existence, the province would remain a bone of contention between the Romans and their eastern neighbors, the Sassanid Persians, suffering heavily in the recurrent Roman–Persian Wars. war broke out after the death of the Roman emperor Decius in 251 and the province was invaded by the Persian. In the second half of the 250s, the Persian shah Shapur I (r. ca. 240–270) attacked the Roman east, which was defended by the Roman emperor Valerianus (r. 253–260), whom he captured at Edessa in 260.^[1] In the next year however, Shapur was heavily defeated by Odaenathus of Palmyra and driven out of Osroene and Mesopotamia.^[2]

It was taken and retaken several times. Being a province on the frontier it had a Roman legion stationed there, Legio III Parthica and its Castrum (homebase) was Resaena though there are some doubts on that fact.

Map showing the Eastern Roman provinces, including Osroene, in the 5th century.

Since Emperor Diocletian's Tetrarchy reforms during his reign 284-305 CE, it was part of the diocese of Oriens, in the praetorian prefecture of the same name. According to the late 4th-century Notitia Dignitatum, it was headed by a governor of the rank of praeses, and was also the seat of the dux Mesopotamiae, who ranked as vir spectabilis and commanded (c. 400) the following army units:

Equites Dalmatae Illyriciani, garrisoned at Ganaba.
Equites Promoti Illyriciani, Callinicum.
Equites Mauri Illyriciani, Dabana.
Equites Promoti indigenae, Banasam
Equites Promoti indigenae, Sina Iudaeorum.
Equites Sagittarii indigenae, Oraba.
Equites Sagittarii indigenae, Thillazamana.
Equites Sagittarii indigenae Medianenses, Mediana.
Equites Primi Osrhoeni, Rasin.
Praefectus legionis quartae Parthicae, Circesium.
(an illegible command, possibly Legio III Parthica), Apatna.

as well as, 'on the minor roll', apparently auxiliaries:

Ala Septima Valeria Praelectorum, Thillacama.
Ala Prima Victoriae, Tovia -contra Bintha.
Ala Secunda Paflagonum, Thillafica.
Ala Prima Parthorum, Resaia.
Ala Prima nova Diocletiana, inter Thannurin et Horobam.
Cohors Prima Gaetulorum, Thillaamana.
Cohors Prima Eufratensis, Maratha.
Ala Prima Salutaria, Duodecimo constituta.

Late Roman provinces (4th–7th centuries AD)

History

As found in the Notitia Dignitatum. Provincial administration reformed and dioceses established by Diocletian, c. 293. Permanent praetorian prefectures established after the death of Constantine I. Empire permanently partitioned after 395. Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa established after 584. After massive territorial losses in the 7th century, the remaining provinces were superseded by the theme system in c. 640–660, although in Asia Minor and parts of Greece they survived under the themes until the early 9th century.

Western Empire (395–476)

Praetorian Prefecture
of Gaul

Diocese of Gaul	Alpes Poeninae et Graiae Belgica I Belgica II Germania I Germania II Lugdunensis I Lugdunensis II Lugdunensis III Lugdunensis IV Maxima Sequanorum

Diocese of Vienne¹	Alpes Maritimae Aquitanica I Aquitanica II Narbonensis I Narbonensis II Novempopulania Viennensis

Diocese of Spain	Baetica Balearica Carthaginensis Gallaecia Lusitania Mauretania Tingitana Tarraconensis

Diocese of the Britains	Britannia I Britannia II Flavia Caesariensis Maxima Caesariensis Valentia (?)

Praetorian Prefecture
of Italy

Diocese of Suburbicarian Italy	Apulia et Calabria Campania Corsica Lucania et Bruttii Picenum Suburbicarium Samnium Sardinia Sicilia Tuscia et Umbria Valeria

Diocese of Annonarian Italy	Alpes Cottiae Flaminia et Picenum Annonarium Liguria et Aemilia Raetia I Raetia II Venetia et Istria

Diocese of Africa²	Africa proconsularis (Zeugitana) Byzacena Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Sitifensis Numidia Cirtensis Numidia Militiana Tripolitania

Diocese of Pannonia³	Dalmatia Noricum mediterraneum Noricum ripense Pannonia I Pannonia II Savia Valeria ripensis

Eastern Empire (395–c. 640)

Praetorian Prefecture
of Illyricum

Diocese of Dacia	Dacia Mediterranea Dacia Ripensis Dardania Moesia I Praevalitana

Diocese of Macedonia	Achaea Creta Epirus nova Epirus vetus Macedonia I Macedonia II Salutaris Thessalia

Praetorian Prefecture
of the East

Diocese of Thrace⁵	Europa Haemimontus Moesia II⁴ Rhodope Scythia⁴ Thracia

Diocese of Asia⁵	Asia Caria⁴ Hellespontus Insulae⁴ Lycaonia (370) Lycia Lydia Pamphylia Pisidia Phrygia Pacatiana Phrygia Salutaris

Diocese of Pontus⁵	Armenia I⁵ Armenia II⁵ Armenia Maior⁵ Armenian Satrapies⁵ Armenia III (536) Armenia IV (536) Bithynia Cappadocia I⁵ Cappadocia II⁵ Galatia I⁵ Galatia II Salutaris⁵ Helenopontus⁵ Honorias⁵ Paphlagonia⁵ Pontus Polemoniacus⁵

Diocese of the East⁵	Arabia Cilicia I Cilicia II Cyprus⁴ Euphratensis Isauria Mesopotamia Osroene Palaestina I Palaestina II Palaestina III Salutaris Phoenice I Phoenice II Libanensis Syria I Syria II Salutaris Theodorias (528)

Diocese of Egypt⁵	Aegyptus I Aegyptus II Arcadia Augustamnica I Augustamnica II Libya Superior Libya Inferior Thebais Superior Thebais Inferior

Other territories

Taurica Quaestura exercitus (536) Spania (552)

¹ Later the Septem Provinciae
² Re-established after reconquest by the Eastern Empire in 534 as the separate Prefecture of Africa
³ Later the Diocese of Illyricum
⁴ Placed under the Quaestura exercitus in 536
⁵ Affected (i.e. boundaries modified, abolished or renamed) by Justinian I's administrative reorganization in 534–536

References

↑ Mommsen, Dickson & Purdie (2004), p. 100
↑ Mommsen, Dickson & Purdie (2004), pp. 103–104

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