Germania Superior

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Germania Superior

Province Description

The regions on the upper Rhine formally became the province of Germania Superior, Upper Germany, during the reign of Domitian, probably around AD 85. Since the Augustan period, they had formed a military zone on the eastern fringes of Gallia Belgica and Gallica Lugdunensis. Moguntiacum (Mainz) at the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers was the administrative capital and the site of a legionary base. The province incorporated areas on both sides of the Rhine, the boundaries crossing the Moselle river in the north and reaching in the south as far as Lake Geneva. The areas east of the Rhine extended beyond the Neckar river up to the German limes and its forts, although this region was not organised into civitates until the time of Trajan. The Rhine valley in the northern part of the province, diminished in width by the encroaching Eifel, Voreifel and Pfälzer mountains, opened up west of the river around Mainz to form a broad, fertile landscape, while the valley floor east of the Rhine sloped gently up to the Odenwald mountains. Between the Odenwald and the Taunus range, the Wetterau plain was a densely settled agricultural landscape. The winding Neckar valley equally provided fertile slopes for cultivation. West of the Rhine, the Moselle valley was known for its agricultural productivity and vine-clad slopes. Between the Jura range and the Swiss Alps in the south, the valley of the Aare was sought out for settlement and cultivation. The Alpine passes and the connection of the upper Rhine with the Rhône and Saône rivers assured good trade links with the Mediterranean. Upper Germany was divided during the reign of Diocletian (284-305 AD) into the two provinces of Germania Prima, with its capital at Mainz, and Maxima Sequanorum, with its capital at Besançon.

Maps

Dates

c. AD 85

Gardens of the Roman Empire

Germania Superior

Province

Province Description

Maps

Dates

Places