Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

244 9 Exchange of information between West and East
the course of the two major rivers and their many branches provided good
opportunities for tradesmen and travellers to cover even long distances. 3
Because of the character of the landscape, also marked by the ethnic and
linguistic diversity of its inhabitants, the outer frontier of the Eastern part of
the Roman Empire cannot be compared to the strong and continuous fortification
of the ‘limes’ to the north and west of the Roman Empire. Recent
scholarship has correctly pointed to the special character and permeability
of this part of the Roman frontier, which is rather a supervised military
zone with a mixed population on both sides and a Romanised upper class
contrasted by nomadic as well as settled inhabitants. It is argued that this
peculiar make up of the border region always showed an ‘open’ character
and that no ruler would have been in the position to disrupt or interdict
underlying continuities. 4
With regard to trade relations between the two powers, it has become
clear that there was a close link between aspects of trade and security, which
can be observed already for the year 298. 5 Both states made efforts to control
the flow of goods but rather than being guided by financial reasoning –
such as aiming at higher customs duties – they sought to protect an often
‘invisible’ border along the Mesopotamian–Syrian limes. Unfortunately,
the unsatisfactory archaeological exploration of important fortifications as
well as the ancient infrastructure in this region does not allow us to further
strengthen this argument. In spite of several recent and excellent surveys of
the history and culture of the Roman Near East it remains true that among
the provinces of the Roman Empire Mesopotamia and Osrhoene are the
least explored and documented provinces. No excavations with the specific
aim of illuminating the Hellenistic and Roman periods have taken place in
the most important cities such as Edessa, Amida, Carrhae or Nisibis. Nor
do we know nearly enough about the Roman border fortresses or the road
system. The barren landscape, the climatic conditions and the political situation
of the past decades have prevented any closer examination of this
area, and this represents a major desideratum. Recent surveys and archaeological
studies in northern Syria and Mesopotamia as well as along the
Roman Tigris, often initiated in response to threats posed by the construction
of dams, have revealed the wide insight gained by a continuation of
the work. A better knowledge of the genesis and structure of settlements, of
road systems and their use in late antiquity would also throw light on many
3 Cf. Millar 1998a: 119–37; for the importance of this aspect with regard to trade see also 28.
4 Whittaker 1994: 99–101 and von Wickevoort Crommelin 1998: 272–3.
5 See above, 28.