Asia (Roman province)

Asia (Ancient Greek: Ἀσία) was a Roman province covering most of western Asia Minor (Anatolia, Turkey), which was created following the Roman Republic's annexation of the Attalid Kingdom in 133 BC. After the establishment of the Roman Empire by Augustus, it was the most prestigious senatorial province and was governed by a proconsul. That arrangement endured until the province was subdivided in the fourth century AD.

The province was one of the richest of the Empire and was at peace for most of the Imperial period. It contained hundreds of largely self-governing Greek city-states, who competed fiercely with one another for status, through appeals to the Imperial authorities and the cultivation of prestigious cultural institutions such as festival games, religious cults, and oratory.

Geography

The province of Asia originally consisted of the territories of Mysia, the Troad, Aeolis, Lydia, Ionia, Caria, and the land corridor through Pisidia to Pamphylia. The Aegean islands, with the exception of Crete, were part of the province of Asia. The western part of Phrygia was added to Asia in 116 BC. Lycaonia was added before 100 BC, while the area around Cibyra was added in 82 BC. The southeast region of Asia province was later reassigned to the province of Cilicia. During the Empire, the province of Asia was bounded by Bithynia to the north, Lycia to the south, and Galatia to the east.

History

Background

The word "Asia" comes from the Greek word Ἀσία, originally only applied to the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea, which is attested in Mycenaean Greek texts as aswia and probably derives from Assuwa, the name of the region in the Bronze Age. After the Greco-Persian Wars of the early 5th century BC, Greek sources often use it to refer to the whole continent.

The territory was ruled by various Macedonian kingdoms following the conquests of Alexander the Great.