 "COVER")
Roma Æterna series
ORBIS MARITIMUS
Imperial Geography and the
Maritime Grand Strategy of Rome
by DOMENICO CARRO
 "BACK COVER")
|
Roma Æterna seriesORBIS MARITIMUSImperial Geography and the |
|
The Roman Empire was organized and governed by Augustus according to principles that were largely followed by subsequent emperors, with only limited adjustments that gradually became possible and advantageous over time. As a result, Rome’s major strategic choices maintained a substantial continuity throughout the early Imperial period. For this reason, many modern scholars have identified in them the outlines of a Roman “grand strategy.” Since most of these studies have focused almost exclusively on the defense of land frontiers, it has proved conceptually useful to complement them with an analysis that pays due attention to the maritime sphere, which was strategically essential yet so far largely neglected.
 "ROMAN WARSHIP")
This study should therefore be understood as a contribution intended to fill that gap. It focuses on the innovative imperial strategies developed under the unprecedented conditions of the pax Augusta and conceived on a subjectively global scale. Particular attention is given to seas, oceans, and other navigable waters, as well as to the long and irregular coastlines of the Roman Empire and of other lands regarded by the Romans as inhabited and worthy of interest. The totality of these waters and their related maritime shores, extending well beyond the borders of Roman rule (the orbis Romanus), is here referred to, for the sake of brevity, as the orbis maritimus.
 "ROMAN MERCHANT SHIP")
The analysis begins with the geographical knowledge of maritime spaces acquired under the principate of Augustus through surveys and records intended for the administration of the newly established Empire. It then examines, for each of the major maritime basins accessible to the Romans, the actions undertaken during the Imperial period to ensure security and to expand Rome’s geographical horizon, sphere of control, zone of influence, and maritime trade, for the benefit of the Empire's prosperity and the well-being of its populations. These same actions effectively reflect a consistent and systematic geopolitical orientation, which may be defined as the maritime grand strategy of the High Empire.
The study highlights the Romans’ ability to carry out careful geopolitical and geostrategic assessments and, on that basis, to develop coherent and long-lasting maritime strategies. It also underscores the importance of imperial directives concerning naval forces and their effective operational employment in tasks of major strategic relevance. Of equal significance is the combination of imperial policies with private investment, the enterprise of shipowners, and the professionalism of commanders and crews. Together, these factors enabled an extraordinary expansion of merchant shipping, reaching levels never previously achieved and not surpassed until the emergence of the great commercial companies of the modern age.
 "ROME AND CHINA")
From the range of situations highlighted by the investigation in all cardinal directions there also emerges a broad and “global” panorama of the seas and oceans of our blue planet as they could be perceived by the educated inhabitants of the Roman world during the first three centuries of our era. These waters were crossed by Roman warships and by the Empire’s commercial traffic along routes that extended far beyond those sailed by the mariners of earlier Mediterranean civilizations, ultimately pushing past the limits of the known world. In this context, not only the Romans’ well-known expertise in organization, logistics, shipbuilding, and maritime engineering stands out, but also the insight and foresight of the emperors in adapting their strategic choices to a prolonged condition of peace, making intensive and skillful use of maritime power.
|
