The Reach Of Rome

For all of you who've been wondering "were there large Roman villas in the Cilicia region of Turkey?" you now have your answer!  An archaeological team from the University of Nebraska has uncovered a huge (1600 square feet) mosaic in southeastern Turkey (near the Syrian border).  It is nearly 2,000 years old, fronting what was an open-air pool and is the largest Roman mosaic ever discovered in the region. The area had been considered a backwater within the Roman Empire so the discovery of the mosaic and the associated building site have illuminated the extent to which Roman influence penetrated further than previously thought.  This is consistent with other recent archaeological and demographic studies of the Roman period.  At its peak, the Empire covered all or most of 33 modern countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe and the extent of prosperity, urbanization, economic interaction and common culture appears to have been much greater than realized by earlier historians.  Newer population studies have shown a much larger density of population across the Empire.  For instance, in Britain, the population reached a peak in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD that it would not match again until more than 1,000 years later.

You can read more on the mosaic here and see more about it in this video:

Previous posts on Rome can be found at:
In Case You Were Wondering
When In Rome
Rome Reborn