Roman legion inscription discovered on Farasan Islands in Red Sea. Farasan Islands are located ~1,000 km from Berenike, the southernmost port of Roman Egypt The Farasan Islands are under 4,000 km from Rome A weathered Latin inscription on the islands references Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius in his seventh year of tribunician authority, three times consul, father of his country
Farasan Islands in the Red Sea yielded a Latin inscription referencing Emperor Antoninus Pius in his 7th year of tribunician authority. Dedicated by the Legio II Traiana, the dedicator served as Prefect of the Ports of Farasan and the Sea of Hercules around 138-161 AD. This Roman outpost helped tax Indian Ocean trade and may have later been taken by the Axumite Empire.
Key Facts
- Farasan Islands are located ~1,000 km from Berenike, the southernmost port of Roman Egypt
- The Farasan Islands are under 4,000 km from Rome
- A weathered Latin inscription on the islands references Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius in his seventh year of tribunician authority, three times consul, father of his country
- The inscription was dedicated by a detachment of the Legio II Traiana and its auxiliary troops, with the dedicator named as Prefect of the Ports of Farasan and the Sea of Hercules
- The Legio II Traiana was stationed in Egypt during the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD)
- Berenike has yielded artifacts suggesting an expatriate Buddhist community
- The Farasan outpost may have eventually been taken over by the Axumite Empire
- The islands controlled Red Sea maritime traffic, generating tax revenue from Indian Ocean trade
Related site: Farasan Kabir / Ferresanus Portus — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Probably Rome's Two Most Distant Outposts by The Historian's Craft