Epirus (Roman province)

The province of Epirus (Provincia Epiri, Eparkhía Ēpeírou) was a province of the Roman Empire, covering the region of Ancient Epirus. Rome first annexed the region in 167 BC, in the aftermath of the Third Macedonian War, and initially put the region in the larger Roman province of Macedonia, which at the time covered the whole of the Hellenistic world in mainland Europe. In 27 BC, Epirus and Achaea were separated from Macedonia and grouped into the senatorial province of Achaea, with the exception of its northernmost part, which remained part of the province of Macedonia. Under Emperor Trajan, sometime between 103 and 114 AD, Epirus became a separate province, under a procurator Augusti. The new province extended from the Gulf of Aulon (Vlorë) and the Acroceraunian Mountains in the north to the lower course of the Acheloos River in the south, and included the northern Ionian Islands of Corfu, Lefkada, Ithaca, Cephallonia, and Zakynthos. Rome had maintained a military presence in Epirus since the First Macedonian War, when it used Epirus as an entry-point for Roman troops in Greece. Rome would continue to use Epirus as a gateway for its troops in the Second and Third Macedonian Wars. During the third war, the hitherto neutral Epirote League split, with the Molossians siding with the Macedonians and the Chaonians and Thesprotians supporting the Romans. The war ended disastrously for Epirus: 150,000 Molossians were enslaved and the region fell to Rome. The status of the region between 167 and 146 BC is unclear, but in 146 BC, it was grouped in the larger Roman province of Macedonia. During Caesar's Civil War, Julius Caesar used Bouthroton as a naval base, and later drew up plans for a colonia there for his civil war veterans shortly before his death. Augustus later took up these plans and made the city a colony for his own veterans, after his victory over Mark Antony at the War of Actium. New residents expanded the city and the construction included an aqueduct, thermae, houses, a forum complex and a nymphaeum.