- The Agri Decumates, meaning the ‘Decumatian Fields’, was a Province in Roman occupied southern Germany.
- It lay between the Rhine and the Danube, and included the Black Forest and parts of the Jura. Its details remain unknown.
History
- The name Decumates is unknown, but may have meant that it consisted of ten cantons.
- It was an area of Roman occupation which was only referred to by name by Tacitus in ‘Germania’ (Chap. 29), who simply stated that it was populated by the Helvetii. No other sources mention the Agri Decumates.
- The area was occupied by Vespasian from 72 CE onwards.
- It formed part of Germania Superior with the southern part in Raetia.
- The Agri Decumates was protected by the Limes Germanicus, a series of Defenses that formed the Roman Frontier between the Rhine and the Danube.
- It was lost in 260 CE when Gallienus declared the Gallic Empire and seceded from Rome.
Abandonment
- The area was abandoned when Gallienus (259-60 CE) declared the Gallic Empire (260-274 CE).
- Roman Rule ended officially after the reign of the Emperor Probus (276-282 CE).
- It was then occupied by the Alemanni Germanic Tribe.
The Black Forest