Agri Decumates a province of the Roman Empire covering the Black Forest area between the the Main river and the sources of Danube and Rhine rivers, presently in Southwestern Germany. It bordered the militarily important provinces of Raetia and Upper Germania. The only ancient reference to the name comes from Tacitus' book Germania. The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... The Black Forest (German Schwarzwald) is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. ... Map showing the position of the Main in Germany The Main (pronounced in FUCKKKK GERmany! German like the English word mine) is a river in Germany, 524 km long (including White Main 574 km), and one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine river. ... The Danube bend at Visegrád is a popular destination of tourists The Danube (ancient Danuvius) is Europes second-longest river (after the Volga). ... Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno, Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Map of the Roman Empire and the free Germania, Magna Germania, in the early 2nd century. ...

The province was conquered and fortified by the Romans to prevent its use by Germanic and Celtic tribes as an entrance into Gaul. Thus this small, economically unimportant province, had great strategic significance.

The area was first colonized during the Flavian Dynasty, by Vespasian and Domitian, between 78 CE and 94 CE. Since the area linked the provinces of Upper Germania and R(h)aetia, easing communications between the armies of the Rhine and Danube, "shortening" the Roman defenses in the area; frontier fortifications were constructed between modern Reinbohl and Pförring. Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus (November 17, 9 – June 23, 79), known originally as Titus Flavius Vespasianus and usually referred to in English as Vespasian, was emperor of Rome from 69 to 79. ... Domitian bust in the Louvre Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 – 18 September 96), commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman emperor of the gens Flavia. ...

The name probably refers to a pre-Roman occupation by a tribe which divided the area into 10 cantons, and most likely, according to historian Michael Grant, translates an ancient Celtic term, the precise meaning of which has been lost.

The area was inhabited about 200 BCE by a Celtic tribe of the Helvetii (our only source is again Tacitus). Sometime later, a group of Germanic Suebi occupied the area before migrating, around 9 BCE to Boiohaemum, modern Bohemia. After the latter's departure, the area was again inhabited by Gauls. Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ...

The Romans controlled the province until the late 3rd century of the present era, when it was evacuated by the emperor Gallienus (259-260) in the face of invading Germans of the Alamanni tribe and the secession of much of the Western Empire under regional emperor Postumus. Emperor Gallienus Gallienus depicted on a lead seal Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (218-268) ruled the Roman Empire as co-emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and then as the sole Roman Emperor from 260 to 268. ... The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were an alliance of warbands formed from Germanic tribes, first mentioned by Dio Cassius when they fought Caracalla in 213. ... Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was emperor of the Gallic Empire from AD 259 to 268. ...

It has been suggested that the Roman briefly reoccupied the area under the Emperor Aurelian (270-275), during the Roman military resurgence of the late 3rd century CE. Even if this did occur, the re-establishment of Roman rule was brief; the territory has remained inhabited by people of German descent continuously to this day.

References

• Grant, Michael, A Guide to the Ancient World, A Dictionary of Classical Place Names, Barnes & Noble, 1997
• "Agri Decumates." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Oct. 2006 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9004069>.