The Limes

Warships secured the river borders formed by the Rhine and the Danube. The palisades, walls, trenches and forts of the Limes on land stretched across Germania, the wild "Barbaricum." The Limes was a bulwark that ran from northern Britain all the way to the Black Sea.

Was the Limes Rome's "iron curtain", its bulwark against the barbarians? Along the Limes military camps evolved into flourishing villages, protected by an impressive boundary and the Roman legions. But how endangered were these cities? How did the Limes hold against the attacks from tribes from the north? What happened when the empire showed signs of weakness?