How to Draw an Empire: Methodological Challenges in Mapping Premodern Imperialism

To many modern observers, maps appear as natural and necessary ancillaries to histories of empire–whether in antiquity or the modern world, to understand an empire is to understand where (and whom) it governed. While there is no doubt that high-quality maps are an invaluable aid to students and scholars alike, this presentation challenges the idea that cartography is a “natural” and uncomplicated tool for depicting pre-modern imperial systems. Drawing on case-studies from my academic research into the ancient Roman Empire, I outline some of the methodological challenges of historical GIS and argue that scholars of pre-modern and modern empires alike should adopt a more reflective and critical approach to how they incorporate maps and map-making into their work.

I approach this topic through a case study on the challenge of mapping the extent of the Roman Empire in the first two centuries CE. The sharp, demarcated borders that appear on most traditional maps of the empire reflect the intellectual background of “western” cartography: they are more representative of modern state-builders’ ambitions than they are of ancient imperial realities. At least at the levels of ideology and rhetoric, Rome did not recognize spatial limits to its authority. At a more practical level, limitations of manpower and technology could make Roman control shallow or illusory even in territories closer to the imperial core. In short, the standard cartographic division of “Roman” and “non-Roman” territories belies the difficulties of effective rulership in the pre-modern world.

The solution to moving beyond the dichotomies of “border mapping” relies on both the open data availability of digital GIS and a more nuanced understanding of how the physical landscape of the pre-modern world shaped Rome’s capacity to violently enforce its will. By modeling the impact of factors such as terrain, distance, and infrastructure on Roman military operations, we can distinguish areas where Rome could more easily coerce its subjects from places where force was more difficult to project, and where imperial control was correspondingly less unilateral.

The poster will demonstrate new maps of the Roman Empire’s northeastern frontier in modern-day Turkey produced using this methodology. When combined with more traditional techniques of historical inquiry, these maps reveal telling patterns in the strategic deployment of Rome’s frontier forces, while capturing the nuances and “gray areas” of imperial control more effectively than standard cartographic techniques. I hope that the poster will serve as the starting point for discussions on how maps can better reflect historical realities in attendees’ own areas of expertise, and for critical reflections on how the conventions and techniques of cartography can shape (and misshape) our perceptions of the past.