Danubian provinces

The Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire were the provinces of the Lower Danube, within a geographical area encompassing the middle and lower Danube basins, the Eastern Alps, the Dinarides, and the Balkans.

[2] They include Noricum, Dacia (Trajana and Aureliana), the northern part of Dalmatia, Moesia (Inferior and Superior), Scythia Minor, and Pannonia (Superior and Inferior).

[5] The Roman presence in the region can be described as having four phases from Augustus to Hadrian: military conquest under Augustus, and consequent military actions; the establishment of military bases along roads and river crossings under Claudius; the establishment of camps along the river for stationing legions and auxiliaries carried out by the Flavian dynasty and Trajan; and further expansion into Dacia north of the Danube.

Hadrian's approach was to defend and maintain, a policy that remained more or less in effect until the latter 4th century, when Roman control disintegrated.

[7] The Danubian population has been estimated as at least 2 million during the reign of Augustus, and 3 million in the 2nd century, but these figures are not based on hard data, and later archaeological investigations indicate a greater degree of development than had been recognized.