L'Asia Minore di Strabone: lessico greco e istituzioni romane

The article focuses on Strabo’s Greek terminology to define Roman institutions, dealing with the historical and administrative complexity of Asia Minor in books XII-XIV. After examining the definition of Ἀσία in the Geography, its geographical and politico-administrative implications, and the division of Asia Minor into provinces, the article focuses on the term ἐπαρχία and specifically on the rare cases in Strabo where ἐπαρχία does not indicate a Roman province. It then considers the governors of the provinces, defined as ἡγεμόνες, and the deduction of Roman colonies in Asia Minor, which primarily served defensive purposes rather than intentional Romanization. The analysis of Strabo’s lexicon allows to clarify specific aspects of this process, contributing to a greater appreciation of the historical and political dynamics of the Roman provincialization of Asia Minor between the late Hellenistic period and the early Imperial era.