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Achaea was a province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
 of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, consisting of the modern-day Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
 in southern Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
 and bordered on the north by the provinces of Epirus
Epirus (region)

Epirus is a region in south-eastern Europe, currently divided between the Peripheries of Greece Epirus in Greece and the prefectures of Gjirokast?r, Vlor?, Kor??, and Berat in southern Albania....
 and Macedonia
Macedonia (Roman province)

The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus defeated Andriscus of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved....
. The region was annexed to the Roman Republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 in 146 BC after a brutal campaign, in which the city of Corinth was razed by the Roman general Lucius Mummius
Lucius Mummius Achaicus

Lucius Mummius , was a Roman empire statesman and general. He later received the Roman naming conventions#agnomen Achaicus.Consul in 146 BC, Mummius was appointed to take command of the Battle of Corinth , and having obtained an easy victory over the incapable Diaeus, entered Corinth after a victory over the defending forces....
, its inhabitants slaughtered or sold into slavery, and the temples looted for sculpture for Roman villas.






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Sestertius Hadrian Achea Ric 0938
Achaea was a province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
 of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, consisting of the modern-day Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
 in southern Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
 and bordered on the north by the provinces of Epirus
Epirus (region)

Epirus is a region in south-eastern Europe, currently divided between the Peripheries of Greece Epirus in Greece and the prefectures of Gjirokast?r, Vlor?, Kor??, and Berat in southern Albania....
 and Macedonia
Macedonia (Roman province)

The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus defeated Andriscus of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved....
. The region was annexed to the Roman Republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 in 146 BC after a brutal campaign, in which the city of Corinth was razed by the Roman general Lucius Mummius
Lucius Mummius Achaicus

Lucius Mummius , was a Roman empire statesman and general. He later received the Roman naming conventions#agnomen Achaicus.Consul in 146 BC, Mummius was appointed to take command of the Battle of Corinth , and having obtained an easy victory over the incapable Diaeus, entered Corinth after a victory over the defending forces....
, its inhabitants slaughtered or sold into slavery, and the temples looted for sculpture for Roman villas. L. Mummius was awarded the cognomen "Achaicus" as "conqueror of Achaea" for his actions.

For 60 years, Greece was competently administered by Rome, as a Senatorial province
Senatorial province

A senatorial province was a Roman province where the Roman Senate had the right to appoint the governor . These provinces were away from the Empire's borders and free from the likelihood of rebellion, and so had few if any Roman legions stationed in them ....
. Some cities, such as Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
 and Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
, even retained their self-governing status within their own territories. Then, in 88 BC, Mithridates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, began a campaign against Rome and won the support of many of the Greek city-states. Roman legions under Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , or simply Sulla, was a Roman general and politician, holding the office of consul twice as well as the Roman dictator....
 forced Mithridates
Mithridates

Mithridates or Mithradates is the Hellenistic form of an Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by the deity Mithra". It may refer to:...
 out of Greece and crushed the rebellion, sacking Athens in 86 BC and Thebes the following year. Sulla's depredations on Greek works of art were notorious. Roman punishment of all the rebellious cities was heavy, and the campaigns fought on Greek soil left the heart of central Greece in ruins. The commerce of Achaea was no longer a rival to that of Rome. Athens did remain a respected intellectual center, though it was outshone by Alexandria
Alexandria

Alexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports....
.

After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, about 31 BC, the Emperor Augustus separated Macedonia from Achaea. Over the next century and a half, Greece would slowly rebuild, culminating during the reign of the Hellenophile Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian

Publius Aelius Hadrianus , as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after his apotheosis, known as Hadrian in English language, was Roman Emperor of Roman Empire from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoicism and Epicureanism philosopher....
 (117-138). Along with the Greek scholar Herodes Atticus
Herodes Atticus

Herodes Atticus , also known by his Ancient Rome name, Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes Marathonios was a Greeks rhetorician, notable as a proponent of Philostratus' Second Sophistic, a pseudo-revival of classical Greek culture....
, Hadrian undertook an extensive rebuilding program. He beautified Athens and restored many of the ruined and depressed Greek cities.

Economy

Copper, lead, and iron mines were exploited in Achaea, though production was not as great as the mines of other Roman-controlled areas, such as Noricum
Noricum

Noricum, in ancient history geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and Slovenia. It became a Roman province of the Roman Empire....
, Britannia
Roman Britain

Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia....
, and the provinces of Hispania. Marble from Greek quarries was a valuable commodity. Educated Greek slaves were much in demand in Rome in the role of doctors and teachers, and educated men were a significant export. Achaea also produced household luxuries, such as furniture, pottery, cosmetics, and linens. Greek olives and olive oil were exported to the rest of the Empire.

See also

  • History of Roman and Byzantine Greece
  • Roman province
    Roman province

    In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....