Geography

​And now, setting out from these places as most appropriate bases, they make war against the Germans, and they have already adorned their fatherland with some triumphs derived from them. As for Libya, as much of it as did not belong to the Carthaginians was entrusted to kings who were subject to them, but as they revolted they were destroyed; now, however, both Maurusia and many parts of the rest of Libya have devolved upon Juba on account of his goodwill and friendship toward the Romans. The same sort of thing happened also in Asia; at first it was governed through the kings who were subject to them, but later, when those kings failed, as in the cases of the Attalic kings, the Syrians, the Paphlagonians, the Cappadocians, and the Egyptians, because they revolted and then were destroyed, as happened in the time of Mithridates Eupator and Cleopatra of Egypt, because they revolted and then were destroyed, as happened in the time of Mithridates Eupator and Cleopatra of Egypt, all the regions this side of the Phasis and the Euphrates, except for some Arabs, are under the power of the Romans and of the dynasts appointed by them. The Armenians, and the Albanians and Iberians who lie above Colchis, require only the presence of those who will lead them, and they are well ruled; but they attempt revolution during the preoccupations of the Romans, just as do the people who dwell around the Euxine beyond the Ister, except for the Bosporus and the nomads; for the former are subject, while the latter are useless for any social intercourse because they are unsociable, and require only a guard; and most of the rest of the country belongs to tent-dwellers and nomads who are very far away. The Parthians, although they are neighbors and possess the greatest power, have nevertheless yielded so much to the superiority of the Romans and of the rulers of our time, that they not only sent back to Rome the trophies which they had once erected against the Romans, but Phraates also entrusted his children and his children’s children to Augustus Caesar, seeking his friendship in a subservient manner by giving them as hostages; and those of today often send for a king from here, and are almost on the point of placing their entire authority in the hands of the Romans. And as for Italy itself, though it has often been divided since indeed it has been under the Romans, and Rome itself, the virtue of their constitution and of their rulers has prevented them from proceeding further in error and corruption. Indeed, it is difficult to govern so great an empire otherwise than by entrusting it to one person as to a father. At any rate, never was it possible for the Romans and their allies to enjoy such peace and abundance of blessings as Augustus Caesar afforded from the time he took over the absolute power, and as Tiberius, his son who succeeded him, now affords, making him the pattern of his administration and decrees, and as his own children, Germanicus and Drusus, afford, assisting their father.