Augustus hódítási terve Keleten: római hadjárat Dél-Arábiába
Augustus’ Plans for Conquest in the East: the Roman Campaign in Southern Arabia

Summary/Abstract: The wealth of Southern Arabia had been known in the Western world for millennia. Arabian merchants acted as a mediator in the trade between the West and the East as well as Africa. It was mostly due to its products – in addition to spices, frankincense and myrrh were the most significant – that made Arabia Felix wealthy. In the paper, on the basis of ancient authors and the literature, a survey is offered of the significance, the use and the price of frankincense. Even Alexander the Great had planned a campaign to conquest Southern Arabia, which fell through only because of his premature death. The Romans got closer to Arabia after getting hold of the province of Egypt. Augustus sent a campaign, led by the praefectus of Egypt Aelius Gallus, to conquer the rich Southern Arabian territories as early as 26 or 25 BC. He may have been motivated by both personal and propagandistic reasons. In the paper we reconstruct the course and the outcome of this expedition on the basis of reports from ancient authors as well as the latest literature. The failure of the campaign could have played a part in Augustus’ decision to give up plans for conquests in the East. We can state that during the Arabian expedition the main seat of operations for Rome was the territory of Hispania, where the princeps participated personally to suppress the revolt of the Astures and Cantabri. It must have played a part in the recall of Aelius Gallus and the army. We agree with the view that, despite its being a complete military failure, the expedition had beneficial effect on the economy and the Eastern trade of the Roman Empire, and it played a significant role in Augustus’ propaganda as well. The Romans were fascinated by the fact that the army of the young princeps progressed so deep into the distant Eastern territories, which strengthened his position. In his works written later in his life, Augustus remembered the Southern Arabian campaign as a success.

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