Eski Malatya, ‘Old Malatya’, Malatya province, East Turkey
Classical Melitene; capital of the late Roman province of Armenia 2
Malatya has its origins in a legionary fortress constructed by XII Fulminata as part of Vespasian’s reorganization of the eastern frontier in AD 71–2. The same legion continued in garrison at the site until the system of fixed defences was abandoned in the fifth century, a period of some 400 years during which Malatya acquired a considerable civilian population. The settlement was raised to municipal status by Trajan and eventually, in the fourth century, became the capital of the late Roman province of Armenia 2. It retained this role until provinces were replaced by themes in the eighth century.
Although no excavations have been carried out at Malatya, the line of its walls is still visible. On the west and south they are completely straight and clearly derive from the original fortress, the implicit dimensions of 500 by 360 metres and area of 18.5 hectares being normal measurements for a legionary camp of the early imperial period. The part of the circuit enclosing the adjacent civilian quarters (which brings the total intra-mural area up to 49.5 hectares) is ascribed to the early sixteenth century. This seems very unlikely, although a wall of earlier date could have been remodelled at that time.