My research for this paper was prompted by the realisation that a reading of Strabo's Geography yields little impression of how the Roman world was divided and arranged into provinces. Strabo is often supposed to have been motivated in his work by the expansion of the Roman empire, and consequently he might be expected to have some considerable interest in its provincial structure. As it turns out, however, Strabo's remarks about the provinces are scattered and rather casual. I decided, therefore, to look at other evidence for the state of the provinces in the early part of Tiberius' reign. The result of combining the evidence of Strabo with the evidence provided by inscriptions and other literary sources is interesting. It suggests that Strabo is a more valuable witness than he first appears; and that his imprecise attitude towards the provinces may have its roots in the imprecision of provincial structure at this stage in the development of the Roman empire.

I take the years from 17 or 18 ce to 23 ce to be the period during which the Geography was written out. While, in general, it may be admirable to keep an open mind on the question of the date of the Geography, when it comes to using Strabo as evidence for provincial development, a more specific approach is necessary. I take it that references in the present tense by Strabo are to circumstances in 17/18–23 ce, i.e. the early years of Tiberius' reign.