This list includes Asian countries and regions that were part of the Roman Empire, or that were given Latin place names in historical references.
Background Until the Modern Era, Latin was the common language for scholarship and mapmaking. During the 19th and 20th centuries, German scholars in particular made significant contributions to the study of historical place names, or Ortsnamenkunde. These studies have, in turn, contributed to the study of genealogy. For genealogists and historians of pre-Modern Europe, knowing alternate names of places is vital to extracting information from both public and private records. Even specialists in this field point out, however, that the information can be easily taken out of context, since there is a great deal of repetition of place names throughout Europe; reliance purely on apparent connections should therefore be tempered with valid historical methodology.
Caveats and notes Latin place names are not always exclusive to one place — for example, there were several Roman cities whose names began with Colonia and then a more descriptive term. During the Middle Ages, these were often shortened to just Colonia. One of these, Colonia Agrippinensis, retains the name today in the form of Cologne.
Early sources for Roman names show numerous variants and spellings of the Latin names.
The modern canonical name is listed first. Sources are listed chronologically. In general, only the earliest source is shown for each name, although many of the names are recorded in more than one of the sources. Where the source differs in spelling, or has other alternatives, these are listed following the source. As an aid to searching, variants are spelled completely, and listed in most likely chronology.
Superscripts indicate: Latinized form of the Greek-derived name. Latinized form of the Asian-derived name via Greek. Altered Latinized form of the Greek-derived name.
Cities and towns in Anatolia (Turkey)
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Ancyra Ankara Antiochia Mygdonia Nusaybin, Mardin Province Dorylaeum near Eskişehir Ephesus Efes Flavias, Flaviopolis Kozan, Adana Province Halicarnassus¹ Bodrum Heraclea Pontica Bender Eregli Hierapolis Pamukkale Ilium Troy Mopsuestia (5PNH22: Mopsos) Misis - Missis - Mamistra - Hadriana - Seleucia, Adana Province Nicaea Iznik Nicomedia¹ İzmit Ninica, Claudiopolis Mut, Adana Province Prusa, Brusa Bursa Seleucia Calycadnus, Seleucia Isauria, Seleucia Tracheotis Silifke - Selefke, Adana Province Trapezus Trabzon - Trebizond Pergamon Bergama Chalcedonia Kadıköy Iconium, Iconia Konya Heraklia, Eraclea Ereğli Assos Asos Smyrna İzmir Caesarea Kayseri Tarsus Tarsus Attaleia Antalya Amastris Amasya Alexandria Ad Issum Iskenderun Nicomedia Izmit Phoenicia¹ Fenike
Cities and towns in Afghanistan
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Alexandria Arachosia Kandahār Alexandria Ariana, Alexandria in Aria, Aria Herāt Alexandria ad Caucasum, Alexandria Caucasiana Bagrām / Chārikār Alexandria Oxiana, Eucratidia¹ Ai-Khanoum (or Termez in Uzbekistan?) Phrada², Prophthasia¹ Farāh
Cities and towns in Cyprus
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Larnaca¹ Larnaca Salamis¹ Salamis
Cities and towns in Georgia
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Athōs Novum, Anacopia New Athos Phasis² Poti Triphelis Tbilisi
Cities and towns in Iran
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Alexandria in Carmania Golāshkerd
Cities and towns in Iraq
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Alexandria in Susiana Al-Qurnah Alexandria Iskandariya
Cities and towns in Israel
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Aelia Capitolina, Hierosolyma Jerusalem - Ilea - Iliya (إلياء) Alexandrium Kfar Stuna Antipatris¹ Kfar Saba - Ras-el-Ain ??? Azotus² Ashdod (or Gaza in the Palestinian territories?) Caesarea Caesarea Iopea Jaffa (Yafo) / Tel Aviv Flavia Neapolis¹ Nablus Scythopolis¹ Beit She'an Tiberias Tveria
Cities and towns in Lebanon
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Arca Caesarea Arqa Berytus² Beirut (Bayrūt) Methana² Meshen Tripolis¹ Tripoli
Cities and towns in Pakistan
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Alexandria Indiana Uch Alexandria Nicaea, Nicaea, Bucephala Jhelum Arigaeum Nawagai Rhambacia Bela
Cities and towns in the Palestinian territories
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Gaza² Gaza Raphia² Rafah
Cities and towns in Russia
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Tobolium Tobolsk
Cities and towns in Syria
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Beroea Aleppo Damascus Damascus (Dimashq) Emesa Homs Palmyra Palmyra (Tadmor) Sergiopolis Resafa
Cities and towns in Tajikistan
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Alexandria Eschatē¹, Alexandria Ultima Khujand
Cities and towns in Turkmenistan
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Alexandria in Margiana, Antiochia in Margiana Merv
Cities and towns in Uzbekistan
Canonical Latin Name (source(s): variant(s)) English name (native language(s)) - older name(s), (other language(s)), location(s) Alexandria Iskandar Maracanda Samarkand
See also Chemical elements named after places (several element names employ Latin place names) List of Latin place names used as specific names
References In order of likely publication:
PNH: Pliny (Gaius Plinius Secundus), Naturalis Historia; book "PNH" chapter (that is, "37PNH81" instead of the usual "N.H.xxxvii.81"). PG: Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus), Geographia; book "PG" chapter (that is, "2PG3" instead of the usual "II.3"). Ptolemy wrote in Greek, so names are transliterated back into Latin to reveal the original form. HLU: Hofmann, Johann Jacob (1635–1706): Lexicon Universale GOL: The standard reference to Latin placenames, with their modern equivalents, is Dr. J. G. Th. Grässe, Orbis Latinus: Lexikon lateinischer geographischer Namen des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit (1861), an exhaustive work of meticulous German scholarship that is available on-line in the second edition of 1909. To use it, one must understand German names of countries, as they were in 1909. The original was re-edited and expanded in a multi-volume edition in 1972.
External links Droysens, Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas Grässe, Orbis Latinus Grässe, Orbis Latinus Place Names of Europe Pliny the Elder: the Natural History Ptolemy: the Geography