The Location of Mindouos and Roman Fortification Activity on the Eastern Frontier in the Years 527--5291.

The article focuses on the debated location of the Roman fort of Mindouos and related Roman fortification efforts on the eastern frontier during 527–529, as described by Procopius and other contemporary sources. It critiques the recent identification of Mindouos near the village of Kasriahmethayro, arguing that this hypothesis overlooks key evidence from the Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah of Mitylene and Malalas, which describe two unsuccessful Roman fort-building attempts in 527—one near Thannuris on the Khabour River and another in the Melabasa hills at the eastern end of the Tur Abdin—and a separate Roman defeat in 528 south of the Tur Abdin unrelated to fort construction. The article suggests that Procopius' account conflates these events, likely to protect the reputation of the general Belisarius, and proposes that Mindouos is better located in the Melabasa hills region rather than at Kasriahmethayro. It emphasizes the need to critically assess Procopius' narrative and to consider the broader strategic context of Roman-Persian frontier conflicts in this period.