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All ROUTES lead to ROME
History and Development role of Roman Routes
Keywords
Description
Bibliography
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Objectives and goals Introduction
 At the end of this module you will know: • the main European Roman routes
• the basic history of the European Roman routes
• the development of the European Roman routes
• the role of the European Roman routes during the Roman Empire
 Different Types of Roman Roads
Roman roads varied from simple corduroy roads to paved roads using deep roadbeds of tamped rubble as an underlying layer to ensure that they kept dry, as the water would flow out from between the stones and fragments of rubble, instead of becoming mud in clay soils. According to Ulpian, there were three types of roads:
The "viae publicae", commonly called "consular", connected the most important cities. These roads were crossed by the Roman legions in their transfers and the couriers of the state postal service ("cursus publicus") traveled on them.
Next to the network of viae publicae there were numerous roads of regional interest, the viae vicinalis or viae rusticae, which connected the smaller settlements ("vici") with each other or with the main streets, the maintenance of which was borne by local administrations, and finally viae privatee, of local interest and maintained at the expense of the communities or individual citizens who used them.
While the "viae publicae" were generally paved, the secondary roads could be paved or not, for example with only a layer of gravel or stones: in this case they were called viae glareatae. After the secondary roads came the viae terrenae, normally unpaved.
 Main European Roman Roads
Italy - Major Roads:
Albania / North Macedonia / Greece / Turkey
Austria / Serbia / Bulgaria / Turkey
France
In France, a Roman road is called voie romaine in vernacular language.
Germania Inferior (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands);
Middle East
Romania/ Bulgaria
Spain and Portugal
Syria
Trans-Alpine roads
These roads connected modern Italy and Germany
United Kingdom
High Street, a fell in the English Lake District, named after the apparent Roman road which runs over the summit, which is claimed to be the highest Roman road in Britain. Its status as a Roman road is problematic, as it appears to be a holloway or sunken lane, whereas the Romans built their roads on an agger or embankment.
A Special Case. Via Francigena:
Via Francigena is the common name of a medieval pilgrim route running from France to Rome and then continuing to Apulia, where there were the pilgrims sailed to the Holy Land. It is usually considered to have its starting point on the other side of the English Channel, in the cathedral city of Canterbury. As such, the route passes through England, France, Switzerland and Italy.
The route was known in Italy as the "Via Francigena" ("the road that comes from France") or the "Via Romea Francigena" ("the road to Rome that comes from France"). In medieval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route for those wishing to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul.
Road networks contribute to the economy and culture
Since the ancient years up until today, large-scale transport infrastructures have shaped connectivity and determined the distribution of economic activity, not only locally, but also across various regions.
Connectivity may have long-lasting consequences for the connected regions such as reduced information frictions and increased cultural integration. However, there is still not enough information about the potential origins of systematic differences in bilateral transport connectivity and information frictions between regions (Flückiger et all., 2019).
 How the Roman roads contributed to the economy during the Roman Empire
Excavations in Celtic regions show that, before the Roman occupation, the amount of Roman goods, such as amphorae and other pottery products, is significantly low (Fitzpatrick, 1985, p. 310).
The integration into the empire-wide Roman transport network resulted to the substantial change of the diversity and quantity of the exchanged goods, not only in the core regions of the Empire, but in the peripheral regions as well.
Once occupied and connected to the Roman transport network, the considerable agricultural surpluses of the former Celtic and Egyptian regions, crucially contributed to the food security of Roman Empire and its capital (Erdkamp, 2013). Types of cereals that were unsuitable for cultivation in the north, such as emmer and spelt, were imported from the southern Roman provinces (Reddé, 2018, p. 147).
Moreover, the access to the Roman transport network also promoted specialization and the exchange of various manufactured products, such as amphorae, ceramics, glass, lamps, bronze statuettes. These products were produced in large quantities at centralized production sites and traded over long distances (Bowman and Wilson, 2009, p. 17).
Apart from stimulating economic interaction and interregional trade, the Roman transport network increased interpersonal interaction and thus induced migration as well as technological and cultural diffusion across regions. Eventually, this could have led to co-evolution and assimilation of preferences, values, and attitudes in the long run.
The Roman roads during the Byzantium
The Byzantine road system is the natural continuation of the Roman one. However, there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration.
First of all, in ancient ages, most roads followed naturally formed routes such as valleys or gorges, and necessarily passed from certain points like river crossings. However, the traffic and the overall importance of each road fluctuated according to the territorial changes, the demographics of the area, the degree of safety, the economic and strategic developments and so on.
For example, the so-called Pilgrim’s Road, which linked central Europe with Palestine and passed through Constantinople, Nicaea, Ancyra, Tarsus and Antioch, was practically inaccessible after the 5th c. due the turmoil in the Balkans and came back to use after the late 10th c., when the new pilgrim movement appeared. Similarly, Via Sebaste, the road constructed in 6 BC by Augustus (27 BC–14 AD) to link Pisidia with the provinces to its southeast and southwest, was never a major route for the Byzantines, but rose to prominence after the Seljuq conquest.
However, did the Byzantines maintain and expand the Roman road network? The reign of Justinian (r. 527–565) is the last time when broad, trans-provincial works took place. From that point on, the Byzantines mainly maintained the existing roads, mostly for military use, but no new roads were built (Tserkezis, 2019).
The evolution of Roman roads in Europe
In fact, from the Roman stone road to the traditional asphalt road of the nineteenth century, little progress has been recorded (Mouratidis, et al., 2014). There are some possible reasons for this: Firstly, the fact that people were mostly organized in city-states, rather self-sufficient, so the need for trade and mobility was limited. On the other hand, a road in good shape could bring enemies to conquer the city.
During the Middle Ages, the organization of people in small states (feudalism), as well as the life threatening diseases, calamities and wars between states, did not favour road technological development. Moreover, mobility of people was judged, in most cases, unnecessary and potentially harmful, therefore pre-existing routes were deserted and left to perish.
Exceptional case of development of the road network in Western Europe under the reign of Charlemagne, and in Eastern Europe was the Varangian Road (its main part was water road) that served as a transnational route of commerce.
It was not until the end of the eighteenth century that the innovative ideas of the road engineers Tresaguet, Telford and McAdam changed the layout and the common practice in road building.
A number of factors have shifted the focus from analyzing the Roman network’s effect on trade during antiquity to investigating its influence on the spatial ownership structure today.
Firstly, cross-country trade is to a large extent processed within multinational firms, which shows a close relationship between the intensity of bilateral trade and business links.
Secondly, establishing interregional business links is facilitated by networks which help overcome potential information frictions. Trade can create such networks and thus reduce these frictions.
Thirdly, trade in Roman terra sigillata can be seen as a measure of integration in a more general sense. Variation in the magnitude of trade flows may have determined differences in the intensity of cultural exchange, resulting in reduced information asymmetries and therefore variation in bilateral investment decisions.
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Keywords
Roman Empire, Itinerary maps, Consular Road, Roman roads network, Byzantine History
Objectives/goalsIn this module you’ll be able to know the main European Roman Routes, their History, the Development and the role during the roman Empire.
Roman roads were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 Before Christ (BC) through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. They provided efficient means for the overland movement of armies, officials, civilians, inland carriage of official communications, and trade goods. These infrastructures were essential for the maintenance of the empire, allowing the army to move quickly where it was needed. Military purpose was not the only one. They were strategical for political, administrative and commercial activities too. The resulting roads often shot straight up steep hills, and small bridges and tunnels were built to ensure the path could traverse rivers or pass right through mountains. Roman roads constituted the most efficient and long-lasting road system of antiquity, which made it possible to bring Roman civilization into contact with the most diverse peoples that populated the then known world. No other people in that historical era were able to match their ability to choose the tracks, the construction techniques and the organization of assistance to travellers. Roman roads were, then, the arteries of the empire. They connected communities, cities, and provinces, and without them the Romans could surely not have conquered and held onto the vast territories they did over so many centuries. Further, such was the engineering and surveying skills of the Romans that many of their roads have provided the basis for hundreds of today's routes across Europe and the Middle East. Many roads in Europe still use the original Roman name for certain stretches, and even some bridges.
- Von Hagen, Victor W. (1967), The Roads That Led to Rome, The World Publishing Company, Cleveland and New York;
- Roman Roads, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_roads#Other_areas
- Roman Roads in Europe, https://www.iter-romanum.eu/en
- The Beautiful Networks of Ancient Roman Roads, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-beautiful-network-of-ancient-roman-roads;
- Roman Roads, Ancient History Encyclopedia, https://www.ancient.eu/article/758/roman-roads/
- Roman Road System, https://www.britannica.com/technology/Roman-road-system
- Bowman, Alan, and Wilson, Andrew. 2009. "Quantifying the Roman Economy: Integration, Growth, Decline". In Quantifying the Roman Economy: Methods and Problems, edited by Alan Bowman and Andrew I. Wilson, 3–86. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Erdkamp, Paul. 2013. "The Food Supply of the Capital." In The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome, edited by Paul Erdkamp, 262–264. Cambridge University Press
- Fitzpatrick, Andrew. 1985. "The Distribution of Dressel 1 Amphorae in Northwest Europe". Oxford Journal of Archaeology 4 (3): 305–340
- Flückiger, Matthias & Hornung, Erik & Larch, Mario & Ludwig, Markus & Mees, Allard. 2019. "Roman Transport Network Connectivity and Economic Integration". CESifo Working Paper Series 7740, CESifo
- Reddé, Michel. 2018. "The Impact of the German Frontier on the Economic Development of the Countryside of Roman Gaul". Journal of Roman Archaeology 31: 131–160
- Mouratidis, Anastasios & Kehagia, Fotini. 2014. "On the Track of Road Evolution". Journal of Infrastructure Development. 6. 1-15. 10.1177/0974930614543047
- Tserkezis, Eleftherios. 2019. "Did the Byzantine Empire still use Roman roads?" web source: https://www.quora.com/Did-the-Byzantine-Empire-still-use-Roman-road
