Roman Roads - Roman Systems

Roman Systems

"The extraordinary greatness of the Roman Empire manifests itself above all in three things: the aqueducts, the paved roads, and the construction of the drains."

Livy mentions some of the most familiar roads near Rome, and the milestones on them, at times long before the first paved road—the Appian Way. Unless these allusions are just simple anachronisms, the roads referred to were probably at the time little more than levelled earthen tracks. Thus, the Via Gabina (during the time of Porsena) is mentioned in about 500 BC; the Via Latina (during the time of Coriolanus) in about 490 BC; the Via Nomentana, or Via Ficulensis, in 449 BC; the Via Labicana in 421 BC; and the Via Salaria in 361 BC.

In the Itinerary of Antoninus, the description of the road system, after the death of Julius Caesar and during Augustus tenure, is as follows:

"With the exception of some outlying portions, such as Britain north of the Wall, Dacia, and certain provinces east of the Euphrates, the whole Empire was penetrated by these itinera (plural of iter). There is hardly a district to which we might expect a Roman official to be sent, on service either civil or military, where we do not find roads. They reach the Wall in Britain; run along the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates; and cover, as with a network, the interior provinces of the Empire."

A road map of the empire reveals that it was generally laced with a dense network of prepared viae. Beyond the borders were no roads; however, one might presume that footpaths and dirt roads allowed some transport.

For specific roads, see Roman road locations below.