Roman Roads in Asia Minor

from DAVID H. FRENCH VOL. 4 THE ROADS Fasc. 4.1 NOTES ON THE ITINERARIA British Institute at Ankara Electronic Monograph 10 2016

Mavi Boncuk | Roman Roads in Asia Minor SOURCE

First Roman roads started to be built with the beginning of the Roman Republic. Roads were built and maintained during the Roman Empire era too. 372 roads were connecting 113 provinces of the Roman civilization. There were estimated 400,000 kilometers of roads ever built by Romans and about quarter of these roads were paved.

Roman roads in Asia Minor had standard 2.37 (8 feet) meters width. Later width was updated into 3.7 (12 feet) meters. Ideal Roman road was straight and needed as little maintenance as possible.

A horse powered cart could travel in between 40 and 50 kilometers in a day. A pedestrian could walk in between 20 and 25 kilometers a day. Ox pulled carts were especially used to transport cargo city to city. It was allowed to ride on the Roman roads as long as you are a married woman, businessman or government official. Carts were not allowed within less than a kilometer of city walls and in the city centers since carts damaged the pavement stones.

Roads in Asia Minor were originally built by the Roman government but once they were built it was province’s duty to maintain them. Also, citizens who had interest in the road and people with money to donate could pay for the maintenance too. A state official called censor was in charge of the roads in his area. The first Roman roads in Asia Minor were targeting Ephesus since the city was the capital of the Asia Minor. The first governor pointed by the Roman Empire was Manius Aquillius (129–126 BCE) and he immediately started building roads in Anatolia.

Famous Roman Roads in Asia Minor[1]

Roman Road in Tarsus

Tarsus was the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia. Today some parts of this road on the north of Tarsus was unearthed and as we understand the road was made of basalt stone. Sewage tunnels were discovered underneath the road suggesting there were settlements nearby the road. There is still no clear evidence telling which city was connected to Tarsus via this road.

Via Egnatia

Via Egnatia had the length of 1100 km (685 Miles). Ancient road Via Egnatia used to connect the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire Byzantium, later Constantinople and Istanbul to the Western Roman Empire’s capital which was the city of Rome.

Apostle Paul used Via Egnatia when he travelled from Philippi to Thessaloniki as it is mentioned in Acts 16-17. Legendary Roman emperor and generals of the Roman Empire such as Pompey, Claudius, Octavian, Hadrian and Trajan walked on Via Egnatia when they marched on to Asia Minor.

Roman Road in Cilicia

The Roman road in Cilicia is located in Mersin city of modern Turkey. We believe Roman Province of Cappadocia was connected to the Roman Province of Cilicia with this road.

It is very likely that the Roman road in Cilicia was built in the first century which makes it possible for Apostle Paul to use this road during his journeys into the Roman Province of Galatia and Roman Province of Cappadocia.

Roman road in Cilicia

There are tombs belonging to the Roman and Byzantine periods and written repair inscriptions about the road on the route. There is an arched structure on the Roman road of Cilicia. It is estimated that this gate was the triumphal arch and the starting point of the Cilician borders or was built as a border gate.

Via Sebaste

Via Sebaste was built about 2000 years ago. The main function of “Via Sebaste”, which was built by Cornutus Agulia in the time of Augustus was to keep the new colonies created in the region under seizure. Via Sebaste was also known as the “King’s Road”. Lycia et Pamphylia Province of Roman Empire and the Galatia Province of Roman Empire was connected to the Mediterranean city of Antalya by this road.

Roman Road in Ankara

Roman Road in Ankara was discovered in 1995 during excavations in the Turkish capital city of Ankara. Greater excavations were made in 2007 and some surprising artifacts were found. A Greek style Hermes statue, probably used as a milestone, was found. Baked ceramics from the 1st century bc, a broken female statue of the late Roman era but the most unexpectedly a lot of smoking pipes of the Ottoman era were unearthed. Archeologists claim there was an Ottoman tea house in the area that’s why people dropped their old smoking pipes here.

Easy-to-carry road maps did not exist in the ancient world, but travelers could purchase an itinerarium that listed the cities, villages, and other points of interest along a route and the number of miles between them. On the road itself, every mile was marked by a stone column (thus the term "milestones"). Some of these columns were inscribed with information about who built the road and how far one was from the end of the road, like the one below that was found five miles east of Ephesus. Interestingly, the inscription gives more prominence to the name of the Roman governor who commissioned the road (Manius Aquillius) than to the distance (the "E" at the bottom signifies five miles).

[1]  Trade routes of Asia Minor

SOURCE

Asia Minor was acquired by Rome in the years between 129 B.C. and 63 A.D.

Three main west-east highways followed the paths laid down by nature. They were:

The Southe Road (Ephesus – Magnesia – up the Maeander Valley to Laodicea on the tributary Lycus – Apamea – Pisidian Antioch – Iconium – Tyana – Tarsus)

The Central Road (Sarids – up the valley of the Hermus – northward to Ancyra – Melitene on the Euphrates. Late the route had its western terminus at Ephesus instead of at Sardis.

The Northern Road (Nicomedia – Claudiopolis – Cratea – Amasea – Comana – Nicopilis – Satala – then into Armenia. An important branch, southward from Nicomedia to Ancyra.

The southern road was of greatest importance as a commercial highway, the northern road as a military highway. The central road was the least important of the three.

The outstanding north-south highway joined Simope and Amisus on the Black Sea to Tarsus.

The chief cities of Asia Minor:

Ephesus (“the largest mart in Asia within the Taurus)

Tarsus (had commercial relations with every city in the world. Splendid harbor in Lake Rhegma)

Nicomedia (leading city of Asia Minor under Diocletian)

Leading products: wine, fish, fruits, timber, wool (and the secondary products thereof), marble, and some metals, particularly copper.

Reorganization of all the roads took place under Domitian. The Flavian emperors were interested in the northern roads for military reasons, and their interest was continued by Nerva and his successors.

There was heavy traffic along the sea coasts, particularly on the western coast, where Cyzicus, Mytilene, Chics, Smyrna, Ephesus, Miletus, and Rhodes were situated.

Roman interest in silk and the silk roads began about the time of Augustus. By Tiberius’ reign, the use of silk was well established among the wealthier classes.

Exploration of the first silk road to China began in earnest after 20 B.C. Greek explorers, working for Augustus, reached Kandahar, as did Isidore of Charax. The agents of Maes Titianus continued the exploration (c 120 A.D.) and reached some point a few miles beyond Kashgar. Later years saw western travelers even in Lop Nor and Miran.

The first silk road in detail: Zeugma – Seleucia and Ctesiphon – across the Zagros Mountains to the Caspian Gates – Hecatompylos – Merv – (then by either of these roads: [- Samarcand – Kashgar – Miran – Lop Nor] or [Bactra – Stone Tower – Kashgar – Miran – Lop Nor]).

Seleucia and Ctesiphon enjoyed great commercial advantages because of their fortunate position on the trade routes. Seleucia was the greater of the two foundations.

Bactra had been a great trade center for centuries before it had any contact with the Roman Empire. To visualize its position in Asia, imagine it as the hub of a wheel, from which the road to Parthia, the Oxus River, the Valley of the Indus, and the highway to China radiated, like the spokes of the wheel.

The Romans never became properly acquainted with the Chinese. Some effort was made by the Chinese to gather information about the West in 97 A.D. when they dispatched an ambassador to Parthia and Syria.

The second overland route to China was developed because of the need for avoiding the Parthians. Its course lay from the coast of Asia Minor to Phasis – to the Cyrus (note parallel valleys) – the Caspian – the Oxus – Samarcand or Bactra.

Exploration of the land up to and surrounding the Caspian Sea was complete by 150 A.D. The lands east and north of the Jaxates were not explored in the time of the Roman Empire.

Silkworms were brought from China to Constantinople in the sixth century A.D. All future European and western Asiatic silkworms were descended from these.

Trade routes of Syria

Syria’s commercial importance was due to its position, not to its resources. The country was the “Gateway to East”.

The road-system was complete long before the Roman occupation. Perhaps more than in any other country except Asia Minor, the highways controlled in their direction by the nature of the terrain.

The three great north-south highways were:

The coast road from Gaza to Seleucia Pieria and Antioch.

The road which left the coast at Caesarea and pursued the valleys of the Upper Jordan, Litas and Orontes.

The Petra-Damascus-Palmyra-Euphrates road

At Petra, Palmyra and Antioch began routes connecting Syria with Arabia and the Far East.

An Abundance of native materials made road-laying easy. Trajan and Diocletian added many improvements to the highways.

Syria’s leading harbors were: Caesarea, Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, Aradus, Laodicea, Seleucia. Tyre and Sidon were renowned for their dyed stuff and their glass.

Syria’s leading cities were – Antioch, Damascus, Palmyra, and Petra. The last two were brought under Roman control in the reign of Trajan.

The Egyptian trade routes

The greatest traffic lane in Egypt was the Nile. Alexandria, Egypt’s first cite, was also the foremost market of the world.

The Quantity of grain Egypt could produce, as well as the incompetence of its late rulers, brought the country into Roman hands.

Traffic along the Nile halted on the south at Syene. Aethiopian goods could be carried overland but were brought north more easily by the Red Sea.

Nile boats were of varied and unusual types. For heavy loads, the baris were used.

Canals took the place of roads on the Delts.

The Egyptians improved in every possible manner the connections between the Nile and the Read Sea, in order to induce traffic to leave the Persian Gulf-Euphrates route for their own Red Sea – Nile route.

The River of Ptolemaeus (Trajan’s River) was of minor importance due to the fact that its eastern terminus was at the head of the treacherous Red Sea waters.

Camels were common as transport animals only in the Roman period and were of no great advantage to merchants.

Alexandria’s site was unparalleled in its advantages. Of the city’s three fine harbors, that on Lake Mareotis was the most thriving.

Articles manufactured in Alexandria for export including paper, glass, woolen goods, linen, and ointments. The Egyptian city was an exception to the rule that all the wealthy cities of the world had won their prosperity from the transport trade.

Vessels sailing between Alexandria and Rome were extremely large for their time. Grin ships were particularly well-built, well-manned, and well-guarded.

The season for sailing the Mediterranean was from March 10 to November 10. Until mid-July, ships might sail westward to Italy from Alexandria; after that time they followed a course which brought them first to Asia Minor and then to Italy. The normal time for a summer voyage was 18 – 20 days; for a winter voyage, 40 days were required.