Roman road
The Romans, as a military, commercial and political expedient, became adept at constructing roads; many long sections of them are ruler-straight, but it should not be thought that all of them were. The Roman roads were essential for the growth of their empire, by enabling them to move armies speedily and by sustaining land transport for Roman mercantilism. The Roman emphasis on constructing straight roads often resulted in steep grades relatively impractical for most economic traffic: over the years the Romans themselves realized it and built longer but more manageable alternatives to existing roads. These long highways were very important in maintaining both the stability and expansion of the empire; but in late Antiquity, the same roads, by offering avenues of invasion to the barbarians, contributed to Roman military reverses.
The Roman roads often used deep roadbeds of crushed stone as a underlaying layer to ensure that they kept dry, as the water would flow out from the crushed stone, instead of becoming mud in clay soils. The legions made good time on these roads and some are still used millennia later.
A popular proverb says that "every road leads to Rome". Roman roads were designed that way to hinder provinces organising resistance against the Empire.
Some Roman roads
There are many examples of roads that still follow the route of Roman roads.
major roads
others
- Via Aemilia Scaura (109 BC),
- Via Amerina, from Rome to Ameria and Perusia
- Via Claudia Julia Augusta (13 BC)
- Via Clodia, from Rome to Tuscany forming a system with the Cassia
- Via Julia Augusta (8 BC),
- Via Labicana, southeast from Rome, forming a system with the Praenestina
- Via Ostiense, from Rome to Ostia
- Via Postumia (148),
- Via Praenestina, from Rome to Praeneste
- the name of most of these roads is derived from the censor who ordered their construction
Trans-Alpine Roads
These roads connected modern Italy and Germany
For main article see Roman roads in Britain
