Travel / mobility / migration - Roman Communications and Power

Question 1

What did Dionysius credit as the manifestations of Roman greatness?

Answer 1

“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.”
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 3.67.5

Question 2

Why are Roman roads important?

Answer 2

3 - 150 AD, most of the roads in Britain can be dated to this time - beginning a network
Roads act as indicators of the extent and limit of the Roman empire
Roads in place in order to facilitate the Roman government - imperial post system

Question 3

Were the Romans good at engineering?

Answer 3

Roads cut into the mountain - examples in Syria - sheer rock shaved away to allow a passage

Question 4

What were ancient travel times during the Roman empire?

Answer 4

On foot: c.24-32 km per day on level ground
In a carriage: c.40-48 km per day, c.6.5 km an hour

Question 5

What were public inscriptions used for?

Answer 5

Public inscriptions as means of communicating Roman power

Question 6

Did roads help advance the Roman empire?

Answer 6

Extensive road network facilitated movement of troops and goods across the empire;
It can also be credited for prompting urbanisation of many provincial settlements, which led to their economic growth;
Increased connectivity, in turn, encouraged and facilitated human mobility;
Roman infrastructure also served as a tool for spreading and perpetuating imperial ideology.