A comprehensive study of the Roman Empire’s extensive road network challenges the popular saying that “all roads lead to Rome.” Researchers analyzing nearly 186,000 miles of Roman roads discovered that several other cities possessed superior land connectivity compared to the capital. Cities including Antioch, Ancyra, and Byzantium in modern-day Turkey, along with Corinth in Greece, were strategically better positioned for overland travel throughout the empire.
The research team, working on a digital mapping project called “Itiner-e,” calculated connectivity levels by examining how well Roman cities connected to the broader road system. Their findings revealed that the empire’s most critical overland route actually bypassed Rome entirely, instead following North African and Levantine coasts through Antioch and Ankara before crossing into Europe via Constantinople. The pathway subsequently continued through the Po Valley and Milan into France.
Rome’s geographical location explains its lack of superior road connectivity. As a professor from Aarhus University noted, the Italian Peninsula functioned as an appendage to the empire’s road network, with Rome positioned roughly halfway along this extension. Meanwhile, other cities served as essential transportation hubs for their respective regions, making them more central to land-based networks.
However, researchers emphasized that examining roads alone provides an incomplete picture of Roman transportation infrastructure. Rome likely maintained greater strategic importance for maritime and river-based commerce due to its Mediterranean positioning, suggesting that comprehensive studies combining waterway analysis with road networks would offer fuller understanding of ancient transportation systems.
Originally reported by Livescience →
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