Study of Roman roads reveals Constantinople’s centrality — Cyprus Mail

Researchers, including Tom Brughmans of Aarhus University in Denmark, conducted a structural analysis of the Roman Empire’s road network, which stretched for about 300,000 kilometres. The work, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that the saying that all roads lead to Rome does not fully correspond to the structure of this network, Cyprus Mail reports.

The authors concluded that Constantinople — modern-day Istanbul — was far more central for overland travel across the entire empire. The city, to which the imperial capital was moved in the 4th century, was located at the junction of Europe and Asia. Bosporus ferries in antiquity connected road traffic between the two parts of the world.

Not all roads led to Rome

Rome was an important centre of maritime connections in the Mediterranean, but it did not occupy an equally central place in the road system. The researchers also found that provincial administrative centres were generally well located along local routes. This facilitated the administration of provinces and tax collection.

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Such cities included Ankara in Turkey, London in Britain, and Corinth in Greece. On the Apennine Peninsula, the most central route ran along the Adriatic coast, bypassing Rome, which is located on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The impact of terrain and the network’s legacy

The Romans sought to build straight roads, including the Appian Way south of Rome. At the same time, terrain often determined the direction of routes: roads were straighter in the relatively flat areas of Belgium, northern France, and Italy’s Po Valley.

The road network extended from Morocco and the Arabian Desert to Scotland and the Atlantic Ocean. It was connected with navigable rivers and sea routes, enabling the movement of people, goods, ideas, and troops. Some Roman roads were used in the Middle Ages, and in many regions modern highways follow their direction. As an example, the researchers cited the Via Augusta in Spain, whose route near Tarragona and Barcelona coincides with the N-340 highway.