Imagine that in the year 20 a. C, the inhabitants of the world would have had Google Maps. At that time, more than 380 great highways with more than 80,000km allowed legions, merchants and citizens to leave their cities or towns and reach the capital, Rome. The phrase “All roads lead to Rome” was not invented in vain. But we will talk about that later. Despite the fact that the roads covered part of the current European territory, the trips were very difficult, with difficult sections to access and all kinds of mishaps along the way.
If the technology had existed then, the lives of these people would have been much easier. This is what OmnesViae shows us, a route planner based on the roads of the Roman Empire. An amazing tool to know what those stormy trips were like.
Omnes Viae: Itinerarium Romanum is a route planner (in the style of Google Maps) that allows you to navigate the Roman Empire using the roads and shipping lanes available to the people of the time. It is based on the indications of the Tabula Peutingeriana, the closest thing we have to an authentic itinerarium (as the roadmaps were called) of the Empire. Although they had maps at that time, none have survived to this day. Nor does it cover Hispania (Spain and Portugal) and part of Britannia, which the website has supplemented with the Itinerarium Antonin.
How does the tool work? Through a simple search system similar to Google Maps. You enter a place of origin and another destination, and shows you the shortest itinerary, with the main roads, cities and rivers that you would find along the way, as well as the days necessary to carry out the feat. If for example we indicate that we are in Lutetia (Paris) and we want to go to Rome (in the center of the urban area of Italy), we would have a trip of DCCLXIX (769) Roman miles, taking LII (52) days to complete the trip.
The Tabula Peutingeriana and Roman roads
The Peutinger Map, a 13th-century parchment scroll, is a copy of a much older map, which may date to the 4th or 5th century, and that version may still be a copy of a map prepared for Augustus around AD 1 AD The original map has been lost and only copies remain. The oldest, divided into 12 sheets or segments, is kept in the Austrian National Library in Vienna and was made in 1265 by an Alsatian monk. Unfortunately, the part where Hispania (Spain and Portugal) and part of Britannia should appear has disappeared.
The extensive network of perfectly designed and usually straight roads of the Roman Empire was one of its main unifying features, as discussed in this Big Think article. Augustus himself made a great effort in his road administration reform, building many roads and creating a messaging service to optimize the usefulness of this network. That is why he was given the title of Curator Viarum (“Administrator of the roads”).
At the height of the Empire, the course publicus (“public road network”) of Rome consisted of some 380 interconnected roads, totaling 80,000km. the way stations facilitated the movement of merchants and soldiers. With this spread the power and wealth of Rome throughout the continent. It must be remembered that in those times the Romans could only travel as fast as their legs would allow them. Or failing that, those of their horses if they could afford them, of course.
You can consult the Tabula Peutingeriana in its maximum resolution here.
all roads lead to rome
It is curious to see how the direction of all the roads marked Rome as the last destination, like radii of a great circle. In the year 20 a. C., Emperor Augustus had a giant golden spike installed next to the Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum. This was the milliarium aureum from which distances to cities throughout the empire were measured. The point “0” was placed there, as it now exists in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, the famous Kilometer “0”, from where all the radial roads depart to the corners of Spain.
The Roman Empire had in antiquity, as it does today, a radial layout and structure: to go from one city to another it is necessary to pass through the center, where all roads converge. Hence the famous phrase Roman ducunt (“All roads lead to Rome”).
Images: Omnes Viae: Itinerarium Romanum