Roman Roads

If you think this would make a cool poster, you can get a high-res, print-worthy PDF for $9!
It’s finally done. A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire of ca. 125 AD.
Creating this required far more research than I had expected—there is not a single consistent source that was particularly good for this. Huge shoutout to: Stanford’s ORBIS model, The Pelagios Project, and the Antonine Itinerary (found a full PDF online but lost the url).
The lines are a combination of actual, named roads (like the Via Appia or Via Militaris) as well as roads that do not have a known historic name (in which case I creatively invented some names). Skip to the “Creative liberties taken” section for specifics.
How long would it actually take to travel this network? That depends a lot on what method of transport you are using, which depends on how much money you have. Another big factor is the season – each time of year poses its own challenges. In the summer, it would take you about two months to walk on foot from Rome to Byzantium. If you had a horse, it would only take you a month.
However, no sane Roman would use only roads where sea travel is available. Sailing was much cheaper and faster – a combination of horse and sailboat would get you from Rome to Byzantium in about 25 days, Rome to Carthage in 4-5 days. Check out ORBIS if you want to play around with a “Google Maps” for Ancient Rome. I decided not to include maritime routes on the map for simplicity’s sake.
Creative liberties taken
The biggest creative element was choosing which roads and cities to include, and which to exclude. There is no way I could include every Roman road, these are only the main ones. I tried to include cities with larger populations, or cities that were provincial capitals around the 2nd century.
Obviously to travel from Petra to Gaza you would take a more or less direct road, rather than going to Damascus and “transferring” to the Via Maris. The way we travel on roads is very different from rail, which is a slight flaw in the concept of the map. But I think it’s still aesthetically pleasing and informative.
Here’s a list of the roads that have authentic names and paths:
- Via Appia
- Via Augusta
- Via Aurelia
- Via Delapidata
- Via Domitia
- Via Egnatia
- Via Flaminia
- Via Flavia (I, II, III)
- Via Julia Augusta
- Via Lusitanorum
- Via Militaris
- Via Popilia
- Via Portumia
- Via Salaria
- Via Tiburtina
- Via Traiana
- Via Traiana Nova
Some roads have real names but were modified somewhat:
- The Via Latina I combined with the Via Popilia. In reality the Popilia ended at Capua, and the Latina went from Capua to Rome.
- Via Aquitania only referred to the road from Burdigala (Bordeaux) to Narbo (Narbonne).
- Via Asturica Burdigalam similarly only refers to the Astrurica-Burdigala section.
- “Via Claudia” is not a real name, but refers to a real continuous road built by Claudius.
- Via Hadriana was a real road in Egypt, but it refers to a slightly different section than the green route.
- The name “Via Maris” is considered to be a modern creation, referring to real ancient trade road whose real name has been lost to history.
- Via Valeria only referred to a section of the yellow Sicilian loop.
- The roads around Pisae, Luna and Genua had several names for different sections, including Via Aemilia Scauri. Sometimes “Via Aurelia” referred to the entire road from Rome to Arelate.
- Via Sucinaria is the Latin name for the Amber Road, a trade route from the Baltic region to Italy that carried amber as a valuable good. It probably was not used to refer to a single literal road.
- Via Gemina and Via Claudia Augusta are real names that referred to small parts of the routes marked on the map.
The other roads have relatively uncreative names that I invented, usually based on a place that they pass through. I have never formally studied Latin and I’ll admit that I am somewhat confused by the distinction between -a and -ensis endings, so there’s a chance I may have messed that up.
Update
I got numerous comments following the release of my Roman roads map. Acting by the mantra of “OP delivers”, I decided to take this feedback into account and create an updated version of the map. The new map is featured here, and I have also replaced the map in the original post with the new version.
Several changes were made:
- The typo in Gesoriacum is fixed.
- The Via Agrippa is now properly named. For some reason I had typed Via Flavia by mistake.
- Via Flavia now refers to the road along the Dalmatian coast, in reference to the actual Via Flavia in what is now Croatia.
- I have included Berytus, present-day Beirut, in the map. It was the capital of Roman Phoenicia and one of the most important cities in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time.
- The town of Vindonissa has been added. It was a prominent fort in what is now Switzerland.
- The road in Sardinia now goes from Caralis to Tarrae. This was (and still is) the most prominent land linkage on the island.
- Road names ending in -ensis have been changed to more classical names:
- Via Sarda now uses the proper Latin adjective for the island.
- ViaAugusta Nova is named after the emperor who established the proconsular government in Asia.
- Other geographically-named roads have had name changes:
- Via Domitiana is named after Domitian, who conquered Moesia.
- Via Tiberia in Cappadocia is named after Tiberius, who established the province.
- The British Isles are now displayed in full, and the British road network has been expanded a tiny bit.
- Lucus (Lugo) is now moved inland, and the road from Bracara Augusta to Asturica has been separated.
Version in Chinese – 中文版
Chinese translations courtesy of Stone Chen.
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213 Comments on "Roman Roads"
I live in Tivoli (Tibur), the way from Rome to Tivoli has the name Tiburtina, right, but after Tivoli to Pescara the name change in Valeria (console Valerio), the correct name of this road is Tiburtina-Valeria (in modern era is the n. 5, SS 5 Tiburtina Valeria). After the railway station in Tivoli there is a marble signal with the name Via Valeria. Ciao, great work
Thank you for making note of this!
Thanks for the information! That area has many roads that I could not include, I had to simplify a little bit.
So, you put Luguvalium, the present day Carlisle on the border between Scotland and England., at the northern top of the map of the island of Britain when in reality it should be about 2/3rds of the way up. As you know, the Romans never really conquered the island of Britain due to resistance in what is now Scotland.
I absolutely love this map. It must have taken ages! I live in Perthshire and am surrounded by Roman camps, roads and forts. They were just getting established in Scotland and apparently not meeting that much resistance when they got called away to defend the empire elsewhere. It fell and they never returned. I had no idea before I moved here how far north of Hadrian’s wall they had become established. There’s a really interesting walk you can do during the Drover’s Tryst Walking Festival every autumn in Crieff.
No se puede cambiar la historia. No es que se resistieran los escoceses.., es que no habia nada(mineral, ruta comercial..)que les interesara.
Si conquistaron Egipto, cree usted que esa resistencia hubiera sido suficiente? No.
En España, tampoco les intereso el norte.
¿Que no les interesaba el norte de Hispania? ¿O que no eran capaces de conquistarlo? ¿No conoce usted las guerras cántabras? Esto es un articulito de la Wikipedia, pero está muy bien para comenzar a investigar. Fíjese si les costó la conquista que incluso hoy en día permanecen algunos restos de adn astur, siendo el segundo más antiguo de la península.
https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerras_cántabras
True — though tube maps are not big on cartographical precision to begin with, it’s the connections that are most important. That’s why Britain is allowed to be misshapen, among other things.
One small issue. Jerusalem was not renamed Aelia Capitolina until 135, when the Bar Kochba revolt was put down. That was also when the region was renamed from Judaea to Palestine, after the long-dead coastal tribe (old Sea Peoples) of the Philistines.
Ah, I knew there would be small things. I think it’s fair to say that this map is anachronistic in general, so it’s not a huge worry for me. Very interesting stuff!
Thank you for the clarification — that is approximately what I had gathered based on my own research, but I wasn’t crystal clear. If anything I should have chosen to name more of my “fake roads” after people, but I think it’s okay as it is. I appreciate you taking the time to explain!
Hi Sasha,
This is a brilliant piece of work!
I’ve tweeted about it, replying to the @onlmaps syndication: https://twitter.com/JBPiggin/status/872001537689649152
Watch my researchgate.net page for updates on the Roman main highways of Africa.
(follow the website link).
Keep being creative!
Always great to hear from researchers in the field! Before making this map, I had assumed that the Roman roads were quite literally a dead issue. Little did I know that we aren’t actually so sure about the locations/names of many roads, as I would painfully find out for myself. Thanks for the support!
Lindsay, thank you so much. Sounds like a fascinating pastime! I haven’t read the book, but it looks intriguing. I did not have any direct family in the United States in 1968, so most likely it’s just a coincidence–there are many branches of Trubetskoys!
Fabulous idea!
Please let me know how I can get a copy on which I can feast my eyes and mind!
Thank you for all your work!
You’re very welcome! If you haven’t already, please follow the PayPal link at the top of the page, at which point I will receive your email and send you a high-resolution PDF. Then you can go to any Staples, Office Depot or the like, and just ask them to print the file at 18×24 inches on 24 lb. bond paper. Voila, you have a poster!
[…] it would take you about two months to walk on foot from Rome to Byzantium,” Trubetskoy writes in the project notes. “If you had a horse, it would only take you a month.” He notes […]
Nice! Counterpart of OmnesViae.org
I am not an expert on the topic, but should it be Ulpia Traina located more or less around Dacia better than Germania ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulpia_Traiana_Sarmizegetusa
There were multiple places with that name, I am referring to modern-day Xanten, “Colonia Ulpia Traiana”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanten
I thought the same thing. I live in the Netherlands and was excited to see there was something here, but not really. I also thought Ulpia Traiana was in Romania. Anyway, excellent idea and work! Well done.
Ottimo lavoro! Un semplice approfondimento può essere effettuato a partire dalla Tabula Peutingeriana, latino per “The Peutinger Map” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabula_Peutingeriana)
Really great idea and execution! Well done!
Would you mind putting Ireland on the map? I know there were no Roman roads there, but you have no roads on Corsica and Cyprus either.
As much as I love Ireland, I must respectfully decline. Because while Corsica and Cyprus were part of the Empire, Ireland never was, and I have to keep the map as minimal as possible.
Dude. It’s an ISLAND. And the Romans had a name for it, and visited it, whether they owned it or not. So it’s up to you. Give two fingers to us, or draw in a little rectangular blob.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiberno-Roman_relations
Also, this is yet another map that leaves New Zealand out entirely. You can hardly claim the Romans never made it to New Zealand. Oh, wait…
http://worldmapswithout.nz/
Nice meme! (lol)
Hi Sasha, this is a magnificient job. I’m trying to find a special map to make an enormous poster for home and i finally found this. This is amazing and i definetely want it. Problem is that i don’t use paypal.
Any chance to send you the money via bank transfer? Please reply to my email
Thank you Mario, I really appreciate the support. We can work it out. I’ll start going through emails as soon as I get off work.
This is so thorough. Great idea. Great execution.
Thanks!
Via Emilia starts from Milan (Mediolanum) today but maybe that happened after the date of your map http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aentry%3Dvia-aemilia-geoVia
Aurelia goes all the way to the French border today. I don’t know if it keeps the same name in France.
Shouldn’t Carnuntum be placed south-west of Vindobona?
Otherwise great work!
Thanks! Vindobona is modern-day Vienna, while Carnuntum is closer to Bratislava.
Hi, Sasha. I think the main highway in Sardinia was the Turris (actually Porto Torres) – Caralis. Turris Libissonis was a colony founded by Julius Caesar.
In many parts we use today the same way and it’s still the main highway.
In my country, Serbia, Pay Pal do not exist.
Please use itch.io, they have credit card options: https://sashat.itch.io/roman-roads
This is really brilliant! I wonder what do the colours signify?
Hi Sasha. Great work. I love the simplifying.
You would be very interested in Graham Robb’s book, ‘The Ancient Paths’, in which he details how the Celts already had straight long roads which were used against them by the Romans… Please let me know what you think.
Fantastic work – I sent you a donation and look forward to seeing what it will look like on my wall 🙂 I was glad to see Luguvalium (Carlisle) made it on the map as the frozen furthest outpost of civilization as that is where I come from.
Thank you very much! I really appreciate your support, and I promise I’m sifting through those emails, I will get to yours soon!
much admiration and appreciation of your hard work
Thanks!
Considering you have included smaller Mediterranean islands such as Corsica, the omission of the island of Ireland is a disappointing inaccuracy.
At this point I do regret not putting it in. But at the time it was a sensible decision, considering how Ireland was never part of the Empire and was of little importance to the Romans, not to mention that topographical accuracy is not a priority with transit maps.
Good job leaving Ireland off the map. We weren’t conquered by that particular empire so your logic is good, as far as I’m concerned.
If I ever update the map, I will include it, if only to appease the Irish nationalists.
I understand that the Romans had considered invading Ireland, embarking from Chester, they didn’t follow it through. With regards to the issue of whether to include Ireland on your next version, I would suggest that is solely a matter for you. However, if you want a modern day precedent, the EU often tends to wash-out any countries that are not Member States from their maps.
Moot point, I’ve already included it.
Awesome work! One minor suggestion – please mark on the map itself which road names are invented. Otherwise someone will inevitably find a copy of this map divorced from this page and take it as a reference without knowing that some of the names are not historically accurate.
Very good point, it’s like that Wikipedia article that cited a source that used Wikipedia. I thought about putting the invented names in italics, or something like that. But I think it’s too late in the game for me to be making those changes.
Fantastic job I’m very grateful! Also because I’m reading right now the book “The Silk Roads: A New History of the World” by Peter Frankopan, ad this map does complete the story with a visual impact!.
Is there a vector version of this? I want to print a poster for my brother who’s an archeologist. It’s the perfect birthday present I’ve been looking for!
There totally is! Simply follow this link and I’ll email you! https://www.paypal.me/SashaTrubetskoy/9
That’s awesome work, you’ve done Sasha. Highly entertaining, enlightening and everything! Maybe not “the whole truth”, as people has pointed out, but darn close. And artistic freedom is OK by me – especially, when it comes close to factual events/places. Thumbs up from me – and as Moritz, I’d like the vector version too. I wrote that in my Pay Pal transfer too, just repeating myself here 😉 Kind regards, Terkel Christensen from Denmark
Thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate all your support. I’ve been sending out mass emails lately because it is impossible for me to individually respond to everyone, but I will try to send you an SVG or something that is more of a pure vector file if that’s what you prefer.
Poor Tiberius! No public transport to Villa Jovis, Capri.
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You should submit your design to Threadless, https://www.threadless.com/how-it-works/ It would make an awesome t-shirt, phone case, etc.
I would absolutely buy a mug.
yes, tee shirt, placemat, mug, poster, purse, umbrellas, book cover, the options are ENDLESS. i live in rome and i LOVE this so MUCHHHH. you should market it, every store here would carry, esp the ones at the museums and monuments
Greetings, Salutations and Congratulations for this modern, beautifully executed graphic presentation of this historical information.
Like others, I do not utilize PayPal but would definitely like to have a framed version. I see from comments above that you have a vector version as well as the PDF. I would definitely like to purchase both forms, please let me know when you have an alternate vehicle for payment. I would like to plot out a larger version for my son who has a collections of maps.
Are there any plans to expand this project?
Hello and thank you! I have an alternative to PayPal here: https://sashat.itch.io/roman-roads
The PDF is the vector file, but if you would like some other file format please reach out to me, trub@uchicago.edu
PDF and vector format are two VERY different formats, Sasha. PDFs are fixed pixels, whereas vector graphics can be stretched to the end of the Universe and back without losing printing quality! Please don’t confuse these formats, as PDFs has very limited “printability”, if one wants a bigger version than the original! That’s why Moritz, Raymond and I want a REAL vector version of your map …
I think you misunderstand how PDFs work. PDF only incorporates “fixed pixels” if there are raster graphics included, but my map is entirely vector-based and the paths are coded into the PDF. That’s why I can zoom in endlessly without any loss of quality, like this: http://i.imgur.com/t2wlZ3m.png
If you are more comfortable with a different file type, just email me and I will send you whatever you like.
Hi there, Just wanted to give some notes on the VNT;Via Nova Traiana
1. Aleiana was called Ayla and Aelana but 90% of sources refer to it as Ayla- modern day Aqaba
2. Petra wasn’t a station on it but it was quite close by,
3. The highway ended a little after Bostra and did not connect to Damascus.
Dear Sasha,
this is such a great idea!
One little inaccuracy as far as I can see: on the map Geneva (Genava) is east of Vienna, when in reality it is significantly west of it. Is this on purpose? Or are they referring to different cities?
Ah I’m such an idiot: Vienna refers to Vienne (France), not Vienna (Austria)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienne,_Is%C3%A8re
One more “ask” for future versions — Vicetia (the current Vicenza, home of the architect Palladio and Campagnolo bike parts), on the road between Verona and Aquileia. If it fits.
What fun! I can only imagine all the work it took to get all the places and then to imagine them in this map style. Thanks for sharing this great map. (I blogged about it on my Bible and Tech blog with some quibbles that in no way detract from your accomplishment!)
Hi Mark! You make very good points, I tried to acknowledge some of them in my writeup but a few things slipped through the cracks. One small thing though, most people refer to me as “he”, since I am a guy! (No worries, I’m used to it)
Oops! Sorry about that. I fixed my post. Again, thanks for your innovative map!
It’ll be interesting to do the same with South America ‘s ancient Inca Road system. There are plenty of good maps and research about it. Inca Road System is extensive and well preserved and represents an strikingly similar feat to Roma’s
This is something I had not heard about! I may look into it for the future
Too blurry to read. Disappointing.
Prof Claerbout, have you tried clicking on the smaller image to view a larger version?
Hi,
I really love your idea, but I don’t see our local “Via Annia”. I haven’t read all your article nor your comments yet so you might already have answered my doubts. I understand you may have combined it, though I’m not sure as to the reason since it was a major connection for the north and east branches. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Annia
Yes, I definitely came across the Via Annia and I combined it into the Via Sucinaria for stylistic reasons. Since it was a crucial part of the Amber Way (Via Sucinaria) it’s not unreasonable to put it under that umbrella.
Misspelled ‘resitances’. Ah, well.
There was a major city of Egitania – with a major road connection between Conimbriga, Bracara Augusta and Mérito.
I did not see a major connection on Pelagios so I did not include it in the map.
http://pelagios.org/maps/greco-roman/
wow great ! I notice you forgot to put the sea crossing between Gythium and Gortnya .
It’s not that I “forgot”, it just wouldn’t look as neat
[…] EXPLORE: Roman Roads […]
Hi, vía delapidata is known as Vía de la Plata o Rita de la Plata, Silver Road. Today, there is a highway called that way; it is the A-66 that joins Seville (Hispalis) in the south with the province of Leon in the north of Spain (Hispania)
Yes, it’s known as Via de la Plata now, but in Roman times the name was Via Delapidata which means “Paved Road”
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Great map, Sasha! Are you related to Helen and Eugene Troubetzkoy (my wonderful next-door neighbours here in Hastings on Hudson NY??)
Thank you! Although we are not personally in touch with that branch of the family, they are certainly distant (likely 4th or 5th) cousins!
Hi there! The via Flaminia was arriving to the Adriatic Coast in Fanum Fortunæ (nowadays Fano) wich was higly considered by the Romans due to its strategic importance (on the closest river, during the Second Punic War was fought the so called Metauro Battle in wich Annibal’s brother Hasdrubal was defeated and beaheaded) infact the Flaminia from this tourning point it is heading Northward to Ariminium (Rimini). Ciao!
+1 this. Fanum Fortunae should be there!
Hi Armand, very interesting information. I actually came across the image you linked to while researching for the map. In hindsight I really should have extended maybe one more stop after the Colonia. The reason I chose not to at the time was because these villages were very small compared to the other cities and towns I included on the map. It’s amazing how far the Romans reached!
Hi, awesome project. I want to make it a poster. I just transfered you 9$ via Paypal. Can you send me the high res pdf?
Thanks so much for your support! I received your payment, and I will be sending an email today.
Sasha – Brilliant work! I *love* ORBIS. I took the liberty of linking this page on a Facebook group called “Roman Empire History”. It’s been well received and you are probably getting some traffic from that, but let me know if I should take it down.
Thanks for sharing, no worries!
Hi Sasha,
great work!
Maybe it’s possible to get the map as a scalable vector graphic file (e.g. ai, cdr, eps, etc.) to print a large poster (DIN A0)?
Thanks and regards
Ulf
Hello Ulf, thank you for the kind words. Can you please email me at trub@uchicago.edu? I can send you the file and I’m interested in hearing your plans for such a large poster.
I believe that Philippi was most important town than Amphipolis of Egnatia str. (ex:Saint Paul stopped at Philippi.) Egnatia street still exists in the area I live.
Yes, this area had many wealthy and prosperous towns that were all quite important, it was difficult for me to choose which one. In a future update of this map, I would include Philippi for sure.