Did All Roads Lead to Rome?

PLAY

Did All Roads Lead to Rome?

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN AUSTRIA

THE roads of the Roman Empire held far-flung provinces tightly bound to the capital. They connected the dense forests of Gaul with Greek cities and linked the Euphrates River with the English Channel. Above all, they made virtually every part of the realm accessible to the legions that spread the authority of Rome. From these paved thoroughfares, there were many secondary roads that branched out into the Roman provinces. This gave rise to the proverb, “All roads lead to Rome.”

Over 50,000 miles [80,000 kilometers] of roads traversed the Roman Empire. How can someone today study them and understand the effect they had on that ancient world? One way is to examine a 13th-century map called the Peutinger Table.

Historians believe that the Peutinger Table is a copy of a map originally made when Roman armies were still marching on the famous roads. In 1508, Konrad Peutinger, the town clerk of Augsburg in southern Germany, came into possession of that handmade copy, and his name became attached to it. Today it is in the Austrian National Library in Vienna under the Latin title Tabula Peutingeriana.

The Roman World All Rolled Up

In modern classrooms students often study nearly square maps hanging on a wall. The Peutinger Table, however, is a scroll 13 inches [34 cm] wide and over 22 feet [6.75 m] long when unrolled. It was originally made up of 12 separate sheets of parchment glued end to end. Of those, 11 exist today. This map shows the world of the Roman Empire’s heyday, stretching from Britain all the way to India. Despite the knowledge you may have of that area on modern maps, you may get lost when first examining the Peutinger Table. Why is that?

The Peutinger Table was drawn, not for modern geographers, but for ancient travelers. A scroll map was easy to handle on the road. But in order to fit the needed details on a scroll, the map’s creator had to compress the north-south dimensions of the empire and greatly extend its breadth east and west. The result was a distorted map that could easily be opened, referred to, rolled up, and carried. A traveler could quickly see the best way to get from one place to another. That was more important to people on the road than Italy’s shape, the size of the Black Sea, or the actual direction in which they were going. a

Different colors distinguish the Peutinger Table’s features. Roads appear as red lines, mountains are brown, and rivers are green. The map names hundreds of towns and marks their locations with houses, walled courtyards, and towers. Those symbols seem to indicate the facilities present at each place. The map also shows distances between towns, stations, and rest stops.

Several Biblical places and events are noted on the Peutinger Table. Two descriptions in Latin are written in the area of Mount Sinai. One caption says: “The desert where the children of Israel under Moses wandered for 40 years.” (Joshua 5:6) The other says: “This is where they received the Law on Mount Sinai.”—Leviticus 27:34.

Jerusalem is marked with a caption that includes a different name for the city, Aelia Capitolina—drawn from the name of Publius Aelius Hadrianus, better known as Hadrian. In the second century C.E., this Roman emperor named the city after himself. The Latin term for the Mount of Olives also appears.—Luke 21:37.

Did All Roads Lead to Rome?

Some roads led to Aquileia, a city located in northeastern Italy. On the map, Aquileia has strong walls and guard towers. As it dominated important crossroads and had an excellent port, Aquileia was one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire.

The Via Egnatia crossed the Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Coast to Constantinople, now known as Istanbul. The Peutinger Table locates that city with the symbol of a goddess sitting on a throne but ready for war. Several roads led to Syrian Antioch, now the Turkish city of Antakya. Antioch was the third-largest city of the Roman Empire, after Rome and Alexandria. There the map shows a seated goddess with a halo.

The Peutinger Table shows 12 roads leading into Rome. One of these is the Via Appia, or Appian Way. The book of Acts indicates that the apostle Paul traveled that road on his first journey to Rome. While Paul was en route, a group of Christians came down from Rome on the Via Appia and met him at Three Taverns, which also appears on the map.—Acts 28:15.

What symbol does the Peutinger Table use to represent Rome? It shows the city as a mighty empress in purple robes, sitting on a throne. The globe and the scepter in her hands stand for the world domination centered in that capital of the empire.

Is it accurate to say that all those roads led to Rome? Yes, when you consider the extensive network of feeder roads that branched out from the highways. The Peutinger Table shows how the empire’s highways extended the reach of imperial power, allowing Rome to dominate the provinces for almost 500 years. Today you can still tour the Roman Empire on those ancient roads—that is, on the “wheels” of your imagination and with the Peutinger Table as your guide.

[Footnote]

a This still holds true for travelers. Modern metro or subway maps are often distorted but, at the same time, easy to use.

[Map on page 13-15]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

An unusual road map—the Peutinger Table

SPAIN

MOROCCO

BRITAIN

FRANCE

GERMANY

AUSTRIA

Aquileia

Rome

Enlarged area shown on page 15

ITALY

AFRICA

GREECE

Istanbul

EGYPT

TURKEY

Mt. Sinai

Jerusalem

SYRIA

Antakya

Caspian Sea

IRAN

INDIA

[Map on page 15]