But it was mastery of road construction that made Rome the most connected—and powerful—empire in the ancient world.
Roman roads were engineering marvels in their own right 🧵 (thread)
“All roads lead to Rome” is a saying everyone knows. And there’s a reason for it—Rome developed the most incredible network of interconnected highways in the ancient world.
It’s estimated there were over 50,000 miles (~80000 km) of paved roads throughout the empire.
A 4th century surveyor described the extent of the highway system:
“They reach the Wall in Britain; run along the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates; and cover, as with a network, the interior provinces of the Empire.”
Built from the 4th century BC until the decline in the 5th-6th centuries AD, roads were the arteries of the empire, providing efficient means of travel for Rome’s armies, officials, civilians, and trade goods.
Roman roads were constructed so they would require minimal upkeep and provide travelers a smooth journey.
Many of them survive and are still in use today—proof they were engineered with durability in mind.
So how were they built?
Rome had 3 types of roads:
-Via terrena: a plain road of leveled earth
-Via glareata: an earthed road with a graveled surface
-Via munita: a paved road with stone and concrete surface
We’ll focus on paved roads for now.
Paved roads were required by Roman law to be a minimum of 8 feet wide where straight and twice that wide where curved.
Most major roads went beyond this and averaged 12 feet wide, allowing for two passing carts (4 feet each) without interrupting foot traffic.
To build a road, a suitable location was first decided by a civil engineer. Agrimensores (land surveyors) worked with the engineer to lay out the route.
Using rods, a straight path was prepared while a groma (a tool that helped obtain right angles) was used to plot a grid.
After the general plan was set, workers—and often legionnaires since armies commonly built roads—used plows and spades to dig the road bed down to the bedrock.
This excavation was called the fossa, or “ditch.”
The road was then constructed by filling the ditch in layer by layer. First rubble, gravel, or sand; then, once the ditch was filled within a meter of the surface, it was tamped down to create a flat surface called the pavimentum—“pavement.”
Additional layers were added on top to create a completely smooth surface. A statumen or "foundation" of flat stones set in cement would often support the final layer, which consisted of ployagonal or square paving stones.
This final layer was crowned for drainage.
When roads encountered obstacles, Romans preferred to engineer solutions rather than going around them.
Hills or mountains called for digging tunnels or cutting through stone.
Rivers were crossed by constructing bridges, or pontes, which were made of wood or stone.
Wooden bridges were supported by pilings or stone piers, but larger bridges required arches that spanned the width of the river or canyon.
Over swampy terrain, causeways were built. These were initially marked out with pilings then built up to about 5 feet above surface-level.
Concrete was an integral part of bridge and causeway construction since it was waterproof.
A mix of volcanic ash, seawater, and lime, roman concrete increased cohesion and strengthened the structure even after it had set.
Another important element of Roman road construction was the mile marker.
Appearing as early as 250 BC in the famed via Appia, mile markers were one thousand paces (~1 mile) apart, marking the distance from the “golden milestone” near the Temple of Saturn in Rome.
So all roads did indeed lead to Rome, but more specifically to this gilded monument.
On the golden milestone were listed distances to all major cities in the empire.
Rome's roads were a major reason it expanded so quickly and maintained its dominance for so long.
Well-maintained roads meant troops and resources could traverse the empire quickly—speed of travel was a huge advantage in the ancient world.
Rome was a nation of builders and conquerors that brought civilization to the far reaches of the known world.
Rome's roads facilitated this civilizing spirit.
If you enjoyed this thread and would like to join the mission of promoting western tradition, kindly repost the first post (linked below) and consider following: @thinkingwest
“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder,” according to 20th-century historian Arnold Toynbee.
He claimed every great culture collapses internally due to a divergence in values between the ruling class and the common people…🧵
Toynbee was an English historian and expert on international affairs who published the 12 volume work “A Study of History,” which traced the life cycle of about two dozen world civilizations.
Through his work he developed a model of how cultures develop and finally die…
Toynbee argued that civilizations are born primitive societies as a response to unique challenges—pressures from other cultures, difficult terrain or “hard country,” or warfare.
Starting as loose agreements between merchants, they developed into powerful political organizations that shaped medieval society and paved the way for modern Europe…🧵
First off, what were guilds?
Popular in medieval Europe, guilds were groups of craftsmen or traders who got together to protect mutual interests. This could mean quality control, reducing competition, or helping each other financially.
Sort of an “alliance” of business folk.
There were two main types of guilds: merchant guilds and craft guilds.
Merchant guilds comprised all or most of the merchants in a particular town or city. These could be local traders or wholesale/retail sellers dealing in various types of goods.
Siege weapons were some of the most impressive technologies of the medieval world.
Here's how they worked🧵(thread)
Battering Ram
One of the oldest and simplest siege engines, a battering ram was designed to break open wooden gates or walls. Initially, it was just a heavy log carried by soldiers and slammed against the target.
Later, protective canopies were added to shield its operators.
Metal caps were also added to strengthen the battering ram and increase its puncturing force.
Defenders usually tried to counter rams by dropping obstacles like heavy boulders onto them. Pouring hot oil onto a ram, hoping to light it on fire, was also a defensive technique.
Alfred the Great believed he was given divine authority to rule his kingdom.
This was not an excuse to abuse his power though. Rather, he saw it as a responsibility to care for his people…🧵
Few kings were as universally loved as Alfred.
Historian Edward Freeman called him “the most perfect character in history.”
King of the Anglo-Saxons in the late 9th-century, he oversaw the complete revitalization of his realm—militarily, economically, and culturally.
Before his rule, England had been plagued by viking invasions going back a century.
Danish raids destabilized Wessex and the surrounding kingdoms. Monasteries were razed, learning and literature diminished, and lawlessness abounded in the absence of adequate defenses.
Modern man has a severe case of amnesia—he’s forgotten the immense wisdom of the past.
Luckily, it can be rediscovered through great literature.
12 old books that will make you wiser… 🧵(thread)
12. Enchiridion, Epictetus
Epictetus never wrote down anything himself, but his student Arrian collected his teachings, recording them for future generations. His lessons enlighten the reader on matters regarding ethics and achieving inner freedom.
11. The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli’s classic is a 16th-century handbook on effective governance. It’s an essential read for anyone who wishes to understand the motivations and reasoning behind great leaders from the past or savvy politicians today.
Historian Will Durant claimed a culture’s success was intrinsically tied to its religiosity.
Strong nations were born out of faithful people, but when religion dwindled, things started to fall apart...🧵
Will Durant was a 20th-century American historian and philosopher most known for his 11-volume “Story of Civilization,” telling the history of both eastern and western civilizations.
His work led him to conclude that all cultures follow a predictable pattern…
Civilizations first begin with religious fervor, giving a nation strength to overcome great difficulty.
It’s their faith in a higher power that allows them to bear the initial “growth pains” that precede prosperity.