Asia

Roman roads

The provinces of the east present the contrast of Roman
magnificence with Turkish barbarism. The ruins of antiquity,
scattered over uncultivated fields, and ascribed by ignorance to
the power of magic, scarcely afford a shelter to the oppressed
peasant or wandering Arab. Under the reign of the Cæsars,
the proper Asia alone contained five hundred populous cities,86
enriched with all the gifts of nature, and adorned with all the
refinements of art. Eleven cities of Asia had once disputed the
honour of dedicating a temple to Tiberius, and their respective
merits were examined by the senate.87 Four of them were
immediately rejected as unequal to the burden; and among
these was Laodicea, whose splendour is still displayed in its
ruins. 88
Laodicea collected a very considerable revenue from
its flocks of sheep, celebrated for the fineness of their wool,
and had received, a little before the contest, a legacy of above
four hundred thousand pounds by the testament of a generous
citizen.89
If such was the poverty of Laodicea, what must
have been the wealth of those cities, whose claim appeared
preferable, and particularly of Pergamus, of Smyrna, and of
Ephesus, who so long disputed with each other the titular
primacy of Asia? The capitals of Syria and Egypt held a
still superior rank in the empire: Antioch and Alexandria
looked down with disdain on a crowd of dependent cities,1 and
yielded with reluctance to the majesty of Rome itself.

90

All these cities were connected with each other, and with

86 Joseph. de Bell. Jud. ii. 16. Philostrat. in Vit. Sophist. 1. ii. p. 548. Edit. Olear. [Life of Herodes, 3.]

87 Tacit. Annal. iv. 55. I have taken some pains in consulting and comparing modern travellers, with regard to the fate of those eleven cities of Asia; seven or eight are totally destroyed, Hypæpe, Tralles, Laodicea, Ilium, Halicarnassus, Miletus, Ephesus, and we may add Sardis. Of the remaining three, Pergamus is a straggling village of two or three thousand inhabitants; Magnesia, under the name of Guzel-hissar, a town of some consequence; and Smyrna, a great city, peopled by a hundred thousand souls. But even at Smyrna, while the Franks have maintained commerce, the Turks have ruined the arts.

88 See a very exact and pleasing description of the ruins of Laodicea, in Chandler's Travels through Asia Minor, p. 225, &c. [See Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, vol. i. cap. 2, for history and remains of Laodicea.] 89 Strabo, 1. xii. p. 866. He had studied at Tralles.

90 See a dissertation of M. de Bose, Mém. de l'Académie, tom. xviii. Aristides pronounced an oration which is still extant, to recommend concord to the rival cities.

91 The inhabitants of Egypt, exclusive of Alexandria, amounted to seven millions and a half (Joseph. de Bell. Jud. ii. 16). [Cp. Appendix 25.] Under the military government of the Mamalukes, Syria was supposed to contain sixty thousand villages (Histoire de Timur Bec, 1. v. c. 20).

the capital, by the public highways, which, issuing from the Forum of Rome, traversed Italy, pervaded the provinces, and were terminated only by the frontiers of the empire. If we carefully trace the distance from the wall of Antoninus to Rome, and from thence to Jerusalem, it will be found that the great chain of communication, from the north-west to the southeast point of the empire, was drawn out to the length of four thousand and eighty Roman miles. The public roads were accurately divided by milestones, and ran in a direct line from one city to another, with very little respect for the obstacles either of nature or private property. Mountains were perforated, and bold arches thrown over the broadest and most rapid streams.93 The middle part of the road was raised into a terrace which commanded the adjacent country, consisted of several strata of sand, gravel, and cement, and was paved with large stones, or, in some places near the capital, with granite." Such was the solid construction of the Roman highways, whose firmness has not entirely yielded to the effort of fifteen centuries. They united the subjects of the most distant provinces by an easy and familiar intercourse; but their primary object had been to facilitate the marches of the legions; nor was any country considered as completely subdued, till it had been rendered, in all its parts, pervious to the arms and authority of the conqueror. The advantage of receiving the earliest in- Posts telligence, and of conveying their orders with celerity, induced the emperors to establish, throughout their extensive dominions, the regular institution of posts. Houses were everywhere erected at the distance only of five or six miles; each of them was constantly provided with forty horses, and, by the help of

The following Itinerary may serve to convey some idea of the direction of the road, and of the distance between the principal towns. I. From the wall of Antoninus to York, 222 Roman miles. II. London 227. III. Rhutupia or Sandwich 67. IV. The navigation to Boulogne 45. V. Rheims 174. VI. Lyons 330. VIL Milan 324. VIII. Rome 426. IX. Brundusium 360. X. The navigation to Dyrrachium 40. XI. Byzantium 711. XII. Ancyra 283. XIII. Tarsus 301. XIV. Antioch 141. XV. Tyre 252. XVI. Jerusalem 168. In all 4080 Roman, or 3740 English miles. See the Itineraries published by Wesseling, his annotations; Gale and Stukeley for Britain, and M. d'Anville for Gaul and Italy.

Montfaucon (l'Antiquité Expliquée, tom. iv. p. 2, 1. i. c. 5) has described the bridges of Narni, Alcantara, Nismes, &c.

1-28.

Bergier, Histoire des grands Chemins de l'Empire Romain [1736), l. ii. c. Procopius in Hist. Arcanâ, c. 30. Bergier, Hist. des grands Chemins, 1. iv. Codex Theodosian. 1. viii. tit. v. vol. ii. p. 506-563, with Godefroy's learned commentary.

96

these relays, it was easy to travel an hundred miles in a day along the Roman roads. The use of the posts was allowed to those who claimed it by an Imperial mandate; but, though originally intended for the public service, it was sometimes indulged to the business or conveniency of private citizens.97 Navigation Nor was the communication of the Roman empire less free and open by sea than it was by land. The provinces surrounded and enclosed the Mediterranean; and Italy, in the shape of an immense promontory, advanced into the midst of that great lake. The coasts of Italy are, in general, destitute of safe harbours; but human industry had corrected the deficiencies of nature; and the artificial port of Ostia, in particular, situate at the mouth of the Tiber, and formed by the Emperor Claudius, was an useful monument of Roman greatness. 98 From this port, which was only sixteen miles from the capital, a favourable breeze frequently carried vessels in seven days to the columns of Hercules, and in nine or ten to Alexandria in Egypt.99

ment of

Improve- Whatever evils either reason or declamation have imputed agriculture to extensive empire, the power of Rome was attended with some beneficial consequences to mankind; and the same freeof the em dom of intercourse which extended the vices, diffused likewise

in the western countries

pire

the improvements, of social life. In the more remote ages of antiquity, the world was unequally divided. The east was in the immemorial possession of arts and luxury; whilst the west was inhabited by rude and warlike barbarians, who either disdained agriculture, or to whom it was totally unknown. Under the protection of an established government, the productions of happier climates and the industry of more civilized nations were gradually introduced into the western countries of Europe; and

96 In the time of Theodosius, Cæsarius, a magistrate of high rank, went post from Antioch to Constantinople. He began his journey at night, was in Cappadocia (165 miles from Antioch) the ensuing evening, and arrived at Constantinople the sixth day about noon. The whole distance was 725 Roman, or 665 English miles. See Libanius, Orat. xxii. and the Itineraria, p. 572-581. [For the postsystem or cursus publicus see the article under this title in Smith's Dict. of Antiquities, 1878; Hudemann's Gesch. des röm. Postwesens, 1878; and the full article by Seeck (Cursus publicus) in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie.]

97 Pliny, though a favourite and a minister, made an apology for granting post horses to his wife on the most urgent business, Epist. x. 121, 122.

98 Bergier, Hist. des grands Chemins, 1. iv. c. 49. [Lanciani, Scavi di Ostia, 1881; Grossi and Cancani, Descrizione delle rovine di Ostia, Tiberino e Porto, 1883.]

9 Plin. Hist. Natur. xix. 1. [From Puteoli, Pliny says.]