Great to see the "major" city of Aventicum indirectly mentioned on HN :-) We can still enjoy the amphitheatre for open air concerts and opera.
A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
61–70 of 107 posts
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
That map is just awsome in so many ways. Where is Denmark and Sweden though? Romans just didn't think there was anything up there? Nothing? Way too cold up there for people to live?
They didn't really get past the Germanic tribes and stopped expansion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest Presumably also because there wasn't much there at the time that would've allowed them to collect taxes.
> They didn't really get past the Germanic tribes and stopped expansion
They were unable to find a new natural border that was as easily defendable as the Rhine-Danube combination.
> Presumably also because there wasn't much there at the time that would've allowed them to collect taxes. The Romans liked to portray Germania as poor and inhospitable. Part of the reason for that could be cognitive dissonance for never having conquered it.
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#63Tabula Peutingeriana is a road map of Europe which is a copy of a Roman original thought to have been based on a map prepared by Agrippa. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/TabulaPe... It also has a 'subway' feel, given that not much attention has been paid to getting the shapes correct.
That map is just awsome in so many ways. Where is Denmark and Sweden though? Romans just didn't think there was anything up there? Nothing? Way too cold up there for people to live?
Thule is marked on the map away past Ireland, and is apparently identified as Norway nowadays.
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#64It's strange there are so many coastal routes. Shipping virtually anything by sea has been cheaper than moving it over land for a long time, and that probably includes troops. I would have expected roads to connect coastal settlements inland, not along the coast.
Perhaps it's a matter of scale? What if not everyone could afford the upfront cost of owning a boat?
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
They didn't really get past the Germanic tribes and stopped expansion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest Presumably also because there wasn't much there at the time that would've allowed them to collect taxes.
> They didn't really get past the Germanic tribes and stopped expansion They were unable to find a new natural border that was as easily defendable as the Rhine-Danube combination. > Presumably also because there wasn't much there at the time that would've allowed them to collect taxes. The Romans liked to portray Germania as poor and inhospitable. Part of the reason for that could be cognitive dissonance for never h…
Or because it really was poor and inhospitable. Until the middle ages, when new agricultural tools were invented, Germanic territories projected very little power, and relied on periodic aggression to survive in typical nomadic way. This changed when they could actually grow stuff in more reliable ways, producing surpluses to trade and establishing stable kingdoms.
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#66Nice
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#67It's strange there are so many coastal routes. Shipping virtually anything by sea has been cheaper than moving it over land for a long time, and that probably includes troops. I would have expected roads to connect coastal settlements inland, not along the coast.
It took hundreds of years for sea voyages at scale across the med to become a thing, as technology improved. The reach of the empire in this diagram is mostly due to Roman sea supremacy, but it was still difficult, expensive and prone to piracy/uppity city states.
If you're interested I highly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Sea-Civilization-Maritime-His...
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#68> The way we travel on roads is very different from rail, which is a slight flaw in the concept of the map
You said it, author!
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#69Tabula Peutingeriana is a road map of Europe which is a copy of a Roman original thought to have been based on a map prepared by Agrippa. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/TabulaPe... It also has a 'subway' feel, given that not much attention has been paid to getting the shapes correct.
This can help to read the map
http://www.euratlas.net/cartogra/peutinger/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Extends_of_the_Tabul...
Re: A subway-style diagram of the major Roman roads, based on the Empire ca. 125 AD
#70I want to play MiniMetro on this map with Roman chariots instead of subway cars.