Roman roads in Africa
Encyclopedia
Legio III Augusta
Legio tertia Augusta was raised in the year 43 BCE most likely by the consul Gaius Vibius Pansa and the emperor Augustus who served the Roman Empire in North Africa until at least the late 4th century CE. It is possible that it fought in the battle of Philippi against the murderers of Caesar...
completed a road from Tacape
Gabès
Gabès , also spelt Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, the ancient Tacape, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate, a province of Tunisia. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 116,323 it is the 6th largest Tunisian city.-History:Strabo refers to Tacape as an...
to Ammaedara: the first Roman road in Africa. In 42 AD the kingdom of Mauretania
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...
was annexed by Rome. Emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
then restored and widened a Carthaginian trail and extended it west and east. This way the Romans created a continuous coastal highway stretching for 2,100 miles from the Atlantic to the Nile. In 137 Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
built the Via Hadriana
Via Hadriana
The Via Hadriana was an ancient Roman road established by the emperor Hadrian, running from Antinopolis to the Red Sea at Berenike. It was finished in 137 AD...
in the eastern desert of Egypt. It ran from Antinoopolis to Berenice.
Claudius' road that began west of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
followed the coastline connecting the coastal towns. From Hippo Regius
Hippo Regius
Hippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, in Algeria. Under this name, it was a major city in Roman Africa, hosting several early Christian councils, and was the home of the philosopher and theologian Augustine of Hippo...
, on the coast, it continued westwards to Icosium
Icosium
Icosium was first a Phoenician, then a Roman city whose site is currently occupied by the casbah area of the modern city of Algiers. According to Greek legend, Icosium was founded by 20 companions of Hercules, the Greek name, Ικοσιον, being claimed to derive from εικοσι, the Greek word for...
(Algiers), Caesaria (Cherchel), as far as Rusaddir
Rusaddir
Rusaddir is a Catholic titular see. The original diocese was in Mauritania Tingitana, with see at what is now Melilla in Spain. Rusaddir was a Phoenician settlement, and the name means a high cape....
(Melilla
Melilla
Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
) and Tingis (Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
). It then continued along the Atlantic coast through Iulia Constantia Zilil
Iulia Constantia Zilil
Iulia Constantia Zilil was one of the three colonias in Mauretania Tingitana founded by emperor Augustus between 33 and 25 BC for veterans of the battle of Actium. The city had then already been a Phoenician and Mauretanian city since the 4th century BC...
(Asilah
Asilah
Asilah or Arzila is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about 31 km from Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact...
) and Lixus
Lixus
Lixus refers to the following things:* lixus, the Latin word for "boiled"* Lixus in Morocco* Lixus , a genus of true weevils...
(Larache
Larache
Larache is an important harbour town in the region Tanger-Tétouan in northern Morocco. It was founded in the 7th century when a group of Muslim soldiers from Arabia extended their camp at Lixus onto the south bank of the Loukkos River.In 1471, the Portuguese settlers from Asilah and Tangier drove...
) to Sala Colonia (near Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
). East of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
the road went through the region of the Carthaginian trading stations Sabratha
Sabratha
Sabratha, Sabratah or Siburata , in the Zawiya District in the northwestern corner of modern Libya, was the westernmost of the "three cities" of Tripolis. From 2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha wa Sorman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about west of Tripoli...
, Oea-Tripolis
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna also known as Lectis Magna , also called Lpqy, Neapolis, Lebida or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Khoms, Libya, east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea...
and Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
before coming to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and the lower Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
region.
The Roman empire in the time of Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
(ruled 117-38 AD), showing some of the main roads in Africa
Itinaries
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
:
- Coastal road through SkikdaSkikdaSkikda is a city in north eastern Algeria and a port on the Gulf of Stora, the ancient Sinus Numidicus. It was known as Philippeville until the end of the Algerian War of Independence in 1962...
(Rusicade) to CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC... - Road from CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
to ConstantineConstantine, AlgeriaConstantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, on the banks of Rhumel river...
(CirtaCirtaCirta was the capital city of the ancient Kingdom of Numidia in northern Africa . Its strategically important port city was Russicada...
) - Road from TébessaTébessaTébessa is the capital city of Tébessa Province, Algeria, 20 kilometers west from the border with Tunisia. Nearby is also a phosphate mine. The city is famous for the traditional Algerian carpets in the region, and is home to over 161,440 people.-History:...
(Theveste) to SétifSétifSétif |Colonia]]) is a town in northeastern Algeria. It is the capital of Sétif Province and it has a population of 239,195 inhabitants as of the 1998 census. Setif is located to the east of Algiers and is the second most important Wilaya after the country's capital. It is 1,096 meters above sea...
(Sitifi), via Tazoult (Lambese) - Road from El Krib (Musti (Tunisia)) to ConstantineConstantine, AlgeriaConstantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, on the banks of Rhumel river...
(CirtaCirtaCirta was the capital city of the ancient Kingdom of Numidia in northern Africa . Its strategically important port city was Russicada...
) - Road from ConstantineConstantine, AlgeriaConstantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, on the banks of Rhumel river...
(CirtaCirtaCirta was the capital city of the ancient Kingdom of Numidia in northern Africa . Its strategically important port city was Russicada...
) to AnnabaAnnabaAnnaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria....
(Hippo RegiusHippo RegiusHippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, in Algeria. Under this name, it was a major city in Roman Africa, hosting several early Christian councils, and was the home of the philosopher and theologian Augustine of Hippo...
) - Road from AnnabaAnnabaAnnaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria....
(Hippo Regius) to CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, via ChemtouChemtouChemtou or Chimtou is an ancient site in northwestern Tunisia, located 20 km from the city of Jendouba, near the Algerian border.Ancient Simitthu is known for its important marble quarries which were exploited from the 2nd century BC.The Chemtou Museum displays artifacts discovered in the...
(Simitthu) - Road from AnnabaAnnabaAnnaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria....
(Hippo Regius) to CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, via Le Kef (Sicca Veneria) - Road from Thyna (Thaenae) to TébessaTébessaTébessa is the capital city of Tébessa Province, Algeria, 20 kilometers west from the border with Tunisia. Nearby is also a phosphate mine. The city is famous for the traditional Algerian carpets in the region, and is home to over 161,440 people.-History:...
(Theveste) - Road from Haffouz ? (Aquae Regiae) to SbibaSbibaSbiba is a city in the province of Kasserine. It is the site of the ancient city of Sufes. It is famous of its apples and tomatoes....
(Sufes) - Road from Zanfour (Assuras) to Thyna (Thaenae)
- Road from TebourbaTebourbaTebourba is a town in Tunisia, located about 20 miles from the capital Tunis.-Thuburbo Minus:Historically Thuburbo Minus was a settlement in Africa Proconsularis, located at present-day Tebourba. Thuburbo Minus is mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary, 44, and the Tabula Peutinger...
(Thuburbo Minus) to GabèsGabèsGabès , also spelt Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, the ancient Tacape, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate, a province of Tunisia. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 116,323 it is the 6th largest Tunisian city.-History:Strabo refers to Tacape as an...
(Tacapes), via Sidi Medien (Vallis) - Road from CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
to SbeïtlaSbeitlaSbeitla is a small town in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Forum temples in Tunisia...
(Sufetula), via El Krib (Musti (Tunisia)) - Road from CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
to SbeïtlaSbeitlaSbeitla is a small town in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Forum temples in Tunisia...
(Sufetula), via SousseSousseSousse is a city in Tunisia. Located 140 km south of the capital Tunis, the city has 173,047 inhabitants . Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in...
(HadrumetumHadrumetumHadrumetum was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage and stood on the site of modern-day Sousse, Tunisia.-Ancient history:...
) - Road from El Jem (Thysdrus) to TébessaTébessaTébessa is the capital city of Tébessa Province, Algeria, 20 kilometers west from the border with Tunisia. Nearby is also a phosphate mine. The city is famous for the traditional Algerian carpets in the region, and is home to over 161,440 people.-History:...
(Theveste) - Road from TébessaTébessaTébessa is the capital city of Tébessa Province, Algeria, 20 kilometers west from the border with Tunisia. Nearby is also a phosphate mine. The city is famous for the traditional Algerian carpets in the region, and is home to over 161,440 people.-History:...
(Theveste) to El Jem (Thysdrus), via Germaniciana (not located) - Road from SbibaSbibaSbiba is a city in the province of Kasserine. It is the site of the ancient city of Sufes. It is famous of its apples and tomatoes....
(Sufes) to SousseSousseSousse is a city in Tunisia. Located 140 km south of the capital Tunis, the city has 173,047 inhabitants . Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in...
(HadrumetumHadrumetumHadrumetum was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage and stood on the site of modern-day Sousse, Tunisia.-Ancient history:...
) - Road from El Jem (Thysdrus) to TébessaTébessaTébessa is the capital city of Tébessa Province, Algeria, 20 kilometers west from the border with Tunisia. Nearby is also a phosphate mine. The city is famous for the traditional Algerian carpets in the region, and is home to over 161,440 people.-History:...
(Theveste) - Road from TébessaTébessaTébessa is the capital city of Tébessa Province, Algeria, 20 kilometers west from the border with Tunisia. Nearby is also a phosphate mine. The city is famous for the traditional Algerian carpets in the region, and is home to over 161,440 people.-History:...
(Theveste) to El Jem (Thysdrus), via Germaniciana (not located) - Road from SbibaSbibaSbiba is a city in the province of Kasserine. It is the site of the ancient city of Sufes. It is famous of its apples and tomatoes....
(Sufes) to SousseSousseSousse is a city in Tunisia. Located 140 km south of the capital Tunis, the city has 173,047 inhabitants . Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in...
(HadrumetumHadrumetumHadrumetum was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage and stood on the site of modern-day Sousse, Tunisia.-Ancient history:...
) - Road from SbeïtlaSbeitlaSbeitla is a small town in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Forum temples in Tunisia...
(Sufetula) to KélibiaKelibiaKelibia is a coastal town on the Cap Bon peninsula, Nabeul province in the far northeastern part of Tunisia. Its sand beaches are considered one the finest of the Mediterranean sea....
(Clipea) - Road from CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
to KélibiaKelibiaKelibia is a coastal town on the Cap Bon peninsula, Nabeul province in the far northeastern part of Tunisia. Its sand beaches are considered one the finest of the Mediterranean sea....
(Clipea) - Coastal road from CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
to AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, via Thyna (Thaenae) and Lebda (Leptis MagnaLeptis MagnaLeptis Magna also known as Lectis Magna , also called Lpqy, Neapolis, Lebida or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Khoms, Libya, east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea...
) - Road called the road of the limes TripolitanusLimes TripolitanusThe Limes Tripolitanus was a frontier zone of defence of the Roman Empire, built in the south of what is now Tunisia and the northwest of Libya. It was primarily intended as a protection for the tripolitanian cities of Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Oea in Roman Libya.-History:The Limes Tripolitanus...
, from GabèsGabèsGabès , also spelt Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, the ancient Tacape, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate, a province of Tunisia. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 116,323 it is the 6th largest Tunisian city.-History:Strabo refers to Tacape as an...
(Tacapes) to Lebda (Leptis MagnaLeptis MagnaLeptis Magna also known as Lectis Magna , also called Lpqy, Neapolis, Lebida or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Khoms, Libya, east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea...
) - Road from Medina El-Kdima (ThelepteThelepteThélepte is a Roman ruin in western Tunisia, 5 km from the modern town of Fériana, near the border with Algeria. It is located at around . The best preserved building is a church....
) to GabèsGabèsGabès , also spelt Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, the ancient Tacape, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate, a province of Tunisia. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 116,323 it is the 6th largest Tunisian city.-History:Strabo refers to Tacape as an...
(Tacapes)
According to Peutinger's Table :
(only the supplementary roads are given) [to be completed]
- Roads from GabèsGabèsGabès , also spelt Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, the ancient Tacape, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate, a province of Tunisia. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 116,323 it is the 6th largest Tunisian city.-History:Strabo refers to Tacape as an...
(Tacapes) to Medina El-Kdima (ThelepteThelepteThélepte is a Roman ruin in western Tunisia, 5 km from the modern town of Fériana, near the border with Algeria. It is located at around . The best preserved building is a church....
), via Nefta (Nepte) and alternatives - Roads from Medina El-Kdima (ThelepteThelepteThélepte is a Roman ruin in western Tunisia, 5 km from the modern town of Fériana, near the border with Algeria. It is located at around . The best preserved building is a church....
) to Takembrit (Siga and alternatives) - Road from El Jem (Thysdrus) to TébessaTébessaTébessa is the capital city of Tébessa Province, Algeria, 20 kilometers west from the border with Tunisia. Nearby is also a phosphate mine. The city is famous for the traditional Algerian carpets in the region, and is home to over 161,440 people.-History:...
(Theveste), via Jama (Zama Regia) - Road from El Jem (Thysdrus) to Aïn Hedja (Agbia), via Henchir KasbatEl FahsEl Fahs is a town and commune located in the Zaghouan Governorate, 60 kilometers south-west of Tunis, Tunisia. Its population in 2004 was 19,315....
(Thuburbo MajusThuburbo MajusThuburbo Majus is a large Roman site in northern Tunisia. It is located roughly 60 km southwest of Carthage on a major African thoroughfare. This thoroughfare connects Carthage to the Sahara. Other towns along the way included Sbiba, Sufes, Sbeitla, and Sufetula. Parts of the old Roman road are...
)
Sources
- Eugenia Equini Schneider, "North Africa's great Roman road; from Alexandria to Gibraltar", UNESCO Courier , June, 1984 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1984_June/ai_3289699 (retrieved, Feb. 5, 2009)
- P. Salama, Les voies romaines de l'Afrique du Nord, Alger, 1951
External links
- Maps in: Benet Salway, "Travel, itineraria and tabellaria", in Colin Adams, Ray Laurence, Travel and Geography in the Roman Empire, ed. Routledge, 2001, ISBN 9780415230346, http://books.google.com/books?id=l8Qojf5M_cYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Travel+Geography+Roman+Empire, p. 23-25 (retrieved Feb. 4, 2009)
- Detailed maps (of Roman roads in current Tunisia and Algeria) in: P. Salama, Les voies romaines de l'Afrique du Nord http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/augustine/routes.html (retrieved Feb. 3 , 2009)