Via Egnatia was an ancient Roman road that stretched across an impressive distance between the Adriatic Coast and Byzantium (modern-day Constantinople) on the Bosporus Strait.
Roman civilization is famous for its stunning for its mosaics and marble statues but it was Rome's advanced network of roads that allowed this civilization to thrive for centuries.
Via Egnatia was the first highway to traverse the length of the Balcan Peninsular and the first road built outside Italy by the Romans.
Via Egnatia was built between 146 and 120 BC By the Roman Senator Gnaius Egnatius who named it after himself. Egnatius became governor of the Greek province of Macedonia shortly after it had been conquered by the Romans in 148 BC during the Macedonian war.
The road was approximately 1.120 kilometers long although the easternmost portion was completed decades after Egnatius governed Macedonia. Parts of Via Egnatia were built on an earlier military road between Illyricum and Constantinople.
Via Egnatia connected several important cities in Northern Greece, Illyria, and Thrace.
Via Egnatia still exists today with the Greek name Egnatia Odos.
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