Without question one of the finest military machines in the history of humanity, the Roman Empire had a lot of things going for them. They boasted the best trained troops in the world, their soldiers were equipped with the most technologically advanced weapons and armors of the ancient world, and were so versatile that they could build bridges across the Rhine in a matter of days as efficiently as they could wage war upon barbarian tribes. But by far, the most influential tool in the Imperial military arsenal, were the Roman roads that criss-crossed the Empire and allowed troops to reach the most remote corners with alacrity.

At its peak, the Roman road system contained more than 50,000 miles of paved roadways, called viae (singular: via), stretching over most of the Empire. The roads allowed the flow of goods from and to Rome, allowing for the efficient administration of this vast empire from its epicenter in Italy. Though not built exclusively for military use, the Roman legions made excellent use of the road system; legions could travel on the paved road farther than on uneven terrain, allowing them to cover greater distances in a shorter time. This meant that, though bases throughout the Empire had scores of soldiers ready for battle at a moment’s notice, reinforcements could be called in to arrive relatively fast, creating a greater threat for anyone considering military action against a Roman outpost.

The Via Appia in Rome is an exception in that it was the first long road built specifically to transport troops out from the smaller region of greater Rome. The Via Appia began in the city of Rome, just past the Baths of Caracalla, and wound its way down to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its main part started and finished in 312 BCE, the Via Appia was instrumental in the Roman victory at the Second Samnite War, ferrying troops to the south and providing a steady stream of reinforcements to battle the Samnites. The road was eventually extended and a smaller road, the Via Appia Traiana, was built by Emperor Trajan, connecting Benevento and Brindisi via a shorter route near the eastern coast of Italy.

Ultimately, the very road system that allowed the systematic dispersal of troops and made the process of Empire building and conquest easy for the Romans served to bring their doom right to their doors. The Gothic tribes that attacked and sacked Rome in the 5th Century CE arrived at the center of the Empire using the very same roads that had led Caesar to their lands in Germany during the Gallic Wars more than four centuries earlier.

Many of the Roman roads remain in use in modern times, and ruins along their route give us glimpses into fascinating aspects of Roman life and culture, such as their use of roadside pensions and hostels, road marks and itineraries, akin to waymarkers showing the cities along the route and the distance to them. They are some of the most prolific remains of this world-spanning culture that so shaped our modern world, and any visit to a country once under Roman rule should include a glimpse at the road system that once moved the mightiest military war machine on Earth.

In Your Game

War is an ubiquitous theme in roleplaying games, but we rarely give thought to how those massive amounts of troops make it to the battlefield. In modern/future games, the existence of roads is a given, much as it is in our world, but in fantasy/low-tech games, it is fascinating how we can forget about them. In fantasy/low-tech games where war is to play a major role, the majority of troops still have to make their way on foot (scenes from Lord of the Rings come immediately to mind), and though magical means are available in some worlds for a portion of an army (say, its elite and command squads), it is the presence of roads that will determine which force will be able to field more troops at the moment of truth.

It is a relatively simple technological advance, but it has had one of the greatest impacts in our history; it will, likewise, be so in yours.