Via Egnatia or Via Egnatia is a Roman highway made around 146 BC. Its name is taken by Gnaeus Egnatius, a proconsul of Macedonia who built it. It spread through Illyria, Macedonia and Thrace, through present-day Albania, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. It was designed to connect the Adriatic colonies with Byzantium. It was one of the 28 Roman roads that extended through the Roman Empire
The road was built in 44 years, viewed from today's angle and according to today's standards, means expressly and in one breath. The beginning of the building coincides with the expansion of the Roman Empire to the east and is thought to have been started in 145 BC, a year after the Third Macedonian War, after which Rome begins to rule with then Macedonia. Via Egnatia was a priority primarily because there was virtually no communication infrastructure in the conquered areas and no connection with Rome, whose expansion to the east was unstoppable. The whole venture was entrusted to the proconsul Gnaeus Egnatius. After receiving instructions and escort, Egnatius went on a trip to determine the route. After a two month absence, he returned to Rome and briefly told the senators: "Sirs, there is no road there." When they heard that, Senator Nonius replied: "There should be a way, my Egnatius." And so it was. There, in the Balkan wasteland, the tracing of the famous Via Egnatia began.
The road was built in 44 years, viewed from today's angle and according to today's standards, means expressly and in one breath. The beginning of the building coincides with the expansion of the Roman Empire to the east and is thought to have been started in 145 BC, a year after the Third Macedonian War, after which Rome begins to rule with then Macedonia. Via Egnatia was a priority primarily because there was virtually no communication infrastructure in the conquered areas and no connection with Rome, whose expansion to the east was unstoppable. The whole venture was entrusted to the proconsul Gnaeus Egnatius. After receiving instructions and escort, Egnatius went on a trip to determine the route. After a two month absence, he returned to Rome and briefly told the senators: "Sirs, there is no road there." When they heard that, Senator Nonius replied: "There should be a way, my Egnatius." And so it was. There, in the Balkan wasteland, the tracing of the famous Via Egnatia began.
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| Via Egnatia near Resen,Macedonia |
Legends, just mentioned briefly in every history of civilization communications, say that Egnatius and his aides determined the route in Macedonia for one year. Of the three routes planned on the already existing roads, none was accepted. The shortest, through Galicica, fell off because of the impenetrability in most of the year. It is about the current road Oteshevo - Sv. Naum, which was made sometime later.
Observed according to today's standards, Egnatius and his companion still found the most optimal route equally acceptable to both the builders and the later users. The section from Durres to Thessaloniki, 391km long, which many regard as the complete route of Via Egnatia, was built for 18 years and is considered the most difficult in the whole venture. Built on thirteen stages, the route mainly crossed near populated places.
Science has so far with certainty failed to determine the exact route of Via Egnatia in a good part of the entire alignment. For example, the section from Ohrid to Bitola has "gaps", and as such remains a challenge for archaeologists. The section from Ohrid to Bitola was built in three stages and there were also the main stops. The first, from Ohrid to the locality of Nikea was 23.6 km long and along with the second, which ended at the peak Gjavato (16.2 km long) is considered the most difficult on the entire route due to the many slopes, hillsides and incisions. What was built during the summer, was destroyed in spring by the rivers and streams, so it had to be rebuilt.
Via Egnatia has a multiple importance in Macedonian history, primarily because it directly influenced the creation of new cities and their flourishing in every sense. Almost all of the Roman roads in the Balkans started from or were connected to Via Egnatia, so Macedonia was rightfully considered one of the main junctions of the Roman Empire. Thanks to Via Egnatia, all the novelties, carried from Istanbul to Rome or vice versa, passed through here, leaving material and other traces. The section of Via Egnatia throughout Macedonia was intensively used until the First World War, after which it transform into forgotten ancient exhibit.
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| Via Egnatia Struga |
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