Via Egnatia
The Via Egnatia ( Greek Ἐγνατία Ὁδός ) was a Roman road in the Balkans , through which the Adriatic coast and the Bosporus were connected. As the eastern continuation of the Via Appia , it was the direct route between Rome and Constantinople , the two great metropolises of the late ancient Roman Empire .
The ancient road ran through Illyria , Macedonia and Thrace , which are now on the territory of the modern states of Albania , North Macedonia , Greece , Bulgaria and Turkey . The starting point was Dyrrhachium (today Durrës) on the Adriatic. A southern branch began in Apollonia (near today's Fier ), which was also an important port city at the time. In the Shkumbin valley , the two branches first came together again. In the area of Lake Ohrid there were again two routes that met not far from Heraclea Lynchestis (today Bitola ) . Then the road led south to Thessalonike , from there it went east again past the northern Greek peninsula of Chalkidike to Byzantium .
The around the year 146 BC The military road built in BC was named after Gnaeus Egnatius , proconsul of Macedonia. He had commissioned the building. Macedonian royal roads were partially included in the construction.
It did not lose its important strategic and economic importance even after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Via Egnatia was also one of the most important streets in Byzantine times. Crusaders and Ottoman conquerors also used this route.
Remnants of the ancient road are still partially preserved, for example on various short stretches in the Shkumbin Valley in Albania. Here the road ran for long stretches not in the river valley, but high up on the southern mountain slope. In some places near the Albanian city of Librazhd you can still see or guess the ancient course. Other remains - some in good condition - can also be found in the northern Greek city of Kavala near Agios Silas.
present
At present, the route is to be expanded again to become one of the most important routes in the Balkans. The Pan-European Transport Corridor VIII is a project supported by the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe .
In Greece, the A2 motorway was named after the Via Egnatia Egnatia Odos . It connects the important port of Igoumenitsa on the Ionian Sea to the road network of Thrace. In contrast to the ancient model, the western route deviates to the south and opens up the mountainous Epirus .
literature
- Michele Fasolo: La via Egnatia I. Da Apollonia e Dyrrachium ad Herakleia Lynkestidos. Istituto Grafico Editoriale Romano, Roma 2003, II ed. 2005 [1]
- Angelika Gutsche: In the footsteps of the ancient Via Egnatia - from the Western Roman to the Eastern Roman Empire: A historical travel guide through the southern Balkans: Albania - Macedonia - Greece - Turkey. Wiesenburg Verlag, Schweinfurt 2010 [2]
