VIA APPIA ROSE 353 



were built to maintain communication between Rome and the mili- 

 tary legions in order to expedite the transportation of reinforce- 

 ments and supplies. The stores and impedimenta carried by each 

 legion were considerable. Besides horses and pack mules, they in- 

 cluded 10 great machines {onagri or catapultae)^ representing the 

 heavy artillery of the times, and 55 small machines mounted upon 

 chariots (carrobalistae) , for throwing stones and arrows. Only 

 good roads were adequate for the rapid transportation of these 

 engines of war and siege. 



After the conquest of the neighboring provinces, the great roads 

 provided for the prompt dispatch of military legions to localities 

 menaced by uprisings and so assured the immediate suppression of 

 any revolutionary undertaking. The ways also facilitated the re- 

 turn of plunder and taxes, which, when paid in silver or in kind, 

 required a fast and safe means of transport. In addition, the roads 

 permitted the rapid transit of news and despatches between the seat 

 of government and the provinces. Lastly, the roads were conducive 

 to peace because they diffused the benefits of Roman civilization by 

 connecting the provinces and the colonies to the city. The commer- 

 cial relations made possible by these roads welded the Empire to- 

 gether more closely than would have been possible by severity or 

 force. 



PUBLIC TRANSPORT DIVIDED INTO A FREIGHT AND A PASSENGER 



SERVICE 



Thus with the consolidation of the Empire, the traffic upon the 

 public roads {cursus publici) grew to such proportions that Diocle- 

 tian (A. D. 284^305), by means of a rescript, found it necessary to 

 divide the public transport into two classes: (1) the express service 

 {cursus rapidi) , and (2) the freight service (angariae). 



ROADSIDE STOPPING PLACES ESTABLISHED BY GOVERNMENT 



To facilitate the use of the great roads, there were distributed at 

 more or less regular distances, depending upon local conditions, three 

 kinds of establishments: 



1. Relays {mutationes) , from 6 to 13 miles apart. 



2. Mansions (mansiones), lodging places for the end of a day's 

 journey, from 28 to 37 miles apart. 



3. Stations {stationes, stativae, or civitates), which were towns, or 

 stopping places, for longer rest periods. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE EXPRESS SERVICE 



The express service was under the supervision of officers called 

 praefecti vehiculoruTn, who were generally freedmen of the emperor. 



