A new analysis of the Roman Empire road network challenges the myth that all roads lead to Rome, revealing that Constantinople and other cities were more central in the terrestrial transport system. The study, based on the digital atlas Itiner-e containing nearly 300,000 kilometers of roads, also found that Roman roads weren't as uniformly straight as commonly believed. The proverb 'all roads lead to Rome' originated in medieval times, not ancient Rome, and persists despite being demonstrably false.
A new analysis of the Roman road network published in Nature Communications reveals that Constantinople, not Rome, was the most central hub in the terrestrial transport system. The study, based on the digital atlas Itiner-e containing 186,000 miles of roads, dispels the medieval myth that all roads lead to Rome, showing instead that the most central path ran through North Africa and Constantinople.
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