How did the system of roads influence the development of the roman empire?

Answer 1

Roads are crucial for trade. They are needed for communications and to transport goods for trade. The Romans built a huge a network of 400,000 kilometres (250,000 miles) of roads throughout the empire. This was greatly beneficial for overland trade. About 20% (80,500 kilometres, 50,313 miles) of this network were the famous stone-paved roads. They originally had a military purpose. The speeded up and made easier the movement of troops and of supplies to soldiers at the front or in garrisons. Since Rome was at war so often, they were very important. They also made communications and the transport of goods for trade easier.

Answer 2

The part of the Road road system which helped imperial expansion were the paved roads (not all roads were paved). The purpose of the paved roads was military. They speeded up the movement of troops and made the transport of supplies to troops at the front or stationed at garrisons quicker and easier. This was useful for both conquest and pacification after conquest. More generally, roads helped travel and the growth of trade around the empire.

An indication of the military nature of the paved roads was that initially the Romans liked to build them as straight as possible. As a result of this, sometimes they went up steep slopes. This made the transport of heavy goods very difficult. When traders complained about this, detours were created to make these tracts less steep.