What Happened To The Roman Roads After The Fall Of The Roman Empire?

The Roman road network stands as one of the most enduring legacies of ancient engineering. A vast system that, at its height in the second century AD, spanned over 80,000 kilometers across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Britain and parts of Asia Minor. Built primarily for military efficiency, these roads facilitated the movement of legions, trade goods, administrators and ideas, binding the empire together. From 300 BC onwards, the road network grew ever faster until, by the second century AD, it had grown to an incredible size. Constructed with meticulous layers, starting with a deep foundation of large stones or gravel, topped with compacted sand, smaller stones and often paved with durable slabs, these vi, as they were called, were designed to last for a very long time, many with drainage ditches, milestones and bridges. But what happened to this enormous giant road system that the Romans built over the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire? What happened to the tens of thousands of kilometers of magnificent roads spanning over different continents? Did they just simply disappear? Let us try to understand. What happened to the Roman road network after the fall of the Roman Empire? The dissolution of the Western Roman Empire during the course of the 5th century AD marked a pivotal shift as centralized imperial funding and maintenance ceased, leading to very divergent fates of the Roman roads across different regions. In the fragmented West, roads gradually declined but persisted in use for centuries even after the fall of the West. Often adapted or overlaid by successor states. But we know that after the Western Roman Empire fell, the Eastern Roman Empire continued on for almost another millennium. There, the road network was actively maintained until the very end in 1453. In the West, the absence of a unified authority after effectively the early 460s AD meant that road maintenance became sporadic and localized. Barbarian kingdoms such as those of the Visigoths, Ostrogoths or Franks inherited the infrastructure but prioritized defense over upkeep, leading to erosion, overgrowth, and even repurposing of the materials from the roads for fortifications or other buildings. If you are a fan of Roman history and you would want to buy an item for yourself or someone else as a present, then you might want to consider the SPQR shop. They produce incredible replicas of Roman history with a very high attention to detail. All their items are carefully handcrafted and I think it will be difficult to find that level of craftsmanship anywhere else. They handcraft Roman coin replicas, rings, pendants, attributes and many other items of Roman history. If you want to support the channel or if you want to buy a present for someone who likes Roman history, please go and check out their excellent site, link in the description. If you buy over this link, you will receive a 20% price reduction, which I personally find very generous. Thank you very much for your consideration and back to the video. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, trade across Western Europe declined sharply due to rivaling Germanic kingdoms, a lack of security generated by these often warring Germanic successor states, and an emergence of a much more localized trade. This shifted commerce mostly to rivers and coasts, which accelerated abandonment in remote areas. However, the roads inherent durability ensured continued use. Their straight alignments and solid bases made them preferable to muddy alternatives, even in disrepair. Beginning in the early Middle Ages, so basically after the Gothic Wars of 536 to 560 AD, many Roman roads served as pilgrimage routes or local paths, sometimes evolving into medieval trackways. Archaeological evidence shows that while surfaces degraded, foundations often survived, influencing later road building during the Renaissance and even during the Industrial Revolution. Unsurprisingly, Italy, the Roman Empire's ancient core, saw the most continuity. The Via Appia Antica, built in 312 BC and extending from Rome to Brindisi, exemplifies this resilience. After the last Western Roman emperors vanished, it remained a vital artery for Austro-Gothic rulers like Theoderic, who even ordered repairs to preserve its connectivity. Sections near Rome were used for centuries after the so-called fall, though of course rural parts suffered from neglect and stone quarrying. Today, preserved segments with original basal paving are still walkable in the Appian Way Regional Park used by tourists and locals, demonstrating over 2,000 years of near-continued use. Another example is the Via Flaminia and the Via Amerina, both linking Rome to Ariminum, modern day Rimini. These roads were extremely important because they were the major connection of Rome to Ravenna, the two most important cities in Italy in the early Middle Ages. The Via Flaminia and the Via Amerina were of course, as basically almost all roads in Italy, in constant use during the time of Uruacar and in the Austro-Gothic kingdom. But these roads became especially important in the time of the from 584 to 751 AD. Especially the Via Amerina became the most defended road in Italy, since the Lombards had managed to occupy a portion of the Via Flaminia sometime around 580 or 590 AD. The Via Amerina was a vital lifeline for trade and communication between Ravenna and Rome, and it continued to be so until the Exarchate fell in 751 AD. But even Charlemagne still used this road in his campaigns against the Lombards. Parts of the Via Flaminia are overlaid by the modern highway SS3, so some modern highways still follow the routes of the ancient Roman roads. In southern Italy, the Via Popilia from Capua to Regio Calabria persisted as a route for the Eastern Roman reconquests under the emperor Justinian and his extremely competent general Belisarius, before then falling into partial disuse in the 9th century. In central Italy, the Via Salaria, an ancient salt road from Rome to the Adriatic, continued serving commerce well into the Middle Ages. Charlemagne's forces used that road during his 8th century campaigns, but unfortunately earthquakes and floods in the following centuries led to the abandonment of elevated sections, which were then buried under sediment. Excavations near Ascoli Piceno reveal how these roads shaped medieval town layouts, implying that many of the roads were not only still in use in the high middle ages, but actually even strongly influenced where new towns would be built. Modern roads like the highway SS4 still follow their paths. In Gaul, Roman roads like the Via Agrippa network, radiating from Lugdunum, modern-day Lyon, were crucial for Frankish consolidation under Clovis, so they were very frequented by the Franks. The Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, built in 118 BC, stretching from the Alps to Spain, remained in use for trade and military movements well after the fall. After the fall of Roman Gallia to the Germanic invaders, Merovingian kings maintained key segments of that road for tax collection purposes, but rural branches decayed later due to the Viking raids in the 9th century. Today, parts of those Roman roads are integrated into the N113 highway in southern France, with original paving still visible near Narbonne, illustrating a continuous use, at least in parts, even to this day, since Roman times. The Via Aquitania, from Bordeaux to the Mediterranean, persisted through the Visigothic kingdom in Aquitania, where it supported wine trade. After the Frankish conquest of that region in 507 AD, it saw limited repairs, but sections became overgrown and fell into disuse at some point in the later centuries, probably around the 9th century AD. But interestingly, by the 12th century, monastic orders revitalized sections of that road for trade purposes, which led to an economic revival in the region during that time. In Northern Gaul, the Chaussee Bruinot, a Roman road from Bavay to Cologne, was used by Carolingian armies. A legend attributes its name to Queen Brunhilde, who lived in the 6th century, who allegedly restored that road. Archaeological sites in Belgium show how these roads were narrowed and graveled over time, and yet still, their alignments endure in modern motorways like the E19. In Hispania, meanwhile, the Via Augusta, running 1500 km from the Pyrenees Mountains to Cádiz, exemplified post-Roman adaptation. Under Visigothic rule, from the mid-5th to the mid-8th centuries, it facilitated internal governance and was vital to communication and trade within the Visigothic Kingdom. The Arab conquest in 711 AD led to the integration of this road into the Caliphate's network, with repairs using Roman techniques. Sections like the Puerto del Pico pass in central Spain retain original paving and have been in continuous use as trade routes from the 8th until as late as the 15th centuries. Today, as with so many examples before, a highway runs over it and it forms part of the A6 highway. The silver road, the Via del Plata from Merida to Astorga, continued as a pilgrimage path, evolving into the Camino de Santiago. After the 450s AD, the Suevi and Visigothic kingdoms used it for silver mining transport, though Arab rule saw some rerouting for irrigation canals. In Portugal, the Roman road from Lisbon to Braga persisted through the Middle Ages, with bridges like the Ponte de Lima surviving intact to this day. And this Roman road played an important role in Portugal throughout the Middle Ages. In Britannia, however, things looked very differently. Britain's isolation after the Roman withdrawal in 410 AD accelerated its decline, with many roads falling into disuse already some hundred years later. But some, very few roads, like Watling Street, which previously was a Roman road connecting London to Roxeter, remained vital for the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. For instance, it was used by Alfred the Great in the 9th century against the Vikings. Much of it is now the A5 road, with original sections buried under tarmac, but excavated near St. Albans. The Fosse Way, from Exeter to Lincoln, also basically an ancient Roman road, persisted as a boundary between Saxon territories, maintained sporadically until the Norman conquest in 1066 AD, when it was fortified. Today, many sections of the Fosse Way form parts of modern roads like the A429 road, while some other parts are now only accessible on foot or form trails that lead through the countryside. Ermine Street, from London to York, facilitated Norse settlements in the Danelaw in the 9th and 10th century, but its northern segments decayed due to Scottish raids. In Wales, Sarn Helen was used by medieval princes with folklore linking it to St. Helen. Parts remain as footpaths, illustrating a gradual reversion to nature in rugged terrain. The Via Claudia Augusta, from Italy to the Danube, saw continued use under In modern-day Germany and Austria, sections of that road, like the Alpine Pass, were maintained for salt trade into the 12th century. Today, it's a cycling route with preserved milestones near the German city of Füssen. The Limes-Germanicus roads, bordering the Limes frontier, decayed quickly post-fall due to the Alemanni invasions, but the Agri Decumatis road network influenced Carolingian paths. In North Africa, roads like those radiating from Carthage were still continued to be used even during the times of the Vandal Kingdom and subsequently also in time after the Eastern Roman reconquest of Africa in the time of Justinian. Of course, not all roads were continuously used, and some certainly fell into disrepair in the Vandal Kingdom. We know, however, from the writings of Procopius that Belisarius, when he landed in Africa traveled towards Carthage on a Roman road, which then clearly must still have been in pretty good shape in those times. We can also assume that some roads were repaired and maintained for as long as Roman Africa persisted. The Eastern Roman Exarchate of Africa fell as late as 698 AD. But we can assume that even in the Caliphate, some roads were still used in pretty much unaltered form, and then at a later date just paved over and continued to be used. The Via Adriana from Antionopolis to the Red Sea was abandoned amid desert encroachment and after the Arab invasions in the mid-7th century. Modern rediscoveries via satellite show very little persistence. In the Levant, the Via Maris, which was a coastal road, continued under Eastern Roman rule, but shifted under the Umayyad Caliphate. Sections of it in Israel are now highways, but the Roman inland roads in that region decayed very fast in the time of the Umayyad Caliphate. But we know that whereas the West fragmented into many different rivaling kingdoms and nations, the Eastern Roman Empire continued for quite a few more centuries. Naturally, then, of course, the ancient Roman roads were continued to be used there. Especially emperors like Justinian funded huge repairs of the roads. The Via Ignatia from Duracum to Constantinople remained essential for crusades and trade until the Ottoman conquest in 1453, with sections in modern Greece and Turkey still surviving pretty much intact. In Anatolia, military roads like the Pilgrim's Road to Jerusalem were maintained against Persian and Arab threats, and it supported Eastern Roman armies until the 4th crusade in 1204 After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottomans still continued using it. Ottoman millets used that road for administration, and today the modern E80 road is overlaying it. So we see that the Roman road network was in some places continued to be used for many centuries, even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In the East, they were maintained until the very end, until the fall of Constantinople. But even in other parts of Europe and North Africa, they were in use far longer than we would have thought. Yes, some parts decayed pretty fast. Some parts were overgrown by vegetation, and got covered by earth and forgotten. Some parts of the old Roman roads that had fallen into disrepair were even used for building materials, to build sometimes entire new towns. And some other parts were just built over and fascinatingly are still in use in some way, shape or form even today. Maybe you yourself have once driven on a Roman road without even realizing it. A road that still perfectly follows the old route from Roman times. These roads served as a foundation for trade and for commerce, and for the exchange of information for many centuries even after the Roman Empire. And thus we can rightfully say that our modern civilization is built on the very work that the Romans laid out before. The Roman road network is a statement to the ingenuity and the lasting impact of Roman civilization. Thank you so much for watching dear friends of Roman history. A special thanks to our Patreon and YouTube members because it is really thanks to you, dear friends, that I still continue making videos on this channel. Thank you so much. And if you want to learn more about other Roman technologies, you can watch this video in the upper right corner. But if you want to learn more about Britannia after the fall, you can watch the other video in the lower right corner. I say thanks again to all friends of Roman history, gratias ti biago and benevalete.