Via Egnatia (Greek: Εγνατία Οδός) was a road constructed by the Romans around 146 BC. It was named after Gaius Ignatius, proconsul of Macedonia, who ordered its construction. The road stretched across Illyria, Macedonia and Thrace, running across modern Albania, Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. It was constructed in order to link up different Roman colonies from the Adriatic Sea to Byzantium. The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ... A Roman road in Pompeii The Romans, as a military, commercial and political expedient, became adept at constructing roads; many long sections of them are ruler-straight, but it should not be thought that all of them were. ... History - Ancient history - Ancient Rome This is a List of Ancient Rome-related topics, that aims to include aspects of both the Ancient Roman Republic and Roman Empire. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC - 140s BC - 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC Years: 151 BC 150 BC 149 BC 148 BC 147 BC - 146 BC - 145 BC 144 BC... This article is about an ancient civilization in southeastern Europe; see also Illyria (software), Illyria (character in the TV series Angel). ... The huge equestrian statue of Alexander the Great, king of ancient Macedon, on the waterfront at Thessaloniki, capital of Greek Macedonia Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe with an area of around 67,000 square kilometres and a population of 4. ... Thrace is a historical and geographic area in south-east Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, north-eastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... Albania is a Mediterranean country in southeastern Europe. ... Greece, officaly called the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. ... Official languages Macedonian2 Capital Skopje President Branko Crvenkovski Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski Area  – Total  – % water Ranked 145th  25,713 km²  1. ... The Republic of Bulgaria is a republic in the southeast of Europe. ... The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. ... The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. ... Byzantium was the original name of the modern city of Istanbul. ...

The Via Egnatia was repaired and expanded several times. It remained an important commercial and strategic route for centuries, and was one of the most important roads in the Byzantine Empire, connecting Dyrrhachium on the Adriatic with Thessalonica, Adrianople, and finally Constantinople on the Bosporus. Almost all overland trade with western Europe travelled along the Via Egnatia. During the Crusades, armies travelling to the east by land followed the road to Constantinople before crossing into Asia Minor. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, control of the road was vital for the survival of the Latin Empire as well as the Byzantine successor states the Empire of Nicaea and the Despotate of Epirus. The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Greek city of Epidamnos (Strabo Geography vi. ... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ... Edirne is a city in (Thrace), the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Fatih Sultan Mehmed Bridge over the Bosporus seen from over Rumelihisarı This article is about the strait; Bosphorus is also a Turkish Boğaziçi or İstanbul Boğazı) is a strait that separates the European part (Rumeli) of Turkey from its Asian part (Anadolu), connecting the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) with... This article is about historical Crusades . ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ... The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem by taking Egypt first, instead, in 1204, conquered the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the states founded by refugees from the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople was conquered during the Fourth Crusade. ... The Despotate of Epirus was one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire, founded in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. ...

External links

• HiT.gr - Via Egnatia 2004 (http://hit.gr/english/news-events/egnatia-2004/) - A small video sequence of the official opening of the Via Egnatia in Thesprotia (December 2004)