The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-09-24

the Persians were content to jog for CEN
turtles, never dreaming, apparently. OF a
short cut. II the Persians had built the
road themselves, they would never have
bee nguilty of the ineomprehensible folly
of making the great detour from the Cili-
clan Gates via Tavium to Ephesus. in
stead of following the direct and natural
trade route from the cicilian Gates via
Iconium, Antiochia, Celaenae. and the
Locus valley OF Ephesus. The Greek
kings and their successors. the Romans,
adopted this natural shortcut. and the
ROYAL Road lapsed into desuetude. Then
all roads led to Ephesus, because Ephe-
sus was the gateway 10 Rome Later on,
Constantinople arose and disputed the
oueenship With Rome. Her rise demand
ed a thoroughgoing change in the gener-
al direction of all roads in Asia Minor.
Roads no longer led TO Rome-that is, to
Ephesus-but TO Constantinople. The
Roman road system in Asia became use
less for purposes of trade, and was de-
graded first TO neighborhOod roads; and
as for fifteen hundred years the roads
have continued to lead to Constantinople,
the good old Roman roads were finally
abandoned, lost and forgotten. Occasion
ally the traveller can locate a section OF
Roman road, though their course must
generally be argued from the milestones.
One such at Kiakhta in distant Kom-
magene is now silent but eloquent re-
minder of Rome's solicitude for even her
most distant provinces; every stone Of
the magnificent old bridge on this road
tells a pathetic story of the passing of
human grandeur.
For Italia, distances were measured
from the rnilIiarium aureum in Rome;
from Milan for Gallia sisalpina; from Ly-
ons and Rheims for Gallia Celtica and
Belgica respectively, etc. So, in Asia,
distances were measured from the pro-
vincial centres, from Tavium for Cappa-
docia; from Melitene for Armenia; from
Palmyra for Palmyrene. etc.
Tavium, in northwestern Cappadocia,
was, as we have seen, a city OF import
ance at the very beginning of history,
and continued TO be q centre of COM
merce down possibly to early Byzantine
the neighboring Boghazkieni Pteria)
and Eyuk prove that Tavium was inhab-
tied by the people nowadays called the
Hittites, who have left enduring memo
orials of their high civilization in the
rock sculptures found throughout Asia
Minor and northern Syria. After the fall
of the Hittite empire, Tavium continued
an important station on the Royal Road
over which the earliest recorded postal
service Travelled. 1t was the centre of
the Roman road system for the whole Of
northwestern Cappadocia, Pontus, and
Galatia, being the point from which ra-
dated the no less than seven Roman
roads. Consequently it is matter of
the highest Importance for ancient geo.
graphy that the site Of Tavium De To-
Gated with absolute certainty An eIab-
crate postal service was kept up through
out the Roman empire; several precious
lists of postal stations have come down
to US (e. G., the Antonine itinerary.
among others. These lists give not only
the names of the postal stations. but also
the distance from station to station in
Roman miles, beginning with a certain
city as the point from which distances
were measured for the whole surround
ing country for at least two hundred
miles. Just as at Rome the milliarium
aureum was the official spot from which
distances were measured. 50 central mil
Haria were erected in Asia Minor in the
cities from which distances were measur-
ed along the roads Of a given province
Many of these starting points are given
in the Itineraries, or in the Peutinger
Table-an ancient map that chance has
preserved; but many Of the starting
points are not given. and therefore ii be
hooves the travelling archaeologist to hunt
up the Roman mile stones that may have
survived to the present day. in order to
read from them the story they have to
tell in regard to the Roman road -ystem.