The origin of this saying is related to roads that have existed for over a thousand years.
Upon arriving at Sultanahmet Square in present-day Istanbul, tourists will learn that this is the remnants of the Hippodrome of Constantinople. This site once hosted countless horse races and other outdoor activities.
In the square, there is a small stone column that many people overlook. Few know that it is the only remaining trace of a place considered the center of the world for over 1,000 years.
At the height of its power, the Roman Empire had a network of roads stretching from the Rock of Gibraltar to the marshes of Mesopotamia. Alongside this, there is a saying that has endured to this day: “All roads lead to Rome.” But is this saying true?
The Historical Origin of the Legendary Saying
According to Conde Nast Traveler, when Emperor Constantine rebuilt the city of Byzantium in the 4th century, he renamed it Constantinopolis. However, many referred to it as Nova Roma (New Rome). One of the most exquisite architectural structures was the double marble triumphal arch, flanked by long rows of statues of goddesses and emperors, topped by a grand dome. Inside the arch was a milestone made of pure gold known as Milion.
Milion is a term inspired by “mille” in Latin, which means “thousand” and also serves as a unit of distance. A Roman mile was calculated as 1,000 double steps, roughly equivalent to a mile (about 1.6 km).
All distances traveled in the Roman Empire were measured from this milestone. At that time, the territory of the Roman Empire spanned approximately 3,000 miles (over 4,800 km), extending from Spain to Egypt and ancient Persia.
The remaining ruins. (Source: Conde Nast Traveler).
Emperor Constantine borrowed the idea of a structure marking “milestone zero” and gave rise to the phrase “All roads lead to Rome”. However, over time, that milestone has disappeared.
In excavations, experts discovered remnants of the Milion milestone (now located in Istanbul, Turkey). Scholars believe this is the only remaining part of the triumphal arch from the former capital Constantinopolis. Fragments of this arch were excavated by archaeologists in 1967 and restored to their original position.
Many countries today also follow the Roman tradition by marking a “kilometer zero” or “mile zero” to calculate distances from that point to all destinations within their territory. The kilometer zero of France is located opposite Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, while the Japanese milestone is in the middle of Nihonbashi Bridge in Tokyo.
Modern Scientific Insights
In 2015, three researchers at Moovel Lab conducted a study to validate this saying. They dropped a network of nearly 500,000 points on a map of Europe. The points were randomly selected.
The research team then used an algorithm to calculate the best routes to Rome using modern routes from those starting points. The more frequently a route was used, the bolder it appeared on the map.
Their results showed that there is indeed a network leading to Rome, connecting other major cities along the way, such as London, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), and Paris.
News of the map spread widely, but it does not definitively prove that all roads lead to Rome. If researchers were to conduct the same experiment but instead examine the quickest routes from those 500,000 points to Berlin or Moscow, the map would display a variety of expansive routes leading to those cities as well.
Philipp Schmitt, one of the designers behind the artwork, stated: “Our project does not truly answer the question of whether all roads lead to Rome.”
The map created by Moovel Lab to consider the best ways to reach Rome using modern routes. (Source: Benedikt Groß, Raphael Reimann, and Philipp Schmitt).
However, the group’s research holds certain value. The results demonstrate the endurance of Roman roads: Many of Europe’s road infrastructures are still designed to connect major cities to the Italian capital, likely as a legacy of the empire. Other researchers have also found similar cases.
César Parcero-Oubiña, a landscape archaeologist at the Heritage Science Institute in Madrid, Spain, stated: “We used computer modeling to examine the most reasonable routes connecting two points and then compared them with Roman roads to see if they were similar.”
The results indicated that many multi-lane highways in Europe are a legacy of Roman roads. However, this has changed in recent years, Parcero-Oubiña told Live Science.
The ancient road leading to Rome. (Source: Live Science).
“Main roads connect important locations, and therefore, in one way or another, they all end or begin in Rome,” Parcero-Oubiña said. These main roads were designed for the movement of wheels and animals – in other words, they are much more complex than muddy trails.
This saying reveals the secrets of the massive road system and vast territory of the Roman Empire. Many roads of the Roman Empire still exist today. They are viewed as a monumental achievement of this civilization.
Additionally, modern individuals also use the phrase “All roads lead to Rome” with a different meaning. Specifically, this saying implies that there can be many ways to achieve success, and it ultimately depends on the path one chooses to take. When making a decision about an issue, we can certainly think broadly about multiple directions and methods to resolve that problem.
