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Cursus Publicus: Transportation in Ancient Rome Cursus Publicus: Transportation in Ancient Rome F. K. DeVos VER since that great revival of in- with discretionary powers and its con- E terest in Antiquity, the Renaissance, fiscatory setup gradually making it into an put the study of the ancient Mediterranean unbearable burden to every city, village world high up on our Western curriculums, or home situated within its network would younger generations have absorbed- more almost seem to call for a complete reversal or less willingly and with more or less of judgment. While the Cursus Publicus lasting effect- the fact that enlightened was conceived as a great plan and initially rulers used to improve mail, road and sea served a useful purpose, its rapid cor- transport systems. In times of civil ruption has been such as could well justify strife or poor leadership on the other hand, the argument that it actually evolved students were and still are told today, into a public curse. In other words, the communications deteriorated, the capital desirable end did not warrant the alto- city remained without contact with the gether iniquitous means used to attain it. distant provinces, piracy and highway And the means were all the more unjustified robbery thrived and chaos threatened to since they finally were to lead to exactly engulf both the body politic and economic. opposite r esults. In this connection much is made, na- turally, of the Roman Cursus Publicus, O understand the full significance of the first organized system of mail the T Augustus' introduction of the Cursus world has ever had. And rightly so, for Publicus in Rome, it is helpful to examine in a world where rumour often constituted the general setup, both technical and the only news and messengers went on · economic, of transportation as it had de- foot through beast and brigand infested veloped in the Mediterranean world before country to reach their- destination, or the first emperor founded his famous State never be heard from again as chance would Mail service. have it, this institution founded by the As in the history of philosophy, Greece first emperor, Augustus, undoubtedly fill- also played a disproportionately large-part ed a great need. in the history of technical improvement in But, beneficial though this Cursus Pub- means of transport. Compelled by the lieus was in its beginnings and however compartment-like division of their valleys, badly the Roman Empfre may have needed islands and peninsulas, they perforce con- a reliable system of Mediterranean-wide centrated their attention on maritime trade "special delivery" to carry instructions, and the perfection of seagoing craft. Tak- light freight or money at shortest notice, ing the two existing types of vessel used its increasing abuse by corrupt ·officials · by other peoples such as the Phoenicians, CURSUS PUBLICUS: TRANSPORTATION IN ANCIENT ROME the Greeks developed a cargo-boat, which Though less spectacular, progress on first appeared as a small tubby craft suit- land also constituted a tribute to the un- able for coasting only, and made it into a tiring inventiveness of a people that gave powerful ship carrying an enormous spread every opportunity to individual initiative. of canvas and adapted to heavy loads and To facilitate the passage of cartwheels long voyages while, for escort purposes, on their roads, Greeks put artificial rails they devised first the penteconter carrying in the ancient ruts, a practice which they a sharp ram (at the end of the Homeric may actually have learnt from neolithic period) and towards the end of the eighth Malta, while Etruscan roads were paved century the Corinthians added the re- at least in the cities, a custom later imi- doubtable trireme. Capable of holding tated by Rome. But greater progress up to 200 men, this beautiful man o'war was to be made in improving the tractive was made safe in the course of the seventh power of draft animals. Some time in the century when another Greek invented the fourth century an enterprising muleteer anchor. invented the hipposandal, a type of crude Meanwhile shore equipment and men shoe of metal, leather or hide which went a kept pace with progress afloat. Poly- long way towards protecting the animal's crates of Samos had boathouses built feet against the disastrous effects of hard, whereas Homerus' heroes had not known dry roads. Still not the ideal solution, them, being content to draw their shallow these hipposandals often got lost when craft on the beach at dusk. Piers and needed most. docks were improved and harbours built With the invention of · the horseshoe while the neolkos looked after docking. which became generally known in the When the ·straits of Leucas became Western Mediterranean countries during sanded up, threatening to force Corcyra- . the third century, still greater progress was bound ships to make a detour and stand made in making "horsepower" more ef- out to sea. the Corinthians deepened the ficient. Indeed, no more fundamental im- fairway. One of them, Periandros, provements were added until the inven- thought of cutting the Isthmus of Corinth, tion of an improved yoke-in the thirteenth a task which was to prove beyond the art century, some 1600 years later- which of his contemporary engineers and was allowed the animal to pull its load without left to modern times for realization-. But putting pressure on its carotid arteries, the urge to avoid the storms off Cape thus allowing it to work much more ef- Melia and at the same time appreciably fectively. shorten the voyage from the Ionian Sea to the Aegean was so strong that, as a N this ever-evolving background of second best solution, a timber road (diol- I inventions, progress, trial and error, kos) along which the ships were dragged and private initiative protected and furth- on rollers was laid across the Isthmus from ered by rather democratic governments Lachaion (Corinth's harbour on the Ionean) whose functions were circumscribed, Rome to Kenchrai, in the Aegean basin. was to super-impose an organized system Carrying capacity of merchantmen also of state mail and-whether by co-incidence increased from 10 to 15 tons to some huge or not - development of transportation vessels of up to 360 tons (7,000 bushels) throughout the Rome-dominated Mediter- while river boats on the Euphrates and ranean world was to come to a standstill Nile measured between 200 and 300 tons. as from the very time of this initiative. Speeds too had improved considerably In setting up his postal and transport trebling from Odysseus' two knots t~ system - Cursus Publicus - Augustus Xenophon's description of a Milesian ship's studied the examph~s of many other syst- crossing between Lampsacos and the La- ems in Persia, Greece, Egypt and' early conian CQ~st (290 miles) at an average Rome itself. Main influence was no doubt speed of six knots, at the beginning of the exercised by the Egyptian liturgical (un- seventh century. After Alexander light- paid, feudal) system while every once and houses became quite numerous. ' again during its later course reforms were 10 PUBLIC AFFAIRS attempted along the Persian angareion in need of a long resting period with abund- (state financed) system. ant feed. The difference between Persia's ang- So apparent was the need for reform areion and Egypt's liturgia was due to the even before the Cursus had completed its inherent differences between the two coun- first centenary that Claudius' reign (41-54 tries. In ·a rugged land of desert high- A.D.) saw active preparation for its im- lands separating few fertile valleys and provement launched despite the Emperor's peopled with poor, proud herdsmen, a notorious levity. Four decades later, und- feudal system in which draft animals, er N erva, a coin was struck showing two vehicles, food and shelter ( or their equiva- mules unharnessed behind a cart of the lent in money) were to be contributed lo- Cursus Publicus symbolizing the freeing cally was obviously unthinkable. In of draft animals from inordinate command- Egypt, millenniums of pharaonic oppres- eering while the inscription reads 'To sion of a relatively prosperous peasant Italy's remission of vehiculation.' Italy population in the fertile Nile valley made actually needed lightening of the Cursus it a natural. At any rate, the Egyptian burden most because it had the densest system made quite an impression on Caesar road network in the Empire. Only a few when he stayed there in 48-47 B.C. andhis years later, Emperor Trajanus reserved successor Augustus adopted the Egyptian to himself the right to issue diplomata or liturgical principle while combining it with letters entitling their bearers to the use of an ancient Roman custom (evectio or Cursus Publicus facilities thus giving us the legatio libera) by which members of the first indication of the kind of abuse this Senate were allowed the privilege of re- state-run transportation setup had al- quisitioning carts and draft animals even ready led to. In this connection there for their own private travel. In the years exists an interesting record of a letter prior to creation of the Cursus Publicus written by Plinius to the Emperor and this custom was repeatedly altered. Con- explaining how he had given his wife a demning it as harmful to the people, Cicero diploma to travel to her father's deathbed restricted the evectio's duration to one and hoping that the Emperor will pardon year while Caesar extended it again to five him on account of this act of filial duty. years, until Augustus cancelled it alto- It is a typical incident well illustrating gether as he repla~ed the evectio system how this state-imposed people-supported with his newly created Cursus Publicus.
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