Roads are symbols of a functioning society. They make the transportation of people and goods possible and they date back to 4000 B.C. Sumerians built the first known stone-paved roads in Mesopotamia —modern-day Iraq. And since then roads have held societies together and made trade between other civilizations possible. Here are some of the oldest and most fascinating roads in history.
The Silk Road
The Silk Road wasn’t actually a road. Even the name for it came from the 19th century and doesn’t really reflect the nature of trade on this historic route, says Amanda Respess, an assistant professor of premodern world history who specializes in the Silk Road at Ohio State University.
The roads are not in a uniform condition like ancient Roman roads, except for some of the routes built by the Achaemenid Persian Empire around 550 B.C., which were wide enough for armies to pass and also contained periodic way stations.
