Overview

In about 3500 B.C., a 1,500-mi (2,414-km) long road running from the Persian capital of Susa to the Aegean Sea came into use. Not necessarily a road as understood by modern usage, this was more a track worn into the soil that was used in a routine, if not an organized, way for over 2,000 years. Eventually organized by the Assyrians, it served the Persian kings for centuries, and was later used by Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) to convey his troops, ironically helping Alexander to conquer the Persian Empire. At the time, the Persian Royal Road was not unlike other roads built in Egypt, Greece, and Babylon, all of which were, though somewhat limited in scope, served to link parts of an empire. However, it was not until the Roman Empire that roads were brought to their logical...