"Via Diagonalis" - One of the most important ancient roman road.

14/02/2021

2000 years ago, with the rapid development of the young Roman Empire, the need for rapid transportation of merchandise, supplies, troops, even communications and other needs of the empire, led to the construction of a stable and well-organized road infrastructure in the Roman Empire. The road network built by the Romans was the venous system of the empire, through which the movement inside it took place.

One of the most important road arteries that established an important place in the empire is the so-called The "via diagonalis" - also known as the "via Militaris" - "Military route", it connected East and West (between the Middle East, Asia Minor and Mesopotamia with Eastern and Western Europe) for hundreds of years "via Diagonalis" crossed the Balkan Peninsula to connect with another important and strategic Roman road - "via Egnatia", which is the most direct route between Asia Minor through the Balkans to the Apennine Peninsula. In the northern part of the road it connected with the Danube road "via Istrum", which passed from the left shore of the Danube river, reaching the Black Sea. In this way the connection between the Northern part of the empire and the Black Sea was established.

All the major arteries in ancient Rome were military engineering facilities built by legionnaires in peacetime. It was of great importance that the Roman roads be as straight as possible in order to allow a legion to move the shortest route to the problem area in the empire.

"Via Diagonalis" passed through Belgrade - Nis - Sofia - Plovdiv (Philipopolis) - Edirne (Adrianople) to Constantinople (Istanbul) as the construction of the northern section of this road began in the time of Emperor Augustus, as two German provinces were founded in the north, completion on some sections of the road they were made in the time of Emperor Nero, and the complete completion of the road took place only under Emperor Trajan. The Suki Pass - the narrow gorge between the hills of Eledzhik and Golak in the region of Sredna Gora - Bulgaria, later adopted the name of the "Trajan's Gate" Pass, which has remained to this day. In Thracian "suki" means "cleft or strait". The ancient authors describe it as a gap through which to pass from Thrace to the Danube. It was there at the Trajan's Gate in 986 that Emperor Basil II the Bulgarian Slayer was defeated. According to various chronicles, the road "via Diagonalis" was also renamed "via Trayana" in honor of Emperor Trajan.

This road artery was quite busy even after the era of Trajan and the "Five Good Emperors". During the barbarian invasions between the III - V century AD. "via Diagonalis" served as a military-strategic line for the transportation of military units and provisions by the Roman army in order to protect and prevent barbarian invasions in the areas of Moesia and Thrace.

From the early history of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) to the XI-XII centuries, this section of the road was also used and maintained by the emperors Theodosius and Justinian I the Great, as well as by their successor emperors in different centuries. Through this road artery the connection with the so-called The Silk Road until the fall of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in the XV century (1453), and during the Crusades, was actively used to move crusaders from Western Europe to Asia Minor and from there to the Holy Land. In the XVI century, the Ottoman Turks used the "via Diagonalis" road for their campaign against Hungary and the siege of Vienna, with their chronicles mentioning a road called the "Royal Road" or the "Sultan's Way"