DISTANCE AND COMMUNICATION

in the Roman Empire




STARTING
DESTINATION
DISTANCE
TIME
TRAVEL UNDER FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES, BY SEA
From Ostia to Africa 270 miles 2 days
Ostia Gibraltar 935 miles 7 days
Ostia Spain (northern) 510 miles 4 days
Ostia Marseille 380 miles 3 days
Messina (Sicily) Alexandria 830 miles 6, 7 days
Puteoli Alexandria 1000 miles 9 days
Corinth Puteoli 670 miles 4.5 days
Rhegium Puteoli 175 miles 1.5 days
Puteoli Tauromenium (Sicily) 205 miles 2.5 days
Alexandria Ephesus 475 miles 4.5 days
Carthage Syracuse 260 miles 2.5 days
Carthage Gibraltar 820 miles 7 days

 

STARTING
DESTINATION
DISTANCE
TIME
Compare: Record Speeds, BY SEA, in the 16th century
Genoa Palamos, Spain . 5 days
Messina Palamos, Spain . 6 days
Rhodes Alexandria . 3 days
Nicosia, Cyprus Constantinople . 14 days
Lepanto Venice . 11 days
Lepanto Naples . 17 days


STARTING
DESTINATION
DISTANCE
TIME
TRAVEL UNDER AVERAGE CIRCUMSTANCES, BY SEA
Epidamnus (Dyrrachium) Rome 600 miles 4.5 days
Crete Egypt 310 miles 3, 4 days
Rhodes Alexandria 325 miles 3.5 days
Sea of Azov Rhodes 880 miles 9.5 days
Byzantium Rhodes 445 miles 5 days
Byzantium Gaza 855 miles 10 days
Thessalonike Askalon 800 miles 12 days

 

STARTING
DESTINATION
DISTANCE
TIME
Compare: AVERAGE CIRCUMSTANCES, BY SEA, 16th century
Constantinople Alexandria 770 miles 14 days
Hellespont Chios . 2 days
Messina (Sicily) Alexandria 830 miles 9 days


STARTING
DESTINATION
DISTANCE
TIME
TRAVEL UNDER UNFAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES, BY SEA
Askalon Thessalonike 800 miles 13 days
Rhodes Gaza 410 miles 7 days
Rhodes Byzantium 445 miles 10 days
Gaza Byzantium 855 miles 20 days
Alexandria Marseille 1500 miles 30 days
Puteoli Ostia 120 miles 2.5 days


Sources
  • Lionel Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (Princeton 1971) pp. 220 ff.
  • Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean . . . in the Time of Philip II (NY 1972) I, pp. 358 ff.


© 09/09/2001
January 23, 2010 10:55 PM

John Paul Adams, CSUN
john.p.adams@csun.edu

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