சாலைகள் - Roads. 8 Ways Roads Helped Rome Rule the Ancient World

ஒரு நாட்டின் அடிப்படைத் தேவை சாலை வசதியாகும்.  ஆதிகாலத்தில் ஒற்றையடிப் பாதையாக மனித நடமாட்டமும் குதிரைகள் செல்வதும் வருவதுமாக  இருந்தது. சாலை வசதிகள் என்பது நாட்டில் குப்தர் காலத்திலும், தமிழகத்தில் மூவேந்தர்கள் ஆட்சிகாலத்திலும் சற்று விரிவான பாதையாக மாற்றப்பட்டது. நாயக்கர் மக்கள் ஆட்சியில் சாலைப்போக்குவரத்து விரிவுபடுத்தப்பட்டது என்பது செய்தி. அச்சாலைகள் மங்கம்மாள் இணைப்புச் சாலைகள் என்று இன்றைக்கும் அழைக்கப்படுகின்றது.

சாலை ஓரத்தில் சுமைதாங்கிகளும், அன்னச் சத்திரங்களும், நிழல்தரும் மரங்களும் இந்தக்காலத்தில் அமையப்பெற்றது.
கிரேக்கத்திலும் ரோமத்திலும் நாட்டின் நிர்வாகத்தை கவனிக்க வேண்டுமென்றால் சாலை வசதி அவசியம் என்று கருதப்பட்டது.

அந்த வகையில் ரோமப் பேரரசில் ஆட்சிப் பரிபாலனம் செய்ய அக்காலத்தில்   எட்டு முக்கியச் சாலைகள் அமைக்கப்பட்டது. அதன் மூலம் ஐரோப்பா முழுவதும் தொடர்புகளுக்குள் வந்தது. இதுபற்றி இவான் ஆண்ட்ரூஸ் எழுதிய பதிவில் அச்சாலைகள் பற்றிய தரவுகள் இருந்தது.

அந்தக்காலத்தில் போருக்குச் செல்லும் போது குதிரைகளும் யானைகளும், போர்வீரர்களும் செல்ல ஒற்றையடிப் பாதைகளிலெ பயணம் செய்தனர். குதிரைகளில் அரசர்களுக்குள் எடுத்துச் செல்லப்படும் கடிதங்கள் இந்த ஒற்றையடிப் பாதை வழியாகக் கொண்டுசெல்வதுதான் வழக்கமாக இருந்தது.

புனித யாத்திரைகள்,  மதுரை போன்ற நகரங்களுக்கு நடந்தோ மாட்டுவண்டிகளிலோ நடந்தே வந்து வீட்டு நிகழ்ச்சிகளுக்கு ஆபரணங்கள், துணிமணிகள், பொருட்கள் வாங்குவதுண்டு.  இந்த சிறிய பாதையில் தான் அக்காலத்தில் போக்குவரத்துகளும், வணிகமும் நடந்தன.

அவ்வையாரும், வள்ளலாரும், அருணகிரி நாதரும், பட்டினத்தாரும், தாயுமானவரும், காரைக்கால் அம்மையாரும் ஆழ்வார்களும், அப்பர் சுந்தரர் சம்பந்தர் திருநாவுக்கரசர் போன்றோர்களுக்கு இந்தப் பாதையில் தான் பயணங்கள்.

கிறித்துவத்தில் புனித சவேரியரும் , வீரமா முனிவரும் , கார்டுவெல் போப்பும், முட்கள் நிறைந்த ஒற்றையடிப் பாதையில் தான் பயணம் செய்து தங்கள் தொண்டுகளை ஆற்றினார்கள்.

இஸ்லாத்தில் தக்கலை பீர் முகம்மது அப்பா, சதக்கத்துல்லா அப்பா ,சீறாப்புராணம் பாடிய உமறுப்புலவர் போன்றோர்கள் அந்த காலத்தில் இந்தப்பாதையில் தான் நடைப்பயணங்கள் மேற்கொண்டார்கள்.

இன்றைக்கு இந்தியாவில் நாற்கரச் சாலைகள் பல அமைந்துவிட்டன.
எளிதான, வசதியான பயணம். ஆனாலும் சுங்கச் சாவடிகளில் பணம் செலுத்தி பயணிக்க வேண்டுமென்றால் மலைப்பாக இருக்கிறது.

திருநெல்வேலி வரை காரில் பயணித்தால் கிட்டத்தட்ட ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் வரை சுங்கக் கட்டணமே செலுத்தவேண்டியதாகிறது.

சாலை என்பது அடிப்படை வசதியும், உரிமையுமாகும். அதில்போய் பணம் வசூலிப்பதென்பது எந்த விதத்தில் நியாயம்?

--கே.எஸ்.இராதாகிருஷ்ணன்.
04-06-2015.
‪#‎KSRadhakrishnan‬
‪#‎KSR_Posts‬
#Roads
#Roam

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Roads and Roam  -By Evan Andrews


Roadways were the lifeblood of Ancient Rome. Over the course of 700 years, the Romans built more than 55,000 miles of paved highways throughout Europe—enough to encircle the globe. These engineering marvels ensured the swift movement of goods, soldiers and information across the Empire, and played a crucial role in tightening Rome’s grasp on the Mediterranean Basin. Explore eight reasons why this remarkable transit system helped unite the ancient world.

1. They were the key to Rome’s military might.

The first major Roman road—the famed Appian Way, or “queen of the roads”—was constructed in 312 B.C. to serve as a supply route between republican Rome and its allies in Capua during the Second Samnite War. From then on, road systems often sprang from Roman conquest. As the legions blazed a trail through Europe, the Romans built new highways to link captured cities with Rome and establish them as colonies. These routes ensured that the Roman military could out-pace and out-maneuver its enemies, but they also aided in the everyday maintenance of the Empire. Reduced travel time and marching fatigue allowed the fleet-footed legions to move as quickly as 20 miles a day to respond to outside threats and internal uprisings. Even the most isolated parts of the Roman world could expect to be swiftly supplied or reinforced in the event of an emergency, lessening the need for large and costly garrison units at frontier outposts.

2. They were incredibly efficient.

Since Roman roads were designed with speed of travel in mind, they often followed a remarkably straight trail across the countryside. Land surveyors, or “gromatici,” began the building process by using sighting poles to painstakingly chart the most direct route from one destination to another. The resulting roads often shot straight up steep hills, and small bridges and tunnels were built to ensure the path could traverse rivers or pass right through mountains. Even in instances where the road was forced to divert from its course, the Romans typically opted for sharp turns and switchbacks over sweeping curves to preserve their arrow-straight design. Britain’s Fosse Way, for example, only veered a few miles off course over its entire 180-mile distance.

3. They were expertly engineered.

Roman builders used whatever materials were at hand to construct their roads, but their design always employed multiple layers for durability and flatness. Crews began by digging shallow, three-foot trenches and erecting small retaining walls along either side of the proposed route. The bottom section of the road was usually made of leveled earth and mortar or sand topped with small stones. This was followed by foundation layers of crushed rocks or gravel cemented with lime mortar. Finally, the surface layer was constructed using neatly arranged blocks made from gravel, pebbles, iron ore or hardened volcanic lava. Roads were built with a crown and adjacent ditches to ensure easy water drainage, and in some rainy regions they were even nestled on raised berms known as “aggers” to prevent flooding.

4. They were easy to navigate.

As the made their way down one of Rome’s many roadways, weary travelers could guide themselves by a detailed collection of mile markers. Much like the road signs on modern interstates and freeways, these stone pillars gave the distance to the nearest town in Roman miles and instructed the traveler on the best places to stop. They also provided information on when the road was built, who constructed it and who last repaired it. To embody the idea that “all roads lead to Rome,” the Emperor Augustus even saw that a so-called “golden milestone” was placed in the Roman Forum. Cast from gilded bronze, this monument listed the distance to all the city’s gates and was considered the convergence point of the Empire’s road system.

5. They included a sophisticated network of post houses and roadside inns.

Along with road signs and mile markers, Roman roads were also lined with state-run hotels and way stations. The most common of these ancient rest stops were the horse changing stations, or “mutationes,” which were located every ten miles along most routes. These simple posthouses consisted of stables where government travelers could trade their winded horse or donkey for a fresh mount. Switching horses was especially important for imperial couriers, who were tasked with carrying communications and tax revenues around the Empire at breakneck speed. By stopping off at multiple posthouses, couriers could move as far as 60 miles in a single day. Along with the more common “mutationes,” travelers could also expect to encounter roadside hotels, or “mansiones,” roughly every 20 miles. Each “mansio” offered basic lodgings for people and their animals as well as a place to eat, bathe, repair wagons or even hire a prostitute.

6. They were well-protected and patrolled.

To combat the activities of thieves and highwaymen, most Roman roads were patrolled by special detachments of imperial army troops known as “stationarii” and “beneficiarii.” These soldiers manned police posts and watchtowers in both high traffic and remote areas to help guide vulnerable travelers, relay messages and keep an eye out for runaway slaves. They also doubled as toll collectors. Like modern highways, Roman roads were not always free of charge, and troops were often waiting to levy fees or taxes on goods whenever the route reached a bridge, mountain pass or provincial border.

7. They allowed the Romans to fully map their growing empire.

Much of what historians know about Rome’s road system comes courtesy of a single artifact. Named for its medieval owner, Konrad Peutinger, the Peutinger Table is a 13th century copy of an actual Roman map created sometime around the 4th century A.D. This eye-catching atlas was drawn on a 22-foot-long collection of parchment and shows the entire Roman world in full color along with several thousand place names. Cities are illustrated with sketches of small houses or medallions, but the map also includes the locations of lighthouses, bridges, inns, tunnels, and—most importantly—the Roman highway system. All the major Roman roads are listed, and the map even gives the distances between various cities and landmarks. The Peutinger map has proven indispensable to scholars studying the Roman transit system, yet historians still debate its original purpose. Some have claimed it was a field guide for government figures traveling on official business, while others contend it was displayed in an imperial palace.

8. They were built to last.

Thanks to their ingenious design and careful construction, Roman roads remained technologically unequaled until as recently as the 19th century. But while modern asphalt highways might offer a smoother ride than the Via Domitiana or the Appian Way, Rome’s 2,000-year-old roadways take the prize for durability. Many Roman roads were used as major thoroughfares until only recently, and some—including the Via Flaminia and Britain’s Fosse Way—still carry car, bike and foot traffic or serve as the guiding route for highways. Rome’s enduring engineering legacy can also be seen in the dozens of ancient bridges, tunnels and aqueducts still in use today.