Milestones and Roads in the Province of Caria

The study of traffic routes is an integral part of the TIB series. The present work is devoted to the road system of Caria, while a future study will deal with the sea ways, based on portolans and sea maps from antiquity to the early Ottoman period. The geographic frame of the investigation is the late antique province of Caria as it is described in Hierokles and in the Byzantine Notitiae episcopatuum. The toponyms mentioned in these and other sources refer to the main settlements of the region. Since these were usually connected with each other, they formed not only the nucleus of the settlement pattern, but also the basis of the road system. With the exception of a peripheral zone in the north, Caria was at great remove from the long- distance traffic routes of Asia Minor. On the north side of the Meander valley, and therefore outside of the province of Caria, the most important west- east connection through Asia Minor traversed the Meander on a famous bridge at Antiocheia Maiandru and then led further to Laodiceia. This route is also represented in the Tabula Peutingeriana. In the Tabula Peutingeriana also appears a continuous coastal road that connected prospering towns like Ephesus, Miletus, Myndus, Cnidus, Loryma and Caunus. This road continued to exist in Byzantine times, but must have collapsed when these cities went to ruin in the Ottoman period. It was only recently rebuilt to connect the new tourism centres. After the Battle of Manzikert (1071), the frequent invasions of Seljuq and Turkish tribes into the Meander valley necessitated new building activity. Along the road from Miletus (now re-named Palatia) to Antiocheia, a chain of fortresses was built. Further fortifications were erected at the passes between the Meander valley and the interior of Caria. The documentation from the monastic site at Mount Latros indicates its close relations with Hyllarima and attests to the presence of numerous monasteries and churches. This density of monastic and ecclesiastical sites must have generated considerable traffic in this region. In the absence of other literary sources about the Carian road network besides the Tabula Peutingeriana, some references in Strabo and a few inscriptions, archaeological findings are of particular importance in this area. In this context, the milestones play an important role as they not only outline the course of the road, but also contain information about the road construction work. In some instances, bridge and road remains indicate the exact street layout. The milestones are presented and analyzed in a separate chapter. In total, 8 routes can be reconstructed from the literary, archaeological and historical sources: 1. The "coastal road" 2. The route south of the Meander from Miletus to Antioch 3. The inland road from Miletus to Halicarnassus 4. The route through the Marsyas valley 5. The route through the Harpasos valley 6. The route through the Morsynos valley 7. The route from Miletus over the Latmos to Hyllarima and Aphrodisias 8. The route from Halicarnassus via Mylasa to Hyllarima and Aphrodisias