WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Romans had to import wheat from North Africa and olive oil from Spain. The need to provide food for its people meant that trade became important in the empire. As Romans conquered new territories in Europe, Africa, and Asia, they built roads which connected those territories back to Rome.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Roman roads were notable for their straightness, solid foundations, cambered surfaces facilitating drainage, and use of concrete made from pozzolana (volcanic ash) and lime.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Romans, for military, commercial and political reasons, became adept at constructing roads, which they called viae (plural of the singular term via). The word is related to the English way and weigh, as in ‘to weigh anchor’.

Detailed explanation-4: -Beginning in AD 43, the Romans quickly created a national road network. Engineers from the Roman Army, in most cases, surveyed and built them from scratch. Key locations, both strategic and administrative, were connected by the most direct routes possible.