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TRAJAN AND THE VIA NOVA
Sources of Information about the New Way or
Via Nova of Trajan in Jordan How do we know anything about the
Via Nova Traiana? There are maps, various written sources,
milestones, inscriptions, and numerous preserved sections of
the road itself which all provide information about the New
Way of Trajan. First, there is the Tabula Peutingeriana or
Peutinger Table, an early 16th century map that is a copy of a
Roman route itinerary that probably originated in the 2nd
century. It shows most of the official highways that would
have been used most frequently by Roman officials traveling on
duty anywhere in the empire. Significantly, for Arabia Petraea,
the only north/south road shown is the Via Nova. The road ran
from Bostra (also spelled Busra) in the north to Aila (modern
Aqaba) on the Gulf of Aqaba in the south. Several sites along
the route are mentioned, e.g. Thantia, Hatita, and Gadda
between Bostra and Philadelphia (modern Amman), [Map  - 32 K]
and Rababatora, Thorma, and Negla between Philadelphia and
Petra [Map - 41 K].
Rababatora is probably a conflation of Rabba (also known as
Areopolis and in early Byzantine times as Rabbathmoba) and
Betthoro or Betthorus (modern Lejjun). Rabba was the main
administrative site in the center of Arabia Petraea and
Betthoro was the main legionary base. This conflation and
other information implies that a branch of the Via Nova
connected these two important sites. The
Madaba mosaic map is a second important source that mentions
towns that would have been on the Via Nova. This 6th century
Christian mosaic shows the Holy Land and Jerusalem from the
vantage point of the Mediterranean Sea. Several sections of the
map were accidentally destroyed during the process of building
the Church of St. George in the late 19th century. However, the
preserved portions indicate that the map makers were aware of
the geographic work of the 4th century Christian historian
Eusebius (his Onamasticon), and probably other early
geographical works that are not now known. The main site
indicated by the Madaba map along the Via Nova was Charachmoba
(modern Karak), but only the letters chmoba are fully preserved.
[Map ]
Reconstruction of some of the damaged portions indicate that
Petra was probably also originally portrayed. Other sites that
were probably once noted along the Roman road, including Madaba
itself in central Jordan, Udhruh (as Augustopolis), Humayma,
Aila, and perhaps others, but these can not now be seen due to
the destruction of the pertinent portions of the map. [Map ]
Other written sources with useful, although indirect,
information on the route and sites along the Via Nova include
the Notitia Dignitatum (a compilation of Roman imperial officers
and their post locations from the 5th century), the geographical
work of the 1st century B.C. Roman writer Strabo, and various
travelers’ comments in journals from the Byzantine through early
modern period. Roman milestones and other remains from the road
itself also help identify its route and major characteristics. |
