Cursus publicus

The term cursus publicus (Latin as: " State transport " ) is a system for the exchange of messages, goods and people during the Roman imperial period referred to, which was introduced under Augustus.

History

The original purpose of the cursus publicus was most likely to make communication as fast and smooth with all the provinces of the Roman Empire. These first young men were stationed along key roads to take, to carry on and passed to the next runner in receiving messages. Later, a single of mounted messenger was carrying a message from sender to receiver. He had the opportunity, exhausted horses to swap to exchange stations against rested.

This method has been used about 500 BC in ancient Iran and by the Persians to quickly deliver messages about the royal roads that had already reached a length of 2600 km and led in all directions of the Persian Empire of Susa.

Operation and infrastructure

From state warrants were issued to people who were able to take on their way of facilities and services. The necessary infrastructure consisted mainly in an ever- developed network of roads and marine lines, important cities, regions and ports linked to each other.

A mainstay of the cursus publicus were the necessary level of population services: for individual towns and communities capacities to saddle or draft animals and vehicles were set that had to be forced rented to travelers of the cursus publicus. The governor of each province paid the landlords for compensation. Resting and sleeping accommodations had to the users of the cursus publicus and their animals are provided free of charge, while they had to pay for food at market prices themselves.

User

Which group of people was allowed to take services of the cursus publicus to complete, was determined by the emperor. These were mainly government officials of higher rank or military authorities.

At the initial time traveler was granted solely on the basis of their appearance, perhaps by wearing a uniform, use rights of the cursus publicus. Due to rampant abuse of this practice has been replaced by the disclosure with imperial rights certificates. Each user have been awarded by well-defined quotas to be claimed animals and / or vehicles. Furthermore, private entrepreneurs could be given the privileges that transported goods that were deemed important by the state.

Goods transported

There were (eg marble) mainly transported building materials, but also control payments and other needs of the court in Rome (as well as horses or wild animals). Messages and messengers were also continue to be transported, and next to them were also officials on business trips along with their luggage on the performance of the cursus publicus recourse.

Subsequent development

In the 4th century, the cursus publicus differentiated in the cursus velox (Latin as: " fast transport " ), who was responsible for urgent transport of messages and people from now on, and the cursus clavularis, who specialized in slower, especially heavy load transport. It should be noted that depending on local needs, this development in the provinces progressed at different rates or pronounced.

Institutions of the cursus publicus existed until the end of the Roman Empire, from the successor states more or less large parts of the system were often taken. The service was discontinued in the Eastern Roman Empire by the Emperor Justinian I ( 527-565), mostly ( Procopius, Secret History 30.1-11 ).