The origin of the road and city network of Roman Pannonia

In any one macro-region there is usually one brief period of large-scale city foundation. Within Pannonia the road and city building impulse was introduced from outside along differing axial lines at three different times. Impulse chains extended from the generating points or areas to the primary objectives. The pattern of the network was determined by the selection of basic strategic objectives, which were placed on specific sites of high military-transport potentiality. Each of the road networks proved to be fanshaped composed of three elements: the axial entry route, the “cross-bar” along the Danube and “ribs” or “trusses” joining key border posts to the axis. The total pattern was that of a parallelogram of urban corridors surrounding a vacant middle.