[Illustration: THE APPIAN WAY A view in the neighborhood of Rome. The ancient construction of the road and its massive paving blocks of lava have been laid bare by modern excavations. The width of the roadway proper was only fifteen feet. The arches, seen in the background, belong to the aqueduct built by the emperor Claudius in 52 A.D.] USES OF ROMAN ROADS Roman roads had a military origin. Like the old Persian roads [31] they were intended to facilitate the rapid dispatch of troops, supplies, and official messages into every corner of Italy. Hence the roads ran, as much as possible, in straight lines and on easy grades. Nothing was allowed to obstruct their course. Engineers cut through or tunneled the hills, bridged rivers and gorges, and spanned low, swampy lands with viaducts of stone. So carefully were these roads constructed that some stretches of them are still in good condition. These magnificent highways were free to the public. They naturally became avenues of trade and travel and so served to bring the Italian peoples into close touch with Rome. ROMANIZATION OF ITALY Rome thus began in Italy that wonderful process of Romanization which she was to extend later to Spain, Gaul, and Britain. She began to make, the Italian peoples like herself in blood, speech, customs, and manners. More and more the Italians, under Rome's leadership, came to look upon themselves as one people--the people who wore the gown, or _toga_, as contrasted with the barbarous and trousers-wearing Gauls. [Illustration: A ROMAN LEGIONARY From a monument of the imperial age. The soldier wears a metal helmet, a leather doublet with shoulder-pieces, a metal-plated belt, and a sword hanging from a strap thrown over the left shoulder. His left hand holds a large shield, his right, a heavy javelin.] 55. THE ROMAN ARMY THE LEGION While the Romans were conquering Italy, they were making many improvements in their army. All citizens between the ages of seventeen and forty-six were liable to active service. These men were mainly landowners--hardy, intelligent peasants--who knew how to fight and how to obey orders. An army in the field consisted of one or more legions. A legion included about three thousand heavy-armed footmen, twelve hundred light infantry, and three hundred horsemen. After the conquest of Italy the states allied with Rome had to furnish soldiers, chiefly archers and cavalry. These auxiliaries, as they were called, were at least as numerous as legionaries. The Romans, in carrying on war, employed not only their citizens but also their subjects. METHOD OF FIGHTING