300px|thumb|right|Route of the Via Egnatia.

The '''Via Egnatia''' (Greek: ) was a road constructed by the Romans in the Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey.

Starting at Dyrrachium (now Durrës) on the Adriatic Sea, the road followed a difficult route along the river Genusus (Shkumbin), over the Candaviae mountains and thence to the highlands around Lake Ohrid. It then turned south, following several high mountain passes to reach the northern coastline of the Aegean Sea at Thessalonica. From there it ran through Thrace to the city of Byzantium (now Istanbul).<ref>Richard J. A. Talbert, ''Barrington atlas of the Greek and Roman world: Map-by-map Directory'', p. 749. Princeton University Press, 2000. ISBN 0691049459</ref> It covered a total distance of about 1,120 km (696 miles / 746 Roman miles). Like other major Roman roads, it was about six metres (19.6 ft) wide, paved with large polygonal stone slabs or covered with a hard layer of sand.<ref>Elena Koytcheva, "Logistical problems for the movement of the early crusaders through the Balkans: transport and road systems", p. 54 in ''Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies'', ed. Elizabeth Jeffreys. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2006. ISBN 075465740X</ref>

==Construction==
The main literary sources for the construction of the road are Geographica'' and a number of milestones found along the route's length, marking the road for a length of 535 miles as far as the border between Macedonia and Thrace at the river Hebrus (Maritsa). Bilingual inscriptions on the milestones record that Gnaeus Egnatius, proconsul of Macedonia, ordered its construction, though the exact date is uncertain; the road presumably took its name from its builder.<ref name="horsley">G. H. R. Horsley, ''New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity'', p. 81. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1982. ISBN 0802845118</ref> It may have succeeded an earlier military road from Illyria to Byzantium, as described by Polybius and Cicero, which the Romans apparently built over and/or improved.<ref>Ben Witherington III, ''1 and 2 Thesssalonians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary'', fn. 11 p. 3. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2006. ISBN 0802828361.</ref>

The Via Egnatia was constructed in order to link a chain of Roman colonies stretching from the Adriatic Sea to the Bosphorus. The termini of the Via Egnatia and the Via Appia, leading from Rome itself, were almost directly opposite each other on the east and west shores of the Adriatic Sea. The route thus gave the colonies of the southern Balkans a direct connection to Rome. It was also a vital link to Roman territories further to the east; until a more northerly route across Illyria was opened under Augustus it was Rome's main link with her empire in the eastern Mediterranean. It was repaired and expanded several times but experienced lengthy periods of neglect due to Rome's civil wars. 

The road played a vital role in several key moments in Roman history: the armies of Octavian pursued Cassius and Brutus along the Via Appia to their fateful meeting at the Battle of Philippi. Surviving milestones record that the emperor Trajan undertook extensive repairs of the road prior to his campaign of 113 against the Parthians. However, by the fifth century AD the road had largely fallen into disuse as a result of violent instability in the region.<ref name="horsley" /> A fifth-century historian noted that the western sections of the Via Egnatia were in such a poor state that travellers could barely pass along it.<ref name="haldon">John F. Haldon, ''Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World'', p. 54. Routledge, 1999. ISBN 185728495X.</ref>

==Post-Roman usage==
In later years, the Via Egnatia was revived as a key road of the Byzantine Empire; Procopius records repairs made by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I during the sixth century, though even then the dilapidated road was said to be virtually unusable during wet weather.<ref name="haldon" /> Almost all Byzantine overland trade with western Europe traveled along the Via Egnatia. During the Crusades, armies traveling to the east by land followed the road to Constantinople before crossing into Asia Minor. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, control of the road was vital for the survival of the Latin Empire as well as the Byzantine successor states the Empire of Nicaea and the Despotate of Epirus.

A modern highway, Egnatia Odos, runs in parallel with the Via Egnatia between Thessaloniki and the Turkish border on the Evros river. Its name means "Via Egnatia" in Greek, alluding to its ancient predecessor.<ref>See the website of [http://www.egnatia.gr/flash/en/index.html Egnatia Odos S.A.], the company responsible for building the road.</ref>

==Key towns along the Via Egnatia==

thumb|upright=2|Via Egnatia
Die '''Via Egnatia''' ist eine römische Straße auf dem Balkan, durch die Adriaküste und spätantiken römischen Reichs.

Die antike Straße verlief durch Apollonia (beim heutigen Heraclea Lynchestis ''(heute Byzanz.

Die rund um das Jahr 146 v. Chr. gebaute Heerstraße wurde nach ''Gaius Ignatius'', Prokonsul von Makedonien, benannt. Er hatte den Bau in Auftrag gegeben. Streckenweise wurden makedonische Königsstraßen in den Bau einbezogen.

Ihre wichtige strategische und wirtschaftliche Bedeutung verlor sie auch nach dem Niedergang des Römischen Reiches nicht. Auch in byzantinischer Zeit zählte die Via Egnatia zu den wichtigen Straßen. Kreuzritter und osmanische Eroberer benutzen ebenfalls diese Strecke. Sogar in der Gegenwart soll die Strecke wieder zu einer der wichtigsten Routen auf dem Balkan ausgebaut werden. Der so genannte ''Korridor VIII'' ist ein vom Stabilitätspakt für Südosteuropa getragenes Projekt. Auch in Griechenland wird an einer modernen Via-Egnatia gebaut. Allerdings weicht die moderne Streckenführung der Egnatia Odos wesentlich von der aus römischer Zeit ab.

Überreste der antiken Straße sind zum Teil noch erhalten, so auf verschiedenen kurzen Strecken im Shkumbin-Tal in Albanien. Hier lief die Straße nicht nur unten im Flusstal, sondern hoch droben am südlichen Berghang entlang, um sich vor Räubern und Hochwasser zu schützen. An einigen Stellen in der Nähe der albanischen Stadt Librazhd kann man den Verlauf noch sehen oder erahnen.