In order to insure a reliable, steady flow of information to the government, the emperor Augustus developed the cursus publicus or state courier service (see Sotinel, ch. 9). At first, a series of runners brought dispatches, but this system was soon abandoned in favor of a relay of vehicles. The latter system, in which a single courier traveled the whole distance on a series of light wagons, ferries, and sailing ships, sacrificed speed for the sake of the more detailed information that could be obtained by questioning the messenger (Suet. Aug. 49. 3). The cursus was originally an infrastructure for use solely by designated state officials (Supplementum epigraphicum Graecum 26. 1392: 13 ff.), but because vehicles could accommodate additional people and baggage, it quickly devolved into a transportation system and remained thus throughout Late Antiquity (Kolb 2001: 95-6; see August. Conf. 5. 13. 23; Chrysostom, Hom. in Ep. ad Hebr. 2. 5).
The average speed of the cursus was perhaps five Roman miles an hour, or fifty Roman miles a day (approximately 75 km) (Ramsay 1904: 387-8; Forbes 1955: 154; Chevallier 1976: 194). In a pinch, dispatch bearers occasionally covered twice or even three times the distance (Procop. Anecdota 30. 1). Speed always depended upon the season, the quality of the road, and the density of the traffic (Libanius, Or. 21, 15-16; Aelius Aristides, Sacred Discourses 2. 60-2; Chevallier 1976: 193). In the late fourth century, a special section of the cursus was established for express service, the so-called cursus velox.
Only designated officials had the right to use this relay system (Llewelyn 1995); to prove entitlement, they were required to carry a diploma/evectio sealed by the governor of the province, authenticating their business and stipulating the type of transport to which they were entitled (Chevallier 1976: 182). An edict of Constantine makes it clear that travelers had to furnish their own drivers (Cod. Theod. 8. 5. 2, AD 316; Kolb 2001: 101). Initially, the government reimbursed these services but, by Late Antiquity, the economic burden fell entirely upon the local inhabitants (Kolb 2001: 97-8). Despite the fact that penalties attached to those found abusing the system, legal and epigraphic evidence suggests that fraud was common (Forbes 1955: 153; Chevallier 1976: 182-4, 188).
World History
