Tous les chemins mènent à Rome

The Roman roads were essential for the growth of their empire, by enabling them to move armies. A proverb says that all roads lead to Rome . Roman roads were designed that way to hinder provinces organising resistance against the Empire. At its peak, the Roman road system spanned 53,000 miles (85,300 km) and contained about 372 links.

These long highways were very important in maintaining both the stability and expansion of the empire. The legions made good time on them, and some are still used millennia later. In late Antiquity these roads played an important part in Roman military reverses by offering avenues of invasion to the barbarians.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org