The Via Traiana Nova or Via Nova Traiana ( for, , Latin, Trajan's New Road), previously known as the
Via Regia or King's Highway, was an ancient
Roman road built by Emperor
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
in the province of
Arabia Petraea
Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province ( la, Provincia Arabia; ar, العربية البترائية; grc, Ἐπαρχία Πετραίας Ἀραβίας) or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Emp ...
, from
Aqaba
Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...
on the Red Sea to
Bostra
Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...
. It was specifically known as the Via Traiana Nova in order to distinguish it from the
Via Traiana
Via Appia ''(white)'' and Via Traiana ''(red)''
The Via Traiana was an ancient Roman road. It was built by the emperor Trajan as an extension of the Via Appia from Beneventum, reaching Brundisium (Brindisi) by a shorter route (i.e. via Canusi ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It is occasionally also referred to simply as the 'Via Nova'
[Browning, Iain (1982:33) ''Jerash and the Decapolis'' (London: Chatto & Windus)] or 'Via Nova Traiana'
[Young, Gary K. (2001:119) ''Rome's Eastern Trade: International commerce and imperial policy, 31 BC - AD 305'' (London: Routledge)] Its construction started shortly after the annexation of Arabia, supervised by governor
Gaius Claudius Severus, and was completed under
Hadrian.
Sources
{{List of Roman roads
Traiana Nova, Via
Trajan
Arabia Petraea