Abstract
The author presented the importance of the Strymon River valley - an area through which one of the most important communication routes on the Balkan Peninsula ran during the Roman period. The aim of the article is to establish a route based on the river valley and assess its role in the communication system connecting the Danube basin with the Aegean Sea. The author used the historical and geographical method. He analysed the topography of the area, information from ancient itineraries, results of archaeological research and findings of historical cartography. The article showed that the Strymon valley provided the shortest connection between Serdica and central Thrace and the Aegean coast, so it was certainly used for communication. The author characterized the course of the river in detail, indicated sections that favored communication and places that hindered traffic. The comparison of geographical data with written sources allowed us to assess the credibility of the hypotheses about the existence of a road running along Strymon. Despite incomplete source confirmation, the route of this route was justified by terrain conditions and corresponded to the logic of the Roman communication system. The analysis shows that the road must have played an important role in both military and commercial communication. It was a strategic connection between the northern and southern parts of the Balkans.
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