The Royal Road: 111 Stages
Caption
The Royal Road: 111 stages from Sardis to Susa. Herodotus counts 111 staging posts, about 2,500 km, in 90 days on foot. His stage lists add up to 2,474 km across six regions. Of the royal couriers he wrote: “Nothing mortal accomplishes a course more swiftly.” #Achaemenid #RoyalRoad #Herodotus
Short takes
111 staging posts between Sardis and Susa. Herodotus says a traveller on foot needed about three months. A royal courier, changing riders and horses at each post, did not.
The Persepolis tablets record rations issued to travellers on the roads of Fars. The empire’s highways ran on paperwork as much as on horses.
Herodotus’ stage list for the Royal Road totals 2,474 km across six regions. One road, one empire.
Image description
Infographic The Royal Road: 111 Stages. Three stat tiles read 111 stages, 2,500 km and 90 days. A quotation from Herodotus on the royal couriers sits beside a road strip of 111 cells split into six regions, with flags at Sardis, the Halys crossing, the Cilician Gates, the Euphrates, the Tigris and Susa. Three cards cover the relay system, Persepolis tablets and onward routes. A bar reads 2,474 km.
