The Most Distant Places Visited by the Romans

Summary by Krater

This video explores how ancient Romans mapped and conceptualized the geographical world, examining the extent of their knowledge, trade routes, and explorations to the outer edges of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

From the video

Answers: How far did the ancient Romans know about and explore the world?

• Ancient Roman geography and mapping
• Claudius Ptolemy's world map
• Roman exploration of Europe, Asia, and Africa
• Ancient trade routes between Rome and Asia
• Ptolemy's coordinates and geography

What it concludes

• Roman merchants and travelers maintained a presence and knowledge extending far beyond their empire's direct political control.
• Ptolemy's map accurately captured the general layout of the known world from the Canary Islands to China, despite diminishing accuracy with distance from the Mediterranean.
• Roman maritime trade routes routinely crossed the Indian Ocean to India, facilitating massive trade in spices, silk, and luxury goods.
• The Romans were well aware that the world was much larger than their empire and actively sought knowledge of distant regions through explorers, merchants, and military campaigns.