Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 25, 2026

Via Traiana Nova

The Via Traiana Nova or Via Nova Traiana, previously known as the Via Regia or King's Highway, was an ancient Roman road built by Emperor Trajan in the province of Arabia Petraea, from Aila on the Red Sea to Bostra. It was specifically known as the Via Traiana Nova in order to distinguish it from the Via Traiana in Italy. It is occasionally also referred to simply as the Via Nova or 'Via Nova Traiana' Its construction started shortly after the annexation of Arabia, supervised by governor Gaius Claudius Severus, and was completed under Hadrian.

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The Via Maris (purple), King's Highway (red), and other ancient Levantine trade routes, c. 1300 BCE. source ↗

The Via Traiana Nova or Via Nova Traiana (Latin for 'Trajan's New Road'), previously known as the Via Regia or King's Highway, was an ancient Roman road built by Emperor Trajan in the province of Arabia Petraea, from Aila (modern-day Aqaba) on the Red Sea to Bostra. It was specifically known as the Via Traiana Nova in order to distinguish it from the Via Traiana in Italy. It is occasionally also referred to simply as the Via Nova1 or 'Via Nova Traiana'2 Its construction started shortly after the annexation of Arabia, supervised by governor Gaius Claudius Severus, and was completed under Hadrian.1

Some sections of the Via Nova Traiana are still visible in the natural landscape, especially in less developed areas where modern roads have not altered its course.

Sources

Sources

  1. Browning, Iain (1982:33) Jerash and the Decapolis (London: Chatto & Windus)
  2. Young, Gary K. (2001:119) Rome's Eastern Trade: International commerce and imperial policy, 31 BC - AD 305 (London: Routledge)