{{Short description|Main east–west street within a Roman city}} {{About|2=the saint|3=Decuman}} {{Italics title}} [[File:Damascus Straight Street.jpg|thumb|The Straight Street or ''Via Recta'', the main street in the Old city of Damascus, was the city's ''decumanus'', built by the Romans. (Pictured 2017)]] In Roman urban planning, a '''''decumanus''''' was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or ''castrum'' (military camp).<ref name="Stambaugh19883">{{cite book |author=John E. Stambaugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k0mZufizhH0C&pg=PA283 |title=The Ancient Roman City |date=1 May 1988 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-3692-3 |pages=283–}}</ref> The main ''decumanus'' of a particular city was the '''''decumanus maximus''''', or most often simply "the ''decumanus''".<ref>The City Walls of Pompeii: Perceptions and Expressions of a Monumental Boundary by Ivo van der Graaff, M.A. Dissertation. Graduate School of The University of Texas, p. 90</ref> In the rectangular street grid of the typical Roman city plan, the '''''decumanus''''' was crossed by the perpendicular ''cardo'', a north–south street.

In a military camp, the ''decumanus'' connected the Porta Praetoria (closest to the enemy) to the Porta Decumana (away from the enemy).<ref name="Konrad2004">{{cite book |author=Christoph F. Konrad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9lfbpknDeIC&pg=PA126 |title=Augusto Augurio: Rerum Humanarum Et Divinarum Commentationes in Honorem Jerzy Linderski |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |year=2004 |isbn=978-3-515-08578-6 |pages=126–}}</ref><ref name="Kaiser2011">{{cite book |author=Alan Kaiser |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=im2rAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT160 |title=Roman Urban Street Networks: Streets and the Organization of Space in Four Cities |date=14 October 2011 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-76006-8 |pages=160–}}</ref>

In the center – called groma – of a city or ''castrum'', the '''''decumanus maximus''''' crossed the perpendicular ''cardo maximus'', the primary north–south road. The forum was normally located close to this intersection.

== Etymology == ''Decumanus'' or ''decimanus'' was the Latin word for 'tenth'. This name is said to come from the fact that the ''via decumana'' or ''decimana'' (the "tenth") separated the Tenth Cohort from the Ninth in the legionary encampment, in the same way as the ''via quintana'' separated the Fifth Cohort from the Sixth.

== Examples == [[File:Palmyra_-_Decumanus_Maximus.jpg|thumb|''Decumanus maximus'' in Palmyra, Syria]] === Barcino, Barcelona === In the ancient Roman city of Barcino (present day Barcelona, Spain), the ''decumanus maximus'' started at the late-Roman gate (which still stands) in front of the current ''Plaça Nova'' square.<ref name="Mierse1999">{{cite book |author=William E. Mierse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xyonZINGx04C&pg=PA79 |title=Temples and Towns in Roman Iberia: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Sanctuary Designs, from the Third Century B.C. to the Third Century A.D. |date=6 November 1999 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-91733-0 |page=79}}</ref> [[File:Gadara,_Jordan_(34550700885).jpg|right|thumb|''Decumanus maximus'' in Gadara, Jordan]]

=== Split, Croatia === Within the city of Split, in present-day Croatia, is the UNESCO Roman monument, Diocletian's Palace. This city, built by the Emperor Diocletian, exhibits the characteristic Roman orthogonal street system with the ''decumanus maximus'' connecting the west Iron Gate to the east Silver Gate.<ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17691 C.Michael Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham, Oct. 6, 2007]</ref>

=== Gadara, Jordan === In Roman Gadara, present-day Umm Qais, in Jordan, the ''decumanus'' runs east–west for approximately one kilometre with its ancient flagstones extant.<ref>Ivan Mannheim, ''Jordan Handbook: The Travel Guide'', 2000. Footprint Travel Guides, 404 pages, {{ISBN|1-900949-69-5}}</ref>

=== Damascus, Syria === Another fine example is the Straight Street or Via Recta in Damascus, which is 1,500 metres long, connecting the eastern and western gates.

=== Beirut, Lebanon === In Beirut's central business district, Rue Weygand, which runs east–west, still follows the ancient Roman ''decumanus''.<ref>Mannheim, Ivan, ''Syria & Lebanon Handbook: the Travel Guide'', page</ref>

=== Florence, Italy === In Florence, the ''decumanus'' is preserved as the streets Via Strozzi, Via Speziali, and Via del Corso in the city's old centre. Although these streets have different names, they form a continuous line with a split between the Via Strozzi and Via Speziali by the Palazzo Strozzi. In Roman times, these three streets formed the ''decumanus'' of Florentina, the name of the Roman ''colonia''. The Via Roma and the Via Calimala are formed from the ancient ''cardo'', and what was once the forum in ancient Florence is now the Piazza della Repubblica.[[File:Xanthos_Decumanus_4376.jpg|thumb|260x260px|''Decumanus'' in Xanthos, Antalya Province, Turkey]]In Naples, there still exist three main ''decumani'' which are, from north to south:<ref>[http://www.fondazionegbvico.org/ita/pagina.asp?cod=13&area=2&cat=9 Fondazione GB Vico] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311193058/http://www.fondazionegbvico.org/ita/pagina.asp?cod=13&area=2&cat=9|date=2014-03-11}}, entry on Decumani.</ref>

* Superiore: consisting of Via Sapienza, Via Pisanelli, and Via Anticaglia; * Maggiore: Via dei Tribunali; * Inferiore: Via Spaccanapoli, consisting of Via Benedetto Croce and Via San Biagio dei Librai.

== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" heights="130"> File:Calleva Atrebatum plan.png|Plan of Silchester, England File:NeapolisStenopoi.jpg|Ancient Naples, ''decumani'' in red File:Ostia antica 64.JPG|Sign indicating the ''decumanus maximus'' in Ostia Antica File:Ostia Antica 2013-03-08-64.jpg|Ostia Antica, near Rome </gallery>

== References == {{Reflist}} <references responsive="1"></references>

== See also == Cardo Maximus

== External Resources == * [https://madainproject.com/decumanus_maximus Exhaustive list of Roman decumanus maximus]

Category:Ancient Roman city planning Category:Ancient city of Rome Category:Streets in Naples