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→Royal Roads
==Royal Roads==
The next major change to roads was the development of the "royal roads" or official government roads that connected very distant towns. This idea developed in the Middle Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian period, from the late 2nd millennium BCE and early 1st millennium BCE. These roads were roads the government had authority over and to utilize them one had to have official permission, unlike normal roads that were considered as common space. The idea of these roads was for developing rapid transport to connect distant places of an empire or large state. Unlike many early roads connecting towns, these long-distance royal roads developed to be more linear or straight, as speed was the primary goal of these roads. Such roads became particularly important as horses developed as the primary transport option for military purposes as well as messengers. Royal roads also helped develop the concept of highways, where a type of road would bypass local roads and help those moving on these roads to more quickly move without going through each city or town along the way. Major nodes or towns, rather than small cities or towns, became the focus in royal roads. Inns and rest places developed as such long-distance roads became important features for large empires. In effect, unlike earlier roads, the growing state needed to create systems of communication that was rapid. Royal roads became the chief vehicle for this along with horses.
==Paved Roads==
