ABSTRACT
The Roman Mediterranean was characterized by a dense and diverse network of port cities, yet the urban nature of ports is often disconnected from the study of their facilities. Ports varied significantly in size and urbanity, and played different roles in local, regional, and Mediterranean economic networks. To understand port networks, it makes sense to think of them in hierarchical terms, by distinguishing small, medium-sized, and large local ports, as well as regional and supra-regional ports. A close analysis of the port networks of Roman Lycia shows how these different classes of ports operated together in one regional urban system and formed a defining part of the urbanism of coastal Roman Lycia. Large ports like Andriake and Patara, with substantial harbor basins and port facilities, contrasted sharply with smaller local ports, both in their monumentality and in their integration into supra-regional trade networks.
