Brundisium: Ancient Rome’s Adriatic Port and the Treaty of Brundisium
Brundisium, modern Brindisi in southern Italy, was one of ancient Rome’s most important Adriatic ports. Its protected natural harbor and its position at the end of the Via Appia made it a major gateway between Italy, Greece, the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean. Brundisium also gave its name to the Treaty of Brundisium of 40 BCE, the agreement through which Mark Antony and Octavian temporarily divided their spheres of power in the Roman world.
Ancient name: Brundisium / Brundusium
Modern city: Brindisi
Modern region: Puglia, Italy
Sea: Adriatic Sea
Roman roads: Via Appia and later Via Traiana
Major political event: Treaty of Brundisium, 40 BCE
Why it mattered: It connected Rome’s land network with routes to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.
This Arkeoloji.Biz archive article, originally published in 2012, has been revised using ancient literary sources and current archaeological references. The original English language and image have been preserved because the page receives most of its Google visibility from international searches. Historical errors in the earlier text—including the incorrect dating of the Battle of Philippi to 42 CE rather than 42 BCE—have been corrected.
What was Brundisium?
↑ Back to contentsBrundisium—also written Brundusium in ancient sources—was the Roman name of modern Brindisi, on the Adriatic coast of southeastern Italy.
Its importance was determined above all by geography.
Brundisium possessed a naturally protected harbor and stood at the point where major Roman land routes met the sea lanes leading across the Adriatic.
As a result, the city became important for:
- commerce,
- military transport,
- official travel,
- communications,
- movement between Italy and the eastern Mediterranean.
Treccani’s archaeological encyclopedia describes Roman Brundisium as the principal port toward the eastern Mediterranean.
Where was Brundisium?
↑ Back to contentsAncient Brundisium occupied the site of modern Brindisi, in the Italian region of Puglia, at the southeastern edge of the Italian peninsula.
Its location provided relatively direct maritime access toward:
- Epirus,
- Greece,
- the western Balkans,
- and, through wider Mediterranean networks, Asia Minor and the eastern provinces.
Brundisium = Brindisi, Puglia, Italy.
Was Brundisium in Calabria?
↑ Back to contentsThis question can be confusing because the word Calabria did not always refer to the same geographical area that it does today.
Under Augustus, Brundisium belonged to Regio II Apulia et Calabria.
Ancient Calabria in this administrative terminology included part of what is now Puglia and should not be confused directly with the modern Italian region of Calabria farther southwest.
Modern Brindisi is in Puglia, not in the modern region of Calabria.
The “Calabria” mentioned in Roman geographical terminology refers to an ancient regional designation.
Why was Brundisium important to ancient Rome?
↑ Back to contentsThe answer is largely its harbor.
The deep and branching natural harbor provided a protected maritime setting on the Adriatic coast. The form of the harbor was so distinctive that an ancient tradition recorded by Strabo associated the city’s name with the shape of a deer’s head or antlers.
Once Roman control of southern Italy was established, Brundisium became a strategic point connecting two systems:
Armies traveling toward Greece or the eastern Mediterranean could march south through Italy and embark from Brundisium.
Officials, merchants, sailors and ordinary travelers used the same geographical advantage.
This explains why Brundisium repeatedly appears in the political and military history of the late Roman Republic.
Brundisium and the Via Appia
↑ Back to contentsThe Via Appia was begun in 312 BCE under the censor Appius Claudius Caecus.
It initially connected Rome with Capua, but as Roman power expanded through southern Italy the road was extended toward Beneventum, Tarentum and eventually Brundisium.
UNESCO describes the extension to Brundisium as part of the infrastructure that facilitated Roman expansion toward the East and Asia Minor.
The road later became far more than a military route. It supported:
- trade,
- administration,
- migration,
- cultural exchange,
- and long-distance communication.
In 2024 the Via Appia. Regina Viarum was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Brundisium itself is included among the components of that World Heritage property.
The Via Traiana and Brundisium
↑ Back to contentsBrundisium remained an important terminal in the Imperial period.
In 109 CE, Emperor Trajan inaugurated the Via Traiana.
The new route provided an easier connection between Beneventum and Brundisium by following a more northerly course toward the Adriatic.
The existence of both the Via Appia and Via Traiana demonstrates how important Brundisium remained within Rome’s transport network.
Brundisium in ancient Rome
↑ Back to contentsBrundisium existed before Roman conquest and was associated with the Messapian world of southern Apulia.
Ancient traditions concerning the city’s earliest origins are not entirely consistent, and modern archaeology therefore distinguishes carefully between later foundation legends and material evidence.
After Roman expansion into the Salento region, Brundisium acquired a new political and strategic role.
According to Treccani, a Roman colony was established there around 244 BCE, and the city later became a municipium in the first century BCE.
Its harbor subsequently became one of Rome’s principal points of departure toward the eastern Mediterranean.
The Siege of Brundisium in 49 BCE
↑ Back to contentsBrundisium played an important role at the beginning of the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey.
In 49 BCE Pompey used Brundisium while withdrawing his forces from Italy across the Adriatic.
Caesar followed and attempted to prevent Pompey’s departure.
In his own account of the Civil War, Caesar describes efforts to obstruct the harbor by constructing moles, floating platforms and defensive towers.
Pompey responded by using ships equipped with towers and missile weapons to disrupt Caesar’s works.
The inhabitants of Brundisium eventually informed Caesar that Pompey was preparing to depart.
Pompey nevertheless succeeded in embarking his remaining troops and escaping across the Adriatic.
Caesar then entered the city.
Was there a Battle of Brundisium?
↑ Back to contentsSearches for a “Battle of Brundisium” usually refer to the military confrontation at Brundisium in 49 BCE during Caesar’s Civil War.
It is more accurately described as the Siege of Brundisium.
Caesar attempted to trap Pompey in the harbor, but Pompey managed to evacuate his army by sea.
The event is particularly valuable because Caesar himself describes the engineering works and naval countermeasures used during the confrontation in De Bello Civili.
What was the Treaty of Brundisium?
↑ Back to contentsThe Treaty of Brundisium—also called the Pact of Brundisium—was an agreement reached in 40 BCE between Mark Antony and Octavian, the future emperor Augustus.
The agreement came during the unstable years following the assassination of Julius Caesar.
Antony, Octavian and Lepidus had formed the Second Triumvirate in 43 BCE.
The following year, in 42 BCE, Antony and Octavian defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi.
The Battle of Philippi occurred in 42 BCE, not 42 CE.
Victory over Caesar’s assassins did not end the rivalry within the triumviral coalition.
By 40 BCE Antony and Octavian had again come close to open conflict.
Why was the Treaty of Brundisium necessary?
↑ Back to contentsThe political crisis followed the Perusine War of 41–40 BCE and the actions of Antony’s brother Lucius Antonius and Antony’s wife Fulvia.
When Antony returned to Italy, tensions escalated around Brundisium.
Appian’s Civil Wars describes soldiers and intermediaries working to prevent another destructive confrontation between the two leaders.
Among the important mediators were:
- Lucius Cocceius, who maintained connections with both sides,
- Gaius Asinius Pollio, representing Antony’s side,
- Gaius Maecenas, representing Octavian’s side.
Appian says the settlement established an amnesty for the past and friendship for the future.
What were the terms of the Treaty of Brundisium?
↑ Back to contentsAppian provides one of the most important ancient accounts of the agreement.
According to Civil Wars 5.65, Antony and Octavian made a new division of the Roman world using Scodra, in Illyria, as the boundary.
| Leader | Sphere after the agreement |
|---|---|
| Mark Antony | Provinces and islands east of Scodra, extending toward the Euphrates. |
| Octavian | Territories west of Scodra toward the western ocean. |
| Lepidus | Continued to govern Africa. |
The agreement also assigned different strategic responsibilities.
- Octavian was to deal with Sextus Pompey unless an accommodation could be reached.
- Antony was to conduct war against the Parthians.
- Both leaders retained the right to recruit soldiers in Italy under agreed conditions.
Antony → East
Octavian → West
Lepidus → Africa
This should not be misunderstood as a permanent partition of the Roman Empire into separate states.
It was a political and military division of responsibilities and spheres of control within the triumviral system.
Mark Antony, Octavian and Octavia
↑ Back to contentsThe political settlement was reinforced by marriage.
Octavian’s sister Octavia had recently been widowed following the death of her husband Marcellus.
Appian records that the negotiators decided Octavia should be betrothed to Antony.
The marriage therefore functioned as more than a private relationship: it became a visible symbol of the renewed alliance between Antony and Octavian.
The two leaders subsequently returned to Rome, where the marriage was celebrated.
What happened after the Treaty of Brundisium?
↑ Back to contentsThe agreement prevented immediate civil war, but it did not eliminate the rivalry between Antony and Octavian.
Their relationship required another major political settlement at Tarentum in 37 BCE.
Even that compromise proved temporary.
Antony’s political and military orientation toward the eastern Mediterranean, his alliance with Cleopatra VII and Octavian’s growing control of the western Roman world eventually brought the two camps back into conflict.
The decisive confrontation came at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE.
Octavian’s victory ultimately cleared the way for his dominance of the Roman world and his later transformation into Augustus.
For Turkish readers interested in Augustus-era visual propaganda, see Arkeoloji.Biz’s archive article: Roma Heykel Sanatı: Ara Pacis, Ara Pietatis, Boscoreale .
What survives of Roman Brundisium?
↑ Back to contentsModern Brindisi developed directly over the ancient city, which makes large-scale archaeological excavation difficult.
Nevertheless, important parts of Roman Brundisium have been identified.
One of the key archaeological areas is San Pietro degli Schiavoni.
The Italian Ministry of Culture reports that excavations carried out during the 1960s exposed approximately 4,800 square metres of the Roman settlement.
The archaeological area includes:
- a paved Roman street,
- raised sidewalks,
- domestic structures,
- opus signinum floors,
- mosaics,
- opus spicatum paving,
- a Late Republican domus,
- and a later Roman bath complex.
The paved north–south street has been identified as a cardo belonging to the urban plan of the Roman colony.
These remains are important because they reveal Brundisium not merely as a harbor mentioned in historical texts, but as a functioning urban community with streets, houses, drainage systems and public infrastructure.
Brundisium and the Roman columns
One of the most famous ancient monuments in modern Brindisi is the surviving Roman column overlooking the harbor.
Two monumental columns traditionally marked the end of the Via Appia at Brundisium, although modern archaeological discussion is more careful about interpreting their precise original function.
Treccani dates the so-called terminal columns to the Antonine period.
The surviving capital contains representations of marine divinities associated with navigation.
Whatever their precise original monumental meaning, the columns powerfully symbolize Brundisium’s position at the meeting point of road and sea.
At Brundisium, Rome’s road network met the Adriatic.
Brundisium map: where is ancient Brundisium today?
↑ Back to contentsAnyone searching for Brundisium on a modern map should look for Brindisi, Italy.
The modern city stands on the same strategic Adriatic harbor used in antiquity.
| Ancient geography | Modern geography |
|---|---|
| Brundisium / Brundusium | Brindisi |
| Regio II Apulia et Calabria | Puglia, Italy |
| Adriatic harbor | Port of Brindisi |
| Via Appia terminal area | Historic center and harbor of Brindisi |
UNESCO’s mapping of the Via Appia World Heritage property also includes a component specifically identified as Brundisium.
Why does Brundisium matter historically?
Brundisium demonstrates how Roman power depended on infrastructure as much as on armies.
The city brought together:
- roads,
- harbors,
- shipping,
- military logistics,
- trade,
- diplomacy,
- and political communication.
The same port could serve the evacuation of Pompey’s army in 49 BCE, the movement of troops toward Greece and the East, and the political reconciliation of Antony and Octavian in 40 BCE.
That is why Brundisium appears repeatedly at turning points in the final decades of the Roman Republic.
What do we know for certain?
↑ Back to contents- Brundisium was located at modern Brindisi in southeastern Italy.
- It became one of Rome’s major ports toward the eastern Mediterranean.
- The Via Appia was extended to Brundisium.
- The Via Traiana later provided another major connection to the city.
- Caesar describes military operations at Brundisium during the civil war of 49 BCE.
- Antony and Octavian reached a political settlement at Brundisium in 40 BCE.
- Appian records the division of spheres of control at Scodra.
- Lepidus retained Africa under the agreement.
- Octavia was betrothed to Antony as part of the reconciliation.
- Archaeological remains of Roman streets and domestic buildings survive beneath modern Brindisi.
Ancient “Calabria” should not be equated directly with the modern region of Calabria.
The Battle of Philippi occurred in 42 BCE, not 42 CE.
The Treaty of Brundisium did not create two permanently independent Roman states.
The treaty temporarily reorganized political and military spheres within the Roman power structure.
The phrase “Battle of Brundisium” usually refers to the Siege of Brundisium in 49 BCE.
Archaeological Assessment
↑ Back to contentsBrundisium is a particularly useful case study because it demonstrates that the importance of an ancient city cannot be understood from monumental architecture alone.
Its historical significance was created by its position inside a larger network.
The Via Appia brought movement from Rome and central Italy toward the Adriatic. The harbor extended that movement across the sea.
The city therefore functioned as an interface between:
land transport → maritime transport → military logistics → political power.
This relationship helps explain why Brundisium repeatedly became strategically important during civil wars.
The surviving urban archaeology at San Pietro degli Schiavoni adds another dimension. The paved street, houses, mosaics and later bath structures remind us that Brundisium was not simply a military embarkation point.
It was a living Roman city.
The archaeology of Brundisium turns a name on a Roman map into an urban community connected to the wider Mediterranean world.
Key terms for students
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Brundisium | Roman name of modern Brindisi. |
| Via Appia | Major Roman road connecting Rome with southern Italy and ultimately Brundisium. |
| Via Traiana | Trajanic road inaugurated in 109 CE that provided another route toward Brundisium. |
| Second Triumvirate | The political alliance of Antony, Octavian and Lepidus created in 43 BCE. |
| Treaty of Brundisium | The 40 BCE settlement reorganizing the spheres of Antony, Octavian and Lepidus. |
| Scodra | Illyrian city used by Appian to describe the boundary between Antony’s eastern and Octavian’s western spheres. |
| Cardo | A principal north–south street in Roman urban planning. |
| Actium | The 31 BCE naval battle in which Octavian’s forces defeated Antony and Cleopatra. |
Related on Arkeoloji.Biz
- Roman Sculpture: Ara Pacis, Ara Pietatis and Boscoreale — Turkish-language Arkeoloji.Biz archive material on Augustus and Roman visual culture.
- Archaeology of Underground Rituals and Mystery Cults in the Roman Empire — Turkish-language background on Roman-period material culture.
Sources and bibliography
↑ Back to contents- Appian. The Civil Wars, Book V, especially 64–65. LacusCurtius / University of Chicago .
- Julius Caesar. Commentaries on the Civil War, Book I. Perseus Digital Library .
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Via Appia. Regina Viarum. UNESCO World Heritage Centre .
- D’Andria, Rino. “Regio II Apulia et Calabria: Brindisi.” Il Mondo dell’Archeologia, Treccani, 2004. Treccani .
- Ministero della Cultura. Area archeologica “S. Pietro degli Schiavoni”, Brindisi. Italian Ministry of Culture .
- Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. Facts On File, New York, 2002.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where was Brundisium?
Brundisium was located at modern Brindisi in Puglia, southeastern Italy, on the Adriatic coast.
What is Brundisium called today?
Ancient Brundisium is the modern Italian city of Brindisi.
Why was Brundisium important to Rome?
Its protected harbor and connections with the Via Appia and Via Traiana made Brundisium one of Rome’s principal gateways to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.
What was the Treaty of Brundisium?
The Treaty of Brundisium was a political agreement reached in 40 BCE between Mark Antony and Octavian that reorganized their spheres of power in the Roman world.
What were the terms of the Treaty of Brundisium?
According to Appian, Antony received the provinces and islands east of Scodra toward the Euphrates, Octavian received the western territories, and Lepidus retained Africa.
When was the Treaty of Brundisium signed?
The agreement was reached in 40 BCE during the political crisis between Mark Antony and Octavian.
Was Brundisium in ancient Rome?
Yes. Brundisium became an important Roman colony and later a municipium, serving as a major Adriatic port of the Roman Republic and Empire.
Was Brundisium in Calabria?
Brundisium belonged to the ancient Roman Regio II Apulia et Calabria, but modern Brindisi is in Puglia. Ancient Calabria should not be confused with the modern Italian region of Calabria.
Was there a Battle of Brundisium?
The military confrontation in 49 BCE is normally called the Siege of Brundisium. Julius Caesar attempted to prevent Pompey from evacuating his army through the port, but Pompey successfully escaped by sea.
Where did the Via Appia end?
The Via Appia was ultimately extended from Rome through southern Italy to Brundisium, making the port a major terminal of Rome’s road and maritime transport network.
