The Via Egnatia, one of the most important arteries of the Roman Empire in the Balkans, passed through the present-day territory of the city of Elbasan, placing it at an important commercial and strategic crossroads. This road, built in the 2nd century BC, started from Dyrrachium (modern-day Durrës) and extended to Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul), serving as the main bridge connecting the East and West of the Roman Empire.
During the Roman period, at the point where the road crossed the Shkumbini valley, an important urban center developed called Scampis – the predecessor of today’s Elbasan. Archaeological excavations have uncovered fragments of the ancient cobblestone roadbed, as well as traces of infrastructure that attest to Elbasan’s role as a road and military station on this imperial corridor.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Egnatia Road continued to be important in Byzantine and Ottoman times, facilitating the circulation of goods, ideas, and cultures. The construction of the Elbasan Castle by Sultan Mehmet II in the 15th century itself follows this strategic logic of location near the road.
Today, traces of the Egnatia Road are visible in various parts of the city, especially inside the Elbasan Castle, where the original cobblestones of the road are exhibited for visitors, as authentic evidence of the city's Roman and medieval past.
