Whoever forces you to go one mile, go two with him.

– The Story of Jesus 9.2

[Adapted from Mt 5:41]

Angaria was the postal system of the Roman Empire. Virtually every ancient empire had a complex system of communication throughout its domain. The Persians had the chapar khaneh, a network of roads and mounted couriers. The Greek historian Herodotus was so impressed with its efficiency, he wrote, “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness of night prevents from accomplishing each one the task proposed to him, with the very utmost speed.” The Persian system was adopted by the Greeks and later modelled by the Romans. 

Since the wellbeing and security of any kingdom depended on effective communication throughout the realm, governments established and maintained outposts of dedicated riders. Horses and their maintenance were supplied by each territory. Such compulsory service did not endear any ruling power to its constituents, particularly when officials could commandeer animals, personnel, or property for government-related tasks. 

The Latin angere, meaning “press” or “squeeze”, is exactly what the Romans did to local inhabitants to maintain their cursus publicus (“public way”, Roman highways) and messenger system. That is, the population was hard pressed to maintain such the infrastructure of the postal service. Over time, angaria came to mean any compulsory work begrudgingly performed. The modern English terms “anguish”, “angst”, “anxiety”, and “anger” are all derived from the same root, denoting the same feeling of being pressed, squeezed, or strangled. 

As the ruling power, Roman soldiers could legally force any civilian or their property (horse, mule, oxen, cart, boat) into service at any time. This practice was called impressment, which was easily abused and often caused conflict. Thus, a limit of one mile was imposed to reduce hostility between soldiers and civilians.

The Roman mile (mille passus, “a thousand paces”) was the distance a Roman soldier would travel in a thousand “double steps”, that is, the left foot hitting the ground 1000 times. The Latin word for thousand – mille – is where the modern term “mile” originates. The Roman foot was standardized after the renowned general Agrippa’s own foot. One pace was five Roman feet, so a mile defined as 5000 Roman feet. 

© D. B. Ryen Incorporated, 2019-2025.