Sangarius Bridge

Sangarius Bridge
Sangarius Bridge
Coordinates40°44′N 30°22′E / 40.74°N 30.37°E / 40.74; 30.37
CarriesRoad from Constantinople to east in Byzantine times
CrossesÇark Deresi (Antiquity: Sangarius)
LocaleClose to Adapazarı, Turkey
Characteristics
DesignArch bridge
Cutwaters on both sides
MaterialLimestone blocks
Total length429 m
Width9.85 m
Height10 m
Longest span24.5 m
No. of spans7 main arches + 5 floodways
Piers in water6
History
Construction end562 AD
Location
Map

The Sangarius Bridge or Bridge of Justinian (Turkish: Justinianos Köprüsü or Beşköprü) is a late Roman bridge over the river Sakarya (Latin: Sangarius, Greek Σαγγάριος) in Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. It was built by the East Roman Emperor Justinian I (527–565 AD) to improve communications between the capital Constantinople and the eastern provinces of his empire. With a remarkable length of 430 m, the bridge was mentioned by several contemporary writers, and has been associated with a supposed project, first proposed by Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan,[1] to construct a navigable canal that would bypass the Bosporus.[2]

  1. ^ Pliny 10.41-42, 61-62
  2. ^ Moore 1950, p. 109