a Romanized version of the earlier term. Rome and Roman cities had systems of inns within their walls, individually known as hospitium or deversorium. These were available to all, and offered services ranging from simple access to a place to sleep to restaurants and stables. Cheaper alternatives, known as caupona, catered to sailors and soldiers, and offered alcohol in a less formal restaurant setting, as well as prostitution. Generally, lining the roads outside major cities were other inns, known as stabulum, which appealed to travelers. Motivations Ancient travel was motivated by reasons as diverse as trade (including postal communications), religious pilgrimages, warfare, and tourism. Trade Trade between different nations was an integral reason for travel. During the Roman Empire, trade was conducted with nations as disparate as China, India, and Tanzania. Generally, Roman and Chinese traders exchanged statues and other processed goods in exchange for Chinese silk. Trade in the city of Rome was focused around providing food for the city's massive population; as such, the trade of grain and other foods was subsidized by the government. Grain was brought into the city from all around empire: Egypt, Spain, Sardinia, and Sicily were all sources for the city. Trade was sophisticated enough in Rome that a system similar to that of the proxenos emerged, with offices backed by different governments representing the interests of their private citizens in cities throughout the Mediterranean. These offices, like way stations along the Roman roads, were known as stationes. Postal services There were at least two postal services during the history of Rome—the cursus publicus and the agentes in rebus. Both were created during the Roman Empire, and both survived its dissolution, at least for a time. The established routes of the cursus publicus are sometimes argued to be outlined in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a surviving illustrated itineraria from the 4th century, although this claim is disputed. Both services existed to deliver messages (including military orders) and to collect taxes. Occasionally they also acted as spies and couriers for the military, collecting intelligence and delivering orders. Couriers relied on stationes (publicly funded way-stations) and mansiones (private residences) for shelter and food, and had the ability to compel private citizens to provide for them. The cursus publicus differed from a conventional, modern postal service in that it was not universal (it was only available in more developed provinces) and in that deliveries were made at