The first word that springs to mind when looking at the basic parameters of the urban geography in the Hellenistic part of the Balkan Peninsula in Roman Antiquity is modularity. If we exclude the mountainous zones, the spacing of Early Roman towns in this area is fairly regular and the differences in size between individual towns are relatively small. This property of the regional urban network is inscribed in the physical geography of this region, made up of series of discrete micro-regional units, separated from each other by high mountains. It seems that the urban map of the area is merely an echo of its physical geography; each micro-regional unit hosts an urban centre that was largely indistinct from the urban centres in the neighbouring micro-regions. This impression is reinforced by the view that the Romans, in concurrence with their principles of minimum interference in the newly-conquered territories and respect for local autonomy, made little changes to the existing network of urban settlements that traces its roots to the late Classical–early Hellenistic period. Although there is some kernel of truth in this description of the regional urban geography, it is far from encapsulating the local specifics and it ignores the dynamic aspects of the urban system. This brief study of the transformation of the regional urban system between the periods prior to and after the Roman conquest will demonstrate that, although only a few urban settlements had been established after the conquest, the urban geography of the area had undergone important changes. 1