Roman Accomplishments ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS The Romans developed innovations that are still used today;...
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Transcript of Roman Accomplishments ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS The Romans developed innovations that are still used today;...
Roman Accomplishments
ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTSThe Romans developed innovations that are still used today; what made them such influential innovators?
Definition of “INNOVATION”: something new or original (such as an idea, an invention, a device, a method)
ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATIONRome’s location on the
Mediterranean Sea allowed for trade and cultural diffusion
(blending of cultures) with other people and nations
ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION
Through the cultural diffusion, the Romans were able to borrow the best ideas from other civilizations (especially the
Greeks) and improve upon them
ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION
The wealth of the Roman Empire, especially during Pax Romana, enabled the Romans to
promote culture and invention
Roman ArchitectureThe Romans
were tremendously
skilled builders; they
improved upon Greek designs with
two new architectural
features: arches and
domes
Colosseum• One of the greatest
feats of Roman engineering
• Colossus – gigantic• Home of gladiator
fights, to animal hunts
Pantheon
• A temple to all the Roman Gods
Roman Architecture
ARCHES: these are curved structures over an opening that can support its own weight; arches were used to create enormous buildings like the Coliseum and the Pantheon
Roman Architecture
DOMES: they created vast open spaces and ceilings inside buildings (like the Pantheon) and magnificent exteriors
Roman Architecture
The Romans built arenas (like the famous Coliseum in the city of Rome) so thousands of people could attend “circuses” (entertainments such as gladiator battles)
Roman Law
Roman laws were made
by the Senate and then publicly
posted for all to see in displays
called the Twelve Tables
Roman LawThe Roman legal
system included a criminal court system
(with lawyers and juries) so people
accused of crimes could defend
themselves; witnesses could give testimony to tell of what they
saw or heard
Roman law allowed anyone (including the poor and slaves) to accuse others of crimes
Roman Law
• Most lasting and widespread contribution• Laws were fair and applied equally to all
people.– All persons had the right to equal treatment under the
law.– Innocent until proven guilty– The burden of proof lies with the accuser, not the
accused.– A person should be punished for actions, not for
thoughts.– Guilt must be established “clearer than daylight”
through evidence.• These laws became the basis for legal
systems in Europe and Latin America
Roman Engineering: RoadsThe Romans built the largest and longest-lasting
network of roads in the Ancient WorldAt the height of the Empire, Roman roads stretched
for 56,000 miles and included 29 major highways
Roman Engineering: Roads
At first, the roads were built to move soldiers quickly, but eventually the roads served many people for
many purposes, especially as trade routes
Roman Roads• Constructed throughout the Roman
Empire, over 52,000 miles• Were effective in helping to move the
army from place to place, and trade within the empire.
Example of how people adapt to their environment.
Via Appia
All roads lead to Rome!
Roman Engineering: AqueductsOne of the Romans’ greatest engineering feats was
channeling water to their cities throughout the Empire
Roman engineers built the aqueducts to move the cold, clear water from springs to towns; sometimes they would
be up to 250 miles long
Roman Engineering: AqueductsSome Roman aqueducts are up and still in use today; one in Spain is 95 feet above the ground and 2388 feet long
Roman LanguageRoman conquest spread their language, Latin, through much of Europe; over time, different regions in Europe
developed their own languages based in Latin
Languages based in Latin are known as
the Romance
languages
Roman Language
See how many modern languages come from Latin; try to figure each of the three words in the “Modern English” column
Words in the five major Romance languages often sound alike: for example, the Latin word for liberty,
libertas, translates as liberta in Italian, liberte in French, libertad in Spanish, liberdade in Portuguese,
and libertate in Romanian
???
The Roman Calendar
The Romans began using a
new solar calendar that
borrowed heavily from the
Egyptian calendar and was improved
by scholars from Alexandria
The Roman CalendarThis new
calendar (called the “Julian
Calendar” after Julius Caesar) had 365 days and one extra
day every fourth year
July was named after Julius because it
included his birthday
The Roman Civil Service
Augustus set up a civil service with skilled and salaried workers to take care of the running of the Empire
Rome’s first emperor, Augustus,
created several
systems to help himself
rule the enormous
Roman Empire
The Roman Civil Service
These bureaucrats helped oversee the Empire by keeping track of such operations as grain production,
the roads, mail delivery, and tax collection
The Influence of the Greeks and RomansThe influence that the Greeks and later on
the Romans had on Western civilization cannot be overstated
Many facets of modern American life can be traced back to the innovations of the Greeks
and Romans: things like government, language, religion, law, education, entertainment, literature, art, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, science, buildings, customs,
traditions, sports, philosophy and medicine all can trace their roots back to Greece and Rome
Jefferson Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The US Capitol Building
Statue of JusticeUS Supreme Court
Building
Federal Court Building in NYC
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Statue of Liberty
Literature and History
• The Roman Empire was unified through language. Latin was adopted by many different people and became the basis for other languages, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and English.
• Poetry – Virgil wrote the Aeneid
• History – Livy – wrote The History of Rome from its foundation
Rome’s AccomplishmentsScience and Engineering
• Greek doctor Galen studied the body to improve health
• Great builders who used cement
• Built roads in layers like we do today
• Created lasting structure using arches, like in their aqueducts.
• Combined arches helped in the construction of vaults
Architecture and Art• Roman Architecture
copied some older Greek designs and use of marble
• Engineering techniques like the vault.
• Roman artists were known for mosaics, paintings and statues
Literature and Language
Virgil was an author who wrote the Aeneid, which was about the founding of Rome
Ovid wrote poems about Roman mythology
They wrote in Latin which later developed into the Romance languages.
Other Romance languages are Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Romanian.