Although the Roman Empire collapsed more than 1500 years ago, the tangible and intangible legacies it left behind still exist to this day.
With excellent craftsmen, architects and engineers, and the great advancement in technology at that time, they built a civilization that will last for a long time. Let’s find out, what are the key inventions that helped create such a glorious era.
This aqueduct system uses gravity to transport water through pre-excavated waterways.
The Romans seem to have a particular interest in public buildings: public toilets, public baths, fountains… But these designs are most likely just ideas. , if the invention of the aqueduct system had not been born. First appearing around 312 BC, this aqueduct used gravity to transport water through pre-dug waterways. The water from there was transported directly from the rivers and lakes to the center of Rome, then distributed everywhere thanks to a system of pipes and underground aqueducts. This system of aqueducts helped make the Roman Empire less dependent on river and lake water sources.
Hundreds of bridges quickly covered the entire Roman empire, from which to provide water for domestic use, for the agricultural system. There are bridges that carry water over distances of up to 60 miles. Many aqueducts were so well designed that they still exist today.
Appearing about 2100 years ago, this type of concrete appears in every architectural detail.
Many ancient Roman structures are still standing today thanks to the presence of this building material. Appearing about 2100 years ago, this type of concrete appears in every architectural detail, from aqueducts to buildings, bridges, and even majestic monuments.
Roman concrete is said to be less resistant to forces than modern concrete, but it has proven amazingly durable thanks to its main ingredient, a limestone-cement mortar. and volcanic ash. This unique formula has proven its worth, as evidenced by ancient Roman works that still stand tall despite thousands of years of history.
Daily news was extremely popular in ancient Roman society.
The concept of Acta Diurna , which means “daily news,” became extremely popular in ancient Roman society. The concept first appeared around 131 BC, and it included information regarding military victories, tournament schedules as well as gladiatorial candidates, and even sensational news about famous personalities.
Even political information is published in the form of Acta Senatus, however, this information is not publicly available. It was not until 59 BC that Julius Caesar began to circulate these sources widely.
Social welfare schemes have been around since about 122 BC.
The political model of the ancient Roman empire was an inexhaustible source of ideas for later more advanced models. One of them is how to ensure the minimum needs of food, education and other needs for all their citizens. Social welfare programs have been around since 122 BC, when Gaius Gracchus enacted the Lex Frumentaria Act, which required the government to assist the poor in buying cheap rice. Trajan continues to develop and expand this policy, by providing food, clothing and education support to poor children and orphans.
Very quickly, corn, oil, wine, bread and meat were included in the list of price-controlled necessities to support disadvantaged families and individuals. This helped the Roman government win the hearts of the people, but it was this excessive “philanthropy” regime that was also a cause of the collapse of the ancient Roman government.
The first pages of the book were made of wax, but they were later replaced by parchment.
For a long time, documents were presented in the form of cards and scrolls. It was the Romans who pioneered the overlapping of pages and produced what is considered the first book in human history. The first pages of the book were made of wax, but they were later replaced by parchment.
The technique of binding was quickly adopted by Christians, and this was also the premise for the birth of one of the famous ancient books: the Bible.
Many of the ancient Roman roads still exist today.
When it was still in its prime, the ancient Roman empire spread its power almost throughout Southern Europe, with a total area of nearly 1.7 million square meters. To ensure effective rule over such a vast area, the Romans built the most extensive and sophisticated transportation network ever witnessed. Many of those ancient Roman roads still exist today.
Ancient Roman engineers always followed very strict standards in design and construction. And by AD 200, in total, they had created more than 50,000 miles (81,000km) of roads, mainly for the conquest of the Roman army. These roads enabled their armies to move at speeds of up to 25 miles (40km) per day.
These roads were also managed in much the same way as they are today: landmarks and road signs provide information about the distances to certain locations, and special troops act as patrols. frequently on these routes.
The arch design is a typical feature of the ancient Roman architectural style.
The concept of arch has been around for about 4000 years, but it was the Romans who made it a feature detail in all their designs. Thanks to the arch design, the weight of the entire building will be evenly distributed along the load-bearing elements, thereby helping massive buildings like the Colosseum not to collapse under its own huge weight.
Ancient Roman engineers improved these arch designs by turning them into segmented arch designs, and applying them to a multitude of load-bearing elements. As a result, the bearing section will be longer and help designs such as bridges, or aqueducts become more sustainable. Along with the column design, the arch design has become a typical feature of the ancient Roman architectural style.
The Julian calendar is based on the calculation of the calendar according to the orbit of the Sun.
The type of solar calendar that we still use is actually derived from an ancient Roman calendar, with a lifespan of up to 2000 years. From the very beginning, the Romans used the Greek calendar based on the phases of the moon, but due to the unlucky concept of even numbers, they changed the calendar to ensure that each month has its own calendar. odd number of days. This calculation lasted until A.D. 46, when Julius Caesar and the astronomer Sosigenes proposed the Julian calendar, based on a calendar that follows the Sun’s orbit.
Caesar extended the year from 355 days to 365 days and 12 months. This seems to be the perfect calendar, but it still has a deviation of 11 minutes a year. It was not until 1582 that the Gregorian calendar was born, correcting these deviations and becoming the most popular type of calendar to this day.
The Rule of the Twelve Tables outlines the laws of property, religion, and marriage.
The Law of the Twelve Tables was the foundation of the early republican democracy of ancient Rome. Officially adopted in 450 AD, the 12-table law outlines the laws of property, religion, and marriage, and lists punishments for all sorts of crimes, from theft to practice. heresy magic.
When the Roman Empire fell, these laws retained a strong influence on other institutions. Along with English law and Sharia law, ancient Roman laws were the basic elements of the civil code of most European countries as well as the United States.