Roman Accomplishments ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS The Romans developed innovations that are still used today; what made them such influential innovators? Definition.

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

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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.