Rome Engineering and Government Reading

8/4/2019 Rome Engineering and Government Reading

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JUST CHOOSE THE IMPORTANT FACTS:

The ingeniousness and beauty of Roman architecture has not been lost on us in the 2000 years since it was built

Even today, we still marvel at what incredible builders the Romans were, and at the sheer scale and integrity of many of their projects. It is hard to argue that today’s architecture will maintain the same lasting grandeur as

that which the Romans built. If we can still respect and admire the grandeur of Rome as it was in it’s day, one

can only imagine how much of an influence people of the time felt, due to the incredible innovations that the

Romans brought to the new regions of their empire. In fact, it is because of the superior engineering skills andarchitectural ideas possessed by the Romans, and respected by others, that allowed them to conquer, influence

and rule such a vast area of the world, for such an extended period of time. Citizens of regions conquered by

Rome were the beneficiaries of Roman innovations such as a (public) fresh water supply, bridges over previously impassable rivers, roads linking all parts of the empire (especially to the capital) and incredible

public buildings like the forums and baths. They were more easily persuaded into acceptance once the Romans

arrived when they saw or heard of these innovations which they realized could have such a huge and beneficialimpact on their lifestyles.

The first thing the Romans did upon entering a new region, after winning the war that gained them their newterritory, was construct roads and bridges. This was the best way to “Romanize” the new areas, as it permitted

easier communication between the colony and the mother country. The roads all led to the capital, whichsolidified its position as the centre of power, and also allowed the rulers easier and faster access to the colonies

when necessary. It has been said that at the peak of Rome’s power, one could travel from the English Channelall the way to Rome without ever fording a stream, simply because the Romans had built so many bridges to

link its colonies. As the Romans were the first to master bridge building on such a large scale, they had a huge

influence on the people in even the most remote regions. Places that had been impassible could suddenly becrossed by bridge. The bridges were a commanding presence on the landscape as well, easily conveying the

sense of who was in power and influencing the people of the region. The Puente Alcantara in Spain can perhaps

best show the expansive influence that the Romans held through their bridges, (Images 1 and 2). Built in AD100and still standing today, Puente Alcantara reaches 164 feet at its highest point, is 600 feet long and has spans of

92 to 98 feet wide. Such an example of architecture so far from the centre of power is a lasting monument to the

influential power once held by the Romans. People were drawn into conformity when they saw the superior skills of the Romans, who also perfected pile driving for the construction of bridges and built each bridge archas self-supporting to avoid damage to the entire structure if only one portion was damaged. The Roman use of

the arch itself, which had never been used to such a great extent before, is itself the main reason they were able

to build the huge and influential structures that they were.

The use of the arch was of course not limited to bridges; it was common in all Roman architecture of the time.

The next major use for it in the new colonies, however, was in the construction of a water supply system—thesystem of Roman aqueducts. Rome already had an extensive system of aqueducts to supply the city with fresh

water, and the Romans used the same system in other regions to civilize the “barbarian” tribes they had just

subdued. Such a system was unheard of in other civilizations. The Romans were a very sanitary and hygienic

people to whom fresh water was very important. The new colonies had never been concerned about suchsanitation. The Romans, however, were able to bring fresh water to the towns from long distances away by

carrying it through tunnels and over valleys with their towering aqueducts. This water was then used for the

public baths and toilets, besides the expected drinking water. The fact that this water was for the public, and notreserved for private use, pleased people in the new colonies even more, and made them even more accepting of

Roman control. The actual aqueducts themselves, built by the Romans to carry the water, were perhaps even

more influential. Aqueducts like Pont du Gard at Nimes, or Segovia in Spain, the latter of which still carrieswater today, were monumental landmarks in the colonies where they were built and still are today. That the

Romans would build such magnificent and monumental structures for the sole purpose of supplying water to its

colonies was likely overwhelming to those benefiting from it.

ESSAY question for Friday 9-23:

In an essay with supporting facts, describe the innovative ways Rome engineered AND ruled an empire.



The Romans Create a RepublicKEY IDEA The early Romans made arepublic. It grew in power and spread itsinfluence.

The city of Rome was founded by theLatin peopleon a river in the center of Italy. It was a

good location, which gave them thechance to control all of Italy. It put themin the middle of theMediterranean Sea. Two other groupslived in whatis now Italy: the Greeks in the south, andtheEtruscans in the north. The Romansborrowedsome ideas from both peoples.About 600 B.C., an Etruscan king ruled

over hispeople and Rome. By this time, Romehad grown tobe a wealthy and large city. The Romansresentedthe Etruscan rule. In 509 B.C., they finallyover threw the king. They declared thatRome would be a republic. The peoplewould have the power tovote to choose the leaders of thegovernment. Theysaid that Rome would never again have aking. Two groups struggled for power in thenewrepublic—the nobles and the commonpeople. Atfirst, the nobles dominated thegovernment. Overtime, the common people won morerights. Thebasis for Roman law was a set of rulescalled theTwelve Tables. They said that all freecitizens wereprotected by law. They were posted in apublicplace for all to see.The government had three parts. Two consulswere elected each year to lead thegovernment and

the army. A person could not becomeconsul a second time until after ten yearshad passed. In thisway, the Romans hoped to prevent onepersonfrom having too much power. The secondimportantpart of the government was the Senate.

Itbegan by choosing 100 members fromthe upperclasses. Later its size was expanded andsomemembers were common people. TheSenate passedlaws. There were also assemblies that allpeoplebelonged to. They made laws thatapplied to all

their members. All free-born males werecitizensand had the right to vote. Any citizenwho ownedproperty had to serve in the army.In the fourth century B.C., Rome begantoexpand. Within 150 years, it hadcaptured almostall of Italy. Rome allowed some of theconqueredpeoples to enjoy the benefits of citizenship. With itsgood location, Rome saw a growth intrade. Thisbrought it into conflict with Carthage, atrading cityin North Africa.From 264 to 146 B.C., Rome andCarthagefought three bitter wars. In the first,Rome woncontrol of the island of Sicily. In thesecond, anarmy from Carthage caused greatdestruction inItaly, although Rome itself was spared. Inthe third,Rome defeated Carthage once again andcompletelydestroyed the city. In another fewdecades,



Rome also conquered Greece,Macedonia, Spain,and parts of modern Turkey. It controlledtheMediterranean Sea.

Rome and the Roots of WesternCivilization

KEY IDEA The Romans developed manyideas and institutions that have becomepart of Western civilization.Rome took features of Greek culture andaddedideas of its own. This combination of influenceshelped shape Europe and the Westernworld.Roman sculpture, for instance, borrowedGreek

practices but with a difference. Romanstatueswere more realistic. Romans perfected akind of sculpture in which images stood outthree dimensionallyfrom a flat background. Romansmade pictures from tiny tiles, a processcalledmosaic, and enjoyed wall painting.Roman writingwas based on Greek models, too.Romans became famous for their skill atengineering. They used arches and domes to buildlarge,

impressive buildings. Many of theseforms are stillused today. They also built an excellentsystem of roads and built several aqueducts tocarry waterfrom distant lakes or rivers to largecities.

Rome left another mark on the world.Manylanguages, from Spanish to Romanian,are based onLatin. Even languages such as Englishhave manywords taken from Latin.Rome’s most lasting influence,though, was insetting certain standards of law thatstill influence people today. These

include the ideas that• all persons should be treatedequally by the law;• a person should be thoughtinnocent of a crimeuntil proven guilty;• someone who accuses anotherperson of a crimehas to prove it; and• a person should be punished onlyfor actions, not for thoughts oropinions.



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Rome Engineering and Government Reading