Ancient Roman Achievements

Ancient Roman Empire included the three continents - Europe, Africa (northern) and the Middle East. The Roman empire was one of the powerful empires of the ancient world. Historians believe that the earliest Roman settlements began in 753 BC. The Roman Empire was divided into Western Empire and Eastern Empire. The glory of the Roman Empire was at its peak in 200 AD and the entire empire spanned over an area of 2.5 million square miles. Many of the achievements of the ancient Romans are still in use today. Here we look at some of the achievements of the ancient Romans.

Roman Army

The Roman Empire was powerful, due to its strong military tactics. Roman military policies helped to expand the empire. The soldiers were trained in the latest tactics of war and were well equipped with the weapons of war. The soldiers belonged to a particular "legion". A legion is an army unit that has around 5,000 soldiers including, heavy and light infantry, and cavalry. A legion was further divided into "maniples" that consisted of over 100 men.

Till the end of the 2nd century BC, the Roman army consisted of male citizens of age group 17 and 46 years, who were called for duty each year. The army men from a particular area were put under a particular unit and these units were called "centuries"; officers who commanded them were called "centurions". This form of army was known as a "citizen army". Gradually, the citizen army was replaced by "standing army" and was paid in terms of cash or land by their commanding officers. One of the responsibilities of the legion soldiers was to defend the Roman Empire and not conquest. When the Roman Empire expanded, the Roman army consisted of the captives and the barbarians who were captives of the war.

Roman Art and Literature

The official language of the Roman army and the government officials was Latin. This language is still spoken today by the Romans. Languages such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Rumanian and French were derived from Latin. Latin is the language used by the Catholic Church in Vatican and the Pope is known as Pontifex Maximus.

The Romans developed the alphabets that are widely used in all the European languages, including English. They also developed Roman numerals, which are used today by many to highlight important document points. Ancient Romans gave importance to education and had sent their children to schools.

The ancient Romans were interested in creative arts and followed the rules of the traditional Greek arts. One such art form was "Mosaic" arts. This was probably developed during the 3rd or the 4th BC. In mosaic, art was created using small pieces of tiles, glasses or stones. These pieces were arranged on the smooth surface, such as a wall, to form a pattern. The pictures of Roman gods and goddesses, legendary heroes from Roman literature or the images of nature were the subject matter of these mosaic arts. Some mosaic art also depicted the day-to-day life of a Roman family.

Roman sculptors were known for their realistic sculptures. They sculpted the life-like sculptures of Roman gods and goddesses and also of their rulers. They also sculpted Greek gods and goddesses.

Roman literature including drama, poetry and prose became popular during the 240 BC. and this period is known as the Golden Age of Roman drama. Vergil was a famed Roman poet who authored the books Aeneid, Bucolics and Georgics in 30 BC.

Roman Architecture

The ancient Romans were great architects and builders. As they expanded their empire, they constructed many beautiful buildings and roads. Well-maintained roads connected each city of the Roman empire to Rome. Romans were the first people to introduce the technology of road construction.

They invented the technology for concrete, aqueducts, arches and roads. Ancient Rome was the capital of the Roman empire. When a new city was conquered, roads were made to connect it to Rome. Milestones were installed on the side of the roads, which told the traveler the distance to be covered to reach Rome. The streets of the ancient Roman cities were laid in a geometric pattern.

Ancient Roman aqueducts were built to carry water from the springs or rivers to the public baths and fountains. These baths had a wonderful plumbing system to drain the dirty water. Aqueducts were built throughout the Roman empire and many of them are still in perfect condition and in use.

Arches were constructed to commemorate the victories of the Roman emperors. These were intricately designed with stone carvings and statuary. Some of the examples of the marvelous pieces of architecture are Circus Maximus, the Colosseum and the Pantheon.

Roman Laws

The ancient Romans formulated many of the laws that most countries use even today. Roman laws were applicable to all Romans, irrespective of his position in the society. Here are a few of laws of the ancient Romans. The laws were written on metal tables and were organized into twelve sections. Therefore, they were known as "The Twelve Tables". These tables were displayed at the various Roman forums or meeting places in all the Roman cities. Here are a few laws that were in use during the ancient Roman civilization.

• A law that is used by many countries even today - "A person is innocent until proven guilty".
• If you have summons from the court, you are expected to attend the court. Else, you could be taken by force to the court.
• Capital punishment would be imposed on a person found guilty of giving false witness.
• No one is allowed to hold meetings after nightfall.

Ancient Roman Empire was not only powerful but also vast. The glory of the Roman empire and its civilization lasted for almost 1,000 years. The Roman myths and their mythology still fascinate readers.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to embrace and practice Christianity. He also legalized the worship of the Roman gods. However, there were constant clashes between the clans who practiced Christianity and those who worshiped Roman gods. Hence, the historians opine one of the causes of the downfall of the Roman Empire was the lack of religious unity.