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Achievements of the Roman Empire I. Roman Legal System Roman One of Rome’s primary contributions to Western Civilization was its legal system. Roman law focused mainly on defining the rights of Roman citizens. The legal concepts developed by the Romans are the foundation of many of the laws that we currently use in the United States and Europe. Initially, Rome did not have a written code of laws. This resulted in inequitable treatment of various classes of Roman citizens by Patrician judges. The Plebeians, who felt that they were being taken advantage of, called for the laws of the country to be written down so that everyone could see them. group of laws called The Law of Nations, which articulated laws that were true for all people. As a result of Plebeian demands, Rome’s first codified laws were carved onto bronze plates and placed in common areas where all Romans could see them. These laws were called The Twelve Tables and were written in approximately 451 B.C. The Twelve Tables were used as the foundation for all later Roman law. One shortcoming of The Twelve Tables was that they only dealt with Roman citizens and not foreigners. Since Rome was rapidly expanding, there was a need for laws to help resolve disputes between citizens and non-citizens. Over the next 400 years, Rome developed a Roman law laid the foundation for many of the laws we have today. First, Roman law called for the right for all citizens to be treated equally under the law. The Twelve Tables forced judges to treat all Roman citizens equally, rather than using bias to give certain citizens preferential treatment. However, not all people were treated equally under Roman law: slaves were not recognized as Roman citizens and thus had a different and harsher code of laws. Second, Roman law developed the concept of innocence until proven guilty. In Roman law, accused citizens were assumed to be innocent when brought before the judge. This means that if they were not actually proven to be guilty, that they would not be punished. This was a radical change in the legal system and one which is at the heart of the American interpretation of justice. Third, laws that are unfair or unreasonable can be changed. Roman judges were allowed to write about the laws that they used to decide cases. Through their writings, laws could be identified as unfair or extreme. When it was decided that certain laws were not fair, they could be removed from the legal code, or changed to be more reasonable. Similarly, the American legal system has been amended (changed) over time so that it continuously becomes fairer for the American people. II. Roman Architecture Architecture is the art and science of building structures. The Romans were the absolute architecture masters of their time; inventing new building techniques and creating structures that passed the test of time and are still being used today. Roman Roads One of the greatest architectural achievements of the Romans was their network of roads. They built roads out of concrete (which they invented), stone, and sand. The construction of these roads was so precise that many of them were still being used during the Middle Ages, and some are still in use even today. The Romans built about 50,000 miles worth of roads – that’s enough distance to go around the world twice! This huge network of roads had some serious benefits for the Romans. First of all, it allowed their military troops to quickly move from Rome to any of the borders of the empire, making them an even bigger threat to their enemies. Secondly, it facilitated the flow of goods across the empire, allowing for a strong economy because of trading. The Roman roads are a cultural reference point, coining the phrase “all roads lead to Rome.” During the height of the Roman Empire, this was literally true. tricky problem: how to get water to all of the people in the cities. At this time, indoor plumbing didn’t exist. If someone wanted to get water, he or she had to walk to a body of water and carry the water to the place where it needed to be used. Talk about hard work! Roman engineers solved this problem by inventing the aqueduct. Aqueducts used a combination of gravity, arches, and pipes made out of rock or clay to move water from one place to another. One aqueduct moved water into Rome from over 57 miles away! Aqueducts moved water into holding tanks that Roman Plebeians and slaves could gather water from and take home. Some of the wealthiest Patrician citizens even had aqueducts deposit water straight into their own personal tanks at their homes. The Colosseum One of The New Seven Wonders of the World, the Colosseum is one of Rome’s most famous buildings. The Colosseum was the ultimate sports arena where Roman citizens could watch gruesomely bloody fights for free. The name Colosseum comes from the Latin word colossus, which means The Aqueducts “gigantic”. It took almost a decade to build, As the Roman could seat up to 50,000 people, and was Empire expanded 157 feet high. The Colosseum was made out of stone and concrete and had and cities grew, elevators that led up to trap doors in the engineers in Rome were faced arena floor to move in gladiators and animals for dramatic fights. with a new and 2 III. Roman Art Roman artists developed many unique styles of art. Even though they were influenced by the Greeks, Romans had their own differences. A major reason for the differences was Roman’s purpose of their art. The Romans wanted to educate people with their art, and because of this, they tried to create very realistic art that showed people’s flaws. Mosaics One unique art form created by the Romans is called the mosaic. A mosaic is a picture that is created by grouping together many small square-shaped tiles made out of stone, glass, or clay to create an image. The richest citizens of Rome had mosaics in their houses. Mosaics were often created on the floors of a home, palace, or place of worship. They would frequently depict scenes from mythology or history. special paintings are created. To make a fresco, Roman artists would put a fresh coat of lime plaster on a wall. While the plaster was still wet, they would paint with a water-based paint onto the wall. When the plaster and paint dried, the painting would actually be part of the wall, not just something added on top of it. The most famous frescoes today come from the Roman town of Pompeii. Pompeii was the site of a horrible volcanic eruption that killed the 2,000 citizens of the town and covered everything in a thick layer of ash. This ash preserved much of Pompeii, including the beautiful frescoes found in the houses of its wealthier citizens. Bas-Relief Bas-relief is a special type of sculpting where the images stick out of a flat surface. Roman sculptors used the medium of basrelief to give dimension and movement to pictures of battle scenes and crowds of people. An image of two soldiers locked in battle became more realistic and animated when carved into bas-relief, making it an excellent medium for story telling. Rome Frescos Roman artists excelled at the creation of a special type of mural painting called fresco. In Latin, fresco means “fresh”. This comes from the way that these 3 taller buildings. Roman inventors also changed the shape of arches, making Every time that you look around, you them a little flatter on the top, so that they can see something that was first seen in would be more efficient. the Roman Empire. From concrete, to indoor heating, Rome invented a lot of City Living Technology Roman citizens liked to be comfortable technology that we still see in the world in their today. homes. War Technology Roman The Roman army inventors was very good at developed defeating its enemies. two very Rome was able to important conquer such a large technologie territory because of the s that made strength of its army. city living One invention that more the Romans used was comfortable the catapult. Catapults and cleaner: indoor heating and sewers. used twisted ropes and Indoor heating was only available in the springs to toss heavy rocks and missiles at homes of rich Romans and in the public enemy armies. These catapults could baths. Slaves kept large fires burning in throw at over 100 miles per hour! furnaces to heat rooms. This heat moved through gaps in the walls and under the Building Technology Romans were easily the master floors to keep everything toasty and warm. builders of their day. We can still see the Who knew heated floors were an ancient roads and buildings that they constructed invention? One of the biggest problems with living today! in a city is disease. Deadly diseases can Romans used three new technologies start spreading if a city does not have a to really make their buildings last: way to get rid of human waste. The 1. Concrete Romans invented an important technology 2. Domes for keeping their citizens healthy: sewers. 3. Arches The Romans invented concrete, which Underground drains and pipes moved dirty we still use today to build roads, sidewalks, water and waste out of the city. These and buildings. This cement was weaker pipes were flushed by water from the than what we use today, but strong enough Roman baths, so they were quite clean. Sewers and drains were also installed to last thousands of years. The Romans also created domes, in the most famous stadium, the which are a curved circular ceiling. Domes Colosseum. When audience members are important because they allowed the watched bloody fights, they would Romans to create large rooms without sometimes throw up. Sewers allowed for the vomit to be flushed away so that the support columns to hold up the roof. Although arches had already been Colosseum remained clean. invented, Romans were the first to use them to support heavy weights and make IV. Roman Technology 4