We use them thanks to the Romans.
Ancient Rome is one of the first and yet the most prominent example of globalization in human history. The legacy of the Roman state is truly enormous. It is so large and noticeable in our Western world that we all can consider ourselves a little bit Romans. And now we will focus on some of the most important things even if were not invented in Rome, then entered the “fashion” thanks to him.
1. The Latin alphabet
The most obvious subject of the heritage of Rome. Today in languages based on the Latin alphabet, speaks and writes half the world. Himself the Latin alphabet, the most popular (and plausible) theory of the scientists, appeared in the result of adaptation of the Etruscan alphabet and adding elements of Greek.
2. Concrete
Concrete was invented long before the Romans. However, the Romans fully appreciated all the advantages of this material. In the Central and Western part of the Empire, concrete was built literally everything from buildings shops and residential houses, to temples, aqueducts, public and cultural buildings.
Moreover, the Romans did a special concrete, incredibly strong and durable! His secret scientists have unraveled recently. The whole point was that the Romans to strengthen the material used sea water and volcanic soot.
3. Paved roads and stone bridges
As in the case of concrete, roads and bridges people have built around the world and before the Romans. However, in the “Western” part of our planet, they decided that it would be nice to make the road durable and more durable bridges. The construction of these infrastructure facilities started to use stone and concrete. The need for good roads was evident during the “pax romana” (the Roman era of prosperity), the Roman Empire occupied almost the entire known world and was the largest state on the planet. Preserved Roman paved roads, and to this day.
4. Traffic web
Roman roads today certainly are not used where they are preserved. However, the Romans left us another gift. Transport web of Europe and Asia Minor is determined by the places of the passage of Roman roads. Many modern highways and highway today to coincide with the Roman.
5. Water
To patent the authorship of the aqueduct for Romans would be difficult. To build the aqueducts were tried in ancient Babylon. However, the Romans began to use aqueducts everywhere where only could. In contrast to all civilizations-the predecessors, the Romans used aqueducts not only for irrigation but also for water supply of cities and industrial objects: craft neighborhoods and places of resource extraction. The city of Rome was supplied with 11 aqueducts! Today more or less preserved aqueducts can be found throughout Europe: in Italy, France, Germany and elsewhere.
6. Sewerage
The Romans did the drain not just the “trendy”, it’s essential for big cities. Used Roman cesspool, for sewage and for rainwater discharge. At first it was rather trivial cesspool ditches Yes, but later Romans began to pave them with stone, and even underground tunnels! The first Roman sewer system was the “Cloaca Maxima,” which is in Rome. By the way, preserved it to the present day. It even use! However, today exclusively for rain water drainage.
7. Regular, professional army
Before the Romans the regular army as such was absent. In ancient Greece, in Egypt and in the East, the army usually assembled in the form of the militia, in the hour of need for protection or on the contrary, the military campaign against the neighbors. The number of “professional” soldiers in all the early States were negligible and often ended in the personal guard of the ruler, Yes the temple guards.
The history of Rome is the story of a warrior, foreign and domestic. And the history of this state, develop its army, which has come a long way from the above-described militia and militia to regular and more professional army. The Romans changed the concept of the warrior, the soldier, realizing that big government always needs those who will defend its interests with arms in hand.
It is noteworthy that the final transition to the regular army occurred due to the economic crisis in the state. In the country the greatest growth, the unemployment rate for the ruin of peasant farms. Solution found Gaius Marius, who began to take all the free inhabitants of the country (not just citizens), the military service promising a salary and land at retirement
8. Patronage
The phenomenon itself in the society was named in honor of guy Zilina Philanthropist, best friend of the ruler of Rome Octavian Augustus. In modern terms, could be called the Patron the first Minister of culture in the history of mankind. In fact, guy Cilni did not occupy any official position, but actively sponsored artists, so they glorified state values and the Octavian Augustus.
9. Republic
When people today speak of democracy, Republic and freedom, you might think that all three of these words are synonyms. In fact, all this is not so. The democracy of Athens had no relation to the Republic of Rome, the latter, is the grandfather of all Republican forms of government.
The Romans were the first to appreciate the benefits of separation of powers, realizing that the concentration thereof in the hands of one person can be dangerous for the whole society. Ironically, it is the concentration of power in the hands of one already in the Imperial period and will become one of the gravediggers of the ancient state.
However, for a long time the Romans really managed to successfully split the power in society, to achieve consensus among all free inhabitants of the country. Let the times to do this, the poorest members of society and had to blackmail a rich mass migration to other lands, or even to take up arms.
10. Citizenship
Perhaps the most important legacy of Rome, which today, anyway, is people. The concept of “citizen” existed in many ancient States. However, only the Romans eventually came to the conclusion that all free people should be citizens of the Empire, regardless of where they were born and in what part of the state reside.
11. Christianity
For a long time in the Roman Empire, Christians were considered a dangerous Jewish sect. But everything changed when Constantine the Great, who after the battle for Rome equalized all religions in rights. He will carry the cross from Jerusalem to the new capital Constantinople. Already the Great Theodosius I would make Christianity the state religion. So, thanks to Rome, the Christian faith will begin its spread around the world.
12. Social mobility
Finally I want to talk about another “gift”. Like all ancient States, Rome was the slave. In ancient Rome formed the concept of “classical slavery”, that terrible phenomenon, which now seems an absolute absurdity. But with all this terrible Rome is strikingly different from any other state in the issue of social mobility.
To Rome, some ancient Greece, Egypt, Babylon – people have died who were born. Many centuries after Rome, people have died who were born. And only in Rome for the first time, people started actively use social mobility. Here the slaves had become free, freedmen ascended into the aristocracy, and the common soldiers took the road to the Emperor.
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