The Glory of Rome is Not Forgotten
The Roman Empire--not much else strikes up such visions of greatness, one of which is their government structure. The Romans had a republican government, meaning that the citizens elected officials for office to deal with the politics. These officials made some radical changes to the law. The rule of law declared that everyone (except women, slaves, foreigners, and children, of course) was to be treated equally under the law, and deserved a fair trial. These were written on the Tweleve Tables, carved out and posted for everyone to see. We followed this format, (if you haven't noticed,) but had added our own changes with a newer (but not modern) world in mind.
Architecture was was another huge innovation. The aqueducts (as seen to the right) traveled thousands of kilometers to retrieve water for the cities. The rounded arches strengthened the structure, but also gave it the iconic, classical look. But arches weren't the only innovation. Concrete was also used in architecture for strength. This new material allowed the Romans to build bigger, better, and more impressive than before. All these innovations allowed for further discovery and design. We still use concrete today, and those rounded arches allowed for the pointed arches of those super-awesome Gothic cathedrals.
However, (and you may not be satisfied with this paragraph,) the most important thing the Roman Empire did was be the Roman Empire. The Romans influenced us so heavily that it's hard to imagine a world without them. They were part of the past, and the past only exists to make the future possible. If Rome stayed a little city-state, then our whole continent would probably be mostly First Nation (Native American), because without the Roman Empire, there wouldn't be the Dark Ages of Western Europe, and therefore no Renaissance, no Age of Exploration and conquest.
But, as everything must rise, everything must fall. Rome had been suffering for a 50 year civil war. Troops that had been guarding the borders and keeping the Germanic tribes at bay had to leave their posts to help with the unrest. There were 26 emperors in that 50-year period, and 25 of them were assassinated. There was also heavy inflation. The Empire grew poorer because of all their military spending, so they reduced the amount of gold in their coins. This caused the value of money to decrease, and the prices rose to compensate. Unfortunately, the people knew of this decrease in worth, and they didn't see the point of the money. They began to barter. The rich stopped paying taxes because the money had no value (because no one used it), and the roads grew rough, uneven, and broken. And the Germanic tribes didn't disappear. They followed those handy roads that led straight to the city of Rome to overthrow the Empire.
Rome, until the start of the civil war, was a powerful empire of great expense. Their language, Latin, still lives in English, Portuguese Spanish, French, Italian, and Romanian. The architecture was reborn into neo-classical, and their system of government is in ours today. From this, Rome will live on forever.
Architecture was was another huge innovation. The aqueducts (as seen to the right) traveled thousands of kilometers to retrieve water for the cities. The rounded arches strengthened the structure, but also gave it the iconic, classical look. But arches weren't the only innovation. Concrete was also used in architecture for strength. This new material allowed the Romans to build bigger, better, and more impressive than before. All these innovations allowed for further discovery and design. We still use concrete today, and those rounded arches allowed for the pointed arches of those super-awesome Gothic cathedrals.
However, (and you may not be satisfied with this paragraph,) the most important thing the Roman Empire did was be the Roman Empire. The Romans influenced us so heavily that it's hard to imagine a world without them. They were part of the past, and the past only exists to make the future possible. If Rome stayed a little city-state, then our whole continent would probably be mostly First Nation (Native American), because without the Roman Empire, there wouldn't be the Dark Ages of Western Europe, and therefore no Renaissance, no Age of Exploration and conquest.
But, as everything must rise, everything must fall. Rome had been suffering for a 50 year civil war. Troops that had been guarding the borders and keeping the Germanic tribes at bay had to leave their posts to help with the unrest. There were 26 emperors in that 50-year period, and 25 of them were assassinated. There was also heavy inflation. The Empire grew poorer because of all their military spending, so they reduced the amount of gold in their coins. This caused the value of money to decrease, and the prices rose to compensate. Unfortunately, the people knew of this decrease in worth, and they didn't see the point of the money. They began to barter. The rich stopped paying taxes because the money had no value (because no one used it), and the roads grew rough, uneven, and broken. And the Germanic tribes didn't disappear. They followed those handy roads that led straight to the city of Rome to overthrow the Empire.
Rome, until the start of the civil war, was a powerful empire of great expense. Their language, Latin, still lives in English, Portuguese Spanish, French, Italian, and Romanian. The architecture was reborn into neo-classical, and their system of government is in ours today. From this, Rome will live on forever.