25 Indispensable Roman Contributions To The World

even though the Roman Empire is over 2,000 years old its contributions to the world continue on today usually we assume ancient people were backward and simple living that simply isn't true we owe much of our own technology to the Roman people from architecture to entertainment Roman customs knowledge and designs have been handed down throughout the centuries curious to see what Roman wonders we take for granted well I'm Michael this 25 and here are 25 indispensable Roman contributions to the world but before we get started please don't forget to Like share comment subscribe and click that notification bell it really helps us out 25 arches Romans didn't invent the arch but they sure did perfect it with a reverence for the Greek architectural order of things Roman architects build upon that knowledge and took it even further advancing the technology their new arch techniques allowed the construction of aqueducts Colosseum's basilica's and amphitheaters without the fear of them collapsing not only have many of these structures lasted for thousands of years but the techniques are still in use today 24 Roman Republic before Rome became a massive Empire it existed primarily on the Italian peninsula as a budding Republic with two elected consuls that acted as a kind of president and an elected Senate this was in contrast to the many countries at the time ruled by kings years later their system of a republic would be used as a model for the United States and other countries 23 concrete the Romans were also skilled at making solid long-lasting forms of concrete putting modern concrete to shame while today's concrete will break down within 50 years or less Roman concrete is still standing strong Roman engineer Marcus Vitruvius is said to have created this super strong mortar out of volcanic ash lime and seawater they mix those three things with volcanic rock and it into more seawater after 10 years a rare mineral formed within the concrete called aluminum Tobermory allowing it to maintain its strength 22 Entertainment the Romans love they're an entertainment realizing it could keep them in power longer many Roman leaders and emperors encouraged it by providing it for free from chariot races gladiatorial battles and plays at the theater many forms of entertainment enjoyed back then are also they enjoyed the day maybe not so much the gladiatorial bass 21 roads and highways once the Romans figured out that major paved roads could help them maintain a strong military and Empire they built them everywhere over the course of seven hundred years they paved 55 thousand miles of roads all over Europe these roads were well engineered designed to last and allowed for fast travel across the empire even after 2,000 years many Roman roads are still in existence 20 the Julian calendar many different calendars existed in Roman history leading all the way up to the Julian calendar which was the best calendar they had in ancient Rome most of our Gregorian calendar is based on the Julian one including months days and the leap year the Gregorian calendar was instituted to fix several of the Julian calendars problems 19 fine dining the Romans loved a good meal and their dining room was a major part of their living space a typical Roman dinner which resembles much of modern dining had three courses the hors d'oeuvres the main course and dessert they also served wine throughout the meal this differed from the Greeks who served wine after a meal 18 bound books before bound books civilization mostly used stone tablets or Scrolls however by the first century CE II Romans developed the Codex which was bound papyrus or parchment together however books really didn't catch on until the 5th century CE 17 plumbing the ancient Romans developed a revolutionary plumbing system that first started with aqueducts allowing them to transport running water to developed areas and ended with the development of a complex led piping system they're one of the first civilizations to do it and allowed for future advancements in the technology 16 courier service the Roman Emperor Augustus started the first courier service in the roman empire called sources publicus it helped relay messages and tax information from one place to another he based it on the Persian system but changed it so that only one person goes from one place to another rather than relaying it to many people it was a slower process but provided for more security and first-hand information 15 the Colosseum known as the Flavian amphitheater the Roman Colosseum was a gift to the Roman people as it opened in a TC II it opened with 100 days of games to commemorate the event it stood as a symbol of Rome's achievement in architecture and entertainment fourteen legal system Roman law included all facets of life in the ancient empire from citizenship crime and punishment and liability and damage property to prostitution manumission and local politics the Romans helped shape best practice in the legal system of their contributions there were 12 tables which helped treat all Romans as equals and provide them certain legal rights 13 newspapers newspapers go back a long way initially the Romans started a record of Senate meetings called ACTA senatus available to only senators later however after 27 BCE there was an act of diurna which was like a daily Gazette for the public acting as an early newspaper 12 graffiti believe it or not graffiti is not a modern art form but an ancient one in Rome we know graffiti existed thanks to the preservation of Pompeii from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE II one of the many things scribbled on the walls was the phrase I wonder a wall that you have not yet collapsed so many writers cliches do you bear 11 welfare the working class in Rome were called plebeians and had very little power except when they gathered in large numbers aware of this Roman emperors like Trajan established social welfare systems where the poorest could seek out help from administrators Emperor Augustus would give away bread and circuses to keep the masses happy and avoid riots 10 central heating one of the first known HVAC systems was created by the Romans called the hypocaust it was found mostly in large public bath houses with a raised floor and a constant burning fire it both heated the room and the water going to the bathhouse 9 military medicine in ancient times most soldiers had to fend for themselves on the battlefield when they were wounded however during Emperor Trajan's time in the second century the Roman military developed medici or doctors that could dress wounds and do minor surgeries before long field hospitals were set up and more thoroughly trained doctors marched alongside the Roman soldiers aim Roman numerals originally Roman numerals were used to help Romans price goods and services in Roman times they were commonly used by most everyone today however they're mainly only used in formal situations like the Superbowl Olympics referring to Royals or numbering the construction of a building seven sewers Roman sewers were built all the way back during the Etruscan reign on the Italian peninsula in 500 BCE after that the Romans expanded the sewers they were primarily used however not to expel sewage but to reduce flooding six caesarean section under Roman law a Caesar to create all women who were dead or dying during childbirth were to be cut open to save the baby it was never intended to save the mother's life because the medicine to do that didn't exist however today the procedure has changed drastically and become more common rather than a method of last resort five medical tools thanks to the preservation of Pompeii we have a better idea of the kinds of medical tools ancient Romans used many of them were used all the way up to the 20th century some of the tools discovered were a vaginal speculum a rectal speculum and a male catheter for City Planning the Romans were greatly admired for their City Planning creating some of the first grid cities many of their grid cities became early models for later designs in traffic and commerce by designing cities they discovered they could control the flow of traffic and make commerce and production more efficient like ones doing right now three apartment buildings apartment buildings were very similar in Roman times to ours today landlords would rent out the lower rooms to shopkeepers and businesses while keeping apartments on the upper levels they were called insula and would almost always consist of poor working-class people that couldn't afford a home some scholars believe in the town of Ostia alone 90% of the people there lived in apartment buildings - traffic signs traffic and road signs are not modern day phenomena the Romans use them - on their many roads and highways they use large milestones to give travelers information on the direction and distance of Rome and other towns one fast-food mcdonald's probably likes to thank and invented fast-food but that simply isn't the case for instance in the ancient city of pompeii no one liked to cook or the convenience just wasn't available to people as few kitchens were found in people's houses instead citizens went to papier or ancient takeout restaurants eating on the go was fairly common so what's your favorite Roman invention let us know in the comments below or tweet your answer to us at list 25 I like YouTube thanks Romans its entertainment it counts yep enjoying our lists be sure to click that subscribe button on the bottom right and the notification bell so you don't miss out on new ones every Monday through Friday share them with friends and help us consistently conciliate curiosity and if you want even more lists check out these videos here or just head to our website at lists 25 calm [Music]

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Keywords: List25, list 25, top 10, top 25, Mike, ancient roman achievements, ancient roman technology, roman achievements, roman contributions, roman contributions to western civilization, roman inventions we use today, what did the romans invent that we use today, Rome, Ancient Rome, Roman, inventions, contributions, still in use today, today

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Length: 11min 39sec (699 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 12 2019