Importance of Roman Technology and Engineering

Importance of Roman Technology and Engineering

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The Roman Empire has been a dominating power in the western world for close to four hundred years. This has been made possible by many characteristics and remarkable accomplishments that seemed impossible. Technology and engineering, which resulted into the production of significant structures and designs that are present in the world today, were key players in the development of the Roman Empire.

The ancient Roman people embraced knowledge in technology and engineering to help solve the problems of water by building aqueducts, which also allowed them construct other structures such as bridges and amphitheaters. To enable the building of these structures, the Romans required materials to complete their enormous tasks, thus the need for powerful machines such as cranes, water mills, water pumps and grain mills. The Romans were good innovators, evidenced by the many designs that are still being used today.

Technology is simply using the knowledge and science to develop tools and methods that allow problem solving in a society (Snedden, 1998). Through technology, a society is able to adapt and control their environment. Technology is not the same as knowledge, but the application of it. The Romans were good in practical application of knowledge than science questioning, and this is what enabled them to achieve their technological capabilities (White, 1984). The Roman Empire began as a meek city state initially ruled by aristocratic kings in the 8th century. Rome remained a most powerful political entity following decades of its internal strife and material pressures.

One of the many technological innovations by the Romans is the abacus. Abacus was an improvement of the Mesopotamians design of the first pocket calculator in history. The Roman abacus replaced the complex mathematics involved in the roman numerals since it was in base-10. It was widely used by the merchants, tax collectors and early engineers.

The Roman Amphitheaters, which were great accomplishments of civil engineering, were large open stadiums used for various events such as animal fights, chariot races and gladiatorial combats. The most famous amphitheater was the coliseum, which could sit tens of thousands spectators. The amphitheater had an important role to the Roman government, for instance, they demonstrated the immense