Started By
Message
re: Everyone agrees the ancient Romans were the greatest ancient civilization....
Posted on 10/20/22 at 2:51 pm to Lonnie Utah
Posted on 10/20/22 at 2:51 pm to Lonnie Utah
I think ancient China was greater than Rome. They invented paper, gunpowder, the compass and printing. Paper currency. The tooth brush. The crossbow. Oil refining. Oil wells. Iron creation and refining. Rockets. Rotary fans. Tea. Soy sauce.
The Romans didn't develop all that much themselves. That took what other civilizations invented and used them. Aquaducts and plumbing? That was the greeks. Things like roads and postal services? Many other civilizations did that before Rome did, just not to the same degree.
The only real roman inventions of note were concrete and sub-floor heating.
Mustard was cultivated by the Indus Valley civilization long before Rome existed. yellow mustard paste was also used in china in 1000 BC.
Rome really wasn't great at inventing things. They were great at taking things others invented and putting them into widespread use.
The Romans didn't develop all that much themselves. That took what other civilizations invented and used them. Aquaducts and plumbing? That was the greeks. Things like roads and postal services? Many other civilizations did that before Rome did, just not to the same degree.
The only real roman inventions of note were concrete and sub-floor heating.
Mustard was cultivated by the Indus Valley civilization long before Rome existed. yellow mustard paste was also used in china in 1000 BC.
Rome really wasn't great at inventing things. They were great at taking things others invented and putting them into widespread use.
3
Posted on 10/20/22 at 2:53 pm to DawginSC
quote:
I think ancient China was greater than Rome. They invented paper, gunpowder, the compass and printing. Paper currency. The tooth brush. The crossbow. Oil refining. Oil wells. Iron creation and refining. Rockets. Rotary fans. Tea. Soy sauce.
The Romans didn't develop all that much themselves. That took what other civilizations invented and used them. Aquaducts and plumbing? That was the greeks. Things like roads and postal services? Many other civilizations did that before Rome did, just not to the same degree.
The only real roman inventions of note were concrete and sub-floor heating.
Mustard was cultivated by the Indus Valley civilization long before Rome existed. yellow mustard paste was also used in china in 1000 BC.
Rome really wasn't great at inventing things. They were great at taking things others invented and putting them into widespread use.
Will any of these things get aggie riled up before our game this weekend? If so, I'm all for it....
Posted on 10/20/22 at 3:13 pm to DawginSC
quote:
They were great at taking things others invented
As a very early example of this, in the Punic Wars that pitted the Romans against the Carthaginians, the Romans had a decided advantage hand-to-hand, but a huge disadvantage at sea.
So they copied the build of a Carthaginian warship, built an entire fleet of them, and added a corvus to each, which was a huge swinging bridge with a spike on the end.
Knowing they couldn't outsail their opponent, they would instead pull-up alongside, deploy the bridge, and invade their ship where they could then regain a combat advantage.
It didn't win the war by itself, but this ability to quickly copy what was available to them helped the Romans to ultimately conquer the Carthage empire, which was perhaps the dominant power of the region. (Without this victory, the Romans probably never become a superpower.)
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Posted on 10/20/22 at 3:53 pm to DawginSC
quote:
The only real roman inventions of note were concrete and sub-floor heating.
You forgot to include military tactics and organization. The most important military advancement was development of the legion, along with weapons that maximized the effectiveness of the legion's small-unit capabilities - namely, the gladius (short stabbing sword), the scutum (the rectangular shield) and the pila (short throwing/stabbing javelin).
The small-unit capabilities and maneuverability of the legion structure (including cohorts and centuries, along with cavalry) is what allowed them to conquer nearly everything they set their eyes on - thus acquiring the other inventions you mentioned.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News