You know, the Romans were pretty advance, they used cement, had aqua ducts, and were military geniouses. They also invented the keystone, and if i'm not mistaken they had cannons. They also had concepts such as pi, Hypotnues (sp), circumphrance, etc. to say we're as advanced as the romans is alot, they ahd alot going for them for their time. They were pretty much on the verge of guns.
darkstorme - 2/18/2007 12:10 AMRomans were famous for their use of catapults and chariots, I rather doubt firearms were within their reach, even at the Empire's height.
Ar7 - 2/18/2007 1:27 AM The Romans never ever used chariots!
darkstorme - 2/18/2007 12:10 AMWell, pi would be the work of Pythagorus, a Greek thinker, as was the hypotenuse.. or at least its work in mathematics. Circumference existed well before anyone was alive, but again, the Greeks were the first to notice that it invariably divided into the diameter by the same number. The Romans did NOT, however, have gunpowder.. so any cannons would have had to have been by some other means.. and as the Romans were famous for their use of catapults and chariots, I rather doubt firearms were within their reach, even at the Empire's height.
Now let's not continue to deprive the Greeks of their due .. Hero, or Heron of Alexandria did indeed invent the first steam engine, but he was Greek. Not Roman. Really, the Greeks did most of the heavy lifting, intellectually speaking! The Romans just knew how to plagiarize
Nibor21 - 2/18/2007 4:31 AM The technology to create a Roman sewer system is simple. It goes like this: 1.) Get a man with a whip. 2.) Get some slaves 3.) Get the man with the whip to make the slaves dig a trench flowing downhill to a river 4.) Line the trench bottom with flagstones, sides with rectangular stones 5.) Cover the top with flagstones, and then bury the rest with a foot or so of mud. So basically it is all simple, but requires the thought to have sewerage hidden underground and not running down a gutter outside your house. Oh and a man with a whip. So while some high status houses would have had heating and plumbing (plumb being the latin for lead, romans making all their pipes from lead, hence the word plumbing). Most peasants wouldn't have the technology. There may have been a gradual trickle down but essentially it is as Leanthar says - the rich and royals might have the nice toys. All the average peasant gets is increased taxation.
D Blaze - 2/17/2007 3:35 PMWho needs cannons when you have mages with fireballs? Same thing.... remember, most complex machines can easily be replaced by magic, even low-powered magic, thus hindering technological advancement due to the convenience of it.
Jearick Hgar - 2/18/2007 5:48 AMThe first. Uh ya Romans very well had chariots. They also used them all the time, The romans were very famous for their chariots as it was stated. They use dthem in wor, they used them in gladiator battles, and they used them in races. Hate to site Hollywood as an example, but Gladiator is based on ancient rome, and they ahd chariots. And no i don't believe anything Hollywoods says, just that's one place chariots show up in rome history, search the web a bit and you'll see ti there too.
WikipediaIn the Roman Empire, chariots were not used for warfare
Ar7 - 2/18/2007 11:39 AMQuoteJearick Hgar - 2/18/2007 5:48 AMThe first. Uh ya Romans very well had chariots. They also used them all the time, The romans were very famous for their chariots as it was stated. They use dthem in wor, they used them in gladiator battles, and they used them in races. Hate to site Hollywood as an example, but Gladiator is based on ancient rome, and they ahd chariots. And no i don't believe anything Hollywoods says, just that's one place chariots show up in rome history, search the web a bit and you'll see ti there too.Two different things here, one is to use chariots during races, triumph parades or gladiator matches, a totally different thing is to use them on the military field. The Romans did not use chariots during battles, it is absolutly absurd when you look at their military strategy, I mean they even treated regular cavalry as support units and often relied on mercenaries in this area. Even if we imagine that they indeed did use chariots, then where would they get them from? I believe the only people widely using chariots at the time of the Roman Empire were the celts and that combination seems once again absurd. To finish my post I shall bring a short quote QuoteWikipediaIn the Roman Empire, chariots were not used for warfare
WikipediaRoman EmpireThe Romans probably borrowed chariot racing from the Etruscans, who would themselves had borrowed it either from the Celts or from the Greeks, but the Romans were also influenced directly by the Greeks especially after they conquered mainland Greece in 146 BC. In the Roman Empire, chariots were not used for warfare, but for chariot racing or for processions, when they could be drawn by as many as ten horses or even by dogs, tigers, or ostriches. There were four teams the red, blue, green, and white team. The main centre of chariot racing was the Circus Maximus, situated in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine Hills in Rome. The track could hold 12 chariots, and the two sides of the track were separated by a raised median termed the spina. Chariot races continued to enjoy great popularity in Byzantine times, in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, even after the Olympic Games had been disbanded, until their decline after the Nika riots in the 6th century.