Year 9

Unit 4 - Roman Empire

Lesson 5 – What did the Romans ever do for us?

Our concluding lesson looks at the long-term consequences of the Roman Empire and the ways in which it still influences our world today.  As Monty Python famously illustrated (right) the Romans were responsible for many significant contributions to civilisation. For example, many roads in Europe still follow the old lines of Roman roads which really did all lead to Rome.

Some of our most important cities were founded by the Romans like Lausanne or Seville in Spain, Maastricht in the Netherlands, or Bratislava in Slovakia. 

Some places still take their names from their Roman name, e.g. London from Londinium, Florence from Florentia and Pamplona from ​Pompaelo. 

​​In this video Adam Hart-Davis looks at a range of things the Romans developed, some of which we have already studied. He examines the military innovation and war machines.  He looks closely at the roads and we find out what it actually takes to build one of these. The programme covers how they built amphitheatres and race tracks and spread sports throughout the empire. He looks at how they pioneered the mass production of glass and double glazing, and as we have already seen, they created enormous aqueducts that fed water from distant sources into the heart of their cities and bath houses, created clever heating systems, and flushing toilets. 

But perhaps their one invention that has had the biggest impact on the modern world more than anything else is concrete (beton in French), they used it everywhere from houses to bridges, (it would set hard under water), and without it they couldn't have built the Pantheon and its vast domed roof – unsurpassed in size until the 19th century. (See below images of the Pantheon today both inside and outside.)

Perhaps the most important but least noticeable impact of the Roman Empire has been the influence on European culture. And because from the 18th century Europe dominated the World, this influence has been global. 

For example, the calendar we use today, with 365 days in a year, is based on the one developed by Julius Caesar, the Julian calendar, introduced  in 46 BC.  The Julian calendar split the year for the first time into 365 days, divided into 12 months, with a leap day added to February every four years. It was revised in 1582 to the Gregorian calendar. In many languages months of the year take their names from the Roman months and some days of the week are named after Roman gods. (See right)

You can see on this example of the Roman calendar above October, November and December and also the star signs from the horoscope.   Latin has influenced the way European languages such as French, Spanish, Italian and even English have developed. In science, plants, animals, insects and even mushrooms are known officially by Latin names. 

Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire in AD 337 and remains the dominant religion in most countries which once formed a part of the Empire.  In our next unit of study, the spread and influence of Christianity is going to be very important. 

Activity - What have the Romans ever done for us?

​Using the information above and your own research, produce a two to three minute film that answers the question 'what have the Romans ever done for us?' As with your previous film, we must hear your voice and you must illustrate your film with carefully selected images/video, but otherwise you are free to use whatever film making techniques you wish. You should look to include at least three important Roman innovations that have impacted on the world today. 

Some examples of student work from 2020