The Most Advanced Civilization: Rome

What is civilization? Well, according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, it is “intellectual and cultural refinement”. If you ask me, being an advanced civilization is not only that but passing on their ideas and advancements on to future generations. Not only does this mean that you are progressing human civilization in general, it also means your ideas were the most useful and advanced. So which was the most advanced civilization: Greece, Rome, or Byzantine? The answer is most obviously Rome. All of my listed reasons about the Roman’s advancement are passed on to other countries present day, most especially our country. Plus, if Rome was not so advanced, then how could they have survived and flourished for 1000 years? If you need any more reason, first, Rome’s architecture, law, and government were beyond its time. Second, their language, culture, and almost everything in their everyday lives were supreme in all others. Third, and most foreseeable, was their military commandment and accomplishments. In the next paragraphs, I will explain why Rome is so plainly the most advanced civilization of its time period, even while compared to Greece and Byzantine.

                

My first reason is that of architecture, law, and government. Their 12 Tables and three-branch method were pure genius. If not, then why are they still around today? America’s President was equal to the consuls’; the Supreme Court’s job matches those of the praetors’. For our legislative branch, we even have two “branches” off of that: the Senate corresponding to their Senate and the House of Representatives parallel to the House of Plebs. The 12 Tables established that all free citizens had the right to be treated equally by the legal system. Romans also created what was called the Law of Nations. It showed that the rule of justice was applied to all peoples conquered by Rome: a person is seen as innocent until proven guilty, people accused of crimes could defend themselves before a judge, and finally a judge had to look at evidence carefully before making a decision. Sound familiar? It should! It is the same basic rules that we use today. In architecture, many of our important government official buildings are based off Roman technique: arches and domes. They also have aqueducts and the famous sewer system: Cloaca Maxima.

                

My second reason is their language, culture, and almost everything in their everyday lives. Look at our language. Even with my very limited Latin vocabulary, I can pick up several words that are borrowed from Rome such as “person” or “sign” or “excel”. They are all derived from Latin roots or statements. Another example is that the Romans figured out how to make the ever-failing calendar work by using a solar calendar instead of a lunar calendar to keep in touch with the seasons. The Romans were also one of the only ancient civilizations to care about personal hygiene. A proper civilization should be concerned about their cleanliness so they were less prone to disease. Could you imagine not taking a bath or a shower except for maybe twice a year? Well, in ancient history, only the Romans took baths on a regular basis. This shows sign that the Romans looked beyond all the more political issues and took notice of the important details other less developed civilizations missed.

                

My third reason was their military control and skill. The Romans conquered more land and people than anybody else. Even if there were, nobody maintained the land and restrained the people for more than 1000 years! Roman militia did not fight like barbarians. Their generals were problem solvers. For instance, at first the Romans fought like the Greeks. Soon, generals found this method to be slow and clumsy. So they modified it. Their military was smartly divided into smaller groups of around 6,000 men called legions who were further divided into groups of 60-120 men called cohorts. These new smaller groups could easily cut through enemy lines like darts. They also enforced discipline into their soldiers. With this Roman cunning and efficiency and Spartan obedience, this new army was unstoppable for the next 1,000 years.

                

In conclusion, now you can see that the Romans can easily bypass the Greeks and the Byzantines with no problem. Both civilizations have too many flaws. The Greeks needed to be more united. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided cannot stand”. The city-state method was ultimately the Greek’s downfall. The Byzantines needed to do something memorable. They lasted 1000 years, but were they as efficient as the Romans? No. Were they first to do so? Nopes. Did they build any amazing buildings? No. Did they have great military might? No again. Rome had all of these things and more. Now, if you could not see before, you know that Rome is the ultimate, most advanced civilization.