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how civilised were the romans

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how civilised were the romans
How Civilised were The Romans?
Civilised means to have a good culture, education and to treat people with respect. It also means to have rules, help others, be clean, be organised and being polite.
I think the Romans were civilised for several reasons:
Aqueducts: An aqueduct was built to transport water. It was a sort of bridge, built on arches. On top was a channel to carry water. The Romans used aqueducts to supply towns with water from springs, rivers or lakes. A lot of the aqueducts have disappeared over time or rotted away, but a few still exist like the Pont du Gard down in the south of France. This made them civilised because an aqueduct made it possible to build Roman bath complexes and other water consuming luxuries like fountains. Aqueducts became an expression of power and wealth of a city.
In the mean time, ordinary people also benefited. They were supplied with less polluted water, close to their living quarters.
Heating: Rich Romans liked to stay nice and warm in the winter, so they invented heating. The way they did this was by making slaves continuously keep a blazing fire going in a furnace, heating warm air. The warm air rose up, through the house, warming it at the same time. They had central heating in several places like homes, villas and public Baths. This invention permitted the rich Romans to enjoy a nice relaxing winter in the warm!
Roads: Roman roads were vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 500 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. They provided efficient means for the overland movement of armies, officials and civilians, and the inland carriage of official communications and trade goods. Roman roads were of several kinds, ranging from small local roads to broad, long-distance highways built to connect cities, major towns and military bases. These major roads were often stone-paved and, cambered for drainage, and were flanked by footpaths, bridleways and drainage ditches. They were laid along accurately surveyed courses.
I think the Romans were uncivilized for several reasons:
Slavery: It played an important role in society and the economy. Besides manual labour, slaves performed many domestic services, and could be employed at highly skilled jobs and professions. Teachers, accountants, and physicians were often slaves. Greek slaves in particular might be highly educated. Unskilled slaves or those condemned to slavery as punishment, worked on farms, in mines, and at mills. Their living conditions were brutal, and their lives short. Some slavery consisted of continuously chucking coal onto big fires and facing big male lions. Slavery is uncivilized because it takes away an individual’s independence and choices as they are “owned” by another person.
Sexism: “Women have weak minds, they should be ruled by men”, “...women could not inherit a rich estate...” Women could not vote or be involved in any diplomatic election. Women were named less frequently than men by Roman historians. Roman women held no direct political power; those from wealthy or powerful families could and did exert influence through private negotiations.
Entertainment at the Colloseum: Entertainment started with a mass execution of criminals, in front of a crowd, at midday. This was followed by gladiators fighting to their unwanted death cheered on by the crowds. Slaves were also put into the arena to go head to head with a ferocious male lion or other wild animals. Rome, at one point, had used up all the animals in North Africa and that is why there are no lions in North Africa today! Entertainment in the Colloseum was uncivilized because it’s barbaric and immoral to watch people fight to the death or being slaughtered, for your own enjoyment.
I think that the Romans were incredibly civilized for their time, and no other ancient civilization matched up to their technical knowledge and skill - they were well ahead of their time! However, by today’s standards it was a very unequal society, with some people, for example slaves, living and dying in a very uncivilized manner.

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