Max Villarreal

Roman Aqueducts and Roads

How did Roman engineering affect the longevity and stability of their empire?
The Romans were known for their military prowess and their immense
engineering capabilities. But two inventions clearly had a much greater impact on all of
the empire than all of their other creations. Romans use of aqueducts and roads
immensely helped the sustainability of their empire by helping maintain control over its
citizens. Roman aqueducts fought off disease by creating a stable sewer system and the
aqueducts provided a bountiful supply of water to cities that needed it. Roman roads were
built extremely well and allowed the fast and easy travel of chariots and merchants who
wanted to trade to other Roman cities. Because of these reasons, Roman aqueducts and
roads greatly benefitted the stability of the empire by providing a reliable source of water
and method of travel.
Roman aqueducts were built in many places around the Roman Empire. While we
still see aqueducts standing today, at the time of the Roman Empire, only 30 miles of the
260 miles were above ground. In many cases the Roman engineers would dig the
aqueducts underground when possible. Giant aqueduct structures were built when the
grade of the hill that the water was passing by was too extreme. Roman engineers created
the aqueducts to bypass valleys that they could not maintain a constant grade through.
Their army built roman roads extremely efficiently and effectively. The roads were built
slightly above ground so water could run off and were built wide enough so that 2
carriages would be able to pass each other. Many Roman roads can still be seen today
because they were built out of very reliable materials that would not erode away easily in
the rains.
Roman aqueducts and roads helped the empire because they added stability. A
major problem in empires at the time was managing the waste of its citizens. If waste was
not maintained properly, diseases could spread very easily. The Romans used the
bountiful water that aqueducts brought in for many things such as maintaining their sewer
system. Without the use of aqueducts the city of Rome would not have been able to
support as large of a population as it did. Also the Roman roads supported trade over
great distances on land that would be very difficult without the creation of the roads. The
roads lasted many years and due to the great building of them, some still last today. The
roads were built by their army because political leaders believed that the soldiers would
do what is best for Rome and built the best roads. These roads were very effective in
allowing people to easily travel great distances and merchants prospered because of this.
These two inventions were two of the most important in Roman history. Without
their creation of the aqueduct, the sewer system would not have worked nearly as well
and Rome would not have been able to support as large of a population as it did. The
Roman Roads were also very important to the economic success of the Romans. Without
these roads merchants would not have been able to travel great distances over the land to
reach far away countries that the Romans had captured. Whether or not these two
inventions are absolutely the two most important is disputed, but without their creation
the Roman Empire would not have been the same.