Matthew Nichols

30-Second Ancient Rome

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You know that Rome wasnt built in a day, but just how did a cluster of small hilltop villages expand to become one of the greatest empires in history? Why did Romulus kill his brother Remus? How was a legion organized? Did people really speak Latin? What entertainment could you see at the Colosseum? And what was daily life like for a Roman citizen? This book takes a novel approach to answering all these questions and more. 30-Second Ancient Rome presents a unique insight into one of the most brilliantly governed societies, where military might and expansive empire paved the way for technological advances that helped shape our modern existence. From aqueducts to sewers, from mosaics to medical diagnoses, this is the straightest road toward understanding the 50 key innovations and ideas that developed and defined one of the worlds great civilizations.
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189 printed pages
Original publication
2014
Publication year
2014
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Quotes

  • ☁️ ursula ☁️has quoted6 years ago
    Concrete can support heavier loads and span wider gaps than the stone architecture of the Greeks, allowing freestanding buildings of enormous size and complexity. Architects grew increasingly bold with their dome designs, using pumice stone as aggregate to lighten the structure at the top, and imitating the ribbed curves of gourds. Even emperor Hadrian may have had a go, if we can believe the story that his court architect told him dismissively to “go away and draw [his] pumpkins.”
  • ☁️ ursula ☁️has quoted6 years ago
    The development of concrete was one of the most important Roman contributions to architecture, allowing vastly more rapid and economical construction and new types of building. Early Roman concrete consisted of fist-sized pieces of stone (“aggregate”) set into a cement mortar, mixed with pozzolana, volcanic sandy ash that added strength and consistency.
  • ☁️ ursula ☁️has quoted6 years ago
    The world of the dead was not immune to fashion or politics. Some elements of burial remained consistent, such as inscriptions giving name, family relationships, and rank or profession. Others changed: Rome shifted from inhumation to cremation early on, and back again in the second to third centuries CE. Changes could be abrupt—Augustus’s enormous mausoleum put an end to elaborate funeral architecture, forcing elite families to avoid charges of competing with the emperor by using simpler designs.

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