The most important contribution of the Romans to world culture is to preserve the cultural achievements of Greece and the Middle East. On the basis of absorbing the outstanding cultural achievements of neighboring nations, especially the outstanding cultural achievements of ancient Greece, the Romans created their own unique culture according to the needs of their own social, economic and political development, adding new content to the world culture.
(1) law
In order to ensure that all ethnic groups in the empire could live in peace, the Romans asked them to abide by the same laws.
The Romans made fair and reasonable laws and granted citizens many rights. All the laws of the Romans were later incorporated into the Justinian Code. Justinian was the emperor of Byzantium. Roman law has great advantages, so the laws of many countries are based on it now.
(2) public works, architecture and art
In order to maintain the unity of the huge empire, the Romans needed good roads so that their troops could be mobilized quickly. This is why the Romans became the greatest road builders in ancient times. Some roads they built are still in use today.
The Romans were also great engineers. They built many bridges and ditches, some of which are still in use today. The Romans were great architects. They left us architectural styles such as the Arc de Triomphe, the rectangular church and the public bathhouse.
Of all the Roman buildings, the most famous is the Roman amphitheater. In this huge amphitheater, gladiators used to kill each other. The theater can accommodate 45,000 people to watch the performance. A large part of this theater still stands there today. In the past few centuries, many cities in the world have imitated the architectural style of the Romans.
(3) Christianity
The Romans also promoted the spread of Christianity. If the Romans had not accepted Christianity, Christianity would still be an insignificant religion in the Middle East, and now it has become one of the major religions in the world. Christianity, which came into being and developed under the specific historical conditions of the Roman Empire, left a deep impression on the development of the whole human race, especially the European culture.
(4) Language
Until the late Middle Ages, almost all European writers used the Roman language-Latin, while scholars did not start to use Latin until18th century. Latin has been the only language used by the Roman Catholic Church for hundreds or even thousands of years. Today, Latin letters are still used all over the world. In Europe, many languages are developed from Latin, such as Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. In English, one out of every three words comes from Latin.
Latin prose represented by Caesar and Cicero, Roman poetry represented by P. Virgil, Q. Horace and P. Ovid, and Roman historiography represented by T. Levi and C. Tacitus have long been the research objects of scholars from all over the world.
(5) Science
The most famous astronomer is Ptolemy. He thinks the sun goes around the earth. His view is wrong, but before16th century, people always regarded it as truth.
The calendar we use today is still the Roman calendar. The names of July and August come from the names of two great Roman rulers, Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar.