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Question: Would the world be more advanced today if the Roman Empire hadn't fallen!?
Would we be time-travelling today and having some advanced Alien technology if the Roman Empire hadn't fallen!?
I sometimes wish the the Mediaeval period hadn't happen!.Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I would argue that it would be less advanced!.

It is true, that the Romans were very advanced in many ways!. Much of that knowledge was lost in the dark ages!. Western Culture wouldn't be on a par with the Romans until the 1400's!.

I think the strangest thing that was lost and not recovered for centuries was concrete!. The Romans used it often!. The famous Colosseum was made with concrete, but it wouldn't be rediscovered until the late 1800's!.

The Romans used steam power as well!. However, they only used it for special effects in theature performances!. Why was the power of the steam engine never really developed!?

The Romans were very dependent on Slavery!. At the peak of the Roman Empire nearly a third of the population of the Italian penisula were slaves!.

Steam power was used in the early 1800's as a labor saving device!. This made sense then because the were paying people to work!. The fewer people you had working the cheaper a project became!.

The Romans didn't have to pay their workers because they were slaves!. Once they'd bought them there was no more expenses, except feeding them!. Secondly, if you have slaves, and the Romans had many!. You live in fear of them rebeling!. The solution to this problem,,
(other than setting them free, which means you lose money) was to always keep them busy, so they don't have time to plot!.

The Romans didn't develop Machines to grind wheat into flour for example because they had cheap labor to walk in circles all day long pushing the wheels instead of using a windmill!. It was preferable to have the slaves out in the hot sun all day crushing rocks with hammers, then it say use a bulldoser, because idle slaves were dangerous!.

So unless they Romans abolished it, Slavery would have stifled their development!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

Mr Bitter makes some great points!.

I also say the world would be less advanced, but for different reasons!. For the last several centuries, the Roman economy was being deteriorated through inflation and unemployment (caused by slavery as stated above) with horrible effects throughout the empire!. Specifically, the empire began to fragment in part because the non-gold money became so worthless that trade between provinces became impossible and each area had to become self-sufficient!. also, for similar reasons, the technology used by late period Romans was actually shoddier and LESS advanced than the technology and implements used in the middle period!. This stagnation would have continued much longer with the result that time would continue to march backwards!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

All empires fall!.

Do some more reading!. During Medieval times the Ottoman Empire was flourishing and doing amazing things!. Europe may have been in the dark ages, but not Asia or northern Africa!. People were making very important artistic, mathematical technical and architectural achievements!.

The digit Zero or 0 was invented in India in the 9th century AD!. It revolutionalized how commerce and record keeping was done!. All very important parts of creating new technology!.

The Romans had a very clunky way of counting!. The use of Arabic numbers like we use today based on ten is far easier, and then if you add zero to the mix, it's a revelation!.

My feeling if the Roman Empire held on longer as a Christian entity, we'd likely be less advanced!.

Hope this is helpful!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No!. Rome began to stagnate!.!.!. badly by that time!.


The Medieval ages began to really take off after the Crusades!. Of course Islam suffered and became more violent as a result but heck, Europe really got smarter due to Chinese technology and Islamic knowledge in medicine, engineering etcWww@QuestionHome@Com

I highly doubt it!. The Romans were very Catholic and Catholic theology told us that we were the center of the universe and off with your head for stating otherwise!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You're not giving enough credit to successor empires such as the Byzantines or Mongols!.

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it may have fallen but old rome has been replaced by new rome!. so no worries, history will repeat itself!.Www@QuestionHome@Com