Roman Environment

Tiber Island

The city of Rome itself has tremendous environmental advantages, which made it easier for Rome to become an important city. Rome is located at the first place that people can easily cross the Tiber river, so it is the natural location of the main north-south road in Italy. The reason you can cross the Tiber at Rome is that there is an island in the river there (this is the same as at Paris).
There are also important salt flats near the city, and because salt was so valuable in the ancient world these were also important to the early city of Rome. Also the riverboats going up and down the Tiber, from east to west and back again, could stop at Rome.

As the Romans expanded their empire, they encountered many different environments. There were deserts, mountains, swamps, forests, and everything else. The Roman army had to learn to fight in different ways in order to conquer these different areas.
They had to learn to split up their big legions into small guerrilla units that would be able to get around quickly and quietly in the mountains or in the forest. One reason that the Roman army was so successful was that it was able to adapt to changing environments.

During the period of the Roman Empire (about 100 BC to 500 AD), the Romans had the great advantage of controlling the whole Mediterranean Sea. This made trade much easier because people could ship things by boat. They also had the advantage of getting food and materials from lots of different environments. They could get tin from England, and wood from Germany, and cotton from Egypt, and silver from Spain.

To find out more about the Mediterranean environment and the Roman Empire, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:

The Ancient Mediterranean World: From the Stone Age to A.D. 600, by Robin Winks and Susan Mattern-Parkes (2004).

The Corrupting Sea: A Study of Mediterranean History, by Peregrin Horden and Nicholas Purcell (2000). Hard to read, but some interesting observations about the different micro-climates of the Mediterranean and their effects on history.

The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, by Fernand Braudel (1949, reprinted 1996). A classic - one of the first attempts to look at history in environmental terms.

Environment and Society in Roman North Africa: Studies in History and Archaeology, by Brent D. Shaw (1995). A collection of articles about the relationship between water and power in North Africa under Roman rule. By a specialist, for specialists, but an important book.

Roman Economy
Roman Food
Roman People
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