Similarly Different? Differently Similar?

When thinking about ancient Rome, thoughts about chariot races, the Coliseum, or Christianity might come into mind. When thinking about ancient Islam, thoughts of burning hot deserts, oases, or trade might come into mind. These two ancient places may seem very different and far away from each other, but there are also a few similarities between them as well as differences. Rome and Islam were different and similar in political, technological, and environmental ways.


Politically, Rome and Islam had many differences, such as their ways of government. “The Romans established a form of government known as a republic.”(Pg 48) In a republic, citizens voted to elect their leaders. Some leaders were very harsh, and were elected because they had great power. Diocletian, for example, was a strong yet harsh leader. This shows that power was a great influence in Rome, and people with great power and wealth were well respected. The use of a republic was a fair way to choose leaders because the citizens were allowed to choose who they thought would be the best leader. People might stand out and be chosen because of their wealth or power, because of its importance in Rome. On the other hand, Islam leaders, called caliphs, were elected more because of religion. Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali were selected “from and by the top ranks of Muslim believers.”(Pg 100) It was said that these four caliphs used the Qur’an and Muhammad’s actions to guide them. This shows that in Islam, religion was first while warfare was probably second or third. The Islamic wasn't interested much in warfare, but religion, while power and warfare was more important in Rome.

The Romans and Islamic used both similar and different technology to improve their lifestyle. Rome and Islam both had public baths, and were both used for cleaning. It was also a way to socialize, though Islam’s public baths were more on the religious side. Again, this shows that in Islam, religion very important, and many things were based on religion. Rome's public baths was more of a public place where everyone could come and socialize. Also, the Romans “built some 50,000 miles of roads”(Pg 69), while the Islamic didn’t build many roads, maybe because of their desert-like sandy region. Roads made it easier to travel to other parts of the empire and helped organize the empire in a way, too, because people could easily transport information to others farther away. The Romans also built aqueducts and waterways that lead water to their crops easily. This made it easier to farm and helped them to grow crops without too much work. The Islamic didn’t have aqueducts of any sort, but, they did have inventions that helped them, such as war torpedoes, distilleries, and an invention that could shoot water to another area, which was used to water their crops. Even though the Islamic didn’t have the same resources or structures as the Romans, they still had certain inventions that helped them with their everyday life. Also, a lot of the things the Romans and Islamic used and invented are still used today, and it's important to know where the inventions came from.


There were many differences in environmental ways. Their climates were very different. Islam had a desert-like region with very little rain, while Rome had a more favorable environment. “The region experienced cool, rainy winters that created areas of productive farmland.”(Pg 47) The Romans were easily able to farm, unlike the Islamic. In terms of the environment, the Romans were luckier. Some Islamic and Romans farmed differently because of their different geography. Some Islamic settled near oases, and used various methods to bring water to their crops, such as using a type of machine that could shoot a fountain of water to another area. The Islamic had to settle near an oasis in order to successfully grow things, or it would’ve been harder to water their crops. Living farther away from oases, they wouldn't have access to a water source. The Romans didn’t have to worry about this. They built aqueducts, which were “bridge-like structures designed to bring fresh water into cities and towns.”(Pg 69) The Romans led the water from rivers directly to their crops with waterways. This was much easier than the Islamic way, and took less work. This shows that the environment was very important. More rain meant more crops. More crops meant surpluses, so they were able to support the whole Roman Empire. The Roman Empire might have grown so large because of this, while the Islamic had to settle near oases. The Romans were lucky to have such a helpful environment.

Despite the fact that Rome and Islam were far away from each other and were from different times, there were similarities in technology, such as their public baths. Politically and Environmentally, Rome and Islam had many differences, such as their ways of government and their different climate and way of farming. The differences make each world unique and interesting to learn about.