Historians have been arguing for years - what was the richest ancient civilization? Many famous civilizations come to mind when you talk about wealth: Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Maya, Aztec, and Rome. Out of all these civilizations, I believe that Rome was the richest of all. Why? Based on its location, it gave this civilization an excellent advantage to grow and expand. .
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Rome's location was in the middle of the Mediterranean, on a peninsula (present day Italy). The city was placed near the Tiber River and the Latium Plains. It was well protected by the Apennine Mountains and being near the shoreline it could develop its navy to transport soldiers and protect ships bringing and delivering: food, slaves, gold, sliver, literature, glass, and gems. Being where it was, Rome was in no great danger of being assimilated; in fact it assimilated others with its ways. .
Ships made it easy to access other lands and receive shipped goods like, clothing, food, jewelry, and slaves. The nearby river supplied the city with fresh water, a necessary element for the ever-growing population. The port was necessary for ships to load and unload their cargo. With the port came people, and soon the city became more multicultural. Knowledge and information soon became traded as well as items. With Rome's plentiful supply of information, its people had a higher education - helping it with war, and building structures from other's ideas to fit their own needs. Within a short period of time, Rome had become a civilization where "Knowledge is power". With its extensive library, which contained recorded events about discoveries and disasters, scholars could research and find new methods of healing, building and creating inventions. Unfortunately this great library was burned down along with its massive collection of scrolls, the cause of this fire is still unknown to this day. .
Being close to the Apennine Mountains had its down side, and that was not having enough farmlands to grow grain for its people.