For centuries, we have known that water is the most essential element for life. The water is odorless, almost colorless and tasteless in its truest form. An element present in our own bodies, present in the food we eat and the drinks we drink. We use it to clean ourselves, our clothes, our dishes, and just about everything around us. All life forms need it, and if they don't have enough, they die. Political conflicts have focused on this. In some places it is valuable and incredibly difficult to obtain. In others, it's incredibly easy to get it and then waste it. Water became a commodity in the Roman Empire; it was of course necessary for its existence. So the Roman Empire had to find a way to successfully control and manage water use. In ancient times, the Roman Empire was the most powerful civilization. of his time. Rome, thanks to water, was able to make brilliant progress in the movement and use of water. The Romans were known to use a large amount of water, the exact use of which is unknown. However, early opinions on the amount of water delivered by artificial rivers known as aqueducts, Latin for "water transport", vary from a low of 322,000 cubic meters per day. (Herschel, 1913) to a maximum of 1,010,623 (Ashby, 1935). The Romans, at first, turned to the Tiber, local springs and shallow wells for their drinking water; but the water obtained from these sources became polluted and became inadequate for the city's growing population. It was these necessities that led to the development of aqueduct technology. Aqueducts were one of the key advances that allowed the empire's authority to maintain a supply of fresh water for its population. Furthermore, engineering... middle of paper ... will continue to play an important role in the formation and reformation of a civilization. From everything I have gathered, I come to the conclusion that without water and aqueducts, the Roman Empire would not be considered the spectacular culture that it was. Works Cited Ashby, Thomas and IA Richmond. The aqueducts of ancient Rome. Oxford: Clarendon, 1935. Bruun, Christer. The Water Supply of Ancient Rome: A Study of Roman Imperial Administration. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1991.Bryson, Bill. At Home: A Brief History of Private Life. New York: Doubleday, 2010. Herschel, Clemens. Stratagems; and The Aqueducts of Rome. London: Heinemann, 1913 “Waterworks”. Ancient Greece and Rome: an encyclopedia for students. Ed. Carroll Moulton. Flight. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. 130-131. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. February 20. 2012.