Roman

Although ethnic民族的，种族的 Greek mathematicians continued under the rule of the late Roman Republic and subsequent后来的 Roman Empire, there were no noteworthy重要的 native Latin mathematicians in comparison. Ancient Romans such as Cicero (106–43 BC), an influential Roman statesman政治家 who studied mathematics in Greece, believed that Roman surveyors测量员 and calculators计算器 were far more interested in applied mathematics than the theoretical mathematics and geometry that were prized by the Greeks. It is unclear if the Romans first derived获得 their numerical system directly from the Greek precedent先例 or from Etruscan伊特拉斯坎 numerals used by the Etruscan civilization centered in what is now Tuscany图斯察尼, central Italy.

Using calculation, Romans were adept at both instigating煽动 and detecting financial fraud诈骗, as well as managing taxes for the treasury财政部. Siculus Flaccus, one of the Roman gromatici (i.e. land surveyor), wrote the Categories of Fields, which aided Roman surveyors in measuring the surface areas of allotted分配的 lands and territories领土. Aside from managing trade and taxes, the Romans also regularly applied mathematics to solve problems in engineering, including the erection建造 of architecture such as bridges, road-building, and preparation for military campaigns. Arts and crafts such as Roman mosaics镶嵌图案，马赛克, inspired by previous Greek designs, created illusionist魔术师 geometric patterns and rich, detailed scenes that required precise measurements for each tessera tile泰兹拉瓷砖, the opus作品 tessellatum镶嵌 pieces on average measuring eight millimeters square and the finer opus vermiculatum蠕虫状的 pieces having an average surface of four millimeters square.

The creation of the Roman calendar also necessitated basic mathematics. The first calendar allegedly据称 dates back to 8th century BC during the Roman Kingdom and included 356 days plus a leap year闰年 every other year. In contrast, the lunar calendar of the Republican era contained 355 days, roughly ten-and-one-fourth days shorter than the solar year, a discrepancy差异 that was solved by adding an extra month into the calendar after the 23rd of February. This calendar was supplanted by the Julian calendar, a solar calendar organized by Julius Caesar (100–44 BC) and devised by Sosigenes of Alexandria to include a leap day闰日 every four years in a 365-day cycle. This calendar, which contained an error of 11 minutes and 14 seconds, was later corrected by the Gregorian calendar organized by Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572–1585), virtually几乎 the same solar calendar used in modern times as the international standard calendar.

At roughly the same time, the Han Chinese and the Romans both invented the wheeled odometer里程表 device for measuring distances traveled, the Roman model first described by the Roman civil engineer and architect Vitruvius (c. 80 BC – c. 15 BC). The device was used at least until the reign of emperor Commodus (r. 177 – 192 AD), but its design seems to have been lost until experiments were made during the 15th century in Western Europe. Perhaps relying on similar gear-work工作装置 and technology found in the Antikythera mechanism机械装置, the odometer of Vitruvius featured chariot战车 wheels measuring 4 feet (1.2 m) in diameter直径 turning four-hundred times in one Roman mile (roughly 4590 ft/1400 m). With each revolution, a pin-and-axle销轴 device engaged a 400-tooth cogwheel齿轮 that turned a second gear responsible for dropping pebbles鹅卵石 into a box, each pebble representing代表 one mile traversed.