From the history of Civil Engineering

1. It is known that the part played by civil engineers in pioneering work and in developing wide areas of the world has been and continue to be enormous.

2. Civil engineering was not distinguished from other branches of engineering until 200 years ago. This term was first used to distinguish the work of the engineer with a non-military purpose from military engineering. Most early engineers were considered to be engaged in construction of fortifications. They were responsible for building the roads and bridges required for the movement of troops and supplies.

3. We believe the Roman armies of occupation in Europe to have had brilliant engineers. After the collapse of the Roman Empire there was little progress in communications. It was only with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the invention of steam engine and realization of the potentialities in the use of iron that it revived. Roads, canals, railways, ports, harbours and bridges are supposed to be built then by engineers who called themselves "civil" in contrast to military engineers. This may have emphasized the value of their work to the community.

4.The scope of civil engineering becoming very broad, it is subdivided nowadays into such kinds as construction (all kinds of buildings), highways and railways engineering, hydraulic engineering (canals, dams, drainage and irrigation systems) and municipal engineering (city planning, traffic regulation, water supply, and sewerage).

5. The term "structural engineering" means particularly the calculation and design of all kinds of structures whose strength is mostly provided by steel, reinforced, prestressed or precast concrete, or other alloys. This work involves a great deal of mathematics and consultations from several different professions.