this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2024
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Pretty far, unfortunately. The aeolipile wasn't exactly a device suited to extract work from, and modern (~17th-18th century) steam engines require a degree of metallurgical technology that the Romans simply did not have. The blast furnace would have been a very basic necessary prerequisite for any sort of industrial revolution, which the Romans did not have.
Some of the answers in that Reddit thread are operating on somewhat... older understandings of the Roman Empire's social structure and economy.