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Ancient rome
*** Shopping-Tip: Ancient rome
Image:Forum Romanum panorama 2.jpg Roman Forum.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|400px|The [[Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed..html" title="Meaning of right|400px|The [[Roman Forum">thumb|right|400px|The [[Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed.">right|400px|The [[Roman Forum">thumb|right|400px|The [[Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed.
'''Ancient Rome''' was a
civilization that grew out of the
city-state of
Rome, founded in the
Italian Peninsula circa the
9th century BC. During its twelve-century existence, the Roman civilization shifted from a
monarchy to an
oligarchy oligarchic republic to a vast
empire. It came to dominate
Western Europe and the entire area surrounding the
Mediterranean Sea through
invasion conquest and
cultural assimilation assimilation. However, a number of factors led to the eventual
decline of the Roman Empire. The western half of the empire, including
Hispania,
Gaul, and Italy, eventually broke into independent kingdoms in the
5th century; the eastern empire, governed from
Constantinople, is referred to as the
Byzantine Empire after AD 476, the traditional date for the "fall of Rome" and subsequent onset of the
Middle Ages.
The Roman
civilization is often grouped into "
classical antiquity" with
ancient Greece, a civilization that inspired much of the
culture of ancient Rome. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, and language in the
Western world, and its
history of Rome history continues to have a major influence on the world today.
History
{{see|History of Rome|Timeline of ancient Rome}}
Monarchy
{{main|Roman Kingdom}}
Image:She-wolf suckles Romulus and Remus.jpg founding of Rome thumb|right|300px|According to legend, [[founding of Rome|Rome was founded in
750s BC 753 BC by
Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf..html" title="Meaning of Rome was founded.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|300px|According to legend, [[founding of Rome|Rome was founded">thumb|right|300px|According to legend, [[founding of Rome|Rome was founded in
750s BC 753 BC by
Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf.">Rome was founded.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|300px|According to legend, [[founding of Rome|Rome was founded">thumb|right|300px|According to legend, [[founding of Rome|Rome was founded in
750s BC 753 BC by
Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf.
The city of
Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river
Tiber, a crossroads of traffic and trade. According to
archaeology archaeological evidence, the village of Rome was probably founded sometime in the
9th century BC by members of two central Italian tribes, the
Latins and the
Sabines, on the
Palatine Hill Palatine,
Capitoline Hill Capitoline, and
Quirinal Hill Quirinal Hills. The
Etruscan civilization Etruscans, who had previously settled to the north in
Etruria, seem to have established political control in the region by the late
7th century BC, forming the aristrocratic and monarchial elite. The Etruscans apparently lost power in the area by the late
6th century BC, and at this point, the original Latin and Sabine tribes reinvented their government by creating a republic, with much greater restraints on the ability of rulers to exercise power.
In Roman legend, Rome was
founding of Rome founded on
April 21,
750s BC 753 BC by twin descendants of the
Troy Trojan prince
Aeneas,
Romulus and Remus. Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over where their city was to be located and became the first of seven
Roman Kingdom Kings of Rome, as well as the source of the city's name.{{ref|Livy1}} As the city was bereft of women, legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins and the Sabines.
Republic
{{main|Roman Republic}}
Image:Marius Carthage.jpg Marius.html"_title="Meaning of frame frame|left|[[Marius,_a Roman general and politician who dramatically reformed the
Military history of the Roman Empire Roman military..html" title="Meaning of left|[[Marius">frame|left|[[Marius, a Roman general and politician who dramatically reformed the
Military history of the Roman Empire Roman military.">left|[[Marius">frame|left|[[Marius, a Roman general and politician who dramatically reformed the
Military history of the Roman Empire Roman military.
The
Roman Republic was established around
500s BC 509 BC, according to later writers such as
Livy, when the last of the seven kings of Rome,
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Tarquin the Proud, was deposed, and a system based on annually-elected
magistratus magistrates was established. The most important magistrates were the two
consuls, who together exercised executive authority in the form of ''
imperium'', or military command. However, the consuls had to contend with the
Roman Senate Senate, which was initially an advisory council of the ranking nobility, or
patricians, but grew in size and power over time. The magistracies were originally restricted to patricians, but were later opened to common people, or
plebs plebeians.{{ref|Livy2}}
The Romans gradually subdued the other peoples on the Italian peninsula, including the Etruscans. The last threat to Roman
hegemony in Italy came when
Taranto Tarentum, a major
Ancient Greece Greek colony, enlisted the aid of
Pyrrhus of Epirus in
282 BC, but this effort failed as well. The Romans secured their conquests by founding Roman colonies in strategic areas, establishing stable control over the region.{{ref|Tuomisto1}} In the second half of the
3rd century BC, Rome clashed with
Carthage in the first two
Punic Wars. These wars resulted in Rome's first overseas conquests, of
Sicily and
Hispania, and the rise of Rome as a significant imperial power. After defeating the
Macedonian and
Seleucid Empires in the
2nd century BC, the Romans became the masters of the
Mediterranean Sea.{{ref|Bagnall}}
But foreign dominance led to internal strife. Senators became rich at the
Roman province provinces' expense, but soldiers, who were mostly small farmers, were away from home longer and could not maintain their land, and the increased reliance on foreign
slavery in antiquity slaves reduced the availablility of paid work. Income from war booty,
mercantilism in the new provinces, and
tax farming created new economic opportunity and wealth among the lower classes, forming a new class of merchants, the
equestrian (Roman) equestrians. Though the equestrians had vast financial resources at their disposal, they still found themselves counted among the lower-class plebeians, and therefore severely restricted in terms of political power. The Senate squabbled perpetually, repeatedly blocking important land reforms and refusing to give the equestrian class a larger say in the government. Violent gangs of the urban unemployed, controlled by rival Senators, intimidated the electorate through violence. The situation came to a head in the late
2nd century BC under the
Gracchi brothers, a pair of
tribunes who attempted to pass land reform legislation that would redistribute the major patrician landholdings among the plebeians. Both brothers were killed, but the Senate passed some of their reforms in an attempt to placate the growing unrest of the
plebeian and equestrian classes. The denial of
Roman citizenship to allied Italian cities led to the
Social War of
91 BC 91–
88 BC. The military reforms of
Marius resulted in soldiers often having more loyalty to their commander than to the city, and a powerful general could hold the city and Senate ransom. This culminated in
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Sulla's brutal
Roman dictator dictatorship of
81 BC 81-
79 BC. {{ref|Scullard1}}
In the mid-
1st century BC, three men,
Julius Caesar,
Pompey, and
Marcus Licinius Crassus Crassus, formed a secret pact—the
First Triumvirate—to control the Republic. After Caesar's
Gallic Wars conquest of Gaul, a stand-off between Caesar and the Senate led to
Caesar's civil war civil war, with Pompey leading the Senate's forces. Caesar emerged victorious, and was made
Roman dictator dictator for life.{{ref|meier}} In
44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by senators fearing that Caesar sought to restore the monarchy, and a
Second Triumvirate, consisting of Caesar's designated heir,
Augustus, and his former supporters,
Mark Antony and
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir) Lepidus, took power. However, this alliance too soon descended into a struggle for dominance. Lepidus was exiled, and when Augustus defeated Antony and
Cleopatra VII of Egypt Cleopatra of
Egypt at the
Battle of Actium in
31 BC, he became the undisputed ruler of Rome.{{ref|Scullard2}}
Empire
{{main|Roman Empire}}
Image:Roman_Empire_Map.png Roman Empire.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|350px|The [[Roman Empire reached its greatest extent under
Trajan..html" title="Meaning of right|350px|The [[Roman Empire">thumb|right|350px|The [[Roman Empire reached its greatest extent under
Trajan.">right|350px|The [[Roman Empire">thumb|right|350px|The [[Roman Empire reached its greatest extent under
Trajan.
With his enemies defeated,
Augustus assumed almost absolute power, retaining only a pretense of the Republican form of government. His designated successor,
Tiberius, took power without bloodshed, establishing the
Julio-Claudian dynasty, which lasted until the death of
Nero in
68. The territorial expansion of what was now the
Roman Empire continued, and the state remained secure, despite a series of emperors widely viewed as depraved and corrupt. Their rule was followed by the
Flavian dynasty.{{ref|suetonius}} During the reign of the "
Five Good Emperors" (
96–
180), the Empire reached its territorial, economic, and cultural zenith. The state was secure from both internal and external threats, and the Empire prospered during the
Pax Romana ("Roman Peace" in Latin). With the conquest of
Dacia during the reign of
Trajan, the Empire reached the peak of its territorial expansion; Rome's dominion now spanned 2.5 million square miles (6.5 million sq. km).{{ref|Atlas1}}
The period between
180 and
235 was dominated by the
Severan dynasty, and saw several incompetent rulers, such as
Elagabalus. This and the increasing influence of the army on imperial succession led to a long period of imperial collapse known as the
Crisis of the Third Century. The crisis was ended by the more competent rule of
Diocletian, who in
293 divided the Empire into an eastern and western half ruled by a
tetrarchy of two co-emperors and their two junior colleagues. The various co-rulers of the Empire competed and fought for supremacy for more than half a century. In
330, Emperor
Constantine I (emperor) Constantine I firmly established the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in
Byzantium, and the Empire was permanently divided into the Eastern Roman Empire (later known as the
Byzantine Empire) and the
Western Roman Empire in
364.
The Western Empire was constantly harassed by barbarian invasions, and the gradual
decline of the Roman Empire continued over the centuries. In
410, the city of Rome itself was sacked, and on
September 4,
476, the Germanic chief
Odoacer forced the last Roman emperor in the west,
Romulus Augustus, to abdicate. Having lasted for approximately 1200 years, the rule of Rome in the west came to an end.
Society
Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of
Rome, located on
Seven hills of Rome seven hills. The city had a vast number of
monument monumental structures like the
Colosseum, the
Forum of Trajan and the
Pantheon, Rome Pantheon. It had
fountains with fresh drinking-water supplied by hundreds of miles of
Aqueduct (Roman) aqueducts,
Roman theatre (structure) theaters,
gymnasium (ancient Greece) gymnasiums,
thermae bath complexes complete with
libraries and shops, marketplaces, and functional sewers. Throughout the territory under the control of ancient Rome,
residential architecture ranged from very modest
houses to
Roman villa country villas, and in the
capital city of Rome, there were
Roman Empire imperial residences on the elegant
Palatine Hill, from which the word "''palace''" is derived. The low and middle classes lived in the city center, packed into
apartments, which were almost like modern
ghettos.
The city of Rome was the largest urban center of that time, with a population well in excess of one million people (about the size of London in the early 19th century, when London was the largest city in the world), with some high-end estimates of 3.5 million and low-end estimates of 450,000. The public spaces in Rome resounded with such a din of hooves and clatter of iron
chariot wheels that
Julius Caesar had once proposed a ban on chariot traffic at night. Historical estimates indicate that around 30 percent of population under the jurisdiction of the ancient Rome lived in innumerable urban centers, with population of 10,000 and more and several military settlements, a very high rate of urbanization by pre-industrial standards. Most of these centers had a
Forum (Roman) forum and temples and same type of buildings, on a smaller scale, as found in Rome.
Government
Image:Julius caesar.jpg Julius_Caesar.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|180px|[[Julius Caesar's rise to power and assassination set the stage for
Augustus to establish himself as the first ''
imperator''..html" title="Meaning of left|180px|[[Julius Caesar">thumb|left|180px|[[Julius Caesar's rise to power and assassination set the stage for
Augustus to establish himself as the first ''
imperator''.">left|180px|[[Julius Caesar">thumb|left|180px|[[Julius Caesar's rise to power and assassination set the stage for
Augustus to establish himself as the first ''
imperator''.
Initially, Rome was ruled by elected
Roman Kingdom kings. The exact nature of the king's power is uncertain; he may have held near-absolute power, or may also have merely been the chief executive of the Senate and the people. At least in military matters, the king's authority (''
imperium'') was likely absolute. He was also the head of the
Roman religion state religion. In addition to the authority of the King, there were three administrative assemblies: the
Roman Senate Senate, which acted as an advisory body for the King; the
Curiate Assembly Comitia Curiata, which could endorse and ratify laws suggested by the King; and the
Comitia Calata, which was an assembly of the priestly college which could assemble the people in order to bear witness to certain acts, hear proclamations, and declare the feast and holiday schedule for the next month.
The class struggles of the
Roman Republic resulted in an unusual mixture of
democracy and
oligarchy. Roman laws traditionally could only be passed by a vote of the Popular assembly (
Comitia Tributa). Likewise, candidates for public positions had to run for election by the people. However, the
Roman Senate represented an oligarchic institution, which acted as an advisory body.{{ref|Tuomisto2}} In the Republic, the Senate held great authority (''auctoritas''), but no actual legislative power; it was technically only an advisory council. However, as the Senators were individually very influential, it was difficult to accomplish anything against the collective will of the Senate. New Senators were chosen from among the most accomplished patricians by
censors, who could also remove a Senator from his office if he was found "morally corrupt"; a charge that could include bribery or, as under
Cato the Elder, embracing one's wife in public. Later,
quaestors were also made automatic members of the Senate.
The Republic had no fixed bureaucracy, and collected taxes through a practice of tax farming. Government positions such as
quaestor,
aedile, or
praefect were funded from the officeholder's private finances. In order to prevent any citizen from gaining too much power, new
magistrates were elected annually and had to share power with a colleague. For example, under normal conditions, the highest authority was held by two
consuls. In an emergency, a temporary
Roman dictator dictator could be appointed.{{ref|Tuomisto3}} Throughout the Republic, the administrative system was revised several times to comply with new demands. In the end, it proved inefficient for controlling the ever-expanding dominion of Rome, contributing to the establishment of the
Roman Empire.
In the early Empire, the pretense of a republican form of government was maintained: the
Roman Emperor was portrayed as only a ''
princeps'', or "first citizen", and the Senate gained legislative power and all legal authority previously held by the popular assemblies. However, the rule of the emperors became increasingly autocratic over time, and the Senate was reduced to an advisory body appointed by the emperor. The Empire did not inherit a set bureaucracy from the Republic, since the Republic did not have any permanent governmental structures apart from the Senate. The Emperor appointed assistants and advisors, but the state lacked many institutions, such as a centrally-planned budget. Some historians have cited this as a significant reason for the
decline of the Roman Empire.
The territory of the Empire was divided into
Roman province provinces. The number of provinces increased with time, both as new territories were conquered and as provinces were divided into smaller units to discourage rebellions by powerful local rulers.{{ref|Atlas2}} Upon the rise of
Augustus and the
Principate, the provinces were divided into imperial and senatorial provinces, depending on which institution had the right to select the governor. During the
Tetrarchy, the provinces of the empire were divided into 12
dioceses, each headed by a ''
praetor praetor vicarius''. The civilian and military authority were separated, with civilian matters still administered by the governor, but with military command transferred to a ''
dux''.
Law
{{main|Roman law}}
The roots of the legal principles and practices of the ancient Romans may be traced to the law of the
twelve tables (from
449 BC) to the
Corpus Iuris Civilis codification of Emperor
Justinian I (around
530). The Roman law as preserved in Justinian's codes became the basis of legal principles and practices in the
Byzantine Empire, and in continental
Western Europe, and continued, in a broader sense, to be applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the
18th century.
The major divisions of the law of the ancient Rome consisted of ''Ius Civile'', ''Ius Gentium'', and ''Ius Naturale''. The ''Ius Civile'' ("Citizen law") was the body of common laws that applied to Roman citizens and the
Praetor#Praetor Urbanus ''Praetores Urbani'' (''sg. Praetor Urbanus'') were the individuals who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens. The ''Ius Gentium'' ("Law of nations") was the body of common laws that applied to foreigners, and their dealings with Roman citizens. The
Praetor#Praetor Peregrinus ''Praetores Peregrini'' (''sg. Praetor Peregrinus'') were the individuals who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens and foreigners. ''Ius Naturale'' encompassed natural law, the body of laws that were considered common to all beings.
Economy
{{see|Roman commerce|Roman finance|Roman currency|Roman agriculture}}
Image:Maximinus_denarius.jpg Roman currency left|frame|A [[Roman currency|Roman denarius, a standardized
silver coin..html" title="Meaning of Roman.html" title="Meaning of left|frame|A [[Roman currency|Roman">left|frame|A [[Roman currency|Roman
denarius, a standardized
silver coin.">Roman.html" title="Meaning of left|frame|A [[Roman currency|Roman">left|frame|A [[Roman currency|Roman
denarius, a standardized
silver coin.
Ancient Rome commanded a vast area of land, with tremendous natural and human resources available. As such, Rome's economy remained focused on
agriculture and
trade. Agricultural
free trade changed the Italian landscape, and by the 1st century BC, vast grape and olive estates had supplanted the
yeoman farmers, who were unable to match the imported grain price: the
annexation of
Egypt,
Sicily and
Tunisia in
North Africa provided a continuous supply of grains. In turn,
olive oil and
wine were Rome's main
exports. Two-tier
crop rotation was practiced, but farm productivity was overall low, around 1 ton per
hectare.
Industry Industrial and
manufacturing activities were smaller, the largest such activity being the
mining and
quarrying of stones, which provided basic construction materials for the buildings of that period. In manufacturing, production was on in a relatively small scale, and generally consisted of workshops and small factories that employed at most dozens of workers, however, some brick factories employed hundreds of workers.
Some economic historians (like
Peter Temin) argue that the economy of the Early Roman Empire was a market economy and one of the most advanced agricultural economies to have existed (in terms of productivity, urbanization and development of capital markets), comparable to the most advanced economies of the world before the industrial revolution, the economies of
XVIII century England and
XVII century Netherlands. There were markets for every type of good, for land, for cargo ships; there was even an insurance market.
The economy of the early Republic was largely based on smallholding and paid labour, but foreign wars and conquests made
slavery in antiquity slaves increasingly cheap and plentiful, and by the late Republic, the economy was largely dependent on slave labour for both skilled and unskilled work. Slaves are estimated to have constituted around 20% of Roman Empire's population at this time and 40% in the city of Rome. Only in the Roman Empire, when the conquests stopped and the prices of slaves increased, did hired labour become more economical than slave ownership.
Although
barter was used in ancient Rome, and often used in tax collection, Rome had a very developed
coinage system, with
brass,
bronze, and
precious metal coins in circulation throughout the Empire and beyond—some have even been discovered in
India. Before the
3rd century BC, copper was traded by weight, measured in unmarked lumps, across central Italy. The original copper coins (''
as (coin) as'') had a face value of one
Pound (weight)#Origins Roman pound of copper, but weighed less. Thus, Roman money's utility as a unit of exchange consistently exceeded its
intrinsic value as metal; after
Nero began debasing the silver
denarius, its
legal tender legal value was an estimated one-third greater than its intrinsic.
Horses were too expensive, and other pack animals too slow, for mass trade on the
Roman roads, which connected military posts rather than markets, and were rarely designed for wheels. As a result, there was little transport of
commodity commodities between Roman regions until the rise of
Roman commerce#Sea routes Roman maritime trade in the 2nd century BC. During that period, a trading vessel took less than a month to complete a trip from
Gades to
Alexandria via
Ostia, spanning the entire length of the
Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean.{{ref|Atlas3}} Transport by sea was around 60 times cheaper than by land, so the volume for such trips was much larger.
Class structure
{{main|Social class in ancient Rome}}
Image:Toga Illustration.png toga.html" title="Meaning of frame frame|right|A Roman clad in a [[toga, the distinctive garb of Ancient Rome..html" title="Meaning of right|A Roman clad in a [[toga">frame|right|A Roman clad in a [[toga, the distinctive garb of Ancient Rome.">right|A Roman clad in a [[toga">frame|right|A Roman clad in a [[toga, the distinctive garb of Ancient Rome.
Roman society was strictly
social hierarchy hierarchical, with
slavery in antiquity slaves (''servi'') at the bottom,
freedman freedmen (''liberti'') above them, and free-born citizens at the top. The free citizens were also divided by class. The broadest division was between the
patricians, who could trace their ancestry to one of the 100 Patriarchs at the founding of the city, and the
plebs plebeians, who could not. This became more important in the late Republic, as some plebeian families became wealthy
equestrian (Roman) equestrians (''equites''), or wealthy businessmen, and some patrician families fell on hard times. However, because of the class distintions, plebian families were still restricted from becoming involved in Roman politics, and regardless of their personal wealth were still considered a lesser class to the patricians. Patricians were marked mainly by their political status—the
nobles (''nobiles''), who dominated the Senate. To be a noble, an individual needed to have a
consul as an ancestor; men like
Marius and
Cicero, who were the first of their families to rise to the consulship, were given the title ''
novus homo'' ("new man").
Allied foreign cities were often given the
Latin Right, an intermediary level between full citizens and foreigners (''peregrini''), which gave their citizens rights under Roman law and allowed their leading magistrates to become full Roman citizens. Some of Rome's Italian allies were given full citizenship after the
Social War of
91 BC 91–
88 BC, and full Roman citizenship was extended to all free-born men in the Empire by
Caracalla in
212.
Family
The basic units of Roman society were households and families. Household included the head of the household (''
pater familias paterfamilias''), his wife, children, and other relatives. In the upper classes, slaves and servants were also part of the household. The head of the household had great power (''patria potestas'', "father's power") over those living with him: He could force marriage and divorce, sell his children into slavery, claim his dependents' property as his own, and possibly even had the right to kill family members, although this has been recently disputed in academic circles.
''Patria potestas'' even extended over adult sons with their own households: A man was not considered a ''paterfamilias'' while his own father lived. A daughter, when she married, usually fell under the authority of the ''paterfamilias'' of her husband's household, although this was not always the case, as she could choose to continue recognising her father's family as her true family. However, as Romans reckoned descent through the male line, any children she had would belong to her husband's family.
Groups of related households formed a family (
gens). Families were based on blood ties (or adoption), but were also political and economic alliances. Especially during the
Roman Republic, some powerful families, or ''
Gens Gentes Maiores'', came to dominate political life.
Ancient Roman marriage was often regarded more as a financial and political alliance than as a romantic association, especially in the upper classes. Fathers usually began seeking husbands for their daughters when they reached an age between twelve and fourteen.The husband was almost always older than the bride. While upper class girls married very young, there is evidence that lower class women often married in their late teens or early twenties. {{ref|Johnston}}
Education
{{main|Roman school}}
The goal of education in Rome was to make the students very effective speakers. School started on March 24 each year. Every school day started in the early evening and continued throughout the night into the next morning. Children went home in the late morning to get their rest to come back for their evening classes. At first, boys were taught to read and write by their father, or by educated slaves, usually of Greek origin. Village schools were also established. Later, around
200 BC, boys and some girls at the age of 7 were sent to a school outside the home called a ludus. Basic Roman education included reading, writing, and counting, and their materials consisted of
scroll (parchment) scrolls and books. At age 13, students learned about Greek and Roman literature in a school called a grammaticus. At age 16, some students went on to
rhetoric school. Poorer people were usually taught by their parents because school was not free.
Culture
{{main|Culture of ancient Rome}}
Language
{{main|Latin}}
Image:Duenos inscription.jpg Duenos inscription.html" title="Meaning of left left|thumb|215px|The [[Duenos inscription, a
Latin text from circa the
6th century BC, is the earliest known example of Roman writing..html" title="Meaning of thumb|215px|The [[Duenos inscription">left|thumb|215px|The [[Duenos inscription, a
Latin text from circa the
6th century BC, is the earliest known example of Roman writing.">thumb|215px|The [[Duenos inscription">left|thumb|215px|The [[Duenos inscription, a
Latin text from circa the
6th century BC, is the earliest known example of Roman writing.
The native language of the Romans was
Latin, an
Italic languages Italic language that relies little on
word order in Latin word order, conveying meaning through a system of
affixes attached to
word stems. Its alphabet, the
Latin alphabet, is ultimately based on the
Greek alphabet. Although surviving
Latin literature consists almost entirely of
Classical Latin, an artificial and highly stylized and polished
literary language from the
1st century BC, the actual spoken language of the Roman Empire was
Vulgar Latin, which significantly differed from Classical Latin in grammar and vocabulary, and eventually in pronunciation.
While Latin remained the main written language of the Roman Empire,
Greek language Greek came to be the language spoken by the well-educated elite, as most of the literature studied by Romans was written in Greek. In the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which became the
Byzantine Empire, Greek eventually supplanted Latin as both the written and spoken language. The expansion of the Roman Empire spread Latin throughout Europe, and over time Vulgar Latin evolved and
dialectized in different locations, gradually shifting into a number of distinct
Romance languages.
Although Latin is an
extinct language with very few remaining fluent speakers, it remains in use in many ways, such as through
Ecclesiastical Latin, the traditional language of the
Roman Catholic Church and the official language of the
Vatican City. Additionally, even after fading from common usage Latin maintained a role as western Europe's ''
lingua franca'', an international language of
academia and
diplomacy. Although eventually supplanted in this respect by
French language French in the
19th century and
English language English in the
20th century 20th, Latin continues to see heavy use in religious, legal, and scientific terminology—it has been estimated that 80% of all scholarly English words derive directly or indirectly from Latin.
Art, literature and music
Image:Cato.jpeg portraits.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|200px|Roman sculpture was at its most original in the production of strongly characterized [[portraits such as this bust of
Cato the Elder..html" title="Meaning of 200px|Roman sculpture was at its most original in the production of strongly characterized [[portraits">thumb|200px|Roman sculpture was at its most original in the production of strongly characterized [[portraits such as this bust of
Cato the Elder.">200px|Roman sculpture was at its most original in the production of strongly characterized [[portraits">thumb|200px|Roman sculpture was at its most original in the production of strongly characterized [[portraits such as this bust of
Cato the Elder.
{{main articles|
Roman art,
Roman literature, and
Roman music}}
Most early Roman painting styles show
Etruscan civilization Etruscan influences, particularly in the practice of political painting. In the 3rd century BC, Greek art taken as booty from wars became popular, and many Roman homes were decorated with landscapes by Greek artists. Evidence from the remains at Pompeii shows diverse influence from cultures spanning the Roman world. Portrait sculpture during the period utilized youthful and classical proportions, evolving later into a mixture of realism and idealism. During the Antonine and Severan periods, more ornate hair and bearding became prevalent, created with deeper cutting and drilling. Advancements were also made in relief sculptures, usually depicting Roman victories.
Roman literature was from its very inception influenced heavily by Greek authors. Some of the earliest extant works are of historical epics telling the early military history of Rome. As the Republic expanded, authors began to produce poetry, comedy, history, and tragedy.
Entertainment
{{sectstub}}
The ancient city of Rome had a place called Campus, a sort of drill ground for Roman soldiers, which was located near the River Tiber. Later, the Campus became Rome's track and field playground, which even Julius Caesar and Augustus were said to have frequented. Imitating the Campus in Rome, similar grounds were developed in several other urban centers and military settlements.
In the campus, the youth assembled to play and exercise, which included jumping, wrestling, boxing and racing. Riding, throwing, and swimming were also preferred physical activities. In the countryside, pastime also included fishing and hunting. Women did not participate in these activities. Ball-playing was a popular sport, and ancient Romans had several ball games, which included Handball (Expulsim Ludere), field hockey, catch, and some form of football.
Also a very popular form of entertainment was watching the gladiators fight in the colliseum. Gladiators fought to the death with a sword and a shield and the last man breathing was the winner. After many of these battles if the ground in the colliseum became too soaked in blood, they would pour over it with dry sand and the festivities would continue. It has often been reported that a thumbs up from the crowd meant that the loser would be allowed to live, while a thumbs down meant that the loser must be slain. There is, however, no contemporary evidence for this popular notion. Also, animal hunts were very popular with the Romans. This was when a prisoner/criminal was thrown into the areana and an animal was let out, usually a lion or a bear. If the criminal managed to kill it - which was very rare - there would be a gladiator sent out to kill the prisoner.
The
Circus Maximus, another popular site in Rome, was primarily used for
horse racing, although it was also used in many other events. It could hold up to 250,000 people; people all over Rome would visit it. Two temples, one with seven large eggs and one with seven dolphins, laid in the middle of the track of Circus Maximus, and whenever the racers made a lap, one of each would be removed. This was done to keep the spectors and the racers informed on the race statistics. Other than sports, the Circus Maximus was also an area of marketing and gambling. Higher athorities, like the emperor, also attended games in the Circus Maximus, as it was rude not to. They, knights, and many other people who were involved with the race sat in reserved seats located above everyone else. It was also found rude for emperors to root for a team. The Circus Maximus was created in 600 BC and hosted the last horse racing game in 549 AD, lasting almost a whole millenium.
Religion
{{main2|Roman religion|Roman mythology}}
Image:Jupiter Tonans.jpg Jupiter (mythology) thumb|left|200px|''Iuppiter Tonans'' ("[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter the Thunderer"), a sculpture of the supreme Roman deity..html" title="Meaning of Jupiter.html" title="Meaning of thumb|left|200px|''Iuppiter Tonans'' ("[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter">thumb|left|200px|''Iuppiter Tonans'' ("[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter the Thunderer"), a sculpture of the supreme Roman deity.">Jupiter.html" title="Meaning of thumb|left|200px|''Iuppiter Tonans'' ("[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter">thumb|left|200px|''Iuppiter Tonans'' ("[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter the Thunderer"), a sculpture of the supreme Roman deity.
Archaic
Roman mythology, at least concerning the gods, was made up not of narratives, but rather of complex interrelations between gods and humans. Unlike in
Greek mythology, the gods were not personified, but were vaguely-defined sacred spirits called ''
numina''. Romans also believed that every person, place or thing had its own ''
genius (mythology) genius'', or guardian spirit. During the
Roman Republic,
Roman religion was organized under a strict system of priestly offices, of which the
Pontifex Maximus was the most important.
Flamens took care of the cults of various gods, while
augurs were trusted with taking the
auspices. The
sacred king took on the religious responsibilities of the deposed kings.
As contact with the
Ancient Greece Greeks increased, the old Roman gods became increasingly associated with Greek gods. Thus,
Jupiter (mythology) Jupiter was perceived to be the same deity as
Zeus,
Mars (mythology) Mars became associated with
Ares, and Neptune with
Poseidon. The Roman gods also assumed the attributes and mythologies of these Greek gods. The transferral of
anthropomorphism anthropomorphic qualities to Roman Gods, and the prevalence of Greek philosophy among well-educated Romans, brought about an increasing neglect of the old rites, and in the
1st century BC, the religious importance of the old priestly offices declined rapidly, though their civic importance and political influence remained. Roman religion in the empire tended more and more to center on the imperial house, and several emperors were deified after their deaths.
Under the empire, numerous foreign cults grew popular, such as the worship of the Egyptian
Isis and the
Iran Persian Mithras. Beginning in the 2nd century,
Christianity began to spread in the Empire, despite initial persecution. It became an officially supported religion in the Roman state under
Constantine I (emperor) Constantine I, and all religions except Christianity were prohibited in
391 by an edict of Emperor
Theodosius I.'''
Technology
{{main|Ancient Roman technology}}
image:RomanAbacusRecon.jpg Roman abacus.html" title="Meaning of right right|framed|The [[Roman abacus, the first portable calculating device, helped speed up the use of
Roman arithmetic..html" title="Meaning of framed|The [[Roman abacus">right|framed|The [[Roman abacus, the first portable calculating device, helped speed up the use of
Roman arithmetic.">framed|The [[Roman abacus">right|framed|The [[Roman abacus, the first portable calculating device, helped speed up the use of
Roman arithmetic.
Ancient Rome boasted the most impressive technological feats of its day, utilizing many advancements that would be lost in the
Middle Ages and not be rivaled again until the
19th century 19th and
20th century 20th centuries. However, though adept at adopting and synthesizing other cultures' technologies, the Roman civilization was not especially innovative or progressive. The development of new ideas was rarely encouraged; Roman society considered the articulate soldier who could wisely govern a large household the ideal, and
Roman law made no provisions for
intellectual property or the promotion of invention. The concept of "scientists" and "engineers" did not yet exist, and advancements were often divided based on craft, with groups of
trade (profession) artisans jealously guarding new technologies as
trade secrets. Nevertheless, a number of vital technological breakthroughs were spread and thoroughly utilized by Rome, contributing to an enormous degree to Rome's dominance and lasting influence in Europe.
Engineering and architecture
{{main articles|
Roman engineering and
Roman architecture}}
Image:Pont du gard.jpg Pont_du Gard.html" title="Meaning of left left|thumb|250px|[[Pont du Gard in
France is a
Roman aqueduct built in ca.
19 BC. It is one of France's top tourist attractions and a
World Heritage Site..html" title="Meaning of thumb|250px|[[Pont du Gard">left|thumb|250px|[[Pont du Gard in
France is a
Roman aqueduct built in ca.
19 BC. It is one of France's top tourist attractions and a
World Heritage Site.">thumb|250px|[[Pont du Gard">left|thumb|250px|[[Pont du Gard in
France is a
Roman aqueduct built in ca.
19 BC. It is one of France's top tourist attractions and a
World Heritage Site.
Roman engineering constituted a large portion of Rome's technological superiority and legacy, and contributed to the construction of hundreds of roads, bridges, aqueducts, baths, theaters and arenas. Many monuments, such as the
Colosseum,
Pont du Gard, and
Pantheon, Rome Pantheon, still remain as testaments to Roman engineering and culture.
The Romans were particularly renowned for
Roman architecture their architecture, which is grouped with Greek traditions into "
Classical architecture". However, for the course of the Roman Republic, Roman architecture remained stylistically almost identical to
architecture of Ancient Greece Greek architecture. Although there were many differences between Roman and Greek building types, Rome borrowed heavily from Greece in adhering to strict, formulaic building designs and proportions. Aside from two new
classical order orders of columns,
composite order composite and
Tuscan order Tuscan, and from the
dome, which was derived from the
Etruscan civilization Etruscan arch, Rome had relatively few architectural innovations until the end of the Roman Republic.
It was at this time, in the
1st century BC, that Romans developed
concrete, a powerful
cement derived from
pozzolana which soon supplanted
marble as the chief Roman building material and allowed for numerous daring architectural schemata. Also in the 1st century BC,
Vitruvius wrote ''
De architectura'', possibly the first complete treatise on architecture in history. In the late
1st century, Rome also began to make use of
glassblowing soon after its invention in
Syria, and
mosaics took the Empire by storm after samples were retrieved during
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Sulla's campaigns in Greece.
Image:RomaViaAppiaAntica03.JPG Appian Way.html" title="Meaning of right right|thumb|250px|The [[Appian Way (''Via Appia''), a road connecting the city of
Rome to the southern parts of
Italy, remains usable even today..html" title="Meaning of thumb|250px|The [[Appian Way">right|thumb|250px|The [[Appian Way (''Via Appia''), a road connecting the city of
Rome to the southern parts of
Italy, remains usable even today.">thumb|250px|The [[Appian Way">right|thumb|250px|The [[Appian Way (''Via Appia''), a road connecting the city of
Rome to the southern parts of
Italy, remains usable even today.
Concrete made possible the paved, durable
Roman roads, many of which were still in use a thousand years after the fall of Rome. The construction of a vast and efficient travel network throughout the Roman Empire dramatically increased Rome's power and influence. Originally constructed for military purposes, to allow
Roman legions to be rapidly deployed, these highways had enormous economic significance, solidifying Rome's role as a trading crossroads—the origin of the phrase "all roads lead to Rome". The Roman government maintained way stations which provided refreshments to travelers at regular intervials along the roads, constructed bridges where necessary, and established a system of horse relays for couriers that allowed a dispatch to travel up to 800 km (500 miles) in 24 hours.
The Romans constructed numerous
Aqueduct (Roman) aqueducts to supply water to cities and industrial sites and to assist in
Roman agriculture their agriculture. The city of Rome itself was supplied by eleven aqueducts with a combined length of 350 km (260 miles).{{ref|frontinus}} Most aqueducts were constructed below the surface, with only small portions above ground supported by arches. Powered entirely by
gravity, the aqueducts transported very large amounts of water with an efficiency that remained unsurpassed for two thousand years. Sometimes, where depressions deeper than 50 miles had to be crossed,
inverted siphons were used to force water uphill.{{ref|waterhistory}}
The Romans also made major advancements in sanitation. Romans were particularly famous for their public
bathing baths, called ''
thermae'', which were used for both hygienic and social purposes. Many Roman houses came to have
flush toilets and
domestic water system indoor plumbing, and a complex
sewer system, the
Cloaca Maxima, was used to drain the local marshes and carry waste into the River
Tiber. However, some historians have speculated that the use of lead pipes in sewer and plumbing systems led to widespread
lead poisoning which contributed to the decline in birth rate and general decay of Roman society leading up to the
decline of the Roman Empire fall of Rome.
Military
{{main|Military history of the Roman Empire}}
Image:Cornicen on Trajan's column.JPG thumb|right|300px|Roman soldiers on the cast of Trajan's column in the Victoria and Albert museum, London.
The early Roman army was, like those of other contemporary city-states, a citizen force in which the bulk of the troops fought as a type of
phalanx formation phalanx. The soldiers were required to supply their own arms, and returned to civilian life once their service was ended.
The first of the great army reformers,
Camillus, reorganized the army to adopt
maniple (military unit) manipular tactics and divided the infantry into three lines: ''
hastati'', ''
principes'' and ''
triarii''.
The small landholders had traditionally been the backbone of the Roman army, but by the end of the
2nd century BCE, the self-owning farmer had largely disappeared as a social class. Faced with acute manpower problems,
Gaius Marius transformed the army into a volunteer force and accepted recruits from the lower classes, providing arms and armor for these troops out of his own pocket.
The
Roman legion was one of the strongest aspects of the Roman army. The
Roman triumph was a civic ceremony and religious rite held to publicly honor a military commander.
The last army reorganization came when Emperor
Constantine I divided the army into a static defense force and a mobile field army. During the Late Empire, Rome also became increasingly dependent on allied contingents, ''
foederati''.
See also
{{commons|Category:Romans|Ancient Rome}}
*
List of Ancient Rome-related topics
*
Timeline of Ancient Rome
*
Roman agriculture
Notes
# {{note|Livy1}} Livy I
# {{note|Livy2}} Livy II
# {{note|Tuomisto1}} Tuomisto 2002
# {{note|Bagnall}} Bagnall 1990
# {{note|Scullard1}} Scullard 1982, chapters I-IV
# {{note|meier}} Meier 1982; Scullard 1982, chapters VI-VII
# {{note|Scullard2}} Scullard 1982, chapter VIII
# {{note|suetonius}} Suetonius
# {{note|Atlas1}} Scarre 1995
# {{note|Tuomisto2}} Tuomisto 2002
# {{note|Tuomisto3}} Tuomisto 2002
# {{note|Atlas2}} Scarre 1995
# {{note|Atlas3}} Scarre 1995
# {{note|Johnston}} Johnston 1903, [http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_1.html chapter 1]
# {{note|frontinus}} Frontinus
References
*
Edward Gibbon, ''
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
*{{cite book
| first = Chris
| last = Scarre
| year = 1995
| month = September
| title = The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome
| publisher = Penguin Books
| id = ISBN 0140513299
}}
*{{cite book
| first = H. H.
| last = Scullard
| authorlink = Howard Hayes Scullard
| year = 1982
| title = From the Gracchi to Nero
| others = (5th edition)
| publisher = Routledge
| id = ISBN 0-415-02527-3
}}
External links
-
LacusCurtius
-
Livius.Org
-
''The Private Life of the Romans'' by Harold Whetstone Johnston
-
www.unrv.com
-
Water and Wastewater Systems in Imperial Rome
Category:Ancient Rome *
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