Ancient
Rome
By Adrian Carbone
Introduction
Hey! You! Yeah, You! Listen to me! Wanna learn about Ancient Rome? Ancient Rome, or the Roman Empire was one of the leading places in the ancient world. What's interesting about this? you ask. Well guess what? How about that Ancient Rome was the place that gave women a ton of rights? How ancient was it? You say. Whelp, Rome was created in 753 B.C. And was ruled by Romulus at the time. His distant relative, Romulus Augustus, was killed by the German Goth Odoacer, mark the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, with the capture of the constantinople. From Geography to Famous people, I will give you all the information you need about the great empire that is Rome.
Geography
I’m sure that when you think of land, you think of the riches that can be found under the crust. Tin was used in Ancient Rome for reinforcements and utensils. Tin was found in England. Also used for buildings, wood was a very useful material in the world of Ancient Rome. It could also be used to make fires and carved for ceremonies. Wood was manly taken from the Germany part of the Roman Empire.For making food and used as an attack against animals, Salt was easily found and used from the salt flats near Rome. For jewelry and decorations, silver was the Romans material of choice. It was found in Spain. Lastly, to make blankets and pillows, cotton was harvested from Egypt.
Are you wondering how hot it was in Ancient Rome? Well, here’s your answer.
In Rome, the summers were hot and dry. During July and August, it could get up to 30 degrees Celsius and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The winters were very cold and rainy. It could get as low as 3 degrees Celsius and 37.4 degrees Fahrenheit. It would rain a lot, but heavy snowfall was rare. Light snowfall happened almost every winter.
You may think that with info I gave you in the last paragraph, what kinds of
land is in Ancient Rome? Whelp, there are a great variety of climate zones in Ancient Rome. Hot, dry deserts existed in Rome. With their lack of water and scorching sun, it was never a really good spot for civilizations. It swallowed people up like a shark. Also, there are high and snowy peaks. It was not inhabited very much by humans, and it had some good wildlife there. The forests of the region was basically the peak of wildlife in Rome. It was easy to harvest wood and it was good place to make civilizations. Their largest water source in Rome was the long running rivers. They could provide food too. Most civilizations in Rome were near large rivers. Even with these crazy environments, the citizens of Rome survived without adapting that much.
Economy
Economics was a humongous part of Rome’s success. What? Why? You ask.
Well, I’m gonna show you why. One big part of Rome’s economy was wine. The valleys in Italy had a wide variety of grapes, which made wine. I was considered a delicacy in the central parts of Rome, and the leaders drank it a lot. In the lower classes of the Roman Empire, it was traded around for sufficient goods. The invention of wine and its effects helped the economy of Rome a lot.
Also, the trading of materials and gems helped Rome rise to fame. Cotton, which was used for some clothing, was traded around and helped Rome’s economy. Again, gems also were traded around. Flint was used to make fires and was valuable,
Gold was used for decorations and was super rare. Silver could only be found in Spain, making it easy to trade, and wood was abundant, but large quantities of it could really get you some good stuff.
There were some great trade spots in Ancient Rome. There were sea routes that covered the Mediterranean and black seas. One big part of trade in Ancient Rome is Otisia. It was the major market in the whole of Rome. Most people traveled there to get some materials. There you go, some of the most popular spots for trade in Ancient Rome. Now, let’s talk about HOW they traded. One Roman traded resources for either currency or sufficient resources.
One more thing that affected the economy in Rome is slaves. Slaves were
traded and priced on what their skin color was, how well they worked, and how loyal they are. This helped the economy. On another note, the big part of how big Rome’s economy was how big Rome was. The Roman Empire had such a large land mass and had so many people trading and paying with currency. Overall, Rome’s economy was huge and very impressive.
Government
The first couple emperors in the Roman Empire are Augustus, who ruled from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D., the next emperor was Tiberius, who rules from 14 to 37. Also, Caligula, who ruled from 37 to 41 A.D. Next, Claudius, one of the better known rulers, ruled from 41 to 54. After that, Nero ruled from 54 to 68 B.C.
One more ruler was Galba, which ruled from 68 to 69 A.D. Then, the next pair who took the throne was Otho and Vitellius, who only ruled in 69.
When you think of the government, you probably think of laws. Some laws in the greatest empire are that all females must remain in guardianship, except some of the female leaders. Also, a spendthrift is forbidden to exercise in front of his/her gods. It’s also against the law to grab crops from another man’s farm. If you sing or composed against another’s wants, you shall be clubbed to death in public. Another thing you have to do in Ancient Rome was if you have a deformed child, you have to kill it.
Many people died in Ancient Rome because of punishments. Today, I will be telling you of the many punishments in the Roman government. People could be clubbed to death. Sometimes people could be poisoned. All punishments would be public, almost always in front of family members, to scare the living population. Sometimes, they would cut heads off. All of the punishments in Rome was brutal. About 75% of Romans were killed by the rulers, or their minions.
Values and Beliefs
When you think of religion, you probably think church, praying, right? Well, today I’m going to show you how the Ancient Empire of Rome did their religion.
Roman gods, you say? Well, I can give you some information on that topic. Romans believed in an extremely wide variety of gods and goddess. One god was Mars, which took the place as the god of war. If you wanna know who ruled the gods, then Jupiter is your man. With the title of the supreme god, Jupiter was the king of kings. One of my favorite gods is the goddess of the moon. Luna is very interesting and had a wide variety of people who prayed to her. You know we need the sun to survive right? Well, (in Roman religion) I can tell you who you can thank for that. Apollo created the sun and keeps it fresh. Looks like we only have room for 2 more gods and/or goddesses. I would recommend that you check out Iris, the god of the rainbow and one of the better known Roman gods, Cupid. With the name of the god of love, he’ll certainly shoot with an arrow soon.
You’re probably thinking right now, if they have this many gods, where did they pray to them? Did each god get a temple? Actually yes, each temple has a statue of the god and sacred artifacts from it. Also, there are six women who watched over all of the temples. Called Vestal Virgins, they protected the temples from attacks and were held highly in Rome’s social pyramid. Also the people prayed in their own homes so that their dead family members would go to heaven and stay there. Religion touched every part of day-to-day life in Ancient Rome, and so, religion could be practiced anywhere, but these sacred places are what hold the gods’ spirit. To worship the gods, they gave offerings and prayed everyday.
Even today, romans’ religion affects everyday today. Many people respect religion and still do it today. Thanks for reading this section!
Contributions
The Great Roman Empire and its citizens invented some easy to use and almost necessary items that we still use today. Let me tell you about these great advancements in human history
Perhaps one of the most useful things that Romans made that allowed us to have easier lives was the language of Latin. Being highly based on most Greek words and letters, Latin laid down the bases for many, many languages to come. It was the base for Spanish, being used in America, Mexico, Spain, and many more countries alike! Another language that Latin sparked the roots of was French. The language of love has words ripped right from the Latin dictionary. It’s used by people in Paris, Russia and even some Germans speak it! (Speaking of which, German is also heavily derived from Latin.) And of course, the big daddy of languages, considered a second language in most countries, English was heavily inspired by this ancient language.
Also, Romans thrived in the ancient art of architecture. Romans created the idea of making easy to walk on ground, which was found and eventually evolved into the roads we use today! Again, Romans’ great mind came up with a great idea. The aqueduct, area was to transport and keep water clean, was founded by the romans which roamed the earth long ago. When, experts on Rome think of architecture, the probably think of this great feat that the Romans overcame. Arches were first created by the Romans a long time ago. They supported buildings and allowed for doors to be placed there. It is very useful and is still used today.
A couple more things that ancient romans came up with was socks. Of course, the socks were used to protect the feet and help them walk. You’re probably thinking, wait. Why would you have socks if you didn’t have shoes? Well, I have your answer right here. The citizens of Rome did have shoes! Mostly being sandals, the Romans loved comparable and easy to use shoes. And of course, we still use them today. If you’re like me, you probably love using sarcasm. Whelp, in the later times of the Roman empire’s reign, satire was developed as a funny way to put something in a play. One more thing that the romans created was welfare for all. They believed that all citizens should have welfare and freedom. It wasn’t like America today, but it was more pleasant than most civilizations at the time.
Thanks for reading about how the Romans affected life today. Time to go on to the next section!
Developed Way of Life
One big thing that humans developed as they evolved was the art of architecture. Some examples of architecture is the arch. Made in Rome’s best times, the arch was a true virtue of the human mind. Used in door frames, it will allow for buildings to not crash and burn when the door is inserted in. It’s great for structural integrity, and helps for houses to not die. Also, for a cool roof, Romans thought of domes. Used in a lot of popular buildings, it serves as a great roof. One more thing the Romans invented was columns, used in the colosseum, it can help any structure and is also aesthetically pleasing. With many different variations, it can help almost anything. The colosseum is one of the most famous buildings in the world. With a ton of columns, this structure survived the test of time. Lastly, for writing to have safe keeping for writing, buildings with a ton shelves, these libraries were a great invention.
The arts were very prominent in the great empire of Ancient Rome. Mostly music was held high in the old place of Rome. With the great symphonies of pan flutes, shell trumpets, bone flutes and bronze horns, the ancient art of music was great in Rome. Also, some statues are made. In the higher classes, bronze statues were made of them. Also, gods had statues were made of them. Not just bronze, though! Some statues were made out of copper. The wide variety was made out of marble. Written language was used a lot in Rome. Commonly people used Latin. But also, some people spoke and wrote in Greek.
Social structure was found easily in Ancient Rome. Women were citizens and most commonly has the same rights as men. Although, the women couldn't be elected to office. One law in Ancient Rome was the Latin right. This entails if you have a criminal record at all, if you have hurt people or have denied the demand of the government, you shall not be able to vote.
Interesting Facts/Famous People
Ancient Rome was a great, interesting place. There are a lot of facts about it. As an example, I can give you that people rarely made it past thirty years old. One more is that only 12% of the earth’s population was taken up by citizens of the Roman Empire. One of the largest wars happened during the prime time of Ancient Rome. The Roman-Persian war lasted 721 years. The great empire was eight times more densely populated than modern New York.
Government is a tricky thing in ancient Rome. There are no requirements (in the way of species) to be elected. It shows because Gaius Caligula elected a horse to senate. Even though slaves are thought to be people with no rights. Romans thought that no matter who, they should have equal rights. Slaves were not beaten or killed very much, and they were rewarded for good work. Even though it happens in the movies, people in gladiators were not commonly killed. The last interesting fact about Rome was if the colosseum were created today, it would cost roughly 380,000,000 USD.
Now for some info about famous people in Ancient Rome. Julius Caesar is pretty well-known for his title of one of the best warriors in Rome’s history. He almost captured England twice, but he failed both times, only for another man to capture it later. Another person found as a celebrity in ancient times is Augustus, the son of Caesar. He was known for winning the civil war that Caesar's death brought about. The last famous person I’m going to introduce to you is Claudius. He was the emperor that conquered Britain. We don’t know of when he died, but we do know he was murdered by his wife.
Conclusion
Whelp, now you know a lot about the great empire of Ancient Rome. You know about the Geography, Economy, Government and more! You know of the leaders, laws and some random facts about this civilization. Goodbye great reader and have a great life!