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Who
founded Rome?
Legend tells us that Rome was founded by the twins named Romulus and Remus in 753BC. We are told that they were abandoned as babies and brought up by a she-wolf. Who were Romans? Rome
is in the part of Europe called Italy. People who come from the city of
Rome are called Romans. Over many years Romans took over lots of countries,
including them in their huge empire. When the Roman empire was at its
biggest it is thought there were probably around 60 million people in
it. The Ancient Romans spoke Latin. Many of our modern languages and words
are based on Latin. It is no longer widely spoken, only by people who
are interested in learning it. |
Romans Illustrated History of the Roman Empire
Worst Jobs in History - Romans What jobs did Roman people do?
Roman
Games
Work and Play in everyday Pompeii Entertainment, Games, Exercise and Baths As the Romans had many Gods to worship there was always a feast to celebrate and Romans loved blood sports which went on all day. Up to 5000 wild animals like lions and tigers could be killed in a single day. Slaves, gladiators and criminals had to fight one another or the animals and contests usually went on to the death. Romans enjoyed theatre, only men were allowed to act and women were played by boys. Each character wore a mask to represent who they were. Romans also loved music and played flutes, pan pipes and lyres. Dancing was usually reserved for the poorer Romans. Most towns had public water fountains, bath houses and toilets. Romans realised the benefits of hot and cold plunge baths for health and hygiene and used bathing as social events where they could meet and gossip with friends and allies.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness! Romans were much cleaner than most other ancient civilizations and they bathed regularly in bathhouses. These had very complicated heating systems which kept different baths and pools at different temperatures. The people often went from one bath or pool to another. The bigger the bathhouse was the more elaborately it would be decorated. It is thought that by AD284 there were over 1000 public and private bathhouses spread around the empire. Thousands of Romans enjoyed spending many hours in them. To clean themselves of dirt and sweat from everyday living they would cover themselves in oil. They had special scrapers made of wood, bone or metal called strigils and they would use these to scrape off the oil which in turn removed all the dirt from their bodies. Slaves often did the scraping for them. When they were nice and clean both the men and women loved using expensive perfumes to make them smell nice.
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Romans Romans (BBC) Romans Exploration Interactive Activity Romans
in Scotland
Roman
houses and Society
Romans had a very structured society. Young men were encouraged to learn a trade or join the army; a woman’s job was to create a stable family background. Despite most average people being illiterate (unable to read or write) those in wealthy and political circles were encouraged to write to record the greatness of the empire. Latin became the language of Romans as the Etruscan language died out. Through a stable society the Roman Empire brought peace and stability to central and southern Europe and with it came prosperity, especially for the ruling classes. Roman coins were distributed throughout the empire to provide a common monetary unit and made trade between nations easier. Romans created a lavish society with their large houses having their own plumbed water supply and furnished with a hypocaust (under floor central heating) such standards of living were not achieved again until the late 19th Century. Roman society was divided into tiers, citizens; non-citizens and slaves. The richest Romans had two houses, a town house and a country villa. Floors and walls were made of marble or stone tiles, often inlaid with elaborate mosaics.
The Romans were the first to have central heating and they invented it. They warmed their rooms from under the floor. The heating system was called a hypocaust. |
Romans in Britain Timeline (1) Roman Timeline (Woodlands Primary) Roman Timeline (BM&AG for kids) Roman
Timeline
Mosaics Mosaics were placed on the walls and floors of many Roman buildings. These are pictures made by placing small brightly coloured pained and enamelled squared stones into wet plaster to produce a picture or design. When finished they were extremely hard wearing and many survive to this day. Mosaic makers were called upon by wealthy Roman villa owners and they chose from a book of designs.
Roman
Houses - The Atrium |
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Transport and Science Romans were inspired by the Greeks but they went on to develop many of their own innovations in the advancement of technology. They perfected systems of supplying clean water to promote health as well as piping and drainage in their towns and villas. This lead to the development of baths and the hypocaust, their under floor heating system. They invented an extremely strong form of concrete and improved how bricks were made. They used arches in their architecture which allowed them to span greater distances. They developed glass-blowing in glassmaking which made intricate shapes possible. Probably their best invention was the network of roads constructed to allow the rapid movement of soldiers and supplies. Many Roman gods were taken from the Greek world of mythology and the Romans renamed them. They were worshipped in temples or shrines where priests and priestesses looked after them. They were often filled with beautiful treasures. They believed in heaven and that a dead persons spirit was rowed across the River Styx to the underworld called Hades. The entrance to Hades was guarded by the three headed dog called Cerberus. When they arrived their spirit was judged and either sent to heaven (called Elysium) or hell (Tartarus). The Greeks made their gods human looking whereas the Romans were afraid of their gods and made offerings to them to ward off evil. Gradually Romans began to take on Christianity and often worshipped the Christian God with their own gods. But by about AD337 Christianity had become the main religion of the Roman Empire.
Christianity and the Roman Empire
Roman Religion Many Roman gods were taken from the Greek world of mythology and the Romans renamed them. They were worshipped in temples or shrines where priests and priestesses looked after them. They were often filled with beautiful treasures. They believed in heaven and that a dead persons spirit was rowed across the River Styx to the underworld called Hades. The entrance to Hades was guarded by the three headed dog called Cerberus. When they arrived their spirit was judged and either sent to heaven (called Elysium) or hell (Tartarus). The Greeks made their gods human looking whereas the Romans were afraid of their gods and made offerings to them to ward off evil. Gradually Romans began to take on Christianity and often worshipped the Christian God with their own gods. But by about AD337 Christianity had become the main religion of the Roman Empire .
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Roman Artefacts (BM&AG for kids) Roman Jewellery (very wordy) Roman Jewellery Artefact Gallery Roman Jewellery in Silver and Bronze Women of all classes wore jewellery. Richer women wore gold and silver with jewels or rare stones. Bronze was used by poorer women with glass beads to resemble jewels. Men and Women wore rings and all Romans who could afford it used perfumes made from plant extracts.
Social Pecking Order in Ancient Rome BC and AD These letters are used in dates. 100BC for example means 100 years before the birth of Christ. AD stands for Anno Domini which is latin for in the year of our Lord 100, and this means 100 years after the birth of Christ. Roman
Families (BBC)
Roman
Slavery Who
rulers, citizens and slaves? Rome was ruled first by kings, then senators and finally by emperors. People called citizens were allowed to vote to choose which of the senators had important jobs. There were three different types of citizens and they were all men. Patricians were citizens who were very rich on their clothes they wore purple lines or sashes to show that they were senators. Plebeians were the ordinary common people. Equites were citizens who were businessmen. Julius Caesar was a general who became the emperor. He made many enemies and on march 15th 44BC he was stabbed by a group of men one of his attackers was Brutus who was supposed to be a trusted friend. Slaves were people who belonged to other people. They had to work hard and were given some terrible jobs to do. They were unpaid and usually came from countries that the Romans conquered. Many were treated very badly. |
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Roman
Families, women, children and education
The Roman family was extremely important whether rich or poor. The responsibility for looking after elderly relatives fell on entire families and most people had to continue working until they were too frail or died. Roman women had a hard life, they were regarded as second class citizens and wealth determined the amount of freedom and independence a woman could have. They were expected to keep house for the family, work in the fields and spin and weave fabric for clothes. Only wealthy children went to school or had private tutors. Girls were only taught to a very basic level and then expected to learn domestic duties. Poor women usually had to work as servants or in the fields. A lucky few may become priestess for the vestal virgins by only if they were rich. In towns most poor people lived in cramped, low quality tenement housing. Apartments several stories high were built over open fronted shops or workshops. Most people living in towns had to buy their food and supplied from country people who took their excess food to market. Townsfolk earned a living providing a service or trade, working in shops or for the Roman Civil service as clerks. Housing Rich Romans lived in a domus or town house, many of them also had a country house called a villa. However, most town and city dwellers rented an apartment called a cenaculum. If they were rich enough they would have their own toilets but people in apartments probably shared public toilets in a room on street level. They used oil-burning lamps of many different designs. Their floors may have had small rugs but most floors were patterned with beautiful mosaics. Wet smooth plaster was spread over the floor and then tiny squares of brightly coloured stone were pressed into it to make a picture, the gaps between squares were filled in with plaster. |
Roman
Food & Farming
Farming methods were quite primitive and inefficient by today’s standards, although they were still superior to most of their Mediterranean neighbours. They invented a new form of plough using a strong metal blade to replace the wood or bone previously used. Romans didn’t have sugar so they kept bees and used honey to sweeten their food. Romans ate lots of fresh food and vegetables as well as fish and poultry. They rarely ate red meat which was difficult to keep in the Mediterranean heat. They enjoyed salads and their staple diet was bread and vegetables. All classes drank wine. Despite trying to provide fresh water supplies water borne disease such as cholera could still cause epidemics so wine was safer to drink than water. Wine was mixed with water to stop the Romans getting drunk. |
| Roman Clothing Roman
clothing changed quite considerably over the 700 years of the Empire
with the emphasis being on keeping cool. Light materials were mainly
used such as silks from China or cotton from India for those Richer
Romans. Light colours often white were preferred. Purple was associated
with royalty and was adopted as a symbol of power. Officials wore togas
with a purple stripe but only the emperor was allowed a toga that was
completely purple. Men and women wore leather sandals. Women of all
classes wore jewellery. Richer women wore gold and silver with jewels
or rare stones. Bronze was used by poorer women with glass beads to
resemble jewels. Men and Women wore rings and all Romans who could afford
it used perfumes made from plant extracts.
Roman men wore tunics. If they were citizens they could wear white robes called togas over the top of their tunics. Rich women also wore tunics, but over the top of them they could wear bright dresses and they used vegetable dyes to colour their clothes. On their feet women wore sandals. Soldiers had boots that were studded with nails to stop them wearing out during their long marches. They had beautiful jewellery, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, headbands and more all made from precious stones, ivory and gold. The richer women wore makeup because it was believed that they were more beautiful if their skin appeared to be pale. This probably showed they were wealthy enough not to have to work outside. They used ash to darken their eyelids, red wine for lipstick and chalk power to whiten their faces. |
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Roman
Art and Architecture
Romans copied or adapted Greek styles. The romans built everything higher and grander than had previously been thought possible. By using volcanic material called pozzolana and other ingredients they produced an extremely strong form of concrete that enabled masons to build strong walls with incredibly decorated interiors using paintings, polished marble and mosaics. Romans built amazing aqueducts to bring in
fresh water supplies from across deep valleys. Water was carried in a
deep channel built into the top tier. They understood the importance of
keeping their drinking water away from drainage systems to prevent disease. |
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Coliseum
- Building the Arena of Death |
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Roman Roads (pdf) Romans built a fantastic network of roads which allowed the rapid movement of soldiers and supplies. |
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Roman
Gladiators |
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In general Gladiators were condemned criminals, prisioners of war or slaves brought for the purpose of combat. Professional Gladiators were free men who volunteered to take part in the "games".
You
wouldn't want to be a Roman Gladiator |
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The
Roman Army The
Roman Army The Roman Army (BBC) The
Roman Army The
Roman Army The
Roman Army The Roman Military Research Society The
Roman Army The
Roman Military
Roman Army (UNRV)
Roman
Empire Expansion |
The Romans
managed to conquer so many countries because they had such a good army.
The Emperor used the army to protect Rome and to control the people it had
conquered. Some soldiers were away from their families for long periods
of time
When a soldier had served in the army for 25 years he could become a citizen of Rome. (History on the Net)
Roman Weapons, Armour, Tactics and Warfare The strength and growth of the Roman Empire lay with its military efficiency. Romans were able to organise a centrally controlled army. The army was divided into legions of about 5,000 men. They were well equipped and very disciplined. Weapons were usually made of iron or steel with wooden or bone hand grips. Soldiers preferred using daggers and swords, they favoured short-bladed swords with double edged blades used for stabbing. Foot soldiers used spears, bows and javelins. Few armies could resist the might o the Roman Legions. Romans fortified their empire by building huge walls or forts to protect their legions. In Britain Emperor Hadrian built a huge defensive wall right across the country from east to west to protect his outposts from attacks from the Scots. The wall was 75 miles (20 km) long, 15 feet (4.6 metres) high and 10 feet (3 metres) thick. Much of it still survives today. Roman warships called galleys were fast and efficient they were propelled by a mixture of sail and oars with a huge battering ram on the bow (front) to ram enemy ships. Sometimes siege engines were mounted on deck. Ships were usually used to transport troops or act as mere fighting platforms.
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Crime
and punishment
The
Roman Empire had senators who were voted into office and matters of government
were arrived at after lengthy discussions. Romans introduced the idea
of magistrates’ courts where crimes could be heard. Punishment was
often in the form of compensation as there were few prisons. Sentences
of criminals usually meant they became slaves even if they were roman
citizens. Execution often took the form of crucifixion, death was slow
and painful. They also used sword, axe and stoning to despatch criminals. |
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a look at these fantastic Powerpoint Presentations that give an insight
into how the Romans lived, died, fought and partied... |
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 Ancient Rome (Mission) |
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 Early Christianity (Romans) |
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More
Information, Games and Printable Activities |
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 Roman Activities (BBC) |
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Roman Images
Ancient Rome Images and Pictures
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