Rome

The Roman Empire - 476 CE

Religion
by Mijah Murden

Statue of Emperor Constantine

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Labarum/chi-rho Symbol

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Religion
by Mijah Murden


AUGUSTUS - ROME'S FIRST EMPEROR
Emperor Augustus ruled Rome from 27 BC to 14 AD. During his reign, he is said to have used religion for a boost in social ranking. He was already known as the most powerful man on earth, but he also wanted to have spiritual power as a god. With this desire in mind, he declared himself the son of a god. When Halley's Comet flew over Rome, he told everyone that it was Julius Caesar going into heaven. Because he was an heir of Julius, this made him the son of a god.
Along with his achievements in status, he re-established tradition socially and religiously. Augustus offered up animals to the Roman gods. In 12 AD, he dubbed himself Pontifex Maximus, head of Collegium Pontificum, and Chief Priest of Rome. Indefinitely, he left his mark on the history of Rome with his confident leadership and belief in traditional ways. His strategy with religion worked. Upon his death, he was declared a Roman God.

EARLY EMPIRE'S RELIGION
 In the early Roman Empire, their viewpoint on religion was that it was a contract between the people and their gods. The contract required mortals to give perfect prayer and sacrifices to the gods. The prayer was difficult because the genders, roles, and purposes of their deities were not always distinct. Sacrifices got picky as well because the gods, such as Mars, were very particular as to which animal should be sacraficed for them. Along with animals, the Romans offered wine, milk, cheese, and fruit. Only once were slaves ever sacrificed to the gods as a plea for forgiveness. If any prayer or sacrifice was incorrect, one would have to redo the entire ritual. 
There was no personal connection between the gods and humans. This insensitive attitude toward religion was due to the state cult and the at-home worship. In the house, the head of the family would watch over all the others, observing to make sure that everyone went about their religious duties correctly. Naturally, people got sick of how impersonal things were, and cults arose along the east. Some of the cults included worship of goddess Cybele, Egypt's Isis & Osiris, Persia's Mythras, Grecian stoicism, and Jewish beliefs.

South Italy, Etruscans, Latin tribes, and Greeks all contributed to the formation of the Roman gods. Because there were so many deities, the people would occasionally forget the purpose of a god or goddess and their reasons for worshiping him or her.

OMENS AND SUPERSTITIONS
Several different beliefs were woven into Roman religion. The Etruscans introduced divination. Some believed in a mythical boy named Tages, who sent signs to people in a request that they interpret them to see into the future or explain unusual occurences. Objects and living things were also thought to hold peoples' spirits. They believed in odd creatures such as the donkey woman, ghosts, werewolves, mermaids, vampires, witches, and old women turning into birds. In addition, politicians used auspices (signs from birds) to dictate many of their decisions. A well-known political omen was epilepsy. On occasion, opposing politicians would fake epilepsy to obstruct the choices of their adversaries.


RELIGION AT HOME
The hearth was the home's spiritual center. Roman families used this to cook, as well as sacrifice to their gods and ancestors. The woman of the house had to keep it burning forever, unless the family would move. If so, they would put it out with wine and a ceremony.
Household gods included Janus, who was the god of doorways and beginnings. He was located inside and outside of the house, obviously, because of his rule over the entrance/exit. Vesta was the goddess of the hearth. The family would pray to her daily and send her food at mealtime through the hearth.
Spirits of the household were Lares, Penates, and Genius. Lares were the spirits of the family ancestors, represented by small figurines in a cupboard. They were given prayers and offerings daily. Penates were spirtis of food supply, shown also as small figurines in a cupboard that were placed on the table during meals. Genius was the spirit of the manhood of the family, and it was represented by a snake. It was celebrated mainly on the father's birthday.


HIGH OFFICES
Beginning from the highest in rank, Pontifex Maximus was the head of Roman state religion, as well as chief priest. Rex Sacrorum was king of rites. The 16 Pontifices were priests of the organization of religious events. They kept records of religious procedures, religious dates, and special festivals. Flamines were priests of individual gods, each honored for their profound knowledge of a single god. The flamen dialis was the priest of Jupiter. At times in which Jupiter was more celebrated, the flamen dialis' status could equal that of the Pontifex Maximus.


VESTAL VIRGINS
These women were chosen at a young age to serve 30 years as vestal virgins, living in the palatial building at the Roman forum. They would spend 10 years learning their duties, 10 years performing these tasks, and 10 years teaching the new vestal virgins. Their responsibilities included guarding the sacred temple fire, performing rituals, and baking sacred salt cake for the year's festivities. There is great punishment brought upon a vestal virgin who doesn't keep her commitment. If she would let the fire out, authorities would whip her. If she were to break her promise of purity, she would be walled up alive underground. The reward for being a true vestal virgin was high honor among society. If a criminal was sentenced to death, he would be spared if he even saw a vestal virgin.

CHRISTIANITY FROM THE START
Christianity centered around the worship of Jesus Christ. Historically, He was a man from Nazareth, with the role of Jewish leader, teacher, and exorcist. Spiritually, people believed He was the Son of God, God in the flesh, and the Savior of man from its iniquities. He spoke against Roman priests saying that He was the King of the Jews. This posed a threat for Roman officials because of His refusal to worship Caesar and put wordly rulers before the Lord. Therefore, his death by crucifixion on the cross was politically helpful for leaders in Rome at that time. Nonetheless, the teachings of the King of the Jews did not die out.
Saint Paul was a close follower, a disciple, of Jesus. He was also Roman. After Christ's death, he traveled far and wide to share his Leader's message. Authorities in Rome again thought of Christianity as a threat, as it showed disloyalty to rulers like Caesar, and opposed Rome's religious tolerance with its teachings.
This lead to the Christian persecution, begun by Emperor Nero of AD 64.


CONSTANTINE - ROME'S FIRST CHRISTIAN EMPEROR
In AD 312, Emperor Constantine had a vision of Christ telling him to put His symbol on his army's battle standards.  Christ's symbol is also known as the Labarum or chi-rho sign. It is a long spear covered in gold with a bar crossing the spear to form the shape of a cross. Constantine did so, and after winning the brutal battle of the next day, he gave the credit to the God of the Christians. Thus begins his devotion and support of the Christian faith, ending Christian persecution. He even ordered laws against pagans. The charge for heresy was bloody slaughter.
The empire was struck with a new religion. Christianity grew, but was challenged by other religions due to its vague core beliefs. With these confrontations, the Christian faith was more clearly defined. It was also more significantly funded, and the cost of the church grew larger than the cost of imperial civil services.
Though Constantine was an extreem financial and verbal supporter of Christianity, historians are still unsure of where his true loyalties lie. His religion seemed to be split between the worship of Jesus Christ and the worship of Sol Invictus (sun god). It is suggested that he purposefully kept his own faith obscure in order to keep peace between himself and any objecting citizens or fellow politicians. In any case, Christianity was then established as the empire's religion.



CREDITS TO THE FOLLOWING SOURCES...

 ROMAN EMPIRE. np. nd. Web. 19 April 2010. h
ttp://www.roman-empire.net/religion/religion.html.
 
UNRV HISTORY The Roman Empire
. UNRV, 2003-2010. Web. 27 April 2010.
http://www.unrv.com/culture/christianity.php
 
PBS Be More - THE ROMAN EMPIRE. Devillier Donegan Enterprises, 2006. Web. 28 April 2010.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/augustus_religion.html

Transportation
by Rafael

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Military Travel
Between 100 and 200 AD troops  constructed military roods. Fortified camps, bridges,walls,canals,roads,arches, and temples were built by military staff.   Many of the military  engineers designed the projects that the military staff built. Because of the roman roads connecting cites in the empire, the military could easily travel.  Horseback was the mode of transportation for the military officers.   A military officer could leave a tired horse and take a rested horse which were kept at stations along the military routes.   The Roman military was very good at making roads.  They needed many roads to make their empire stronger so they could move their armies faster.  Their roads covered over 53,000 miles. 

City Travel
Crowded, narrow and congested describe Roman city streets.  Wagons were not allowed during the day due to overcrowding.  That means that freight needed to be delivered during the evening.  Foot travel was common among the wealthy and the poor.  Sometimes wealthy people travel in a litter.  A litter is a recliner with two poles that was carried by four slaves.

Travel by Water
The Romans used different kinds of ships for different jobs.  They used ships for war and for trade.  These ships were different in how they were made.  The war ships needed to be able to move while trade ships needed more space to carry lots of items to be traded with other countries.   In the 7th century BC, the Tiber vier was dug out to make it easier for ships to enter making it the first major port. 

Spielvogel, J. Roman Transportation. Western Civilization Volume 1 to 1715, West Publishing Company.  1991.  29 Apr 2010.  http://www.crystalinks.com/rometransportation.html

Milani-Santarpia, Giovanni. Ancient Roman Ships.  Antiquities of Rome.  29 Apr 2010.
http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/ancient_roman_ships.htm

Spielvogel, J. Roman Roads. Western Civilization Volume 1 to 1715, West Publishing Company.  1991.  29 Apr 2010.
http;//www.crystalinks.com/romeroads.html
 


Education/ Language
By: Tara & Stephanie

ovidius

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Ovidius Naso was a Roman poet.  Ovidius is mostly known for his work of "Heroids", "Amores", "Ars Amatoria", and "Metamorphoses".  His work was influenced by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Milton.  As they well knew, to understand Roman Mythology they had to have some familiarity with Ovid's Metamorpheses.  Ovid's writing earned him the bad reputation of the emperor during that time.  He was eventually banished to the Black Sea, where  he lived the remainder of his life in exile.


Language:
West: Latin was the influential language here.  This language was only known to them and wasn't overused by others.  Latin was really hard to develop from the early spoken language to a fully developed form of classical Latin.  The earliest inscriptions could be traced back to only 6 century BC.  With the rise of  the roman political power the Latin language became popular.  The main roman languages are :  Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian.  All of the roman languages had their own dialect as spoken in different parts of the country, and had their own history of development as to how their style of writing, grammar, phonology(date order), and vocabulary changed, developed in 1,000 years, and how they receive their modern shape. Latin had a lot of changes.  This included it's  way of speaking, the meaning, and the rearranging  of the words, letters, spelling, vowel sounds, and writing.  In earlier writings, there were no punctuation marks.  They were introduced until afterward's  when the language was  more developed. 
 

The Grammar of roman language's is closer to Latin, and their common vocabulary is also inherited from Latin.  By 1500 AD Latin was a fully developed language.  But with the development of the English language it died out in England.  The vocabulary of Latin contains most of the words from Greek, some of it's dialects, and some from the roman language as well.   The Roman language system can be very complicated.  To understand latin, you must understand some of the structure, and grammar of the language.  Besides the nouns and verbs, latin is complete with adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and other details.  This  makes  the job of writing and translating latin time consuming.  All of these particular speeches have their own usage to it.  Some of the greatest work are poems written in meter.  Meter is the rhythm of the poem.  In english, the most popular meter is the Iambic pentameter, whereas in Latin, the most famous meter is dactylic hexameter.  Latin language was mostly spoken the way that it was  written.  The Roman numbering system is still used today, even in television.  Usually it is used for numbering Super Bowls.

Education:
In the ancient Roman Empire, education was taught differently than it is today.  School was focused on teaching the skills that would be needed for everyday life.  In ancient Rome, only the children of very rich people received an education.  They didn't have public schools like we do now, so most children went to private schools or learned at home.  Sometimes they had a private tutor.  Boys and girls were taught differently.  Not many girls went to school.  They were taught the skills needed to run a household, and some were taught to read and write.  Boys, especially those from wealthy families, went to school, or their family hired a Greek slave to teach them.  They were taught things that may affect their future, such as history and geography, poetry and literature, and maybe mythology and other languages.

In the Roman Empire the children's schools were different than our schools are today.  We get taught way differently  than they did.  If they did not do something right they would get beaten.  In their school they had a certain alphabet.  It was very different than our alphabet.  They had a  letter which  represented many letters and they had a symbol which represened the numbers.  The children used the alphabet a lot in the Roman schools.  Children used animal skin to write on because they did not have note books to wirte on.  They used an abacus to do their math.  


Costello, Kay. "Life in Roman Times." Nettlesworth Primary School. Nettlesworth Primary School, n.d. Web. 20 Apr 2010. http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/nettsch/time/rlife.html.

"The Roman Empire in the First Century." PBS. Devillier Donegan Enterprises, 2006. Web. 28 Apr 2010. http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/patricians.html.

"The Romans Education." History on the Net. History on the Net Group, 14 Mar 2007. Web. 20 Apr 2010. http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/education.htm.

Unknown, Web. 30 Apr 2010
http://www.encyclopediaofauthentichinduism.org/articles/15_roman_civilization.htm

Unknown, Web.30 Apr 2010.
http://www.danxner.com/extramaterials/art003/Final/Language.htm



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Inequality/Sex/Ethnic/Income/Class
 By: Kylie Willard

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In ancient Rome there was much diversity. Each person played their own role in society in one way or another. The citizens of Rome were split into classes such as upper class, lower class, and slaves.  There was much more division but those are the basic classes.  The upper class and lower class were very different.  Upper class were restricted to jobs of higher status.  Lower class made up the largest population of the city during the Roman Empire.  Men were the  general providers for the families.  They were traders, business men, architects, engineers, surveyor, sculptors, etc.  The women of Rome usually stayed home, took care of children and doing housework.  Occasionally women would have a job, but that was rare.  Slaves were used for labor.  They worked in mines, and the farms and potteries.  Lets take a look at Roman society during, The Roman Empire.

The imperial court of rome was the main thing of aristocratic life.  The imperial court was made up of senators, equastrians, actors, astrologers, etc.  The roman elite was a group of wealthy citizens who had an official position.  They didnt have to work, they owned property such as townhouses or villas.  They would host big dinnerparties.  The aristocrats not only were wealthier thatn the poor people of Rome, but they also recieved special privelages from the imperial officials and courts.  The members of the elite, if accused of a crime, the emperor would look over the case.  They could not be tortured or be cruely punished.  If they were convicted of a capitol offense those men and women would be executed by a sword.  Citizens of the upper class had jobs pertaining to law, politics, or the army.  Other jobs were considered to be for the lower class.   The few Roman citizens that were wealthy were the people who controlled the city, and everything in it. 

The lower class consisted of the poor citizens, noncitizens, slaves, and freedmen.  Freedmen were people who were former slaves, but had been let go from being a slave.  They made up the largest population of the city during the Roman Empire.  Not all lower class citizens were laborers, some were even doctors, musicians, actors, teachers, and philosophers.  Most of the poor could not provide food for their families. The poor citizens depended on the corn dole for their grain.  Those Romans could receive the grain for half price. At 122 B.C. it was already reduced to them for a lower price. In 58 B.C. the grain was free to the poor.  Then in 274 A.D. the emperor added small amounts of pork, oil, and salts to the dole.  The poor received healthier food than the urban citizens. They would also live off of food supplies that were harvested, animals, from farms, and/or the wild

Slaves played a large role in Rome.  They were used in mines, and the Roman Empires farms and potteries.  The slaves even played a large part in the government state bureaucracy.  They had to keep the administration of the empired running, generally only educated slaves would have that responsibility.  They also served as servants in private houses and would serve their master.  When Rome conquered the Mediteranean, they took millions of slaves into Italy.  That is how Rome got most of the slaves that they had during the Empire. 

The men of  Rome usually worked six hours in a day, and the women stayed at home with the children.  Mens' jobs consisted of  being a trader, business men, architects, engineers, surveyors, formen, sculptors, stonemasons, carpenters, bricklayers, or just day labourers.  If men had sons, their sons would usually follow in their fathers footsteps.  The sons would inherit the profession and the business of their fathers. 

Women of Rome were to have a guardian, the guardian was to be a man.  First it would be her father, but after she was married her husband would be her guardian.  The job of the guardian would be to protect and watch over her.  In Rome it was a common occurance to have arranged marriages.  The daughters marriage would be arranged at an early age, and when she became an adult she would be married to her husband.  It i s said that when a Roman woman became married she would have gained freedom, in a way.  A roman wife was not someone who would be locked up at home like the Greeks.  Instead the wife would be more like her husbands companion and helper.  They shared authority over their children, slaves and their household.  It was normal for the wife to attend big events such as parties and banquets with her husband as well.  But there were some rules for the women of Rome.  For example, in the early Roman Republic women were not allowed to drink.  Therefor they drank grape juice instead of wine.  At a dinner party the women were to sit upright like ladies, they were not allowed to relax and recline afterwards like the men were. 

Although women were treated nicely by their husbands, in society they were discriminated against.  At the height of the Punic War, women could not have more than half an ounce of gold, or wear a dress dyed of many colors, or ride in a carriage in a city or  within a mile of  it, except on Holy Days.  Women were allowed to have jobs, but only a certain few actually had jobs.  The small percentage of women who had jobs were doctors, secretaries, teachers, hairdressers, tailors, silk merchants, or market saleswomen.  There were even a few women gladiators. Lower class wore amber jewelry, this was a commonly found and widespread jewelry.  Women from the upper class wore only gold and rarely found stones.  They saw amber jewelry to be vulgar.

The last section of the population of Rome was the children of Rome.  In the early part of  childrens lives girls and boys would both receive the same education.  Generally in Rome only daughters of aristocratic families would receive further education above the normal education level.  But instead they would be taught more Greek and Latin along with learning how to dance and sing.   Sons would usually go on to doing their fathers duties.



Beresford, J. C laudia. "A look at Inequality Between the Orders of Roman Society" The Classes and Social Strata Between the Orders of Roman Society July 4, 2009.  April 29,2010.  www. roman-history.suitelol.com/article.cfm/the_classes_and_social_strata_in_ancient_rome

"Roman Society, Roman Life" Illustrated History of the Roman Empire. April 22, 2010.  www.roman-empire.net/society/society.html

Cowell, Frank Richard. Life In Ancient Rome. New York G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1961.
Gabucci, Ada. Rome (Dictionaries of Civilizations;) Berkely: University of California Press, 2007. "Roman Empire" April 26, 2010. www.crystalinks.com/romanempire.html







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Technology/Tools/Architecture/Engineering
By Nicole and Miina

Romans were famous for their architecture, tools, technology and engineering. Almost every aspect of their daily life was connected in some way to engineering and technology. Romans were great architects and builders. As the Romans expanded their empire, they constructed many buildings and roads. The roads connected each city of the Roman Empire to Rome. The Romans were the first people to come up with the technology of road construction.
 

Tools
They have many kinds of tools, like farming, building, hunting, medical, oil press, scales, writing, arm, and also weapons which made  from rock, wood, steel.
Roman tools were made in a different era, before standardized units of measurement were common, and when there was no power other than animal, human or  hydro power. I will write about war of  tools.
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I found this picture. They had tools which is like modern. Their fight was actually really modern. When the Romans sieged an enemy, they didn't just wait around for the enemy to starve to death, as the enemy could have a large supply of food and water. Instead they used huge siege engines to attack the defenses of the besieged fort or city. They have  weapon that name was  "scorpion," which worked like a fixed crossbow, and threw large javelins. This weapon was feared for it's accuracy, and it could be used to pick troops off walls. However, its more famous relative is the ballista, which was a large crossbow-type weapon that could hurl a 50-pound stone over 500 meters. A large ballista could be over 6 meters tall.

Also famous was the siege tower. This was a large, mobile tower that could be rolled up to the enemy's walls, and a drawbridge lowered from the top to allow soldiers access to the besieged fortress. These towers were covered in hide or armor, and had a full complement of archers to pick defenders off the ramparts. If the siege tower could not access the enemy because of adverse terrain, the Romans would simply build a ramp, or fill in a valley. Time was of no consequence during a siege.

.Roman tools also included a lot of farm implements; the Roman scythe was one of the first major 'consumer items' produced in cast metal in the world, and was cast from bronze, and then from iron, and then from 'black steel' at various times during Roman history. Many of these blades were sharpened and re-sharpened and still in use more than a century later as Roman culture retreated after the Visigoths sacked Rome. Similarly, the Romans produced cast hammerheads and blades for auls and piths that have survived to the modern era.

Architecture

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Can you believe colosseum was made before more than 2000years ago. Of course they did'nt use machine. The Colosseum was used as entertainment for the king and people of ancient rome. Gladiator fights, live theatre and occasionally the Olympics. It was landmark in the center of the city of Rome. Colosseum was an entirely freestanding structure, oval shape, 615 ft long, 510 ft wide, 18 ft high and had a base area of 6 acres. It can hold more than 50000 people. So how did they make this big colosseum? An estimated 100000 prisners were bought back to Rome as slaves after the Jewish War. Slaves would also have been used to lift and transport ther heavt stones 20 miles from Tivoli to Rome. It took 12 years to build. The colosseum is still in Rome, and still landmark in the center of the city og Rome. Now, about 4 million people visit to feel ancient Rome each year. We should keep this colosseum forever.

sources

 Ancient Rome by J. Crounse 5/28/09
http://www.topsfieldschools.org/PROCTOR/P_SS/Ancient%20Rome/Ancient%20Rome.htm


Building the colosseum by  Alchin, L.K. April 23, 2008
http://www.roman-colosseum.info/colosseum/building-the-colosseum.htm
History Channels' Special on Engineering Feats of the Roman Empire By N.S. Gill, About.com Guide
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/colosseum/qt/HistoryChanRome.htm
Ancient Roman Tools by Arne Brachhold 2010-04-10 05:03
http://www.ancientromangoods.com/tools

Roman Athletics/Sports
By Hannah Steele

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           Romans embraced the greek sports because of their hellenistic culture.  But ,they did make their own changes to sports that were crucial to their culture. They kept the Olympics running but made some changes to their way.   Rome also changed to a nation of spectators.  One of the sports that needed spectators were gladitorial fights.  The other was chariot racing.  Both were highly entertaining and always drew a large crowd.  Their sports were grounded mainly in mythology.  They were linked into their religious beliefs and had many characterizations.    This included frequent violence like gladiators.  And absenses of administrative structures, measurements and record keeping.  Also characterized was gender exclusion for example the olympics where woman were allowed to participate, but for entertainment only.

Olympics

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                   The Olympics were still a big event in the Roman Empire but wasn't the same as when the Greeks held them.  The athletes were considered professional.  The Romans kept the olympics pretty much the same.  This included the stadium race, the double stadium race, a long distance race, the pentathlon, wrestling, voxing, four-horse chariot racing, the horse race, pankration, and the race in full armor.  One change they did make was allowing women to compete in the olympics.  They were allowed to do so for entertainment, but they had swimming dancing and juggling for the women to compete at.  They added one of their own events in the year 408 BCE.  That event was the two horse chariot race.    The Roman people didn't hold the olympics in as much favor as they did gladiators and chariot racers.  It didn't hold as much excitement or violence for them.               



Gladiator Fights

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          Gladitorial fights drew huge crowds and that is what was planned.  The gladitorial fights were held to keeped the crowds entertained.  The crowds needed to be entertained because it was believed that citizens when bored would come up with plans to  revolt against the empire.  There wee many forms of gladitorial fights that were held in a certain order.  The typical agenda started with animal fights which were also called venationes.  Then the noxii, public executations, took place where men and women were thrown to the animals.  Then finally the event that everyone came to see, the gladiator fights.  Most of the gladiatiors were either criminals or slaves.  If they showed signs of strength or agility they were taken in and trained for the fights.  But, some gladiators called auctorati actually volunteered to be in a familia, gladiatorial troupe.  In doing so they handed themselves over to the lanists or owner of the troupe and were lent to the ludi, which is a special school for gladiators.  During a gladiator fight there was a certain etiquette that was followed.  When a fighter was down they would raise their left hand to ask for mercy.  From there the crowd would decide the fate of the man.  If they yelled iugula or put their thumb up they wanted a kill.  If they yelled missum, mitle, or put their thumbs down they wanted the fighter to live and fight again.

Chariot Racing

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          The circus maximus is the location of the major chariot races.  It was a premier hippodrome in the roman empire for chariot racing and some gladiator combats that were more popular.  It was the first circus built in it's time, and it actually allowed women to attend even sit with the men which was a rare occurence.  It had seats set in a "U" shaped arena.  The seats of the arena were barricaded from the center with a highly decorative wall.  It consisted of a middle called a spina and at each end of the spina were metae or turning posts.  Up to twelve quadrigue or four horse chariots raced at a time.  They would start at the carceres which was the starting gate at the open end of the "U" and then continued to the right of the spina.  They would continue to the end and go around the track in a counter clockwise fashion.  This would continue for seven laps.  The end of the spina held lap markers.  One marker was removed for each lap raced by the charioteers.  In later years bigae racing or two horse chariot racing also took place at the circus.

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Citations

"Gladiator." UNRV History - Roman Empire. Web. 29 Apr. 2010. http://www.unrv.com/culture/gladiator.php.

"I.R.IRAN PANKRATION ASSOCIATION." I.R.IRAN Pankration And Sambo Association. Web. 29 Apr. 2010. <http://pankration.gov.ir/history.html>.

"Latin Title." KET Distance Learning Overview - HOMEPAGE - Welcome! Web. 29 Apr. 2010. <http://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/gallery/culture/entertain/gladiators.htm>.

"Ancient Rome  ::  Roman Entertainment." Oracle ThinkQuest Library. Web. 02 May 2010. <http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/entertainment.htm>.


"British Museum - The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece." British Museum - Welcome to the British Museum. Web. 01 May 2010. <http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/international_tours/the_body_beautiful.aspx>.
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Military/Warfare
By: Austen and Jared

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The Roman Army was called the legion.  During the Roman Empire, the Romans followed many rules that they were taught during fierce training.  Some of which are, sun should be behind you to dazzle the enemy, if there is strong wind it should blow away from you, giving advantage to your missiles and blinding the enemy with dust.  During the heat of battle the  line,in which each man should have three feet of space, while the distance between the ranks is given as six feet.  Some of the weapons used during the time were daggers, swords, thrusting spears or pikes, lances,
javelins to throw, and darts, slings, and bows.  Thus 10'000 men can be placed in a rectangle about 1'500 yards by twelve yards, and it was advised not to extend the line beyond that.  Eventually the Roman military was funded almost entirely by the state.  They helped fund the state by conquering other territories and then robbed them blind. 

The Roman Army was made up of men only.  They were citizens of Rome who were at least 20 years old.  They typically stayed in the army for at least 25 years, and then could retire. To preserve the loyalty of the soldiers on which their position of power rested, the emperors looked well after their interests. Pay was regular and comparatively generous sometimes special bonuses of up to five years pay. On completion of their term of service soldiers received a large retirement grant of thirteen to seventeen years' worth of pay. In addition to these monetary rewards serving soldiers and retired veterans were also granted numerous legal privileges.

 McManus, Barbara F. "The Roman Army in the Late Republic and Early Empire." Barbara F. McManus. College of New Rochelle, June 1999. Web. 29 Apr 2010. <http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanarmy.html>.

 "Roman Military." UNRV History. UNRV History, 2010. Web. 29 Apr 2010. <http://www.unrv.com/military.php>. 

 "The Roman Army." Illustrated History of the Roman Empire. Roman-Empire.net, n.d. Web. 29 Apr 2010. <http://www.roman-empire.net/army/army.html>.


 

Architecture


Famous People of the Roman Empire
By: Tim and Thomas


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Ted Kaczynksi, or as he is known to many as, "The Unabomber".


Nero was insane.  Or at least that is what scholars believe.  He was a mad-man and can be compared to "The Unabomber".  He came to power in Rome, and because of that he could also be compared to the infamous Adolf Hitler, the late leader of Nazi Germany.  After being accused of starting the fires himself, Nero blamed Christians.  He had many Christians captured and thrown into lion rings; another Adolf Hitler-like move.


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Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Germany, could be compared to Nero.


Marius- Great Man of Army

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Marius was considered the great man of war in the Roman Empire.  He organized the Roman army.  Romans were given land as payment for their service in the armed forces.  Some of Marius' greatest victories were Aquae Sextiae and Campi Raudii.  These battles saved Rome and Italy from invasion.  Marius, could be compared to a current day Secretary of War, or Secretary of Defense.  Robert Gates, current United States Secretary of Defense is shown on the left.

Augustus- The First Emperor of Rome

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Augustus was the first Emperor of Rome.  Born as Octavain, he was granted the name Augustus for his bold achievements by the senate.  Accompanied by Mark Antony, Augustus defeated by Caesar.  Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, could be compared to George Washington, the first President of the United States.  Washington is shown on the left.

Caesar- The Most Famous Roman of All-Time.  (Politician, Statesman)

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Caesar is the Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer of the Roman Empire.  He is without doubt the most famous Roman, and his name is recognized throughout the world.  Caesar used outstanding tactics to overthrow Gaul, his tactics used then are still to teach generals.  He could be compared to Oprah Winfrey, or someone of that statue.  Caesar was born in 100 BC, in a lower class area of Rome, Suburra. 

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/people/tp/Romans.-0az.htm .   N.S. Gill.  "Famous People of Ancient Rome"
http://www.aboutroma.com/famous-people-rome.html.   Web Marketing Team.

Photos:

"The Unabomber" -- www.allserialkillers.com/UnabomberShop.jpg
"Adolf Hitler" -- http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/adolf_hitler_portrait.jpg
"Robert Gates" -- http://www.semp.us/images/Biot666PhotoD.jpg
"George Washington" -- http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/current/ED101sp09/ebelinsk/george-washington-picture.jpg
"
Oprah Winfrey" -- http://thepicturevideocommunity.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/oprah-winfrey1.jpg

Topography and Maps of the Roman Empire

by Maximilian Hühnergarth

The Roman Empire covered under Trajan (98-117) the most Area.  Under him, the Roman Empire covered Land all around the Mediterranean see. From Britannia (UK) to Aegyptus (Egypt) and from Lusitania (Portugal) to Armenia and Mesopotamia (Armenia and Iraq). 

A Map of the Roman Empire with the different states you can find here: http://huehnis-welt.podspot.de/userdata/index.html

During the history of the Roman Empire the Shape of the Area changed a lot. As you can see on the Maps it basically started out with Italy and got bigger and bigger pretty much with every emperor it gained some areas or loosed some. It was a empire of change. During its biggest expansion under Trajan it included following mountain ranges, rivers and seas.

The most important mountain ranges in the area of the Roman Empire are:
The Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians, Caucasus,Anatolia, Taurus, Atlas, Balkans, Appenines and the Zagaros Mountains.All are marked dark brown in the map beneath. The highest Point of the Roman Empire was the Mount Blanc with a elevation of 15.782 ft. The lowest, the Dead Sea with 1300 ft below the  normal sea level.

The most importand and biggest rivers are:
Danube, Seine, Rhone, Ebro and the Rhine River, All are marked blue in the Map.

The Longest river in the Roman Empire was the Dnube river with a length of 1795 mi.
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Sources:

length of river:               Ursula Deutsch, danube-river.org/site/content/view/56/110/lang,de/, 2010, text, 04-28-10
lowest elevation:           "lowest elevation Dead Sea", extremescience.com/zoom/index.php/earth-records/37-dead-sea, Extreme Science, 2010, 04-25-10
highest elevation:         Office de Tourisme de Chamonix, www.chamonix.com, 2009, text, 04-25-10
small maps:                   Franco Cavazzi, www.roman-empire.net , 07-03-09, maps, 04-24-10
big map:                         ezilon.com , Ezilon, 2009, map, 04-28-10
general information:   "Römisches Reich", wissen.de/wde/generator/wissen/ressorts/geschichte/index,page=1227344.html,  Wissen Media Verlag, n.d. ,                                                      04-28-10

Daily Life
By: Abby and Amber

Leisure Time
               The peoples lives were very social, and much of their life was spent outdoors.  Women went to the market, the water fountain, shrines, temples, and visited in each others homes. Men spent a lot of their time hanging out in the marketplace, the baths, or other public places.  Dancing, singing, gossiping, and storytelling was a form of entertainment for the people.  There was also festivals and events of the agricultural cycle that occurred regularly.                                                    City Life in the empire offered to poor,middle, and rich classes a variety of similar leisure activities.  Festivals took place throughout the year to give the people a break from their normal routine.  They were celebrated with processions, games, public meals, competitions, and even handouts.  Baths were also a very popular place to go.  There was many variates, from small to local dives to huge publicly funded affairs, with marble and heated floors and walls.  This was a place where people could meet to talk, relax, and sometimes even exercise.  The Circus was probably the most popular form of entertainment.  The Circus included a bloody arena where criminals were executed, gladiators fought, and hunters stalked and were stalked by wild beasts.

Nagel, D. Brendan and Burnstien, Stanely M.  "The Ancient Word." 
                  2002, New Jersey.  Page 309-311, Daily LIfe in the
                  Roman Empire.

 Pets

               Romans kept a lot of different animals as pets, and many are familiar to us today,  They were great dog-lovers and had many breeds to choose from.  The functions of the dogs varied from hunting game to keeping their masters warn at night.  Other than dogs, Romans were very into birds.  They had many different types, ranging from the Lesbia's sparrow to a pet chicken to Ringneck Parakeets. Geese, doves, quail, finches, and starlings, all found their way into the Roman Household.  Very late in the Roman Empire people started training hawks and falcons.  Romans usually didn't have cats as pets, that was really only done in Egypt.  A cat was more likely seen as a nuisance, or as a threat.  Fish were also kept by Romans.  The people had to build a Piscina, which was a large bowl used to hold a lot of water for the fish.  Pet goats were also popular, they were hitched to miniature carts to help with transportation.  Monkeys were also mentioned, but they weren't kept

Peregrinus, A. Marius and Piscinus, M. Horatius.  "Questions by: 
                 Tiberious Dionysius Draco."  2001-2010 Societas Via Romana. 
                  http://www.socitasviromana.net/Collegium_VitaQuotidiana/pets.php

Teenagers/Kids lives

Boys: At any age between 14 and 19 years every young roman boy celebrated his coming of age usually on March 17.  He would celebrate with his family and he would dedicate the clothes of his childhood to the household gods.  They would then get a new white toga called white toga vinlis, which meant toga of manhood.  His family would take him to be registered at the Tabularium and them to the forum for more ceremonies.  Once a son was married he would move our of the house, but always remains under his father’s authority for as long as he lived.  Also sons of “equestrians” and senators might serve as junior staff officers to be part of a general political and administrative career.
Girls:    The Roman girl’s life carried according to her social status.  A girl with a wealthy lifestyle family would not work outside, but was part of the general running of the household.  Se would spend time with friends, or go to baths.  The daughters of shopkeepers or other traders may have been required to work with the family business.
    Roman girls were considered to be suited for marriage at the age of 12 and boys at 14.  Augustus proposed that men of 25 years and women of 20 years that weren’t married should be penalized.  The young couples were engaged with permission from the fathers.

Connolly, Peter, "The Ancient City"  Peter Connally
    1998. Pages: 134-149,152, and 183

Roman Women Hairstyles

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Roman Empresses Hairstyles

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Roman Women Head Dresses

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Roman Ladies Hairstyles

Men Hairstyles

All Men tended to keep their hair cut short.  some of the more tough, bad men would have their hair curled with curling irons by their barbers.  The Christians would tend to have their hair and beards cut short all the time.  Shaving was never a fun thing to do.  They lacked the high quality steal we have today, so their razors would dull very easily.

Roman Dress

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 Pauline Weston Thomas for Fashion-Era.com    
    "Roman Costume History
Roman Women Hairstyles and Dress"    
    www.fashion-era.com/ancient_costume/roman-costume-history-women-hair.htm#Roman_woman_-_Hairstyles

Roman Pallium Cloak

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Roman Priest's Toga

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Roman Woman Sleeveless Stola and Palla

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Roman female Stola and Palla.  (stola: long sleeveless tunic, was a symbol of marriage. palla: a long cloak a respectable woman wore over the stola)





Housing

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1 Atrium-bedroom of the mother of the family   

2 Peristylium-garden of the house
3 Vestibulum-small passageways to the road
4 Fauces-a corridor that leads to the main door
5 Impluvium-a shallow pool sunk into the floor to catch rainwater
6 Alae-open rooms on each side of the atrium
7 Triclinium-dining room        
8 Tablinum-large reception room of the house, acted like a living room
9 Exhedra/Oecus-center line of the house, acted as a lounge area
10 Taberna-surrounded the atrium, but has its own entrance from outside that didn’t lead to the inside of the house
11 Cubiculum-bedroom of the Roman house
12 Andron-passageway from the atrium to the peristylium
13 Posticum-servants entrance
14 Bathroom
15 Cucina-kitchen

"The Roman House."  Last updated July 10th, 2007. 
            http://www.roman-empire.net/society/soc-house.html

roman-empire.net
    "Roman Dress" Last updated June 8th 2008
    www.roman-empire.net/society/soc-dress.html
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Heath and Medicine

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    The Roman Empire had a lot of health issues, but they also contributed to modern medicine.  They created tools that are still used today.  In the Roman Empire, a woman had a life expectancy of about 20-30 years, after birth.  Men, on the other hand, would live much longer, if they survived into their adulthood.  Slaves had the shortest life expectancy; they were lucky to make it to 20.  Women had a low life expectancy because they had to give birth and giving birth would lower their life expectancy.  Many of the empires citizens also had to make it through diseases and plagues.  Infants had a hard time surviving and if they made it into adulthood, they were extremely lucky.  Once a child was born, the child had a 25% chance of surviving to their first birthday.  If they did survive to their first birthday, they had a 50% chance of survival to their tenth birthday.  That is a very high percentage of infant mortality.
    When a woman was pregnant, she knew that the child she was bearing probably wouldn't survive to their tenth birthday.  Almost all of the women that gave birth, gave birth at home.  The majority of the population delivered the child by themselves or with a close friend or relative.  For the women who could afford it, hired a midwife.  They didn't have any drugs or medicine for reducing labor pains.  Since the infant mortality rate was high, many religions came up with rituals to protect the child and the mother from any harm
and to keep them safe.  There were many illnesses and diseases that could strike the mother and the child along with the men.  The most common disease was the plague.  There also were many other infectious diseases, like typhoid fever, malaria, tuberculosis and also digestive ailment.

Pictures: Surgical tools that the Romans used when they conducted a surgery.  Galen, considered the most famous Roman doctor.

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Gigante, Linda.  "Death and Disease in Ancient Rome." Online posting. April 19, 2010. <http://www.innominatesociety.com/Articles/Death%20and%20Disease%20in%20Ancient%20Rome.htm>

"Medicine in Ancient Rome." Online posting. April 19, 2010.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medicine_in_ancient_rome.htm>

"Family Life." Online posting. April 19, 2010.
<http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/family.html>

Wilk, James S. "Fertility, Pregnancy and Childbirth on the Coinage of Ancient Rome." Online posting. April 19, 2010. <http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Articles/Pregnancy_and_Childbirth/Pregnancy_and_Childbirth_on_Roman_Coinage.htm>


 

Law and Justice
By: Marie Wieneke

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Roman Law

          Emperors asserted their authority as the ultimate source of law. Their edicts, judgements, administrative instructions, and responses to petitions were taken with the comments of legal scholars. the basis for law was the idea that the exact form, not the intentions, of words or action produced legal consequences. One of the laws are listed below:

 
Lex Iulia de Adulteriis Coercendis- made conjugal unfaithfulness a public as well as a private offense as banishment as a possible penalty.

            They also had marriage laws that said if you do not marry then you will have heavier taxes than married men and women. There were also consequences for adultery. One of them was that if the legal father of the daughter can kill the adulterer with is bare hands if he catches the adulterer with is daughter in his own house or in his son-in-laws house, no matter who the adulterer is.

Roman Prisons

            Prisons were usually a holding place for the convicted to die, and occasionally those waiting for trial.

Roman Crucifixion

          The condemned were required to carry a cross beam or patibulum weighing at least 75 to 125 pounds to the place where they would die. Several upright bars called stipes were kept planted in the ground. The stipes were sharpened to a point at the top. With the stipe they would lift the cross with the accused attached to the top of the stipe and put the two pieces together.

            Romans would use square spikes about five and a half inches long and about one-third inches across the top. The Romans would drive the spikes so that its pressure was on the median nerve, so as much pain would be afflicted to the condemned as possible.

            The accused arms would be placed at a ninety degree angle but after a while their body would sag, and their arms would go to about a sixty-five degree angle. The weight of the body hanging in that position would cause the pectoral muscles to paralyze and the person would be able to inhale, just not exhale.

            Jesus weakened from loss of blood and from the intense pain from the rough cut beam strapped to his raw and bleeding shoulders, he fell into the street. When the soldiers realized that he couldn’t carry it all the way, they called someone from the crowd to do it for him. Simon of Cyrene was the person chosen.

            About nine in the morning they reached the place where Jesus would die. Jesus was thrown onto the dirt and rock with his bloody, torn up back. Then Jesus was nailed to the cross. The four soldiers divided the clothing among themselves, and had a type of auction for his undergarments.

            The whip they used was called a flagrum. A flagrum had small pieces of bone and metal attached to many leather strands. They also plucked Jesus’ beard and pressed into his head the crown of thorns. Jesus was also stabbed with one of the soldiers spears and they torn out his insides with it. That made it really heard to breathe. Then Jesus shouted, “It is finished”

            Sometimes instead of nailing the accused to the cross, they would tie them tight with rope. Also, instead of putting the cross how it usually is, they would put the cross, and the person on it, upside down.


"Index of Roman Laws" Online Posting. April 18, 2010.
<http://www.unrv.com/government/index-of-roman-laws.php>

"Roman Crucifixion" Online Posting. April 19, 2010.
<http://www.carlsbadnm.com/sleeman/story/crucify.htm>

"To the Cross" Online Posting. April 19, 2010.
<http://www.carlsbadnm.com/sleeman/story/tocross.htm>

"Death" Online Posting. April 19, 2010.
<http://www.carlsbadnm.com/sleeman/story/death.htm>



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Economy
By: Josie Higley

 Economy

         The Roman Economy never developed into anything terribly complex compared to modern economies. Ancient Rome was an agrarian and slave based economy whose main concern was feeding the vast number of citizens and legionaries who populated the Mediterranean region. Agriculture and trade dominated Roman economic fortunes, only supplemented by small scale industrial production.

            The staple crops of Roman farmers in Italy were various grains, olives, and grapes. Olive oil and wine, outside of direct food stuffs, were among the most important products in the ancient civilized world and led Italy's exports. Romans did use a limited form of 2 tier crop rotation, but crop production was largely low output and required a vast number of slaves to operate at any volume.

            Farmers could donate surplus crops to the government in lieu of a monetary tax. This system allowed both Republican and Imperial rulers to gain popularity with the masses through free grain distribution and also help to feed the legions at no direct monetary cost. Unfortunately it also left farmers with little incentive to increase productivity or output, since more crop translated to more taxes (and more free grain distributions). Citizens grew dependent on these grain doles and the large volume of trade that ensued. The need to secure grain providing provinces was one important, of many factors that would lead to the expansion and conquests of the Roman State.

            Romans thrived off of its imports, and importers were among the wealthiest citizens of the Empire. The trading of goods for goods barter system was alive and well in the ancient world, but the Romans also used one of the world's most developed coinage systems. Coins of brass, bronze, copper, silver and gold in the Imperial system were minted and circulated under strict rules for weights, sizes, value and metal composition. The popularity and value of Roman coins became so great that they could be found as far east as India. Roman coins were greatly detailed and of high artisanship, and often were used as tools by the Emperors to circulate various forms of news and propaganda to the people and the world. In fact, numismatics (the study of ancient coins), is among the greatest sources of historical facts, events and living conditions as it relates to the Romans.


Shops And Markets

            With the growth of the Forum the old market had been forced to go away. With the Forum being the centre of Roman life the shops obviously clung to as closely as they could. And so the streets leading from the Forum boasted many shops. The Via Sacra itself had shops, but so did the streets leading out of the Forum, foremost the vicus iugarius, the vicus tuscus and the argiletum.
The vicus tuscus is said to have been the host of many spice shops. The argiletum was host to many bookshops and shoe shops.


            To the east lay the poor man's market of Rome in the quarter of the subura, no selling foods more suited to those with limited money, like simple vegetables and chickens.
To the south of the Forum lay the velabrum, the general market, the forum boarium and the forum cuppedinis, the market for luxury goods. These were huge markets, feeding the greatest city of the world.


            The wealthy Romans might go shopping near the saeptia in the Campus Martius where the luxury shops could be found, selling amongst other things the most expensive slaves in Rome.

Food/Trade
             Trade was very important to the Roman empire. Big cities like Rome had to import large amounts of food from all over the empire. Luxury goods also came from all over Europe, Africa and the Near East. Silk came on camel caravans from China. Ships brought spices, jewels and perfumes from India.

            Transporting goods on land was expensive and often dangerous, so most commerce was conducted via shipping. Within this section you will find a list of goods that were used in trade. Some were rare, some expensive, and some used every day, however each of them were an integral part of the Roman Economy.