Meet The Romans!

The Roman World The people of Rome built a huge empire that included all the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It was one of the best organized empires in history. Throughout the empire the Romans built cities and roads. Conquered people learned to live like Romans.

More of the Roman World In the conquered lands people began to wear Roman clothes, worship Roman gods, and speak Latin, the Roman language. The Romans believed that their way of life was the best in the world. Romans thought they were doing the conquered people a favor by showing them the Roman way to live.

The City of Rome

In the center of the Roman Empire was the city of Rome. More than 1 million people lived in Rome. The city was full of grand temples, theaters, public baths and sports arenas. The streets were lined with statues and decorated arches built to celebrate war victories.

Government For almost 500 years Rome was a republic with elected officials. Two Consuls ruled with the advice of the Senate. After a series of civil wars the republican way of ruling broke down. Augustus became the first emperor. Emperors ruled Rome for the next 500 years.

Emperors Julius Caesar was a general and ruler of Rome for 5 years. He became very powerful and was killed by a group of Roman Senators. Augustus was the first emperor. He was a careful ruler who ruled for more than 40 years. He built roads, bridges and temples. The Senate declared him a god after his death.

The Roman Army The Romans were able to protect their huge empire because of the army. The Roman army was better organized, better trained, and better disciplined than any other army of the time. A Roman soldier served for 25 years.

Gods and Temples The Romans worshipped many different gods and goddesses. Each of the gods controlled a different part of life. Jupiter was the most powerful god. The most important gods had temples which housed their statues.

The Roman Baths Every Roman town had at least one public bath house. For a small sum, people could come to exercise, wash, chat and relax. Each bathhouse had an area for weightlifting, wrestling, and swimming.

A Roman House Roman houses were designed to be private and safe so there were very few windows. Roman houses faced inward, had a courtyard and a garden with the rooms arranged around them. Aqueducts were built to bring water to the houses. Walls were covered with brightly colored paintings.

Clothing Men wore short wool or linen tunics. Over it they wrapped a toga, which is a big plain sheet. Men wore togas in public when they wanted to look smart. Women wore a much longer tunic that reached the ankles. On top they wore a gown belted at the waist.

A Roman Holiday On holidays the Romans enjoyed a visit to the Colosseum, the theater or the circus. The most popular events were gladiator contests where the men fought each other to death. The circus was a huge oval track where chariot races took place. Good chariot drivers were popular heroes.

Roman Influences Romans were great writers and many of their books are read today. We still read Roman poetry, plays, history books, law manuals, books on religion, farming, and cooking. Many of our words come from Latin, the Roman language. Planets and months of the year are still called by Roman names. We use the Roman alphabet.

More Roman Influences Many of our buildings use Roman architecture including arches. Many coins are modeled after Roman ones.