Everything about Ancient Roman totally explained
Ancient Rome was a
civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the
Italian Peninsula in the 9th century BC to a large
empire straddling the
Mediterranean Sea. In its twelve centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a
monarchy, to a
republic based on a combination of
oligarchy and
democracy, to an increasingly
autocratic empire. It came to dominate
Western Europe and the area surrounding the
Mediterranean Sea through
conquest and
assimilation.
The
Roman empire went into decline in the 5th century AD.
Plagued by internal instability and
attacked by various migrating peoples, the
western part of the empire, including
Hispania,
Gaul, and
Italy, broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. The
eastern part of the empire, governed from
Constantinople, survived this crisis, and would live on for another millennium, until its last remains were finally annexed by the emerging
Ottoman Empire. This eastern,
medieval stage of the Empire is usually referred to as the
Byzantine Empire by historians.
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,
technology and
language in the
Western world, and its
history continues to have a major influence on the world today.
History
Monarchy
According to
legend, Rome was
founded on
April 21, 753 BC by twin descendants of the
Trojan prince
Aeneas,
Romulus and Remus. The Latin King
Numitor of
Alba Longa was ejected from his throne by his cruel brother
Amulius and Numitor's daughter,
Rhea Silvia, gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Rhea Silvia was a
Vestal Virgin who was raped by
Mars, making the twins
half-divine. The new king feared that Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, so they were to be drowned. A she-wolf (or a shepherd's wife in some accounts) saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. The twins then founded their own city, but Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over which one of them was to reign as the
King of Rome, though some sources state the quarrel was about who was going to give their name to the city. Romulus became the source of the city's name. 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.
The city of
Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river
Tiber, a crossroads of traffic and trade. According to
archaeological evidence, the village of Rome was probably founded sometime in the 8th century BC, though it may go back as far as the 10th century BC, by members of the
Latin tribe of Italy, on the top of the
Palatine Hill. The
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 aristocratic 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.
Republic
The
Roman Republic was established around 509 BC, according to later writers such as
Livy, when the last of the seven kings of Rome,
Tarquin the Proud, was deposed, and a system based on annually elected
magistrates and various representative assemblies was established. A
constitution set a series of checks and balances, and a separation of powers. The most important magistrates were the two
consuls, who together exercised executive authority in the form of
imperium, or military command. The consuls had to work with the
senate, which was initially an advisory council of the ranking nobility, or
patricians, but grew in size and power over time. Other magistracies in the Republic include
praetors,
aediles, and
quaestors. The magistracies were originally restricted to patricians, but were later opened to common people, or
plebeians. Republican voting assemblies included the
comitia centuriata (centuriate assembly), which voted on matters of war and peace and elected men to the most important offices, and the
comitia tributa (tribal assembly), which elected less important offices.
The early 5th Century BCE saw an influx of
Gauls (Gallic Celts) push south of
Cisalpine Gaul into
Etruscan territory, which they took by force of arms. The Gauls were lead by
Brennus of the
Senones tribe, and the Romans sent an envoy of three delegates to meet with him and determine his intentions and, covertly, the strength of his army. The meeting didn't go well, and ended in violence.
Brennus, taken aback by what he referred to as a violation of the
Laws of War, demanded the three
Romans be handed over to him for punishment. The Romans refused, leading the Gauls to march on Rome in July, 387 BC. In response, the Romans, under
A.Quintus Sulpicius, attempted to form a defense against the approaching Gauls. The result was a crushing defeat of the Romans near the
River Allia, and the subsequent sack of
Rome. The Romans retreated to the citadel on the
Capitoline Hill, and remained in relative safety as they watched the looting and burning of the city. After a period of seven months of Gallic occupation of the city, the Romans approached
Brennus for terms of peace. Brennus settled on the sum of one-thousand pounds of gold, and the Gauls subsequently departed Rome.
The Romans gradually subdued the other peoples on the Italian peninsula, including the
Etruscans. The last threat to Roman
hegemony in Italy came when
Tarentum, a major
Greek colony, enlisted the aid of
Pyrrhus of Epirus in 281 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. In the second half of the 3rd century BC, Rome clashed with
Carthage in the first of three
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 dominant people of the
Mediterranean Sea.
Foreign dominance led to internal strife. Senators became rich at the
provinces' expense, but soldiers, who were mostly small-scale farmers, were away from home longer and couldn't maintain their land, and the increased reliance on foreign
slaves and the growth of
latifundia reduced the availability of paid work. Income from war booty,
mercantilism in the new provinces, and
tax farming created new economic opportunities for the wealthy, forming a new class of
merchants, the
equestrians. The
lex Claudia forbade members of the Senate from engaging in commerce, so while the equestrians could theoretically join the Senate, they were 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 91–88 BC. The military reforms of
Gaius 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 led to civil war between Marius and his protegé
Sulla, and culminated in Sulla's
dictatorship of 81–79 BC.
In the mid-1st century BC, three men,
Julius Caesar,
Pompey, and
Crassus, formed a secret pact—the
First Triumvirate—to control the Republic. After Caesar's
conquest of Gaul, a stand-off between Caesar and the Senate led to
civil war, with Pompey leading the Senate's forces. Caesar emerged victorious, and was made
dictator for life. In 44 BC, Caesar was
assassinated by senators who opposed Caesar's assumption of absolute power and wanted to restore constitutional government, but in the aftermath a
Second Triumvirate, consisting of Caesar's designated heir,
Octavian, and his former supporters,
Mark Antony and
Lepidus, took power.
However, this alliance soon descended into a struggle for dominance. Lepidus was
exiled, and when Octavian defeated Antony and
Cleopatra of
Egypt at the
Battle of Actium in 31 BC, he became the undisputed ruler of Rome.
Empire
With his enemies defeated, Octavian took the name
Augustus and assumed almost absolute power, retaining only a pretense of the Republican form of government. His designated successor,
Tiberius, took power without serious opposition, 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 (for example,
Caligula is argued by some to have been insane and
Nero had a reputation for cruelty and being more interested in his private concerns than the affairs of the state). Their rule was followed by the
Flavian dynasty. 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"). 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 km²).
The period between 193 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 and external invasions 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. On
May 11,
330, Emperor
Constantine I firmly established
Byzantium as the capital of the
Roman Empire and renamed it
Constantinople. The Empire was permanently divided into the Eastern Roman Empire (later known as the
Byzantine Empire) and the
Western Roman Empire in 395.
The Western Empire was constantly harassed by
barbarian invasions, and the gradual
decline of the Roman Empire continued over the centuries. In the 4th century, the westward migration of the
Huns caused the
Visigoths to seek refuge within the borders of the Roman Empire. In 410, the
Visigoths, under the leadership of
Alaric I, sacked the city of Rome itself. The
Vandals invaded Roman provinces in Gaul, Spain, and northern Africa, and in 455 sacked Rome. 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.
The Eastern Empire, by contrast, would suffer a similar fate, though not as drastic.
Justinian managed to briefly reconquer
Northern Africa and
Italy, but Byzantine possessions in the West were reduced to southern Italy and
Sicily within a few years after Justinian's death. In the east the Byzantines were threatened by the rise of
Islam, whose followers rapidly conquered territories in
Syria and
Egypt and soon presented a direct threat to Constantinople. The Byzantines, however, managed to stop Islamic expansion into their lands during the 8th century, and beginning in the 9th century reclaimed the conquered lands. In 1000 AD the Eastern Empire was at its height:
Basileios II reconquered Bulgaria and Armenia, culture and trade flourished. However, soon after the expansion was abruptly stopped in 1071 at the
Battle of Manzikert. This finally lead the empire into a dramatic decline. Several centuries of internal strife and
Turkic invasions ultimately paved the way for Emperor
Alexius I Comnenus to send a call for help to the West in 1095. The West responded with the
Crusades, eventually resulting in the
Sack of Constantinople by participants in the
Fourth Crusade. The conquest of Constantinople in 1204 would see the fragmentation of what little remained of the empire into successor states, the ultimate victor being that of
Nicaea. After the recapture of Constantinople by imperial forces, the empire was little more than a Greek state confined to the
Aegean coast. The Eastern Empire came to an end when
Mehmed II conquered Constantinople on
May 29,
1453.
Society
Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of
Rome, located on
seven hills. The city had a vast number of
monumental structures like the
Colosseum, the
Forum of Trajan and the
Pantheon. It had fountains with fresh drinking-water supplied by hundreds of miles of
aqueducts,
theatres,
gymnasiums,
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
country villas. In the
capital city of Rome, there were
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 imperial city of Rome was the largest urban center of its time, with a population of about 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 14 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 during the day. Historical estimates indicate that around 20 percent of the population under jurisdiction of ancient Rome (25–40%, depending the standards used, in Roman Italy) 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 and temples and same type of buildings, on a smaller scale, as found in Rome.
Government
Initially, Rome was ruled by
kings, who were elected from each of Rome's major tribes in turn. 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
state religion. In addition to the authority of the King, there were three administrative assemblies: the
Senate, which acted as an advisory body for the King; the
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. The word republic comes from the Latin
res publica which literally translates to public business. 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. 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 (
Censura), 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, under the reforms of the dictator
Sulla,
Quaestors were made automatic members of the Senate, though most of his reforms didn't survive.
The Republic had no fixed
bureaucracy, and collected
taxes through the practice of
tax farming. Government positions such as
quaestor,
aedile, or
praefect were funded from the office-holder'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
dictator could be appointed. 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 didn't inherit a set bureaucracy from the Republic, since the Republic didn't have any permanent governmental structures apart from the Senate. The Emperor appointed assistants and advisers, 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
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. The
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
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 being.
Economy
Ancient Rome commanded a vast area of land, with tremendous natural and human resources. 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 Italy's main
exports. Two-tier
crop rotation was practiced, but farm productivity was overall low, around 1 ton per
hectare.
Industrial and
manufacturing activities were smaller. The largest such activity were the
mining and
quarrying of stones, which provided basic construction materials for the buildings of that period. In manufacturing, production was on 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, namely the economies of 18th century
England and 17th 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 labor. However, foreign wars and conquests made
slaves increasingly cheap and plentiful, and by the late Republic, the economy was largely dependent on slave labor for both skilled and unskilled work. Slaves are estimated to have constituted around 20% of the 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 labor 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) had a face value of one
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 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
commodities between Roman regions until the rise of
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. Households included the head (usually the father) of the household,
pater familias (father of the family), his wife, children, and other relatives. In the upper classes, slaves and servants were also part of the household.
Patria potestas even extended over adult sons with their own households: A man wasn't considered a
paterfamilias, nor could he truly hold property, while his own father lived. During the early period of Rome's history, a daughter, when she married, fell under the control (
manus) of the
paterfamilias of her husband's household, although by the late Republic this fell out of fashion, as a woman could choose to continue recognizing her father's family as her true family. However, as Romans reckoned
descent through the male line, any children she'd 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
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's evidence that lower class women often married in their late teens or early twenties.
Education
In the early Republic, there were no public schools, so boys were taught to read and write by their parents, or by educated slaves, called, usually of Greek origin. The primary aim of education during this period was to train young men in
agriculture,
warfare,
Roman traditions, and public affairs. Young boys learnt much about civic life by accompanying their fathers to religious and political functions, including the Senate for the sons of nobles. The sons of nobles were apprenticed to a prominent political figure at the age of 16, and campaigned with the army from the age of 17 (this system would still be in use among some noble families well into the imperial era). Educational practices were modified following the conquest of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the 3rd century BC and the resulting Greek influence, although it should be noted that Roman educational practices were still significantly different from Greek ones. If their parents could afford it, boys and some girls at the age of 7 were sent to a private school outside the home called a, where a teacher (called a
litterator or a, and often of Greek origin) taught them basic reading, writing, arithmetic, and sometimes Greek, until the age of 11. At the age of 16, some students went on to
rhetoric school (where the teacher, almost always Greek, was called a ). Education at this level prepared students for legal careers, and required that the students memorize the laws of Rome. Pupils went to school every day, except religious festivals and market days. There were also summer holidays.
Culture
Language
The native language of the Romans was
Latin, an
Italic language the
grammar of which relies little on word order, conveying meaning through a system of
affixes attached to
word stems. Its
alphabet was based on the
Etruscan alphabet, which was in turn 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 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 later became the
Byzantine Empire, Latin was never able to replace Greek, and after the death of Justinian Greek became the official language of the Byzantine government. 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 in the 19th century and
English in the 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.
Religion
Archaic
Roman religion, at least concerning the gods, was made up not of written
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, or divine soul. During the
Roman Republic,
Roman religion was organized under a strict system of priestly offices, which were held by men of senatorial rank. The College of Pontifices was uppermost body in this hierarchy, and its chief priest, the
Pontifex Maximus, was the head of the state religion.
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. In the Roman empire, emperors were held to be gods, and the formalized
imperial cult became increasingly prominent.
As contact with the
Greeks increased, the old Roman gods became increasingly associated with Greek gods. Thus,
Jupiter was perceived to be the same deity as
Zeus,
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
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, the Romans absorbed the mythologies of their conquered subjects, often leading to situations in which the temples and priests of traditional Italian deities existed side by side with those of foreign gods. Numerous foreign
cults grew popular, such as the worship of the Egyptian
Isis and the
Persian Mithras. Beginning in the 2nd century,
Christianity began to spread in the Empire, despite initial
persecution. Beginning with Emperor
Nero, Roman official policy towards Christianity was negative, and at some points, simply being a Christian could be punishable by death. Under Emperor
Diocletian, the
persecution of Christians reached its peak. However, it became an officially supported religion in the Roman state under
Constantine I and became exponentially popular. After a brief and unsuccessful pagan revival by the emperor
Julian the Apostate Christianity became the permanent religion of the empire. All religions except Christianity were prohibited in 391 by an edict of Emperor
Theodosius I.
Art, music and literature
Roman
painting styles show
Greek influences, and surviving examples are primarily
frescoes used to adorn the walls and ceilings of country
villas, though
Roman literature includes mentions of paintings on
wood,
ivory, and other materials. Several examples of Roman painting have been found at
Pompeii, and from these art historians divide the history of Roman painting into four periods. The first style of Roman painting was practiced from the early 2nd century BC to the early- or mid-1st century BC. It was mainly composed of imitations of
marble and
masonry, though sometimes including depictions of mythological characters. The second style of Roman painting began during the early 1st century BC, and attempted to realistically depict three-dimensional architectural features and landscapes. The third style occurred during the reign of
Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), and rejected the
realism of the second style in favor of simple ornamentation. A small architectural scene, landscape, or abstract design was placed in the center with a background. The fourth style, which began in the 1st century AD, depicted scenes from mythology, while retaining architectural details and abstract patterns. In the
Roman military, musical instruments such as the (a long
trumpet) or the
cornu (similar to a
French horn) were used to give various commands, while the
bucina (possibly a trumpet or
horn) and the
lituus (probably an elongated J-shaped instrument), were used in ceremonial capacities. Music was used in the
amphitheaters between fights and in the
odea, and in these settings is known to have featured the
cornu and the
hydraulis (a type of water organ). The majority of religious rituals featured musical performances, with
tibiae (double pipes) at sacrifices,
cymbals and
tambourines at
orgiastic cults, and
rattles and
hymns across the spectrum. Some music historians believe that music was used at almost all public ceremonies. Music historians are not certain as to whether or not Roman musicians made a significant contribution to the
theory or practice of music.
Games and activities
The youth of Rome had several forms of play and exercise, such as
jumping,
wrestling,
boxing, and
racing. In the countryside, pastimes for the wealthy also included fishing and hunting. The Romans also had several forms of ball playing, including one resembling
handball. Plebeians sometimes enjoyed such parties through clubs or associations, although recreational dining usually meant patronizing
taverns. Animal shows were also popular with the Romans, where foreign animals were either displayed for the public or combined with gladiatorial combat. A prisoner or gladiator, armed or unarmed, was thrown into the arena and an animal was released.
The
Circus Maximus, another popular site in Rome, was primarily used for
horse and
chariot racing, and when the circus was flooded, there were even sea battles. It was also used in many other events. It could hold up to 385,000 people; people all over Rome would visit it. Two temples, one with seven large eggs and one with seven dolphins, lay 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 spectators and the racers informed on the race statistics. Other than sports, the Circus Maximus was also an area of
marketing and
gambling. Higher authorities, 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 for over a millennium.
Technology
Ancient Rome boasted the most impressive technological feats of its day, using many advancements that would be lost in the
Middle Ages and not be rivaled again until the 19th and 20th centuries. But though adept at adopting and synthesizing other cultures' technologies, the Roman civilization wasn't especially innovative or progressive. Many practical Roman innovations were adopted from earlier Greek designs. New ideas were rarely developed. 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" didn't yet exist, and advancements were often divided based on craft, as groups of
artisans jealously guarded new technologies as
trade secrets. Nevertheless, a number of vital technological breakthroughs were spread and thoroughly used by Rome, contributing to an enormous degree to Rome's dominance and lasting influence in Europe.
Engineering
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, still remain as testaments to Roman engineering and culture.
Architecture
The Romans were particularly renowned for their
architecture, which is grouped with Greek traditions into "
Classical architecture". During the Roman Republic, it remained stylistically almost identical to
Greek architecture. Although there were many differences from Greek architecture, Rome borrowed heavily from Greece in adhering to strict, formulaic building designs and proportions. Aside from two new
orders of columns,
composite and
Tuscan, and from the
dome, which was derived from the
Etruscan arch, Rome had relatively few architectural innovations until the end of the Republic.
Then, in the 1st century BC, Romans started to widely use
concrete, invented in the late 3rd century BC. It was a powerful
cement derived from
pozzolana, and soon supplanted
marble as the chief Roman building material and allowed many daring architectural schemata. Also in the 1st century BC,
Vitruvius wrote
De architectura, possibly the first complete treatise on architecture in history. In late 1st century BC, Rome also began to use
glassblowing soon after its invention in
Syria about 50 BC.
Mosaics took the Empire by storm after samples were retrieved during
Lucius Cornelius Sulla's campaigns in Greece.
Article on history of Roman concrete
Roads
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 Empire dramatically increased Rome's power and influence. It was originally constructed to allow
Roman legions to be rapidly deployed. But these highways also had enormous economic significance, solidifying Rome's role as a trading crossroads—the origin of the saying "all roads lead to Rome". The Roman government maintained way stations which provided refreshments to travelers at regular intervals 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 kilometers (500 mi) in 24 hours.
Aqueducts
The Romans constructed numerous
aqueducts to supply water to cities and industrial sites and to assist in
their agriculture. The city of Rome was supplied by 11 aqueducts with a combined length of 350 kilometres (220 mi). Most aqueducts were constructed below the surface, with only small portions above ground supported by arches. Sometimes, where depressions deeper than 50 metres (165 ft) had to be crossed,
inverted siphons were used to force water uphill.
Sewers
The Romans also made major advancements in
sanitation. Romans were particularly famous for their public
baths, called
thermae, which were used for both hygienic and social purposes. Many Roman houses came to have
flush toilets and
indoor plumbing, and a complex
sewer system, the
Cloaca Maxima, was used to drain the local
marshes and carry waste into the Tiber river. Some historians have speculated that the use of
lead pipes in the 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
fall of Rome. However, lead content would have been minimized because the flow of water from aqueducts couldn't be shut off; it ran continuously through public and private outlets into the drains, and only a small number of taps were in use.
Military
The early Roman army (c. 500 BC) was, like those of other contemporary city-states influenced by Greek civilization, a citizen
militia which practiced
hoplite tactics. It was small (the population of free males of military age was then about 9,000) and organized in five classes (in parallel to the
comitia centuriata, the body of citizens organized politically), with three providing hoplites and two providing light infantry. The early Roman army was tactically limited and its stance during this period was essentially defensive. By the 3rd century BC, the Romans abandoned the hoplite formation in favor of a more flexible system in which smaller groups of 120 (or in some cases 60) men called
maniples could maneuver more independently on the battlefield. Thirty maniples arranged in three lines with supporting troops constituted a
legion, totaling between 4,000 and 5,000 men. The early Republican legion consisted of five sections, each of which was equipped differently and had different places in formation: the three lines of manipular heavy infantry (
hastati,
principes and
triarii), a force of light infantry (
velites), and the cavalry (
equites). With the new organization came a new orientation toward the offensive and a much more aggressive posture toward adjoining city-states.
At nominal full strength, an early Republican legion would have included 3,600 to 4,800 heavy infantry, several hundred light infantry and several hundred cavalrymen, for a total of 4,000 to 5,000 men. Legions were often significantly understrength from recruitment failures or following periods of active service due to accidents, battle casualties, disease and desertion. During the Civil War, Pompey's legions in the east were at full strength because recently recruited, while Caesar's legions were in many cases well below nominal strength after long active service in Gaul. This pattern also held true for auxiliary forces.
As described by Goldsworthy, both the Greek and Roman phalanx and the early Republican legions were intended to fight large scale battles involving a single quick, decisive clash with the enemy. At this they were generally very successful. At the time of the
Marian reforms in the late Republic (c. 100 BC), further organizational change created a more flexible, resilient and versatile force. The legion was now divided into ten cohorts of 480 men each, comprising three of the old maniples (now called
centuriae or "centuries" commanded by a
centurion). Moreover, the
velites (light infantry) and (probably) the
equites were eliminated and replaced by
auxilia (auxiliary units of cavalry, archers and slingers, and light infantry, usually recruited from non-citizens). There were no other subdivisions within a legion, but many men with specialized skills—medics, engineers, technicians, artillerymen—were included among the legionaries. The centuries in a cohort had a unified command structure and were experienced at working with the other centuries in the cohort as a unit. A legion organized in cohorts was easier to control, and cohorts could easily be detached and act independently where that was useful on the battlefield or a separate smaller force was needed. Accordingly, legions organized in cohorts could conduct operations of almost any scale.
Three long-term trends characterized the development of the Roman army over its history: increasing professionalization, a widening of the base for recruitment, and an increase in the variety and flexibility of military units. Until the late Republican period, the typical legionary was a property-owning citizen farmer from a rural areas (an
adsiduus) who served for particular (often annual) campaigns, and who supplied his own equipment and, in the case of
equites, his own mount. Harris suggests that down to 200 BC, the average rural farmer (who survived) might participate in six or seven campaigns. Freedmen and slaves (wherever resident) and urban citizens didn't serve except in rare emergencies. After 200 BC, economic conditions in rural areas deteriorated as manpower needs increased, so that the property qualifications for service were gradually reduced. Beginning with
Gaius Marius in 107 BC, citizens without property and some urban-dwelling citizens (
proletarii) were enlisted and provided with equipment, although most legionaries continued to come from rural areas. Terms of service became continuous and long—up to twenty years if emergencies required it although Brunt argues that six or seven years was more typical. Beginning in the 3rd century BC, legionaries were paid
stipendium (amounts are disputed but Caesar famously "doubled" payments to his troops to 225
denarii a year), could anticipate booty and donatives (distributions of plunder by commanders) from successful campaigns and, beginning at the time of Marius, often were granted allotments of land upon retirement. Cavalry and light infantry attached to a legion (the
auxilia) were often recruited in the areas where the legion served. These troops were familiar with local conditions and fought in a style adapted to the local terrain. Caesar formed a legion, the Fifth Alaudae, from non-citizens in Transalpine Gaul to serve in his campaigns in Gaul. During the Civil War when large armies were required, both sides raised legions from non-citizens, as Goldsworthy notes, "without bothering with the formality of granting citizenship to the men on enlistment." By the time of Caesar Augustus, the ideal of the citizen-soldier had been abandoned and the legions had become fully professional. Legionaries were paid 900
sesterces a year and could expect a payment of 12,000
sesterces on retirement.
At the end of the
Civil War, Augustus reorganized Roman military forces, discharging soldiers and disbanding legions. He retained 28 legions, which were now based in permanent camps on the frontier along the Rhine and Danube Rivers and in Syria. Composed of about 150,000 citizen legionaries, an approximately equal number of
auxilia and a navy of unknown size, this establishment remained the standard until late in the history of the Empire. During the
Principate, with a few exceptions, warfare was conducted on a smaller scale. The
auxilia were not organized into larger units but remained independent cohorts, and legionary troops themselves often operated as groups of cohorts rather than as full legions. A new versatile type of unit, the
cohortes equitatae, combining cavalry and legionaries in a single formation could be stationed at garrisons or outposts, could fight on their own as balanced small forces or could combine with other similar units as a larger legion-sized force. This increase in organizational flexibility over time helped ensure the long-term success of Roman military forces.
The Emperor
Gallienus (253–268 AD) began yet another reorganization that created the final military structure of the late Empire. Withdrawing some legionaries from the fixed bases on the border, Gallienus created mobile forces (the
Comitatenses or field armies) and stationed them behind and at some distance from the borders as a strategic reserve. This reduced the need to move troops from one province to another to reinforce the border in case of attacks. The border troops (
limitanei) stationed at fixed bases continued to be the first line of defense. The Emperor
Diocletian (284–305 AD) reversed this reorganization but it became the norm by the middle of the 4th century AD. Diocletian also introduced the so-called
Tetrarchy under which the Eastern and Western halves of the Empire were each governed by an "Augustus" (Emperor) and a "Caesar" (junior Emperor), who resided at different locations near the borders and commanded troops within their respective regions. The basic unit of the field army was the "regiment",
legiones or
auxilia for infantry and
vexellationes for cavalry. Evidence suggests that nominal strengths may have been 1,200 men for infantry regiments and 600 for cavalry, although many records show lower actual troop levels (800 and 400). Many infantry and cavalry regiments operated in pairs under the command of a
comes. In addition to Roman troops, the field armies included regiments of "barbarians" recruited from allied tribes and known as
foederati. By 400 AD,
foederati regiments had become permanently established units of the Roman army, paid and equipped by the Empire, led by a Roman tribune and used just as Roman units were used. In addition to the
foederati, the Empire also used groups of barbarians to fight along with the legions as "allies" without integration into the field armies. Under the command of the senior Roman general present, they were led at lower levels by their own officers.
The nature of military leadership evolved greatly over the course of the history of Rome. Under the monarchy, the hoplite armies would have been led by the kings of Rome. During the early and middle Roman Republic, military forces were under the command of one of the two elected
consuls for the year. During the later Republic, members of the Roman Senatorial elite, as part of the normal sequence of elected public offices known as the
cursus honorum, would have served first as
quaestor (often posted as deputies to field commanders), then as
praetor (sometimes posted as provincial governors in charge of military forces in the relevant province), then as consul (supreme command of all military forces). Following the end of a term as praetor or consul, a Senator might be appointed by the Senate as a
propraetor or
proconsul (depending on the highest office previously held) to govern a foreign province. More junior officers (down to but not including the level of centurion) were selected by their commanders from their own
clientelae or those recommended by political allies among the Senatorial elite. Under Augustus, whose most important political priority was to place the military under a permanent and unitary command, the Emperor was the legal commander of each legion but exercised that command through a
legatus (legate) he appointed from the Senatorial elite. In a province with a single legion, the legate would command the legion (
legatus legionis) and also serve as provincial governor, while in a province with more than one legion, each legion would be commanded by a legate and the legates would be commanded by the provincial governor (also a legate but of higher rank). During the later stages of the Imperial period (beginning perhaps with
Diocletian), the Augustan model was abandoned. Provincial governors were stripped of military authority, and command of the armies in a group of provinces was given to generals (
duces) appointed by the Emperor. These were no longer members of the Roman elite but men who came up through the ranks and had seen much practical soldiering. With increasing frequency, these men attempted (sometimes successfully) to usurp the positions of the Emperors who had appointed them. Decreased resources, increasing political chaos and civil war eventually left the Western Empire vulnerable to attack and takeover by neighboring barbarian peoples.
Comparatively less is known about the Roman navy than the Roman army. Prior to the middle of the 3rd century BC, officials known as
duumviri navales commanded a fleet of twenty ships used mainly to control piracy. This fleet was given up in 278 AD and replaced by allied forces. The
First Punic War required that Rome build large fleets, and it did so largely with the assistance of and financing from allies. This reliance on allies continued to the end of the Roman Republic. The
quinquireme was the main warship on both sides of the Punic Wars and remained the mainstay of Roman naval forces until replaced by the time of Caesar Augustus by lighter and more maneuverable vessels. As compared with a
trireme, the quinquireme permitted the use of a mix of experienced and inexperienced crewmen (an advantage for a primarily land-based power), and its lesser maneuverability permitted the Romans to adopt and perfect
boarding tactics using a troop of approximately 40 marines in lieu of the
ram. Ships were commanded by a
navarch, a rank equivalent to a centurion, who were usually not citizens. Potter suggests that because the fleet was dominated by non-Romans, the navy was considered non-Roman and allowed to atrophy in times of peace.
Available information suggests that by the time of the late Empire (350 AD), the Roman navy comprised a number of fleets including both warships and merchant vessels for transportation and supply. Warships were oared sailing galleys with three to five banks of oarsmen. Fleet bases included such ports as Ravenna, Arles, Aquilea, Misenum and the mouth of the Somme River in the West and Alexandria and Rhodes in the East. Flotillas of small river craft (
classes) were part of the
limitanei (border troops) during this period, based at fortified river harbors along the Rhine and the Danube. The fact that prominent generals commanded both armies and fleets suggests that naval forces were treated as auxiliaries to the army and not as an independent service. The details of command structure and fleet strengths during this period are not well known although it's known that fleets were commanded by prefects.
Scholarly studies
The interest in studying ancient Rome arose presumably during the
Age of Enlightenment in
France.
Charles Montesquieu wrote a work
Reflections on the Causes of the Grandeur and Declension of the Romans. The first major work was
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by
Edward Gibbon, which encompassed the period from the end of 2nd century to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. Like Montesquieu Gibbon paid high tribute to the virtue of Roman citizens.
Barthold Georg Niebuhr was a founder of the criticism and wrote
The Roman History, carried until the
First Punic war. Niebuhr has made an attempt to determine the way the Roman tradition appeared. According to him, Romans, like other people, had a historical
ethos which was preserved mainly in the noble families. During the
Napoleonic period the work titled
The History of Romans by
Victor Duruy appeared. It highlighted the
Caesarean period popular at the time.
History of Rome,
Roman constitutional law and
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, all by
Theodor Mommsen, became very important milestones. Later the work
Greatness and Decline of Rome by
Guglielmo Ferrero was published. The Russian work
Очерки по истории римского землевладения, преимущественно в эпоху Империи (
The Outlines on Roman Landownership History, Mainly During the Empire) by
Ivan Grevs contained information on the economy of
Pomponius Atticus, one of the greatest landowners during the end of the Republic.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ancient Roman'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://ancient_rome.totallyexplained.com">Ancient Rome Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
