The Romans - Kayden Rice: 3D Gallery

The Roman Empire

While the Romans were based in Rome in Italy, they ruled over land that went far beyond the borders of Rome. This was called the Roman Empire, and it covered large parts of land all around the Mediterranean Sea – even part of Great Britain.

The Romans got this land mostly by fighting battles with other groups of people, like the Celts in Britain – when the Romans won, they’d get more territory to add to the Empire. This meant that Roman culture had a huge influence on other cultures, and it’s why finding Roman artefacts (like coins), and ruins of Roman walls and buildings (like Hadrian’s Wall) is so common in the British Isles today.

The Roman Army

The Roman army was made up of groups of soldiers called legions. There were over 5,000 soldiers in a legion. Each legion had its own number, name, badge and fortress.

There were about 30 legions around the Roman Empire, three of which were based in Britain at Caerleon, Chester and York.

Tombstones at Chester indicate that some men joined the legions young; two men had been only fourteen when they had joined up.

A legion had commanders, officers and ordinary soldiers. There were also doctors, engineers and other workers

The Roman Soldiers

Here are some facts about Roman soldiers:

Only men over the age of twenty could become a soldier and join one of the legions of the Roman Army.
All regular Roman soldiers (legionaries) were Roman citizens, but this didn’t mean that they had to live in Rome. Soldiers came from all over the Roman Empire, from places such as: Africa, Spain, Germany, Britain and France.

Non-Roman citizens were still able to fight for Rome as auxiliaries. However, auxiliary troops did not earn as much as the legionaries and they didn’t have such high-quality armour, weapons and equipment.
Roman soldiers had to serve in the army for twenty-five years before they were permitted to retire. They received a pension or a gift of land when they left the army.
Roman legionaries were not allowed to get married.

Everyday Roman Life

A Typical Day

A typical Roman day would start off with a light breakfast and then off to work. Work would end in the early afternoon when many Romans would take a quick trip to the baths to bathe and socialize. At around 3pm they would have dinner which was as much of a social event as a meal.

Family

The family unit was very important to the Romans. The head of the family was the father called the paterfamilias. Legally, he had all the power in the family. However, usually the wife had a strong say in what went on in the family. She often handled the finances and managed the household.

School

Roman children started school at the age of 7. Wealthy children would be taught by a full time tutor. Other children went to public school. They studied subjects such as reading, writing, math, literature, and debate. School was mostly for boys, however some wealthy girls were tutored at home. Poor children did not get to go to school.

Food

Typical food would have been bread. beans, fish, vegetables, cheese, and dried fruit. They ate little meat. The rich would have had a variety of foods in fancy sauces. How the food looked was just as important as the taste. Some of the food they ate would seem very strange to us, such as mice and peacock tongues.

Clothing

Toga - The toga was a long robe made up of several yards of material. The wealthy wore white togas made from wool or linen. Some colors and markings on togas were reserved for certain people and certain occasions. For example, a toga with a purple border was worn by high ranking senators and consuls, while a black toga was generally only worn during times of mourning. The toga was uncomfortable and hard to wear and was generally only worn in public, not around the house. In later years, the toga grew out of style and most people wore a tunic with a cloak when it was cold.

Tunic - The tunic was more like a long shirt. Tunics were worn by the rich around the house and under their togas. They were the regular dress of the poor.

The Circus Maximus

The Circus Maximus was a public entertainment centre. The Maximus was used mostly for chariot racing. It could seat 250,000 people! (That's a quarter of a million people!) There were other circuses around the empire. But the Circus Maximus was the most well known. It was the height of success to race in the Maximus.

Chariot Racing

Chariot-racing was a very popular sport all over the Roman Empire.

Roman chariots were ultra lightweight and flimsy. There was just enough room for a man to stand on and hold the reins. In an accident, the chariot would fall to pieces in an instant and hurl the charioteer out.

There were three main types of chariots:

Two-horse chariots (biga)

Three-horse chariot (triga)

Four-horse chariot (quadra)

Charioteers were usually slaves

The Colosseum

The Colosseum was a huge public entertainment centre. The Colosseum could seat 45,000 spectators! This is where the ancient Romans gathered to watch bloody combat between gladiators, and battles between men and wild animals. This is where they threw criminals to the lions. These were public executions of convicted criminals. To see criminals being killed was very entertaining to the ancient Romans. On occasion, they flooded the Colosseum with water to hold naval battles where many competitors died. Not all Romans loved the bloody sports in the Colosseum, but most did. The big draws were the battles between men. Gladiators were superstars. The crowd decided if losers lived or died. If you waved a handkerchief, he lived. Thumbs down he died. Majority rules. There were female gladiators, but they were not large in numbers.

Augustus (63 BC-14 AD)

The Roman Emperors

The Legacy of the Romans

Language - The language we used today was developed from the Romans. The Romans spoke and wrote in Latin and many of our words are based on Latin words.

The Calendar - Did you know that the calendar we use today is more than 2,000 years old? It was started by Julius Caesar, a Roman ruler. It is based on the movement of the earth around the sun, and so is called the 'solar calendar.' The names of our months are taken from the names of Roman gods and rulers. The month 'July,' in fact, is named after Julius Caesar himself!

Laws and a legal system - The laws and ways we determine what to do with someone who is accused of breaking a law came originally from the Roman Empire.

The Census - The Roman Empire was huge and included millions of people living over a large area. How did they keep track of all these people? Easy! They counted them! The Roman Empire began the practice of taking a census, or a 'count,' of all the people within its boundaries every so often. Today, many countries like ours take a census every 10 years.

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The Romans - Kayden Rice