KS3 - History - BBC Bitesize - The Roman Empire

Question (from part 1)

How many people lived in Rome in AD101?

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus. Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot. In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BCA period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• 100 million

• 100,000

• 10 million

• 100 billion

Question (from part 1)

What is the country “Persia” called today?

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus. Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot. In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BCA period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• Egypt

• Persia

• Iraq

• Iran

Question (from part 1)

What kept the poor happy in the Roman Empire? Select all that apply.

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus. Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot. In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BCA period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• baths

• bread

• circuses

• decadent food

Question (from part 2)

“Legend has it that the brothers could not agree ..... “

What does the word “legend”, mentioned two times in part 2, mean in the text?

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus.

Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot.

In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BCA period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• an untrue and totally made-up story

• a provable true story from historical times

• an old story from ancient times that is not always true

• a historical fact

Question (from part 2)

Who did the Roman people believe were the original “architects” of the city of Rome?

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus.

Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot.

In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BCA period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• Marcus Tullius Cicero

• Spartacus

• Hannibal the slave

• Romulus and Remus

Question (from part 3)

What power did the Emperor of Rome have? Select all that apply.

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus.

Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot.

In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BCA period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• he controlled the Roman government

• he was head of the Army

• he was head of the Roman religion

• he ruled the world

Question (from part 3)

Why were there many rebellions against the Roman Empire?

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus.

Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot.

In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BCA period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• when the Emperor was bad and made bad laws

• when the Emperor was good and made life better

• when the Emperor was brand new

• when the Emperor helped the people

Question (from part 4)

What happened to Caligula?

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus.

Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot.

In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BC A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• he was killed in a battle

• he was assassinated

• he got kidnapped in Britain

• he died from poison

Question (from part 4)

What happened to Claudius?

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus.

Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot.

In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BC A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• he was killed in a battle

• he was assassinated

• he got kidnapped in Britain

• he died from poison

Question (from part 5)

Why did the Romans usually win their military battles? Select all that apply.

Multi-part Text:

Summary of the Roman Empire (Part 1)

In 27BC, Augustus established the Roman Empire, which was from then on ruled by an absolute Emperor though there were many rebellions and plots.

We're going to look at five aspects of the Roman Empire – government, conflict, migration, economy and trade, and everyday life:

It is difficult to know much about politics in the Roman Empire because little survives from the time. Most of what we know about the Roman emperors comes from Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars(AD119). Not only was this many years after the events, but Suetonius hated the emperors for destroying the Senate, and he filled his books with the most disgusting rumours. Trying to construct a history from Suetonius is like trying to write a history of modern times using only celebrity gossip. How far can we trust his account of Rome?

Britain was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD43, despite fierce resistance by the chieftain Caratacus and a rebellion by Boudicca (AD60). However, the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland – their Ninth Legion may have been destroyed there and in the 120s they pulled back behind Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman Empire grew until it stretched from Portugal to Persia (today's Iran), and from Scotland to the Sahara desert. It was at its biggest under the Emperor Trajan in AD101, when it may have had 100 million inhabitants.

Under the 'Pax Romana', which means 'Peace of Rome', merchants traded across the whole known world. Its economy included lead mining, high-tech watermills and reapers, millions of slaves and 'latifundia' (huge agricultural estates). As a result, Rome was incredibly wealthy, with aqueducts, concrete buildings, huge sewers, and lavish baths, and a lifestyle which included decadent meals for the rich, and 'bread and circuses' to keep the poor happy.

After a crisis in the third century AD, Rome slowly declined, and the Western Empire finally collapsed in AD476.

The Origins of Rome (Part 2)

The Romans traced their history back to the year 753BC, and two brothers, Romulus and Remus.

Legend has it that the brothers could not agree where to build a new city and consulted the birds to see which brother had chosen the right spot.

In fact, Rome started to grow in the 6th century BC, out of a number of small villages on hills next to the River Tiber.

Early Roman history is full of wonderful stories, some of which might be little more than legends and others that reflect epic events that actually took place:

Horatius holding the bridge against invaders

How cackling geese saved Rome from capture by the Gauls

Wars against Carthage and the defeat of Hannibal the slave

Revolt of Spartacus

Until 27BC, Rome was a republic and was ruled by the Senate. The most famous senator was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106‒43BC).

By the first century BC, however, the Republic collapsed.

Power (Part 3)

The government of the Roman Empire

In theory, the Emperor was the absolute ruler (this means no-one could question his decisions):

he was head of the Senate, and therefore controlled the government

he was head of the Army – all soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to him

he was also the Pontifex Maximus, which means 'great priest', and therefore head of the Roman religion

In practice, a bad Emperor could 'push people too far' – some emperors struggled to control the Empire, and there were many rebellions and plots.

Senators were supposed to be elected, but they always came from the same aristocratic families. Senators also held all the most important government jobs. In theory, the Senate was a kind of parliament. In practice, all it did was agree to the Emperor's laws.

Provinces safely within the Roman Empire were run by a governor, who was usually a Senator. However, provinces on the Empire's borders – such as Britain – where the Legions were stationed and the wars took place – were always run by an army general.

Rulers of the Roman Empire (Part 4)

44BC ‒ 43BC Julius Caesar

Caesar was not emperor, but he was appointed 'perpetual dictator', which meant that he alone had control. He was assassinated in the Senate by people trying to stop him becoming emperor.

43BC ‒ 27BC A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

27BC ‒ AD14 Augustus

Augustus took control of the Empire by defeating Antony and Cleopatra. He became the first emperor. He conquered Spain and land in north Africa.

14 ‒ 37 Tiberius

Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

37 ‒ 41 Caligula

It is difficult to know what happened in Caligula's reign because the Roman historians who wrote about him portrayed him as an insane tyrant. He fell out with the Senate, ran out of money, and failed to conquer Libya and Britain. There were riots and rebellions throughout the Empire, and he was assassinated.

41 ‒ 54 Claudius

Roman historians portrayed Claudius as an idiot. However, he was the first emperor to use freedmen in the government, and conquered land in Turkey, Judea and Britain. There were a number of plots against him, and he died from poison.

54 ‒ 68 Nero

Nero built public buildings and supported the arts and he even took part in performances himself. He was popular. Roman writers portrayed him as a vicious, insane ruler who 'fiddled while Rome burned' in the great fire of AD64. After a successful rebellion, Nero committed suicide.

68 - 69 The year of four emperors.

A period of wars and trouble – a struggle for power.

69 ‒ 79 Vespasian

Vespasian was a general who eventually took power. He reformed the finances and established strong government.

79 ‒ 81 Titus

Titus completed the Colosseum, the famous huge arena in Rome, and held games which lasted 100 days.

81 ‒ 96 Domitian

Domitian was a dictator. He was assassinated.

96 ‒ 180 'The Five Good Emperors'

Nerva – Trajan – Hadrian – Antoninus Pius – Marcus Aurelius. During this century, the Empire was at peace, and grew to its greatest extent. Historians such as Edward Gibbon (1776) represented this period as a 'golden age' of the Roman Empire, before its decline and fall.Tiberius left Rome in AD26, and ran the Empire from Capri. The court descended into plots and treason trials.

Roman Empire at war (Part 5)

The Roman Empire was almost always at war. The Roman army comprised half-a-million men. This was about 30 legions. The troops were often based a long way from where they had been conscripted. Why might the Romans have had this policy?

There were times when different generals fought for power:

Julius Caesar marched on Rome (44BC) Augustus fought with Antony and Cleopatra (32‒30BC) Vespasian conquered the Empire (AD69)

The Roman Empire was continually expanding – the government needed the money from its conquests. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, who attacked Parthia, now part of Iran, but was unable to defeat them. What might the advantages and disadvantages of this expansion have been for the Empire?

The Romans were not always successful. In AD9, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany. However, in the years that followed, Roman legions marched through the area, slaughtering the Germanic people. The Romans usually won in the end because they had more money, resources and a very effective military machine.

Britain was invaded in AD43

Emperor Claudius brought four legions and war elephants.

Most British tribal chiefs simply surrendered without a fight. Many already had connections with the Romans through trade with Gaul, which included much of what would be called France today.

Caratacus fought two battles, trying to stop the Romans, but was defeated. He was captured, taken back to Rome and paraded through the streets in chains.

The Romans invaded Wales and destroyed the druids on Anglesey in AD60.

The British queen, Boudicca, rebelled in AD60, but was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. But the Romans could not conquer Scotland. Some historians suggest that the Roman 9th Legion was ambushed and destroyed trying to invade Scotland c.AD117, though this is disputed.

Hadrian's Wall was built to mark the northern edge of the Empire in the 120s. The wall, much of which still remains today, ran 73 miles, coast to coast from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east.

Movement and Settlement (Part 6)

The Roman Empire conquered many different peoples all over southern Europe and north Africa. Roman citizens were free to go anywhere they wanted, under the 'Pax Romana' (the Peace of Rome). The Latin language, spoken throughout the empire, was a unifying factor.

Many 'barbarians' from the edges of the Empire, and even from outside the Empire, particularly men from the Germanic tribes, joined the Roman army. The Empire had a policy of using soldiers from outside the country to control it. This was partly so they would be more ruthless and partly to disperse any groups of warriors who might want to oppose the Empire. The 50,000 soldiers who garrisoned Britain included Italians, Thracians, Gauls, Frisians, Germans and Africans. Britons who signed up were sent to the Rhine and the Danube.

In the later years of the Roman Empire, the Empire was invaded, and conquered, by tribes from the north and east – the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Huns. These were huge movements of whole peoples on a vast scale.

Roman Trade (Part 7)

Roman economy was huge and complex:

Historians guess the population of the Roman Empire at 50‒100 million. Today, more than 600 million people live in the lands that were formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were brilliant at mining precious metals. World production of lead in the 1st century AD was not exceeded until 17 centuries later. Rich Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia, worked by slaves.

Roman farming methods were more technologically advanced than the Middle Ages, and they used irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers. Different areas specialised in different produce – eg wine in southern Italy and wheat in Egypt.

Britain was invaded for its wheat crop. There was an extensive trade network to take produce to the towns. The Empire can be seen as a system to take produce from the provinces to the city of Rome. It has been estimated that Rome imported half a million tons of wheat a year.

The Romans built straight, paved roads, such as the Via Appia in Italy. In Britain, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. It was a saying that 'all roads lead to Rome', and the routes and remains of many of them still survive.

The Roman network of roads

Most trade was taken by ship. Archaeologists have found huge numbers of shipwrecks from the time of the Roman Empire.

The Romans in Britain

The Roman invasion stimulated the British economy:

The military Governor raised huge amounts in taxes, which he spent supplying the Roman army of occupation. As a result, the economy boomed. Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil, wine and salted fish.

Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal, such as lead, silver, tin and iron, and also wheat, cloth and slaves.

Life in the Roman Empire (Part 8)

Life in the Roman Empire was as varied as it is today:

Rome, with more than a million inhabitants, was bigger than any modern city in Britain apart from London. It had blocks of flats called 'insulae', streets with pedestrian crossings, lavish public baths, public lavatories seating up to 60 people... and huge amounts of graffiti. Every night hundreds of slaves came out to clean the streets. Wagons were only allowed to use the city at night.

The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to build large buildings, with huge domes. One famous building was the Pantheon, which still survives. A system of nine aqueducts supplied Rome with 222 million gallons of water a day.

There was a system of poor relief called the 'annona', which entitled each Roman freeman to 6 bushels of free wheat a month - enough to make about 450 loaves of bread.

Roman villas had, in addition to the living rooms, underfloor heating called a 'hypocaust', a bath suite, beautiful mosaic floors and red tiled roofs.

Most Romans enjoyed gladiator contests. There were two kinds of gladiator – the retiarius, who used a trident and a net, and different kinds of swordsman, such as the murmillo, the thraex and the secutor, armed in slightly different ways. Sometimes they fought each other, sometimes wild animals. Gladiators – including women gladiators – became as famous as modern footballers.

Education in the time of the Roman Empire involved learning to read and write. Older pupils concentrated on 'rhetoric', which was learning to speak in public, for which they had to learn Greek.

The father was the head of the family, and was allowed to beat his children to death.

Rich Romans held lavish meals with several courses. There was entertainment and lots of wine. When they had eaten as much as they could, the guests would make themselves sick so they could eat some more.

Romans believed the gods controlled nature. They consulted a priest called an augur, who would study the signs, eg birds, or the liver of a slaughtered goat, to see if they would have good luck.

Romans prayed and made sacrifices, but they believed that the gods were pleased by the accuracy of the ceremonies, not by their personal faith or fervency.

In the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306‒337), Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire.

Consequences (Part 9)

The end of the Empire

The Empire eventually came to an end, but many parts of it lasted longer than you might think. The decline began in the third century, but it took several centuries for the Empire to be completely dissolved.

The crisis of the third century led to fifty years of anarchy:

25 different emperors held the throne. The Goths and Vandals invaded. There was hyperinflation. There was a plague (251).

The Emperor Diocletian (284‒305) split the Empire into two - East and West:

The Eastern Roman Empire, based on Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330, lasted until 1453.

The Western Roman Empire, based on Rome, crumbled under invasions by Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visigoths. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer overthrew the Western Roman Empire and became the first barbarian king of Italy.

The successor to the Western Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. Although it was run by the new Germanic leaders it based itself on the Roman Empire and lasted until 1806.

In Britain:

The numbers of Roman soldiers gradually fell as they were taken back to Rome to resist the barbarian invasions. The last Roman soldiers left the country in 410. Saxon pirates attacked and gradually conquered Britain. The legendary King Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who tried to stop them.

Consequences

The Romans have influenced many areas of our life. Some include language, law, science, politics and architecture. Look at the examples below and place them into the categories just mentioned to understand just some of the influences of the Romans. In the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages people rediscovered Roman ideas and applied many of them.

We still have many remains of the Roman Empire in our world today:

Many roads still follow the routes of Roman roads.

The Latin language still survives:

The academic names of flowers and animals.Words such as 'exit' and sayings such as 'carpe diem', which means 'seize the moment'.

Many schools, football clubs and coins have a Latin motto.

The names of the months and the names of the planets.

The French, Italian and Spanish languages are all based on Latin.

The laws of many European countries are based on Roman Law.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe because the Romans made it the religion of their Empire.

In the United States the Senate, which is the part of the body that makes United States law, is named after the Roman Senate.

We still use Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV etc, on clocks, buildings etc.

The Romans invented concrete, which is still used in buildings today.

Many Roman roads, buildings and aqueducts still survive to this day.

Many films and TV dramas have been made about the Roman Empire. eg Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and the Doctor in Doctor Who travels back in time to Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

• more resources

• more money

• a more effective military machine

• better leaders