Meet The Romans!

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Meet The Romans!
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The Roman World

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

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More of the Roman World

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

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The City of Rome
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The City of Rome

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

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Government

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

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Emperors

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

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The Roman Army

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

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Gods and Temples

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

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The Roman Baths

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

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A Roman House

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

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Clothing

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

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A Roman Holiday

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

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Roman Influences

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

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More Roman Influences

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