Meet The Romans!

1. Meet The Romans!

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. The City of Rome

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

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