Lives of the Roman People Mr. Blais World Studies

The Pax Romana The Pax Romana, or ‘Roman Peace’ lasted about 200 years (From 30 B.C. to 170 A.D.) This period was relatively stable and people of the empire prospered. At its height the empire covered 3 million square miles and had a population of 60-80 mil.

The Roman Economy Agriculture and Trade were the foundations of the Roman economy About 90% of people in the empire engaged in farming Trade throughout the empire was facilitated by the Mediterranean Sea and vast road networks that crisscrossed the empire.

Roman Family Father was the absolute head of household and family until his death. He could: Choose to except or kill a newborn Disown a child or sell it into slavery Arrange marriages Women were excluded from public life but unmarried women would later gain some rights to own and inherit property Marriage was common and monogamous in Ancient Rome. It was used as a way to demonstrate one’s love, legitimize children, and/or improve social status. Divorce and remarriage were common and could be initiated by either spouse with relatively little cause. An estimated 1 in 6 upper-class marriages ended in divorce within 10 years.

Roman Family and Education Children accepted by their father gained full citizenship and took his name Children not accepted were left on the street without a home and illegitimate children had no rights and took the mothers name. Boys were commonly adopted by other families for political reasons. They took the new family name and lost all legal ties to their original family Boys and girls went to school from age 7 to 11 to learn reading, writing, and math Poor boys then went to work while rich boys went to school to learn about rhetoric, politics, and law Many rich and poor boys would enter the military around 16 or 17 Girls stayed at home and learned form their mother however some rich girls got private tutors and other women even owned shops.

Roman Religion Ancient Rome’s state religion was polytheistic. They believed in many gods that were always present and controlled different aspects of the world around them. Therefore sacrifices and religious rituals were a major part of daily life. Overtime the gods they worshipped expanded to include gods and goddesses from other regions in the empire. In Rome’s last hundred years the state religion was changed to Christianity. (Worship of a single God)

Roman Alphabet and Numbers The Roman’s spoke and wrote using primarily Latin and some Greek. Their alphabet was based on the Greek alphabet and is the basis of our alphabet today. But their alphabet only had 23 letters. (Missing J, U, + W) Their numeral system was clumsy and had no representation for zero. Symbols represented certain numbers and you had to combine many different symbol to make the number you needed

Roman Entertainment Cities of the Roman empire were crowded and had many poor and unemployed So to avoid riots and keep people relatively happy the government provided free entertainment Most popular forms of entertainment were: gladiatorial games - people could watch slaves, prisoners, and animals fight to the death. chariot racing – comparable to todays harness racing Their stadiums, like the Colosseum, were in many ways even more impressive than the games themselves.

Roman Architecture The Romans built amazing architectural structures. Their materials included: stone and concrete (for the wealthy or government buildings) Simple bricks and wood (For lower classes and outlying areas) The Roman’s extensively used the arch in construction which allowed for more open space without decreasing strength Arches helped create windows, doors, hallways, and roofs.

Roman Architecture Some of the most famous architectural structures included: The Colosseum which was used for gladiatorial games The Pantheon which was built to honor the gods and had a 142 foot dome Trajan’s Market which was the primary trading market in Rome with over 150 shops Nero’s Palace built after the fire in Rome as a monument to himself

Roman Roads The Romans built extremely durable roads to connect the far reaches of its empire. The roads were originally constructed to move armies quickly and efficiently around the empire but would be used by all Roman citizens Major roads were 15 feet wide, had a 5 foot deep foundation, and drainage ditches on both sides. They built over 53,000 miles of roads and many Roman roads are still in use today.

Roman Aqueducts Aqueducts were built by the Romans to bring a consistent flow of fresh water from rural areas into the cities. They were built with a slight gradient to avoid using pumps This water supply facilitated the building of indoor plumbing, public baths, and restrooms. There were 7 major aqueducts built just for the city of Rome which could supply an average of 25 Million cubic feet of water a day