The Roman Empire was one of the greatest and most influential civilizations in world

history. It began in the city of Rome in 753 BC and lasted for well over 1000 years.
During that time Rome grew to rule much of Europe, Western Asia, and Northern
Africa. Here is a timeline of some of the major events in the history of Ancient Rome.

753 BC - The city of Rome is founded. Legend has it that the twin sons of Mars, the
god of war, named Romulus and Remus founded the city. Romulus killed Remus
and became ruler of Rome and named the city after himself. Rome was ruled by
kings for the next 240 years.

509 BC - Rome becomes a republic. The last king is overthrown and Rome is now
ruled by elected officials called senators. There is a constitution with laws and a
complex republican government.

218 BC - Hannibal invades Italy. Hannibal leads the Carthage army in his famous
crossing of the Alps to attack Rome. This is part of the Second Punic war.

73 BC - Spartacus the gladiator leads the slaves in an uprising.

45 BC - Julius Caesar becomes the first dictator of Rome. Caesar makes his famous
Crossing of the Rubicon and defeats Pompey in a civil war to become the supreme
ruler of Rome. This signals the end of the Roman Republic.

44 BC - Julius Caesar is assassinated on the Ides of March by Marcus Brutus. They
hope to bring back the republic, but civil war breaks out.

27 BC - The Roman Empire begins as Caesar Augustus becomes the first Roman
Emperor.

64 AD - Much of Rome burns. Legend has it that Emperor Nero watched the city
burn while playing a lyre.

80 AD - The Colosseum is built. One of the great examples of Roman engineering is
finished. It can seat 50,000 spectators.
121 AD - The Hadrian Wall is built. To keep out the barbarians a long wall is built
across northern England.

306 AD - Constantine becomes Emperor. Constantine would convert to Christianity
and Rome would become a Christian empire. Prior to this Rome persecuted the
Christians.

380 AD - Theodosius I declares Christianity to be the sole religion of the Roman
Empire.

395 AD - Rome splits into two empires.

410 AD - The Visigoths sack Rome. This is the first time in 800 years that the city of
Rome has fallen to an enemy.

476 AD - The end of the Western Roman Empire and the fall of Ancient Rome. The
last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus is defeated by the German Goth Odoacer.
This signals the start of the Dark Ages in Europe.

1453 AD - The Byzantine Empire comes to an end as it falls to the Ottoman Empire
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Fashion
The Romans mainly wore clothes made of wool (and linen was
also imported from across the Roman Empire). The style of
clothing was influenced by the clothing worn by the Ancient
Greeks, but it also evolved over time, incorporating fashions
from all over the Empire.
facts-about-ancient-roman-clothes-and-costume
Ancient Roman Jobs

Ancient Rome was a complex society that required a number of different job
functions and skills to function. Most of the menial tasks were performed by slaves.
Here are some of the jobs a Roman citizen might have:
Farmer - Most of the Romans who lived in the countryside were farmers. The
most common crop was wheat which was used to make bread.
Soldier - The Roman Army was large and needed soldiers. The army was a
way for the poorer class to earn a regular wage and to gain some valuable
land at the end of their service. It was a good way for the poor to move up in
status.
Merchant - Merchants of all sorts sold and bought items from around the
Empire. They kept the economy rolling and the Empire rich.
Craftsman - From making dishes and pots to crafting fine jewelry and
weapons for the army, craftsmen were important to the empire. Some
craftsmen worked in individual shops and learned a specific craft, usually from
their father. Others were slaves, who worked in large workshops that
produced items in large quantities such as dishes or pots.
Entertainers - The people of Ancient Rome liked to be entertained. Just like
today, there were a number of entertainers in Rome including musicians,
dancers, actors, chariot racers, and gladiators.
Lawyers, Teachers, Engineers - The more educated Romans could become
lawyers, teachers, and engineers.
Government - The government of Ancient Rome was huge. There were all
sorts of government jobs from tax collectors and clerks to high ranking
positions like Senators. The Senators were the wealthy and the powerful.
Senators served in their position for life and at times there were as many as
600 members of the Senate.
Food

Most Romans ate a light breakfast and little food during the day. They would
then have a large dinner. Dinner was a major event starting at around three in
the afternoon. They would lie on their sides on a couch and be served by the
servants. They ate with their hands and would rinse their hands often in water
during the meal.

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

Clothing

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

Tunic - The tunic was more like a long shirt. Tunics were worn by the rich
around the house and under their togas. They were the regular dress of the
poor.
http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome
_food_daily_life.php
The lower class Romans (plebeians) might have a breakfast of
bread, dry or dipped in wine, and water. Sometimes olives, cheese, or raisins were
sprinkled on the bread. In 1c CE, it became the custom to distribute bread daily to
the unemployed. Workmen, on their way to work, grabbed some bread, and ate it
on the way.
The upper class Romans (patricians) enjoyed fresh meat, fish,
fruits, vegetables, bread, and used honey to sweeten food. (Sugar was unknown).
They had slaves to cook and clean. Slaves cut their food for them, as they didn't
use forks or knives, but ate with their fingers. A wet towel was handy (or brought
by slaves) to tidy up after a meal. Early in the morning, schoolboys, on the run,
often stopped at a bakery for a quick meal, or to buy a pancake to eat on their way
to school.


Afternoon: In the afternoon, wealthy Romans took
some time to rest at home, or to relax with friends.
The poor worked constantly.
Luncheon was usually a cold meal, eaten about 11
o'clock in the morning. Lunch was bread, salad, olives,
cheese, fruit, nuts, and cold meat left over from dinner
the night before.
Siesta: After lunch, the ancient Romans enjoyed a
midday rest or siesta. In summer, nearly everybody took
a nap. In ancient Rome, the streets were as nearly
deserted during the midday rest period as they were at
midnight. Even kids got a 2-3 hour break from school
during the midday rest. (After siesta, kids returned to
school to finish their school day.)


During the Republic: (And perhaps almost
through the second century BCE) Romans ate mostly
vegetables, and dined very simply.
Meals were prepared by the mother or by female slaves
under her direction.
A table was set up in the atrium of the house. The father,
The upper class Romans (patricians) had dinners that
were quite elaborate. The men had the dinner parties;
(decent) women and children ate separately. They ate
many different foods, drank lots of wine, and spent hours
mother, and children sat on stools around the table. Often
the kids waited on their parents.
Table knives and forks were unknown, but the Romans
had spoons like ours today. Before food was served, it
was cut into finger food, and eaten by using your fingers
or a spoon.
In the last two centuries of the Republic, this simple style
of living changed a bit. A separate dining room was
designed. In place of benches or stools, there were dining
couches.
During the Empire:
The lower class Romans (plebeians) might have a
dinner of porridge made of vegetables, or, when they
could afford it, fish, bread, olives, and wine, and meat on
occasion.
Since many of the lower class were citizens, the ancient
Romans had a program to help them, somewhat like a
welfare program. The welfare program was called the
annona.
There was also a separate WIC-type or school-lunch
program (the alimenta), just for kids, which was
instituted, or at least greatly developed in early 2c CE.
In the regular food welfare system, people were issued
welfare stamps, which were little tokens, called tesserae.
How these were issued (remember there was no open
public postal system), and how Romans identified
themselves to the authorities in the first place, we (the
authors of this article) do not know. You showed up with
your tokens (tesserae) and containers, at large
government warehouses. You got wheat flour -- or bread
already baked from government bakeries, and other
foodstuffs. Meat was distributed on special occasions
with special tokens.
at dinner. Quite often, the men's dinner parties had
entertainment, such as dancing girls or a play, or both.
Men reclined on couches, arranged around the dinner
table. In their separate dining quarters, women and
children usually sat on chairs. As things loosened up in
the late Empire, decent women could go to a dinner party.
To make up for it, there were several types of events that
only women attend, the most prominent of which was the
religious/social Festival of the Bona Dea, the "Good
Goddess", held in the house of the hostess. If a man went
to the Bona Dea, even the woman's husband in what was
after all his own house, he could be put to death!
Julius Caesar divorced one of his wives because there
were rumors that a man had slipped into the Bona Dea
festival at his house. Although it was never proved, it was
on that occasion that Caesar said that not only Caesar's
wife should be above reproach, she should be "seen" to
be, as well.

The ancient Romans loved games and festivals. They
were either preparing for or enjoying some sort of festival
or celebration just about every day of the year! In the
process, the ancient Romans "invented" the origins of
many of the fun holiday activities we enjoy today.
Valentine's Day: The ancient Roman festival
called Lupercalia honored love. On this day, young
people in ancient Rome chose future marriage partners by
drawing names from a hat. Can you imagine choosing
your husband or wife by drawing a name from a hat? As
you might guess, some of these relationships did not turn
out very well and did not last very long. But some worked
out very well. Some couples stayed married for life.
The Roman god Cupid has played a role in the celebration
of love for a very long time. To the ancient Romans,
Cupid was the son of Venus (the Roman goddess of love
& beauty.)
May Day: Some people believe the ancient Romans
"invented" the May Pole! Like other ancient civilizations,
the ancient Romans worshipped many gods and
goddesses. To honor the deities of new life and flowers,
legend suggests they cut down a tree, decorated it with
ribbons, then danced around it. This was the beginning of
the May Pole. It could be true. It would certainly be in
character!
No one is quite sure who first originated the idea of May
Day, but for all the ancient cultures, the coming of
summer was cause for celebration. It meant food could be
gathered and planted. As part of their celebration, some
ancient people gathered flowers and put them on window
ledges to keep out pesky spirits. Others filled baskets with
gifts and greenery to give to friends and loved ones.
Decorating with greenery: The ancient
Romans loved celebrations. They especially enjoyed a
holiday they celebrated around the 25th of December. The
Romans feasted, gave gifts, were merry, and decorated
their homes with greenery, customs they borrowed from
the ancient Greeks!
Because of the well-built Roman
roads, the success of the legionnaires,
and the leadership of Rome's more able
emperors and generals, the Roman
Empire grew to enormous proportions.
It was huge! It covered most of
Europe, most of North Africa, and
some of Asia. That created problems.
It was getting difficult to
manage the empire
effectively.
Word went out from Rome, but the
provinces did not always do what they
were told. Rome seemed very far away
to the people in the provinces.
The provinces were putting
a great financial strain on
Rome.
Taxes and trade goods from the
provinces were pouring into Rome, but
supplies to support the provinces were
also pouring out. Money was needed to
build new roads, to support the
legionnaires, and to enable more
growth. Rome needed more growth
because they needed new regions to
tax, to refill Rome's treasury.
When the old emperor died, the army
selected General Diocletian to be the
new emperor of Rome. One of the first
things Emperor Diocletian did was to
put price controls in place to help stop
inflation. He created a law that stated if
you charged more than the price limit,
you could be killed. The punishment
for breaking any of his laws was quite
severe.
The Solution: After some
thought, Emperor Diocletian decided
the only thing to do with Rome was to
split the empire in half. That way, it
would be easier to manage. This
created two Roman empires - the
Western Roman Empire and the
Eastern Roman Empire. Each side had
a ruler in charge of it. But the ruler
who was in charge of Rome was the
senior ruler.
The Western Roman
Empire (Europe/North Africa)
included the city of Rome.
The Eastern Roman
Empire (Turkey/parts of Asia)
included the city of Byzantium.
Rather than rule Rome, Diocletian
chose to rule the Eastern Roman
Empire. He placed a good friend in
charge of Rome. Before he left town,
Emperor Diocletian moved a great deal
of Rome's money over to the Eastern
Roman Empire. He left Rome forever.

The lower class Romans
(plebeians) lived in apartment
houses, called flats, above or behind
their shops. Even fairly well-to-do
tradesmen might chose to live in an
apartment-building compound over
their store, with maybe renters on the
upper stories. Their own apartments
might be quite roomy, sanitary and
pleasant, occasionally with running
water. But others were not that nice.
In the apartment houses, or flats, an
entire family (grandparents, parents,
children) might all be crowded into
one room, without running water. They
had to haul their water in from public
facilities.
Fire was a very real threat because
people were cooking meals in crowded
quarters, and many of the flats were
made of wood.
They didn't have toilets. They had to
use public latrines (toilets).
The upper class Romans
(patricians) lived very differently.
Their homes were single family
homes, which in ancient Rome meant
the great grandparents, grandparents,
parents, and kids of one family lived in
a home together.
Homes were made, quite often, of
brick with red tile roofs, with rooms
arranged around a central courtyard.
The windows and balconies faced the
courtyard, not the street, to keep homes
safe from burglars. There were
painting on the walls and beautiful
mosaics on the floor. There was very
little furniture, and no carpeting.
Wealthy Romans might have a house
with a front door, bedrooms, an office,
a kitchen, a dining room, a garden, a
temple, an atrium, a toilet, and a
private bath
Bathing was very important to the
ancient Romans. Romans would visit
the public baths every day, even holy
and feast days. These were not co-ed.
Each public bathhouse either had
separate pools for men and women or
had different hours for men and
women.
The Bathhouses: The bathhouse
was more than just a place to wash. It
was kind of like what shopping malls
are today. It was a place to meet
friends, a place where you could get
something to eat, a place to workout,
even a place to read the days news.
You could even get your hair cut and
styled. Inside the bathhouse were both
hot and cold pools, saunas, workout
rooms, reading rooms restaurants and
even hair salons. And of course there
were many slaves to pamper you.
Unlike our shopping malls today, you
had to pay to enter the public bath.
Children and slaves were not supposed
to enter (of course if you had enough
money or power you could bring your
personal slaves with you). The
bathhouse was a very important part of
every Romans day.


http://rome.mrdonn.org

Bathing was very important to the ancient Romans. Romans would visit the public
baths every day, even holy and feast days. These were not co-ed. Each public
bathhouse either had separate pools for men and women or had different hours for
men and women.
The Bathhouses: The bathhouse was more than just a place to wash. It was
kind of like what shopping malls are today. It was a place to meet friends, a place
where you could get something to eat, a place to workout, even a place to read the
days news. You could even get your hair cut and styled. Inside the bathhouse were
both hot and cold pools, saunas, workout rooms, reading rooms restaurants and
even hair salons. And of course there were many slaves to pamper you.
Unlike our shopping malls today, you had to pay to enter the public bath. Children
and slaves were not supposed to enter (of course if you had enough money or
power you could bring your personal slaves with you). The bathhouse was a very
important part of every Romans day.