Ancient Rome

This article is about the history of Roman civilisation in antiquity. For the history of the city of Rome, see History of Rome. For other uses, see Ancient Rome (disambiguation).

In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It includes the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC – 476 AD), which lasted until the fall of the western empire.

Ancient Rome began as an Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian Peninsula. The settlement grew into the city and state of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through treaties and military strength. Over time it controlled the whole Italian Peninsula, bringing together the Greek culture of Magna Graecia (in southern Italy) and the Etruscan culture in north-central Italy. It then became the leading power in the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe. At its height, it controlled the North African coast, the Iberian and Balkan peninsulas, most of Southern and Western Europe, and much of the Middle East, including Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, parts of Mesopotamia and Arabia, and Crimea. In AD 117, it was among the largest empires in the ancient world, covering around 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles), with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants, roughly 20% of the world's population at the time. The Roman state changed from an elective monarchy to a classical republic, and then to an increasingly strict military dictatorship during the Empire.

Ancient Rome is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece. Their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Roman civilisation contributed to modern language, religion, society, technology, law, politics, government, warfare, art, literature, architecture, and engineering. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, which inspired modern republics such as the United States and France. Rome also achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the empire-wide construction of aqueducts and roads, as well as grand monuments and facilities.

History

Ancient Rome began as a small Italic settlement beside the River Tiber, traditionally dated to 753 BC. The settlement grew into a city that came to control its neighbours through treaties and military strength. Rome was ruled by kings at first, and around 509 BC the Roman Republic was set up, with elected officials and assemblies. Rome gradually took control of the other peoples of the Italian peninsula. Its biggest rival was Carthage, another great power in the Western Mediterranean. After a series of Punic Wars, Rome became the dominant power around the Mediterranean Sea.

In the 1st century BC, Rome faced political division, unrest, and civil wars. Caesar conquered Gaul and gained great power in Rome, and after his death in 44 BC, his adopted heir Octavian rose to lead the state. In 27 BC, Octavian took the name Augustus, which historians usually mark as the start of the Roman Empire. His rule brought a long period of peace known as the Pax Romana. Later, the Crisis of the Third Century brought civil wars and economic trouble, and Diocletian helped restore order. Constantine later became a Christian and rebuilt the city of Byzantium, which was renamed New Rome. In 476 AD, the rule of the Western Roman Empire came to an end, and the Eastern Empire continued for almost 1000 more years.

Society

Rome was the largest city in the empire, with an estimated population of between 450,000 and nearly one million people. Many other towns across the empire had forums, temples, and buildings similar to Rome's. The average life expectancy in the Middle Empire was about 26 to 28 years. Roman society was ranked by class. At the bottom were slaves, above them were freedmen, and at the top were free-born citizens. Among citizens, the patricians, whose families went back to the founders of the city, held special status, while the plebeians did not. Wealth also shaped power. The richest class dominated politics and the army, and the poorest citizens often could not cast their votes. Women shared some basic rights, but they could not vote or take part in politics.

The Roman Senate and the assemblies of citizens shared power in the Republic, but the Roman emperor gained more and more control over time. Families were led by the oldest male citizen, the pater familias. Boys were usually taught by their parents or by educated slaves, and some children went to private schools. Roman law also left a lasting mark, and its ideas influenced later laws in Western Europe.

Main article: Roman law

Main articles: Social class in ancient Rome and Status in Roman legal system

Main article: Education in ancient Rome

Main articles: Roman Constitution and History of the Roman Constitution

Further information: History of citizenship § Roman conceptions of citizenship

Main articles: Military history of ancient Rome, Military of ancient Rome, Structural history of the Roman military, Roman army, and Roman navy

Main articles: Roman economy, Roman agriculture, Roman commerce, Roman finance, Roman currency, and Roman metallurgy

Main article: Family in ancient Rome

See also: Roman timekeeping, Roman calendar, and Roman consul § Consular dating

Culture

Main article: Culture of ancient Rome

Life in ancient Rome centred on the city of Rome, which was built on seven hills. The city had many large buildings, including the Colosseum, Trajan's Forum and the Pantheon. It also had theatres, gymnasiums, markets, sewers, and bath complexes with libraries and shops. Fresh water reached its fountains through hundreds of miles of aqueducts. Homes ranged from simple houses to country villas. Many ordinary people lived in crowded apartment blocks called insulae, while the emperors had homes on Palatine Hill.

Romans spoke Latin, and many of their customs were shaped by the Greeks they met. Romans worshipped many gods and believed in sacred spirits. Christianity was discouraged at first, but it became an officially supported religion under Constantine I. Roman art includes many frescoes, and Roman writers produced poetry, history, and plays. Ordinary Romans often ate in taverns and enjoyed games. The Colosseum was built in 70 AD and opened in 80 AD for gladiator fights and other events. Chariot racing was very popular, and the Circus Maximus could seat around 150,000 people.

Technology

Main article: Ancient Roman technology

Ancient Rome had impressive technology. Many of its skills were lost in the Middle Ages and were not matched again until the 19th and 20th centuries. For example, insulated glazing was not invented again until the 1930s. Many useful Roman ideas came from earlier Greek designs, and artisans often kept their methods as trade secrets. Roman civil engineering and military engineering helped Rome build hundreds of roads, bridges, aqueducts, public baths, theatres and arenas. Famous buildings such as the Colosseum, Pont du Gard and Pantheon still show Roman skill. Roman architecture is grouped with Greek traditions as "Classical architecture", though Rome also borrowed heavily from Greek architecture. Rome added the composite and Tuscan orders of columns and the dome, which came from the Etruscan arch. From the 1st century BC, Romans widely used Roman concrete, which had been invented in the late 3rd century BC and was made from pozzolana. It replaced marble as the main building material. Vitruvius also wrote De architectura in the 1st century BC, possibly the first complete book on architecture. Romans also built much with timber, which caused the woodlands around Rome to shrink quickly. Wood planks even travelled from the Jura mountains in France, floating along the Saône and Rhône rivers from what is now Lyon in France.

Roman roads were known for being strong and well built, and many parts were still in use a thousand years after Rome fell. These Roman roads let Roman legions move quickly and helped make Rome a trading crossroads, which is why people say "all roads lead to Rome". The government ran way stations called the cursus publicus. Romans built many aqueducts to bring water to cities, and by the third century, Rome was supplied by 11 aqueducts. Romans were famous for their public baths, called thermae, and many homes had flush toilets and indoor plumbing. The sewer system called the Cloaca Maxima drained local marshes and carried waste into the Tiber. Some historians have suggested that lead pipes may have led to lead poisoning, which may have contributed to the fall of Rome, though the amount of lead would have been kept low.

Legacy

Main articles: Legacy of the Roman Empire and Classics

Ancient Rome is the starting point of Western civilisation. Many parts of Western life come from Roman advances, including customs, religion, law, technology, architecture, political system, military, literature, languages, alphabet, and government.

When people rediscovered Roman culture, it gave new life to Western civilisation. It played a part in the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.

Historiography

Main article: Roman historiography

Two of the longest ancient accounts of Roman history, by Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, were written about 500 years after the founding of the republic. Many other works about ancient Roman history have been lost, which leaves gaps. Some of these gaps are filled by unreliable works, such as the Historia Augusta. Julius Caesar wrote his own accounts of his military campaigns in Gaul and during the Civil War, partly to impress people of his own time. In the Roman Empire, biographies of famous men and early emperors became popular, such as Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars and Plutarch's Parallel Lives.

Interest in studying and admiring ancient Rome grew during the Italian Renaissance. Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire "began the modern study of Roman history in the English-speaking world." Barthold Georg Niebuhr was a founder of the study of ancient Roman history. His work traced the period until the First Punic War. Later, Theodor Mommsen wrote works such as History of Rome that became important milestones.