ItalianHistory.info The Romans

The Romans

According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus, and was then governed by seven Kings of Rome. In the following centuries, Rome started expanding its territory, defeating its neighbours (Veium, the other Latins, the Sannites) one after the other.

The Roman Empire represented as Luna on the Altar of Peace (9BC) built to celebrate the peace of Augustus after bitter preceding civil wars

Italia, under the Roman Republic and later Empire, was the Italian peninsula from Rubicon to Calabria. During the Republic, Italia was not a province, but rather the territory of the city of Rome, thus having a special status: for example, military commanders were not allowed to bring their armies within Italia, and Julius Caesar passing the Rubicon with his legions marked the start of the civil war.

growth of Roman power

a detailed map of the Roman Empire in 395 A.D.

The Italian "province" was privileged by Augustus and his heirs, with the construction, among other public structures, of a dense mesh of roads. The Italian economy flourished: agriculture, handicraft and industry had a sensible growth, allowing the export of goods to the other provinces. The Italian population grew as well: Three census were ordered by Augustus, to record the presence of male citizens in Italia. They were 4,063,000 in 28 BC, 4,233,000 in 8 BC, and 4,937,000 in AD 14. Including the women and the children, the total population of Italia at the beginning of the 1st century was around 10 million.

The emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-80AD) receiving the surrender of barbarians. Although a lover of philosophy, he spent most of his reign at war.

After the death of emperor Theodosius I (395), Italia became part of the Western Roman Empire. Then came the years of the barbarian invasions, and the capital was moved from Mediolanum to Ravenna. In 476, with the death of Romulus Augustulus and the return of the imperial ensigns to Constantinople, the Western Roman Empire ends; for a few years Italia stayed united under the rule of Odovacer, but later it was divided between several kingdoms, and did not reunite under a single ruler until thirteen centuries later.

During the later years of the Roman empire the church grew in size and importance. By the time of Theodosius paganism became a crime against the state .

What the Roman Forum looked like at the height of Roman power. From the left: Curia,Rostra and Basilica Aemilia

The interior of the Pantheon, built by Agrippa in the 1st century B.C. A temple dedicated to all the Gods.

Reconstruction of the Flavian Amphitheater or Colosseum in the early 1st century. Started by Vespasian and finished by Domitian and could hold 50,000. The gladiators who paraded before the emperor and spectators before the games yelled: Ave Caesar, Morturi te salutant ! ( Caeser, those about to die salute you ! ). A canopy (velarium) was constructed to protect the spectators from the sun controlled by sailors expert in handling rigging.

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