Portal:Ancient Rome

The Ancient Rome portal The Colosseum A bust of Gaius Julius Caesar In historiography, ancient Rome is Roman civilization 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, encompassing the Roman Kingdom (753 BC–509 BC), Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. The civilisation began as an Italic settlement in the Italian Peninsula, traditionally dated to 753 BC, that grew into the city of Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it ruled and to the widespread civilisation the empire developed. The civilization was led and ruled by the Romans, alternately considered an ethnic group or a nationality. The Roman Empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world, still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world's population at the time) and covering 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) at its height in AD 117. In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from an elective monarchy to a democratic classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic semi-elective military dictatorship during the Empire. Through conquest, cultural, and linguistic assimilation, at its height it controlled the North African coast, Egypt, Southern Europe, and most of Western Europe, the Balkans, Crimea and much of the Middle East, including Anatolia, Levant and parts of Mesopotamia and Arabia. It is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has 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, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the construction of an extensive system of aqueducts and roads, as well as the construction of large monuments, palaces, and public facilities. The Punic Wars with Carthage were decisive in establishing Rome as a world power. In this series of wars, Rome gained control of the strategic islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily; took Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal); and destroyed the city of Carthage in 146 BC, giving Rome supremacy in the Mediterranean. By the end of the Republic (27 BC), Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond: its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia and from the mouth of the Rhine to North Africa. The Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus. Seven-hundred and twenty-one years of Roman–Persian Wars started in 92 BC with the first struggle against Parthia. It would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak. It stretched from the entire Mediterranean Basin to the beaches of the North Sea in the north, to the shores of the Red and Caspian Seas in the East. Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would temporarily divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century before some stability was restored in the Tetrarchy phase of imperial rule. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire broke up into independent barbarian kingdoms in the 5th century. The eastern part of the empire remained a power through the Middle Ages until its fall in 1453 AD. (Full article...) Selected article - The Roman Empire (Latin: Imperium Romanum [ɪmˈpɛri.ũː roːˈmaːnũː]; Koinē Greek: Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, romanized: Basileía tōn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia ruled by emperors. From the accession of Caesar Augustus to the military anarchy of the 3rd century, it was a principate with Italy as metropole of the provinces and the city of Rome as sole capital (27 BC – 286 AD). After the military crisis, the empire was ruled by multiple emperors who shared rule over the Western Roman Empire and over the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire). Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until 476 AD, when the imperial insignia were sent to Constantinople, following the capture of Ravenna by the barbarians of Odoacer and the subsequent deposition of Romulus Augustulus. The fall of the Western Roman Empire to Germanic kings, along with the hellenization of the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire, conventionally marks the end of Ancient Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The predecessor state of the Roman Empire, the Roman Republic (which had replaced Rome's monarchy in the 6th century BC) became severely destabilized in a series of civil wars and political conflicts. In the mid-1st century BC, Julius Caesar was appointed as perpetual dictator and then assassinated in 44 BC. Civil wars and proscriptions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesar's adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The following year Octavian conquered Ptolemaic Egypt, ending the Hellenistic period that had begun with the conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedon in the 4th century BC. Octavian's power then became unassailable, and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power and the new title Augustus, effectively making him the first Roman emperor. (Full article...) List of selected articles Roman art Romulus and Remus Roman currency Roman emperor Roman legion Marian reforms Toga King of Rome Praetor Roman censor Tribune Roman dictator Roman people Roman Republic Punic Wars Roman law Roman technology Culture of ancient Rome Patrician (ancient Rome) Conflict of the Orders Roman economy Military of ancient Rome Roman aqueduct Legacy of the Roman Empire Pax Romana Fall of the Western Roman Empire Western Roman Empire Latium Roman Kingdom History of the Roman Empire Latin Women in ancient Rome Tabula Peutingeriana Languages of the Roman Empire Slavery in ancient Rome Colosseum Karamagara Bridge Roman Forum Ancient Roman architecture Food and dining in the Roman Empire Ancient Rome and wine Gladiator Clothing in ancient Rome Roman amphitheatre Ancient Roman sarcophagi Roman sculpture Roman glass Ancient Roman pottery Religion in ancient Rome Ab Urbe Condita Libri First Punic War Roman temple of Bziza Chariot racing Emesa helmet Inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre Roman–Persian Wars Late Roman army Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 History of the Constitution of the Roman Republic History of the Roman Constitution Third Punic War Constitution of the Roman Republic Galatian War Gothic War (535–554) Crisis of the Roman Republic List of Roman emperors Roman Britain Hoxne Hoard Structural history of the Roman military Astronomica (Manilius) Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi Annales (Ennius) Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant Historia Augusta Roman Dacia Senate of the Roman Republic Legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic General images The following are images from various ancient Rome-related articles on Wikipedia. The Roman empire under Hadrian (ruled 117–138) showing the location of the Roman legions deployed in 125 AD A map of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greco-Roman Periplus Brescia Casket, an ivory box with Biblical imagery (late 4th century) Fragment of a sarcophagus depicting Gordian III and senators (3rd century) The Pompeii Lakshmi, an ivory statuette from the Indian subcontinent found in the ruins of Pompeii Reconstruction of a writing tablet: the stylus was used to inscribe letters into the wax surface for drafts, casual letterwriting, and schoolwork, while texts meant to be permanent were copied onto papyrus. Finely decorated Gallo-Roman terra sigillata bowl Workers at a cloth-processing shop, in a painting from the fullonica of Veranius Hypsaeus in Pompeii Women from the wall painting at the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii Pride in literacy was displayed in portraiture through emblems of reading and writing, as in this example of a couple from Pompeii (Portrait of Paquius Proculo). The Roman Empire by 476 The Zliten mosaic, from a dining room in present-day Libya, depicts a series of arena scenes: from top, musicians playing a Roman tuba, a water pipe organ and two horns; six pairs of gladiators with two referees; four beast fighters; and three convicts condemned to the beasts Roman hunters during the preparations, set-up of traps, and in-action hunting near Tarraco Circus Maximus, a mass entertainment venue located in Rome The Roman Empire in 117 AD at its greatest extent, at the time of Trajan's death (with its vassals in pink) Forum of Gerasa (Jerash in present-day Jordan), with columns marking a covered walkway (stoa) for vendor stalls, and a semicircular space for public speaking Statuettes representing Roman and Gallic deities, for personal devotion at private shrines Head of Constantine the Great, part of a colossal statue. Bronze, 4th century, Musei Capitolini, Rome. Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Academy of Plato Fresco of a seated woman from Stabiae, 1st century AD Birds and fountain within a garden setting, with oscilla (hanging masks) above, in a painting from Pompeii The Primavera of Stabiae, perhaps the goddess Flora So-called "bikini girls" mosaic from the Villa del Casale, Roman Sicily, 4th century On the Ludovisi sarcophagus, an example of the battle scenes favoured during the Crisis of the Third Century, the "writhing and highly emotive" Romans and Goths fill the surface in a packed, anti-classical composition Cityscape from the Villa Boscoreale (60s AD) Reconstructed peristyle garden based on the House of the Vettii A teacher with two students, as a third arrives with his loculus, a writing case that would contain pens, ink pot, and a sponge to correct errors A fresco from Herculaneum depicting Heracles and Achelous from Greco-Roman mythology, 1st century CE Relief panel from Trajan's Column showing the building of a fort and the reception of a Dacian embassy Relief from the Arch of Titus in Rome depicting a menorah and other spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem carried in Roman triumph. Statue in Constanța, Romania (the ancient colony Tomis), commemorating Ovid's exile The Colosseum in Rome A victor in his four-horse chariot Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. Galleria Borghese, Rome. Bilingual Latin-Punic inscription at the theatre in Leptis Magna, Roman Africa (present-day Libya) Bread stall, from a Pompeiian wall painting Eggs, thrushes, napkin, and vessels (wall painting from the House of Julia Felix, Pompeii) A Roman priest, his head ritually covered with a fold of his toga, extends a patera in a gesture of libation (2nd–3rd century) Solidus issued under Constantine II, and on the reverse Victoria, one of the last deities to appear on Roman coins, gradually transforming into an angel under Christian rule This funerary stele from the 3rd century is among the earliest Christian inscriptions, written in both Greek and Latin: the abbreviation D.M. at the top refers to the Di Manes, the traditional Roman spirits of the dead, but accompanies Christian fish symbolism. Wall painting depicting a sports riot at the amphitheatre of Pompeii, which led to the banning of gladiator combat in the town A multigenerational banquet depicted on a wall painting from Pompeii (1st century AD) A green Roman glass cup unearthed from an Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD) tomb in Guangxi, southern China; the earliest Roman glassware found in China was discovered in a Western Han tomb in Guangzhou, dated to the early 1st century BC, and ostensibly came via the maritime route through the South China Sea The Barbarian Invasions consisted of the movement of (mainly) ancient Germanic peoples into Roman territory. Even though northern invasions took place throughout the life of the Empire, this period officially began in the 4th century and lasted for many centuries, during which the western territory was under the dominion of foreign northern rulers, a notable one being Charlemagne. Historically, this event marked the transition between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages. The Augustus of Prima Porta (early 1st century AD) Aquae Sulis in Bath, England: architectural features above the level of the pillar bases are a later reconstruction. Glass cage cup from the Rhineland, 4th century An Ostian taberna for eating and drinking; the faded painting over the counter pictured eggs, olives, fruit and radishes. Capitoline Wolf, sculpture of the she-wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus, the most famous image associated with the founding of Rome The Pula Arena in Croatia is one of the largest and most intact of the remaining Roman amphitheatres. Musicians playing a Roman tuba, a water organ (hydraulis), and a pair of cornua, detail from the Zliten mosaic, 2nd century AD Cinerary urn for the freedman Tiberius Claudius Chryseros and two women, probably his wife and daughter Mosaic depicting a theatrical troupe preparing for a performance A fresco portrait of a man holding a papyrus roll, Pompeii, Italy, 1st century AD Still life on a 2nd-century Roman mosaic Antoninus Pius (reigned 138–161), wearing a toga (Hermitage Museum) Personification of the River Nile and his children, from the Temple of Serapis and Isis in Rome (1st century AD) A late Republican banquet scene in a fresco from Herculaneum, Italy, c. 50 BC; the woman wears a transparent silk gown while the man to the left raises a rhyton drinking vessel All-male theatrical troupe preparing for a masked performance, on a mosaic from the House of the Tragic Poet The so-called Primavera of Stabiae, perhaps the goddess Flora Boys and girls playing ball games (2nd century relief from the Louvre) Stone game board from Aphrodisias: boards could also be made of wood, with deluxe versions in costly materials such as ivory; game pieces or counters were bone, glass, or polished stone, and might be coloured or have markings or images The Pont du Gard aqueduct, which crosses the Gardon River in southern France, is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. Condemned man attacked by a leopard in the arena (3rd-century mosaic from Tunisia) Gold earrings with gemstones, 3rd century The Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem, from a Western religious manuscript, c.1504 Landscape resulting from the ruina montium mining technique at Las Médulas, Spain, one of the most important gold mines in the Roman Empire Plato's Academy mosaic from Pompeii The Triumph of Neptune floor mosaic from Africa Proconsularis (present-day Tunisia), celebrating agricultural success with allegories of the Seasons, vegetation, workers and animals viewable from multiple perspectives in the room (latter 2nd century) Wall painting (1st century AD) from Pompeii depicting a multigenerational banquet Citizen of Roman Egypt (Fayum mummy portrait) Romulus and Remus on the House of the She-wolf at the Grand Place of Brussels. A bust of Cicero, Capitoline Museums, Rome Reconstructed statue of Augustus as Jove, holding scepter and orb (first half of 1st century AD). The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority (auctoritas) of the Roman State. The rite of apotheosis (also called consecratio) signified the deceased emperor's deification and acknowledged his role as father of the people similar to the concept of a pater familias' soul or manes being honoured by his sons. Construction on the Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Colosseum (Italy), began during the reign of Vespasian. Roman portraiture fresco of a young man with a papyrus scroll, from Herculaneum, 1st century AD Silver cup, from the Boscoreale Treasure (early 1st century AD) Slave holding writing tablets for his master (relief from a 4th-century sarcophagus) Toga-clad statue, restored with the head of the emperor Nerva Marble relief of Mithras slaying the bull (2nd century, Louvre-Lens); Mithraism was among the most widespread mystery religions of the Roman Empire. Spread of Seuso at Lacus Pelso (Lake Balaton) Fragmentary military diploma from Carnuntum; Latin was the language of the military throughout the Empire The Wedding of Zephyrus and Chloris (54–68 AD, Pompeian Fourth Style) within painted architectural panels from the Casa del Naviglio Portrait of a literary woman from Pompeii (ca. 50 AD) Public toilets (latrinae) from Ostia Antica A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England Amphitheatres of the Roman Empire The bronze Drunken Satyr, excavated at Herculaneum and exhibited in the 18th century, inspired an interest among later sculptors in similar "carefree" subjects. The cities of the Roman world in the Imperial Period. Data source: Hanson, J. W. (2016), Cities database, (OXREP databases). Version 1.0. (link). Selected biography - Modern statue representing Tacitus outside the Austrian Parliament Building Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (/ˈtæsɪtəs/ TASS-it-əs, Latin: [ˈtakɪtʊs]; c. AD 56 – c. 120) was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is considered by modern scholars to be one of the greatest Roman historians. He lived in what has been called the Silver Age of Latin literature, and has a reputation for the brevity and compactness of his Latin prose, as well as for his penetrating insights into the psychology of power politics. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD). These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus, in 14 AD, to 70 AD in the First Jewish–Roman War of 66–73. There are substantial lacunae in the surviving texts, including a gap in the Annals that is four books long. 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List of selected biographies Nero Tiberius Sejanus Marcus Aurelius Faustina the Younger Julius Caesar Antoninus Pius Augustus Diocletian Domitian Elagabalus Basiliscus Marcian Maximian Retiarius Caligula Hadrian Romulus Augustulus Avidius Cassius Caracalla Britannicus Constantius III Constantine III (Western Roman Emperor) Drusus Caesar Drusus Julius Caesar Early life of Marcus Aurelius Florianus Gaius Caesar Germanicus Glycerius Halotus Claudius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Justinian I Lucius Caesar Tiberius Julius Alexander Tiberius Gemellus Gaius Antonius Hybrida Reign of Marcus Aurelius Cicero Did you know? ...That according to Suetonius, Caligula "often sent for men whom he had secretly killed, as though they were still alive, and remarked offhandedly a few days later that they must have committed suicide"? ...That Mark Antony, who avenged Julius Caesar, was killed by Julius Caesar's grand nephew (Octavian) Augustus Caesar? ...That Sulla's grave read No friend ever surpassed him in kindness, and no enemy in ill-doing? View all selections... 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In this fresco from the villa, a Bacchian rite is depicted. Photo credit: The Yorck Project Continue reading • More selected pictures... WikiProjects The following WikiProjects are related to Ancient Rome: WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome: The project regularly invites its members to collaborate on article development. WikiProject Rome: Includes stylistic help and lists of articles requiring attention or expansion. WikiProject Military history: Highly-active WikiProject with regular competitions to improve military history articles. Things you can do Add a fact which our readers would find interesting as a Did you know? entry. Add relevant quotes about Rome or by a Roman to the Quotes section. Expand the Ancient Rome article with a referenced fact, or copy-edit the article prose to improve its quality. Quotes “ [...] Caesar is a god in his own city. Outstanding in war or peace, it was not so much his wars that ended in great victories, or his actions at home, or his swiftly won fame, that set him among the stars, a fiery comet, as his descendant. There is no greater achievement among Caesar's actions than that he stood father to our emperor. Is it a greater thing to have conquered the sea-going Britons; to have lead his victorious ships up the seven-mouthed flood of the papyrus-bearing Nile; to have brought the rebellious Numidians, under Juba of Cinyps, and Pontus, swollen with the name of Mithridates, under the people of Quirinus; to have earned many triumphs and celebrated few; than to have sponsored such a man, with whom, as ruler of all, you gods have richly favoured the human race? Therefore, in order for the emperor not to have been born of mortal seed, Caesar needed to be made a god. [...] Augustus, his 'son', will ensure that he ascends to heaven as a god, and is worshipped in the temples. Augustus, as heir to his name, will carry the burden placed upon him alone, and will have us with him, in battle, as the most courageous avenger of his father's murder. Under his command, the conquered walls of besieged Mutina will sue for peace; Pharsalia will know him; Macedonian Philippi twice flow with blood; and the one who holds Pompey's great name, will be defeated in Sicilian waters; and a Roman general's Egyptian consort, trusting, to her cost, in their marriage, will fall, her threat that our Capitol would bow to her city of Canopus, proved vain. Why enumerate foreign countries or the nations living on either ocean shore? Wherever earth contains habitable land, it will be his: and even the sea will serve him! ” — Ovid, Metamorphoses, XV, 745–842 Associated Wikimedia Web resources Ancient Library Attalus. Sources for Greek & Roman history (attalus.org) De Imperatoribus Romanis. 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