Life in the Roman Empire

Today, we will be investigating life in the Roman Empire. You've already been divided into six groups that represent the six social classes of the Roman Empire.

• The Emperor
• Patricians
• Senators
• Equestrians
• Plebians
• Slaves and Freemen

Your first task is to use The Roman Empire: Social Order website to learn more about your social class and the role it played in the empire. 

Then, each of your groups will be investigating what the following parts of life in the Roman Empire were like for a member of your social class:

• Games, chariot races, and gladiators
• Family life
• Housing and food
• Education, funerals, and theater

Use the Life in Roman Times website to help with this research. 

You will be sharing the information you learned about your social classes's lifestyle, traditions, and customs with the rest of the class so we can get a more full picture of what life in the Roman Empire was like for everyone. To this end, it's important that everyone work together and write down their research. You will be individually assessed on your knowledge of the Roman Empire. 

The Roman Republic -- Government and Values

Click here to read about the government of the Roman Republic. Think about the roles that the Senate, the Twelve Tables, and citizens played in the Republic.

The image below will also help clarify the organization and values of the Roman Republic.

From examining these documents, answer the following questions:
1. How was Roman society structured? Was everyone equal? How can you tell?

2. What can you tell about the values and characteristics of the Roman Republic?

3. In the Roman Republic, what traits were deemed important? Are there any that you think are missing? Brainstorm a list of each. 

A Peek Inside Diocletian's Basement

We all know Diocletian, a Roman emperor probably most famous for two things: splitting the Roman empire into two to avoid its imminent collapse; and viciously persecuting Christians.

But Diocletian was not from the city of Rome or even the Italian Peninsula -- rather, he was born in the Balkans, in a port city now called Split on the Adriatic coast in Croatia. Diocletian loved the Adriatic coast and built a huge palace in Split. I was lucky enough to visit Croatia in the summer of 2013 and tour the ruins of Diocletian's Palace.

To give some context, below is a map showing two cities that I visited, Zadar and Split. See how close they are to Italy? The coastline of Croatia was part of the Roman Empire during its height.

And here is the man himself, Diocletian. This bust is inside the palace, where it's very dark and dank.

Diocletian's Palace is very large, and the modern city of Split has been built around it, so  that there are many shops and restaurants surrounding (and even inside) the palace. This is a shot of the palace from the outside. To anyone passing by, it looks just like an ordinary building in Split.

But look closer, and you can see many elements of Greek architecture that were adopted by the Romans and used in Diocletian's Palace. Check out these Corinthian columns!

The palace today is a huge tourist site, and men dressed up in Roman clothing roam the palace to give it an authentic feel. These Roman soldiers were texting, which is a bit of an anachronism.

One of the sections of the palace that's open to visitors is Diocletian's basement. Here's some extra moulding that's just waiting around to be used (2000 years after the palace was built!).

 Finally, I also visited another Croatian town that was part of the Roman Empire: Zadar. A much smaller town than Split, Zadar still has many Roman ruins, with more being excavated every day. Here are the columns that made up the Roman forum in Zadar.

Diocletian's Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you'd like to learn more, you can visit its website.

Crash Course: Rome

Here are a few "Crash Course: World History" videos to help you review for our upcoming test.

From Republic to Empire

Christianity

Fall of the Roman Empire

Life in Ancient Rome

Visit the British Museum’s collection of artifacts from ancient Rome. While there, choose two artifacts and write down what you can learn about the ancient Romans from looking at these artifacts. Think about the value we already know the ancient Romans held. How do these artifacts illuminate or add to those values? What do these artifacts tell us about everyday life in Rome?

Sports of ancient Rome

The ancient Romans had a lot of respect for bravery and strength, and nowhere is this more evident than in their sports. Romans competed in horse, chariot, and foot races, hand-to-hand combat, gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, jumping, throwing a spear or discus, and pancratium — a combination of wrestling and martial arts.

The Romans were knowledgeable about exercise and how to develop the body for physical strength, but used this knowledge to train their soldiers. Roman games and sports focused much more on violence and spectacle.

You can learn about sports of the ancient world here — including sports of China, Greece, and Rome.
Gladiators and gladiator fights were popular forms of entertainment in ancient Rome.These two links have great information about gladiators!

The Romans also enjoyed watching naval battles, and would sometimes fill the Colosseum with water and watch the ships fight!

I saved the best for last -- click here to see seven astonishing fights in the Roman Colosseum.