A photo of the Colosseum as of the mid- or late-2010s

(Cover Photo)

General Background

First, I am going to walk you through the general background of Ancient Rome. The Romans came with arches and aqueducts. In 476 AD, Rome was invaded by the Barbarians and their tribes. The group settled where it did since they wandered into Italy when they were crossing the Alps at about 1000 BC, but the Ancient Roman culture actually started 247 years later. Flatland near the River Tiber was good for the Latins because most of them were farmers. The Ancient Roman culture existed from 753 BC to 476 AD, like I said earlier. The empire, formerly a republic, stretched from Northern Europe til Northern Africa at around 100 AD. That is the general background of Ancient Roman culture.

Geography of the Area

Second, I am going to take you through the geography of where Ancient Rome was. The latitude and longitude of the region was at 41.89248, 12.48533 as of Dec. 2020. The temperature in Rome is temperate; it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It received a lot of rainfall during the second Punic War. The fauna that was nature to the region were wolves, bears, wild boars, deer and goats. Dogs could be domesticated back during the times of Ancient Rome as they can today. The original settlers of Ancient Rome’s area were the Latins and the Greeks. The present-day regions that Ancient Rome spanned at its peak were Italy, Northern Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Morocco) and Europe (the continent) outside of Europe.

An aerial view of Rome today

Everyday Life of the People

Third, I will take you through the everyday life of the people in Ancient Rome. Roman citizens were divided into 2 classes of economy. The patricians the rich, the plebeians the lower-class. The wealthy patricians owned land and held political power, but the poor plebeians had jobs such as craftsman and bakers. There was a vast number of jobs and skills for those plebeians. The Romans produced grapes, oil and grain as three of the major crops. Other exports included paper and pottery. Men and women did different jobs; men worked and women stayed home to watch over their children. Most notably, they used hammers, axes, picks, knives, scythes, chisels and swords as tools. They created the first aqueducts which delivered 1.2 billion liters of fresh water to the city of Rome every day.

They used some steam power for some kinds of work. Ancient Roman mining was controlled by the state. They used iron to make weapons and gold, silver and bronze to make coins. Ancient Romans wore togas, tunic and stola as clothes and they were made out of wool, most likely. Other times they used linen and hemp. Different economic classes wore different clothes. Ancient Romans ate meat, fish, veggies, eggs, cheese, grains and legumes. They used cereals to make bread and got meat from animals and birds. They farmed. Different groups ate different foods just like they wore different clothes. Most people lived in apartments. The patricians lived in private houses or tall villas. Children were usually educated at home in Ancient Rome. They played with blocks and dolls when they were not being educated. They commonly had pet dogs. Rich children got higher education. Boys’ lives differed from girls’ lives. Roman children did not work. Their parents educated them and they learned reading, writing and basic arithmetic. Travelers in Rome traveled all over the empire at its peak in the year 105 AD. They traveled by chariot, cart, boat and for short distances, on foot. That is how everyday life in Rome would look like.