history of ancient rome

1. ANCIENT
ROME
Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a
small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its
peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of
western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands.
Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the
widespread use of the Romance languages (Italian, French,
Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from Latin, the
modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of
Christianity as a major world religion. After 450 years as a
republic, Rome became an empire in the wake of Julius Caesar’s
rise and fall in the first century B.C. The long and triumphant
reign of its first emperor, Augustus, began a golden age of
peace and prosperity; by contrast, the empire’s decline and fall
by the fifth century A.D. was one of the most dramatic

2. LEGEND OF ROMULUS AND REMUS
The legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus were nursed by a she-wolf
until discovered by a herdsman.
They were abandoned by their parents as babies and put into a basket that was
then placed into the River Tiber. The basket ran aground and the twins were
discovered by a female wolf. The wolf nursed the babies for a short time before
they were found by a shepherd. The shepherd then brought up the twins.

3. LEADERS AND EMPERORS OF ROME
 Marcus Junius Brutus (85 BC- BC) – A
Roman politician who led the
conspiracy to assasinate Julius Caeser.
 Galius Julius Caesar (100BC-44BC)-
Famed general and statesman, became
dictator in 46 BC.

4.  Roman emperor Caesar Vespasian
Augustus (AD 9-79) restored political
stability after Nero and initiated an
expansive building program.
 Augustus Caesar (63 BCE- AD 14) became
the first Roman emperor after the death of
Julius Caesar and the end of the Roman
Republic.
 Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
(AD 37-68), the fifth Roman emperor,
became infamous for debauchery and was
accused of burning down Rome.

5.  Roman emperor Caesar Traianus
Hadrianus Augustus (AD 76-138)
unified Rome's expansive empire.
 Flavius Valerius Constantinus (c. AD
280- 337) was the first Roman emperor
to embrace Christianity, turning the
empire into a Christian state.
 Known for his writings on Stoic
philosophy, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Augustus (AD 121- 180) is often
associated with the Golden Age of the
Roman Empire.

6. ARCHITECTUREThe key Roman buildings were aqueducts & bridges, basilicas, baths, private
homes, temples, theatres & amphitheatres, triumphal arches, and walls.
Pont Du Gard Roman Temple, Nimes

7. Roman architecture was unlike anything that had come before. The Persians,
Egyptians, Greeks and Etruscans all had monumental architecture. The grandeur
of their buildings, though, was largely external. Buildings were designed to be
impressive when viewed from outside because their architects all had to rely on
building in a post-and-lintel system, which means that they used two upright
posts, like columns, with a horizontal block, known as a lintel, laid flat across the
top. A good example is this ancient Greek Temple in Paestum, Italy.

8. The Colosseum or Flavian amphitheatre
Arch of Augustus
Roman Opus Mixtum Wall
Pantheon

9. View of the underground rooms of the Colosseum. The Flavian amphitheater,
built between 72 and 80 AD, has two floors built below the cavea, using what
was perhaps the pond of Nero

10. The center of the Ancient city of Rome, the Forum was used for public
meetings, religious spectacles, legal courts, commerce and more.

11. Architectural Column Orders

12. Aqueduct (reconstruction). Aqueducts supplied Rome
with clean water brought from sources far from the
city. In this view, we see an aqueduct carried on piers
passing through a built-up neighborhood.

15. JEWELLERY
Being under the influence of the Etruscans the early Romans must have
seen the splendid examples of the artists of their northern neighbours.
Yet, examples of Roman jewellery from this early period (7th-1st century
BC) are extremely rare. Gold was very scarce and the little gold that
existed was used for trading and warfare rather then personal adornment.
The use of gold in jewellery was officially discouraged.

16. Drawing of a necklace
found at Pompeii

18. Cameo with double portrait of the emperor
Trajan and his wife Plotina
The excavations of the two sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii account for the largest part
of 1st century Roman jewellery that have been preserved. In Rome cremation was the way
to dispose of the deceased. Consequently, unlike the Egyptian richly decorated graves and
Etruscan urn burials which provide us with perfectly preserved jewellery, we have to do
without grave finds. A situation which, fortunately, is made up for by historical sources.