Ancient Rome
...become one of the greatest empires in history, and then collapsed. According to Roman legend. Rome was founded in 753 B.C. By 275 B.C., it controlled most of the Italian Peninsula. In the A.D. 100's, the Roman Empire covered about half of Europe, much of the Middle East, and the northern coast of Africa. The empire then began to crumble, party because it was too big for Rome to govern.
The millions of people who lived in the Roman Empire spoke many languages and followed many different customs and religions. But the Roman Empire bound them together under a common system of law and government. The languages of the ancient Romans, Latin, became the basis of French, Italian, Spanish, and the other Romance languages.
The Roman Empire probably had from 50 to 70 million people at its height. Of that maybe nearly 1 million people lived in Rome, and from 5 to 6 million lived in the rest of Italy. The people of ancient Rome were dived into various social classes. Members of the senate and their families made up the most powerful upper class group. Most people belonged to the lower classes and had little social standing. In the lower class, Romans were distinguished between citizens and slaves. Citizens were farmers, city workers, and soldiers. Most slaves were captured in warfare.
Rome was the capital and the largest city of the Roman Empire. It had almost a million inhabitants. Cities in the Roman Empire served as center of trade and culture. At the heart of a Roman city laid the forum- a large open space surrounded by markets, government buildings and temples. Rich and poor gathered together in the bustling forum and at the baths, theaters, and arenas.
The earliest Romans believed that gods and goddesses had power over agriculture and all aspects of daily life. During the 300's B.C., the Romans came info increasing contact with Greek ideas. They then began to...
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