Roman Civilisation

2. IN THIS UNIT…
 We are going to learn more about Roman civilisation.
 Many Roman aqueducts, bridges, public baths and
amphitheatres can still be seen today.
 How have the Romans influenced us?
 With the language: many European languages are based
on Latin
 With their laws: Our laws are based on Roman laws
 With one of the most important religion of the Empire:
Christianity appeared in the Roman Empire

3. INDEX
1. The economy of Ancient Rome.
1.1. Economic activities.
1.2. Roman cities.
2. Society in Ancient Rome: free men, slaves...
3. Roman culture.
3.1. Roman law.
3.2. Language and literature.
3.3. Roman religion.
4. Roman architecture: temples, roads, aqueducts, circuses…
5. Roman art.
5.1. Sculpture.
5.2. Painting and mosaics.

4. 1.1. Economic activities.
1. THE ECONOMY IN ANCIENT ROME.
ECONOMIC
ACTIVITIES
In the
countryside
Agriculture Livestock
In the city
Craftwork Trade

5. In the countryside: agriculture and livestock
Main characteristics:
 All farmland (and mines too) belonged to the state, which divided
it up among individuals for them to exploit.
 There were improvements in farming technology: better tools and
irrigation systems, which improved efficiency and harvest.
 The main crops farmed: wheat, grapes and olives.
 The main livestock farmed: goats, sheep, cows and horses.

6.  TOOLS
Plough and animal draught, such as oxen
 IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Irrigation canal Aqueduct of Segovia
PloughAnimal draught

7. In the city.
Cities where important economic and commercial centres:
• Most artists had their workshops in the cities.
• Some of the most common products produced were: weapons,
textiles, farming tools and pottery.

8. TRADE
 Trade developed intensely.
 The main goods traded: agricultural products, craftwork,
minerals and slaves, among others.
 There was trade not only within the Empire but also with some
places outside the Empire, so we can talk about:
• Some provinces specialised in producing certain
goods. For instance, Egypt was an important
producer of wheat and Hispania produced
minerals.
Domestic
trade
• From the Germanic territories, the Empire
obtained some products, such as leather, wood and
slaves.
• From Africa, gold, ivory and slaves, too.
• From the East, perfumes and other luxury products.
Foreign trade

9. THE EXPANSION OF THE ROMAN COMMERCE
Economic activities were favored by the territorial expansion.
The three main factors that allowed commerce to expand were:
Military conquest: allowed Rome to acquire wealth
and slaves and colonise new territories.
Land and sea travel: communicate between the
different parts of the Empire was easy thanks to an
excellent network of roads and ports.
A single currency: in Roman territories existed a
common currency. The most common coin was the
silver denarius, although there were other, such as
the ace of gold and the sextercio.

10. TRADE ROUTES IN ANCIENT ROME
“All roads lead to Rome”

12. 1.2. Roman cities
 Roman cities were the main economic and commercial
centres, and were the political administration was located, too.
 The cities layout was based on the roman military camps
(castras). As the Romans were very well organised, they planned
their cities carefully:
There was a main road that went from north to south called the
cardo. The main road from east to west was called the
decumanus. The rest of the roads were parallel to these two
main roads, so they made a grid.
Where the cardo crossed the decumanus, there was a big
square, called the forum, one of the most important buildings.

13. Image of a military camp.

14. Roman city

15. 2. SOCIETY
 FREE PEOPLE. They were divided into: citizens (with rights) or
no-citizens (free people with no rights).
 Patricians: they were nobles and held all political rights.
 Plebeians: most people were plebeians. They had some rights but
did not participate in government. During the republic, the
plebeians rebelled and achieved equal rights.
 In 212 (with Caracalla), all free men in the Empire were made
citizens. However, citizenships was never extended to women or
foreingners.
 SLAVES: were not considered as people and had no rights.
People became slaves if they were taken prisoner in a war, if they
didn´t pay their debts or if they were children of slaves. If their
owners freed them, they became liberti (libertos). Slaves could became
free by buying their freedom. Slave owners could also free their slaves= manumission.
 ROMAN WOMEN. Belonged to their fathers of husbands. They
didn´t have the right to vote, but they could own property.

16. Kind of houses
 An insula:
 a building with
several floors
 where modest
families lived.
 There were spaces
for shops on the
ground floor.

17.  A domus.
 Where wealthy Roman
families lived.
 The rooms were laid
out around an interior
courtyard, called
an atrium.
 Banquets were held
inthe triclinium (dining
room).
Kind of houses

18. 3. Roman culture
1. Roman law.
One of the most important, the Law of the Twelve Tables (450
BC).
2. Language and literature.
 Roman culture was transmitted through the spread of Latin, the
language used by all inhabitants of the Empire.
 Romans made important contributions to philosophy (Seneca),
literature (Ovid, Horace and Virgil), medicine (Galen) and
history (Julious Caesar, Tacitus and Livy).
3. Roman religion .
 Official religion (until 380, when Christianity is the official
religion of the Empire): POLYTHEISTIC.
 Imperial cult. During the Roman Empire, the emperor began
to worshipped like a god.
 In 380: Christianity official religion of the Empire. Until this,
Christians were persecuted because they could not worship the
emperor as a God. Therefore, they used to meet in undergrounds
chambers, called catacombs.

19. 4. Roman architecture
The Romans constructed a lot of public buildings and
engineering works:
 Aqueducts: to transport water to the cities.
 Temples: to venerate their Gods.
 Amphitheatres: these held gladiator and animal fights.
The Aqueduct of Segovia ; 1st century
The Maison Carrée temple, Nimes
(France)
The Coliseum in Rome

20.  Circus: these were in the shape of a rectangle and were a
venue for chariot races.
 Theatres: these were where actors performed comedies and
tragedies. They were semicircular.
 Thermal baths: these were public baths and consisted of
several different rooms.

21.  Basilica: these were places for meeting, trials and commercial
activities.
 Triumphal arches: these had several entrances and
commemorated a military victory or an important event.

22.  Architectural orders. The Romans used semicircular arches,
vaults and Greek columns (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian order).
 They also created two new architectural orders: Tuscan and
Composite.

23. 5. Roman art
 Roman sculpture imitated Greek sculpture and there were two types,
portrait and historical relief.
 The Romans used painting to decorate buildings and mosaics to
decorate walls and floors.