The Roman World
Information by Tyler Owen 10/6/15
Spectacular Rome
The Roman Empire was emphasized the values of discipline, strength, and loyalty. They were practical people that honored strength over beauty. Most of the people lived in the countryside and worked on farms. People from all walks of life came together to create a diverse society. Wealth and social status made a big part on how people live. The rich people would spend large amounts of money on homes, gardens, slaves and luxuries. They would have banquets that would last for hours and including food that was very rare and expensive. But most of Rome barely had the necessities to live, most of the cities population was employed. The government would support the people with daily rations of grain. But with all the poverty they had a lot of holidays by 250 A.D. they had 150 holidays a year. They would have free games, races, mocking battles and gladiator contests in the Colosseum. The earliest Romans worshiped powerful spirits or divine forces, called numina, that they thought resided in everything around them. At this time of Pax Romana the practice of a new religion Known as Christianity was slowly emerging in the Roman Empire and eventually became became one of the dominate faiths of the world.
Slavery
Slavery was significant part of the Roman life. The Romans made more use of slavery than previous civilizations. The numbers of slavery may have been 1/3 of Romes population. Most of the slaves where conquered peoples brought by victorious Roman armies and included men, women, and children. According to Roman law, slaves were the property of there owner and they could be sold to other wealthy people. Slaves both worked in the city and on the farm. They were treated cruelly and worked at hard labor all day long. Some strong healthy men were forced to become gladiators, or professional fights, who would fight to the death in the public contest. Occasionally some of the slaves would rebel but none of the slaves revolts succeeded. More than a million slaves lost there lives trying to gain there freedom.