Index

UNIDAD 11: ROMA Y SU IMPERIO

ACTIVITY 28: ANCIENT ROME

The Provinces

1) Baetica (Hispania)	19) Noricum	37)Cappadocia
2) Lusitania (Hispania)	20) Pannonia	38) Pontus
3) Tarraconesis (Hispania)	21) Dalmatia	39) Armenia Inferior
4) Narbonensis (Gallia)	22) Dacia	40) Sophene
5) Aquitania (Gallia)	23) Moesia	41) Osroene
6) Lugdunensis (Gallia)	24) Thracia	42) Commagene
7) Belgica (Gallia)	25) Macedonia	43) Armenia
8) Britannia	26) Epirus	44) Assyria
9) Germania Inferior	27) Achaea	45) Mesopotamia
10) Germania Superior	28) Asia	46) Syria
11) Langobardi/Cherusci/Sugambri	29) Bithynia	47) Judaea (Palaestina)
12) Rhaetia	30) Galatia	48) Arabia Petraea
13) Italia	31) Lycaonia	49) Aegyptus
14) Sicilia (Italia)	32) Lycia	50) Cyrenaica
15) Corsica and Sardinia	33) Pisidia	51) Numidia
16) Alpes Penninae (Gallia)	34) Pamphylia	52) Africa
17) Alpes Cottiae (Gallia)	35) Cyprus	53) Mauretania
18) Alpes Maritimae (Gallia)	36) Cilicia	54) Baleares (Hispania)

http://intranet.dalton.org/groups/Rome/RMap.html

http://www.occultopedia.com/images_/ancient_rome.jpg

1. Read the text.

How did Rome get its name?

Rome is the capital city of Italy. Building started in 753 B.C. and the Romans have a story to explain how this happened. Twin boys, Romulus and Remus, were taken from their mother and left by the river Tiber to starve. A mother wolf found the babies and looked after them until they were old enough to take care of themselves.

Years later, Mars (the Roman God of war) told the boys to build a city where they had been found. The two boys built this city, but ended up at war with each other. Romulus won the battle and the city became known as Rome. Today, historians and archaeologists agree that people started living in Rome long before the time of Romulus and Remus, but many people still believe in their legend.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/city.shtml

A Roman soldier

http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/legionarydrawing2.jpg

2. Read the following text.

At first, Rome was ruled by kings. They were sometimes very cruel and the last king, Tarquin the Proud, was overthrown. Rome then became a republic for the next four hundred years.

This republic was ruled by a senate, and people called Senators were elected to do different jobs in the senate. However, not everyone was allowed to vote in these elections. Women and slaves were not allowed to vote and neither were poor people. Those Roman people who were not slaves were called 'citizens'.

In the 1st century B.C. the generals who controlled the army became very powerful. Rome was no longer just a city, it was the capital of an empire. The Romans ruled lands from France to North Africa. You can see this in our map.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/city.shtml

3. Read the text.

Roman Houses

The lower class Romans (plebeians) lived in apartment houses, called flats, above or behind their shops. Even fairly well-to-do tradesmen might chose to live in an apartment-building compound over their store, with maybe renters on the upper stories. Their own apartments might be quite roomy, sanitary and pleasant, occasionally with running water. But others were not that nice.

In the apartment houses, or flats, an entire family (grandparents, parents, children) might all be crowded into one room, without running water. They had to haul their water in from public facilities. Fire was a very real threat because people were cooking meals in crowded quarters, and many of the flats were made of wood. They didn't have toilets. They had to use public latrines (toilets).

The upper class Romans (patricians) lived very differently. Their homes were single family homes, which in ancient Rome meant the great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and kids of one family lived in a home together. Homes were made, quite often, of brick with red tile roofs, with rooms arranged around a central courtyard. The windows and balconies faced the courtyard, not the street, to keep homes safe from burglars. There were painting on the walls and beautiful mosaics on the floor. There was very little furniture, and no carpeting. Wealthy Romans might have a house with a front door, bedrooms, an office, a kitchen, a dining room, a garden, a temple, an atrium, a toilet, and a private bath.

http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Romelife.html#HOUSES

4. Investigate a Roman soldier

Cartoon head of Julius Caesar

The Roman Empire grew so quickly because of its large and skilful army. A soldier's life was very tough, they were well armed and trained for dangerous battles. Let's find out what they wore.

	Metal Jacket This flexible armour was made up of metal strips held together with metal ties. They were so heavy that soldiers had to help each other to put them on.
	Tunic The tunic was worn underneath the armour. This was made of rough wool and reached down to the middle of the thigh. It was not until later that short trousers were worn down below!
	Sandals (caligae) These sandals were designed to help the Romans march for long distances. They were strong, well ventilated and allowed the soldiers to march very quickly. The sandals often had metal studs at the bottom to make them last longer.
	A Belt (cingulum) The decorated leather strips gave protection during a battle. These belts jangled as the army marched to scare the enemy. The most important soldiers wore the nicest, most expensive belts.
	A Sword (Gladius) This short sword was also called a 'Gladius' and it was a terrible stabbing weapon. The soldiers could use them easily in the crush of a battle.
	Equipment Each man had a heavy pack with a tool kit, a dish and a pan. The pack held personal items and 3 day's food rations. They may have also carried things like a cloak and a leather bottle for water or wine.
	Helmet Centurions and other Officers wore crests on the top of their helmets so that the other men could follow them in battle. The helmets helped to protect the head, face and neck in a battle.
	A Javelin These had a sharp point to pierce shields and armour. Groups of soldiers would throw their javelins through the air at the same time in order to break the enemies charge.

http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/kids/access/rome/artefacts_rome.htm

5. Chosse three provinces and find out more information about them. Copy the information into your notebook.

Index | Activity 29