Nearly 3000 years ago, a tribe of people called the Latins lived in a small village on the Tiber River. This village grew to become the famous city of Rome.
Around 900 BCE, a mysterious group of people arrived on the Italian peninsula. Nobody knows where they come from, but archaeologists believe they probably arrived from Asia Minor.
The Etruscans had many similarities to the Greeks, their alphabet was based on the Greek alphabet. Their gods looked like humans, just like the Greek gods.Based on the artifacts they left behind, scientists are fairly certain that in the Etruscan culture, women and men were fairly equal in status. That was a major difference from the Greek way of life.
The Etruscans organized their towns into city-states, each ruled by a king. The city-states worked together in a league - the Etruscan League.
This league began to trade with people in the east and people along the African coastline. Their trade routes included the tiny village on the Tiber River.
Even in very early times, Rome was a busy place. The early Romans (the Latins) learned a great deal from the Etruscan traders.
While the Etruscans were building their own civilization, the city of Rome grew more powerful. It was a center of trade and commerce. Some of Rome's early kings were Etruscans.
Women children, and slaves were still not citizens of Rome. They had no voice in government.
Only adult free Roman men were citizens.
But, things did improve under the Republic. About 50 years after the Roman Republic was formed, the leaders of the Republic wrote down many of the old laws, to make sure everyone understood them. History refers to this group of laws as "The Twelve Tables" because the written laws were organized into 12 sections.
These laws talked about property, crime, family, theft, marriage and inheritance.
It does not really matter what they said, although the laws did try to be fair.
What matters is that these laws were written down.
They were engraved on tablets of metal and put on display at the Forum in the city of Rome, so that everyone could see them.
The legend of Romulus and Remus
One legend describes how Rome began. Twin brothers, Romulus and Remus founded the city. Abondoned as babies near the Tiber River, they were rescued by a wolf and then raised by a shepherd. They built a city together, but fought and Romulus killed his brother. Romulus became the first king of Rome and named the city after himself.
Each law applied to every Roman citizen, be he rich or poor. That was a huge change for the better!
Here are a few of the laws
in the Twelve Tables
These have been reworded
If you are called to go to court, you must go. If you don’t show up, you can be taken to court by force.
If you need a witness to testify and he will not show up, you can go once every three days and shout in front of his house.
Should a tree on a neighbor's farm be bend crooked by the wind and lean over your farm, you may take legal action for removal of that tree.
If it's your tree, it’s your fruit, even if it falls on another man’s land.
A person who had been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from the Tarpeian Rock.
No person shall hold meetings by night in the city.
A dead man shall not be buried or burned within the city.
There were two main classes of people in ancient Rome -
the Patricians and the Plebeians.
Patricians:The patricians were the upper class, the nobility and wealthy land owners. Plebeians: The plebeians were the lower class. Nicknamed "plebs", the plebeians included everyone in ancient Rome (except for the nobility, the patricians)
from well-to-do tradesmen all the way down to the very poor.
(As time went on, this law was changed. When the tables were first written, this was the law.)
Class, I have included some information and pictures of Mosaics for you to view. We will be making a Mosaic cake in class on Tuesday, May 4th. I will have a sign up sheet in our left column and the items listed that are needed. Please try to sign up for something, this is a class effort. Thank you. Mrs. Celestin
The following website has some interesting Mosaics to view from Ancient Rome.
Try to create your own Mosaic!
Language
The language we used today was developed from the Romans. The Romans spoke and wrote in Latin and many of our words are based on Latin words.
The Calendar
Did you know that the calendar we use today is more than 2,000 years old? It was started by Julius Caesar, a Roman ruler. It is based on the movement of the earth around the sun, and so is called the 'solar calendar.' The solar calendar has 365 days a year, and 366 days every leap year, or every fourth year. The names of our months are taken from the names of Roman gods and rulers. The month 'July,' in fact, is named after Julius Caesar himself!
Laws and a legal system
The laws and ways we determine what to do with someone who is accused of breaking a law came originally from the Roman Empire.
The Census
The Roman Empire was huge and included millions of people living over a large area. How did they keep track of all these people? Easy! They counted them! The Roman Empire began the practice of taking a census, or a 'count,' of all the people within its boundaries every so often. Today, many countries like ours take a census every 10 years.
Nearly 3000 years ago, a tribe of people called the Latins lived in a small village on the Tiber River. This village grew to become the famous city of Rome.
Around 900 BCE, a mysterious group of people arrived on the Italian peninsula. Nobody knows where they come from, but archaeologists believe they probably arrived from Asia Minor.
The Etruscans had many similarities to the Greeks, their alphabet was based on the Greek alphabet. Their gods looked like humans, just like the Greek gods.Based on the artifacts they left behind, scientists are fairly certain that in the Etruscan culture, women and men were fairly equal in status. That was a major difference from the Greek way of life.
The Etruscans organized their towns into city-states, each ruled by a king. The city-states worked together in a league - the Etruscan League.
This league began to trade with people in the east and people along the African coastline. Their trade routes included the tiny village on the Tiber River.
Even in very early times, Rome was a busy place. The early Romans (the Latins) learned a great deal from the Etruscan traders.
While the Etruscans were building their own civilization, the city of Rome grew more powerful. It was a center of trade and commerce. Some of Rome's early kings were Etruscans.
Women children, and slaves were still not citizens of Rome. They had no voice in government.
Only adult free Roman men were citizens.
But, things did improve under the Republic. About 50 years after the Roman Republic was formed, the leaders of the Republic wrote down many of the old laws, to make sure everyone understood them. History refers to this group of laws as "The Twelve Tables" because the written laws were organized into 12 sections.
These laws talked about property, crime, family, theft, marriage and inheritance.
It does not really matter what they said, although the laws did try to be fair.
What matters is that these laws were written down.
They were engraved on tablets of metal and put on display at the Forum in the city of Rome, so that everyone could see them.
The legend of Romulus and Remus
One legend describes how Rome began. Twin brothers, Romulus and Remus founded the city. Abondoned as babies near the Tiber River, they were rescued by a wolf and then raised by a shepherd. They built a city together, but fought and Romulus killed his brother. Romulus became the first king of Rome and named the city after himself.
Each law applied to every Roman citizen, be he rich or poor. That was a huge change for the better!
Here are a few of the laws
in the Twelve Tables
These have been reworded
There were two main classes of people in ancient Rome -
Patricians: The patricians were the upper class, the nobility and wealthy land owners.
Plebeians: The plebeians were the lower class. Nicknamed "plebs", the plebeians included everyone in ancient Rome (except for the nobility, the patricians)
from well-to-do tradesmen all the way down to the very poor.
(As time went on, this law was changed. When the tables were first written, this was the law.)
Rome Slideshow
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35721400/ns/travel-picture_stories/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1
Monday
May 3, 2010
Click here for some fun as you learn Roman Numerals!
http://www.sectormatematica.cl/ppt/Roman-Numeral.ppt
Class, I have included some information and pictures of Mosaics for you to view. We will be making a Mosaic cake in class on Tuesday, May 4th. I will have a sign up sheet in our left column and the items listed that are needed. Please try to sign up for something, this is a class effort. Thank you. Mrs. Celestin
The following website has some interesting Mosaics to view from Ancient Rome.
Try to create your own Mosaic!
View several Mosaics from Ancient Rome at the following site!
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/romans/mosaics.html
Make a mosaic
The Romans gave us
- Language
- The Calendar
- Laws and a legal system
- The Census
The Romans also gave us:The language we used today was developed from the Romans. The Romans spoke and wrote in Latin and many of our words are based on Latin words.
Did you know that the calendar we use today is more than 2,000 years old? It was started by Julius Caesar, a Roman ruler. It is based on the movement of the earth around the sun, and so is called the 'solar calendar.' The solar calendar has 365 days a year, and 366 days every leap year, or every fourth year. The names of our months are taken from the names of Roman gods and rulers. The month 'July,' in fact, is named after Julius Caesar himself!
The laws and ways we determine what to do with someone who is accused of breaking a law came originally from the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire was huge and included millions of people living over a large area. How did they keep track of all these people? Easy! They counted them! The Roman Empire began the practice of taking a census, or a 'count,' of all the people within its boundaries every so often. Today, many countries like ours take a census every 10 years.
Check this cool cartoon style information about Gladiators!
http://www.salariya.com/web_books/gladiator/index.html
May 20, 2010
See the following information to learn more about the Colosseum and the Gladiators who fought there!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/launch_ani_colosseum.shtml
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/specialPlaces/special_places_st2/europe/roman_coliseum.htm
**Gladiators**