 Pax Romana
 The Roman Emperor
 Praetorian Guard
 Architecture
 Public Baths
 Roads and Aqueducts
 Religion in the Golden Age
 Pompeii
The Pax Romana
The two centuries from the reign of Augustus until the
death of Marcus Aurelius are known as the Golden Age of
Rome, or the Pax Romana (Roman Peace).
Although
there were
rebellions and
wars of
conquest in
this period,
the core of
the empire
enjoyed
peace and
prosperity.
Market in Pompeii, by Antonio Niccolini
The Roman Emperor
In ancient Rome, there
was no such title or office as
“emperor.”
The term “Roman
emperor” is a convenient
term to describe the single
man who, from Augustus on,
had all of the power that had
been shared by many officers
in the Republic.
Emperors used a number
of titles: Imperator
(commander), princeps (first
senator), augustus
(venerable), and caesar.
Praetorian Guard
Created during the late
Republic, it was an elite squad
assigned to guard the
commander’s tent.
Augustus transformed the
Guard into the emperor’s
private army, which served as
the police force in Rome and
other Italian cities.
It had legionary strength. A
third of its members were
stationed in Rome, where they
dressed as civilians but carried
weapons.
Members of the Guard were
paid 50% more than
legionaries of comparable rank.
In modern times, the
term has been used to
describe an elite military
force protecting a
dictator.
The Praetorian Guard was an important force in the
Principate. It could put an emperor in office, keep him
there, or get rid of him.
The Guard was weakened by Diocletian and eliminated by
Constantine in the early 4th century.
Praetorian
Guard hails
Claudius as
emperor.
Architecture
In imperial
Rome,
architecture
was a form of
propaganda.
Throughout
the empire,
great buildings,
public and
private, were a
testament to
the glory and
importance of
Rome and the
emperor.
As with military organization and
weaponry, in architecture the Romans
were great innovators. Arches, columns,
domes and concrete, known and used by
others, became something new and
different in Roman hands.
The
Pantheon,
one of
Rome’s
most
famous
buildings
While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand;
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall;
And when Rome falls - the world.
- Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
The
Colosseum,
originally
known as the
Flavian
Amphitheatre,
was the
largest
amphitheater
ever built in
the Roman
Empire. It held
50,000
spectators.
Construction began around 70 under Vespasian and was
completed in 80 under Titus. It remained in use for 500
years.
The Colosseum was used for gladiator games and other
public spectacles, including mock naval battles, for which
it could be filled with water piped from the Tiber River.
Medieval map of Rome showing the Colosseum
Artist’s reconstruction of the
Roman Forum in the Golden Age
Public Bathing in
Ancient Rome
Public bathing was an important
part of Roman social life in the
Golden Age.
Baths of Caracalla
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1899
A visit to the baths was a part of daily life for Romans. The
baths were a place to relax and meet with friends. Women
and men of all classes used the public baths. Sometimes
there were separate facilities or hours for women;
sometimes men and women bathed together.
A trip to the baths would include exercise to work up a
sweat, a soak in warm, hot and cool pools, and a
cleansing massage with a strigil (pictured) which was
used to scrape off aromatic oils and accumulated dirt.
The Romans did not use soap.
Roman baths
ranged from small
privately managed
facilities to large
public complexes
built and operated
by the state.
Baths were found
in every
neighborhood of
Rome, and in
almost every
Roman settlement
throughout the
empire.
Baths of Caracalla
The Caracalla baths, the second-largest bath complex in
ancient Rome, included two public libraries, one with texts
in Greek and the other Latin.
Baths of Caracalla, engraving, Giovanni Battista Piranesi
(1720-1778)
Roads and
Aqueducts
Long straight
roads, 53,000
miles of them,
connected all
parts of the
Roman Empire
to regional
centers and the
imperial capital
in Rome.
Roman road in Pompeii
Photo by Paul Vlaar
The roads were
used:
By legions to
march quickly to
where they were
needed
To transport
goods over great
distances
By Romans to
travel around the
empire
Via Appia – The Appian Way
The roads were built
to last; some are
still used today.
The roads
were
important for
maintaining
the stability of
the empire.
Later, during
the 5th
century as the
empire
collapsed,
they were
used by
“barbarians”
invading
Roman
provinces.
Roman roads in Italy
The arcades of the Aqua Claudia with the Anio
Novus on top, two of the aqueducts of Rome.
(Constructed in 36-50 under Caligula and Claudius)
Photo by Wilke Schram
www.romanaqueducts.info
Aqueducts
The Roman waterway system, which brought fresh water
to private homes as well as public baths and fountains,
was one of the engineering marvels of the ancient world.
The Romans also developed indoor plumbing and sewers
to carry waste away from homes.
Clay pipes
(lower right)
tapped into
Aqua Claudia
Photo by
Wilke Schram
Eleven water lines
brought water to
Rome from sources
as far as 60 miles
away.
Most of the system
was composed of
underground pipes
and tunnels, but
when the pipes had
to cross valleys, or
as they approached
the city, they were
raised on
spectacular arched
aqueducts.
Covered stone water channel,
Germany
Photo by Wilke Schram
The entire system was gravity-fed. Very subtle gradients
maintained the flow of water. Occasionally, a system of
pressurized pipe, called an inverted siphon, was used to
push the water a short distance uphill.
Similar
aqueducts
were
constructed
all over the
empire.
Some are
still in use
today.
Roman aqueduct, ca. 19 BCE, Pont du Gard, France
Religion
Romans
worshipped
their classical
gods as well
as past
emperors,
deified after
death.
Emperor
worship - the
cult of the
emperor became a
unifying force
in the empire.
Temple of Augusta and Livia, Vienne, France.
Erected by Claudius.
Animals being led to sacrifice
Emperor Marcus Aurelius
offers a sacrifice
Foreign Gods and
Cults
Cults from the east
became popular in
Rome.
Mithras
Mithras came to Rome from
Persia, through Greece.
Isis, a goddess of Egypt,
was also popular in Rome.
Many other “mystery cults”
were popular in the empire.
Isis
Jews in the Empire
Jews were a large
religious minority in the
Roman Empire.
In addition to their
kingdom of Judaea, there
were many Jews in Egypt,
Syria, and Greece.
Josephus was a Jewish
military leader who
was captured by the
Romans. He wrote a
history of the JewishRoman War of 66-73.
There was a Jewish
community in Rome from at
least the 2nd century BCE.
Caesar and Augustus
passed laws protecting the
rights of Jews in Rome.
Judaea had been a
Roman ally since the 2nd
century BCE.
It became a province in
6 CE.
Jews were usually
treated with toleration
and respect, but not
always.
Emperor Caligula insisted on placing a statue of
himself in the temple at Jerusalem. Although he was
killed before he could do so, he created resentment.
In 66, a local conflict erupted into a major rebellion
that lasted until 73. The Jews were defeated. Jewish
deaths in the rebellion are estimated to have been
between 600,000 and 1.3 million; 100,000 Jews were
taken as slaves to Rome.
The temple at Jerusalem was destroyed.
960 Jewish rebels made their last stand at the hilltop
fortress of Masada.
The Roman siege of Masada is one of the most famous
examples of siege warfare.
15,000 Roman soldiers surrounded the fortress,
preventing supplies from getting in. They constructed a
massive ramp to assault the rebels on the hilltop.
Rather than
face capture, the
rebels committed
mass suicide.
“From one end of
Galilee to the other
there was an orgy of
fire and bloodshed."
- Josephus, Jewish
historian
Masada and ruins on summit
Titus, military commander in Judaea and later
emperor, condemned 2,500 Jews to fight wild
beasts in the amphitheater at Caesarea in
celebration of his brother Domitan's birthday.
Coin issued
by Jewish
rebels during
the RomanJewish War
Early Christianity
Christianity began as a small
cult – one of many – which
grew in Palestine after the
crucifixion of the Jewish
teacher, Jesus of Nazareth.
Communities of Christians
developed around the
Mediterranean. Many
Christians differed
widely on theory and practice.
Christianity drew a following among the poor and
uneducated.
The empire was generally tolerant of religious practices,
but Christians’ refusal to participate in official religious
celebrations, and their practice of meeting in secret, drew
public suspicion.
Christianity grew slowly in the 1st and 2nd centuries.
There were occasional episodes of persecution, as when
Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome.
Christianity
spread more
rapidly in the 3rd
century, along
with political
and economic
disruption.
Spread of Christianity to 325 CE
The persecution
of Christians also
increased in the
3rd century
crisis.
Spread of Christianity to 600 CE
Pompeii
Pompeii, a city in
southern Italy near
Naples, was founded
in the 6th century
BCE.
It was destroyed on
August 24, 79 CE,
when Mt. Vesuvius
erupted, burying the
city under several
feet of ash and rock.
Pompeii, buried in
the explosion, was
abandoned and
forgotten.
Computer-generated depiction of the
eruption of Vesuvius (by the BBC)
Ruins of Pompeii
Photos by
Robert Curtis Rossetti
Pompeii was rediscovered in 1748.
Excavations have exposed a wellpreserved Roman city from the
Golden Age.
Below you will find the Table of Contents for the Ancient
Rome PowerPoint.
If you are connected to the internet, click on the link below
to go directly to the Ancient Rome page:
Ancient Rome PowerPoint
Rome and the Ancient World
Roman Republic
Roman Expansion/Punic Wars
Roman Society in the Republic
The Roman Revolution
The Principate
Rome in the Golden Age
Third Century Crisis
The Dominate
Late Antiquity
Legacy of Rome
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