Rome has a unique and significant place in history.Rome’s history begins dramatically with the finding of twin brothers by the she-wolf. It describes how a small village grew into an eternal city.Romans are not only warriors but also great engineers, architects, and enjoyed sporting events. The history of Rome laid the foundation for today’s democracy, or public affairs, that many countries have adopted. Ancient Roman civilization bestowed on society, religion, politics, law, technology, modern language, architecture, art, and literature to the known world.If you love history and the above content has engrossed you, we recommend our fun facts articles on ancient Roman food facts and ancient Rome architecture facts.Weird Facts About Ancient RomeRome, according to history and a famous myth, evolved in 753 BC. Its origin involves twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who were believed to be found on the banks of the Tiber River by a she-wolf that fed the twin brothers with its milk. Eventually, Romulus killed Remus for the throne and kingdom. Later, Romulus named the city Rome in his name, and thus Rome was established.Surprisingly and weirdly, the Romans consumed pig dung as an energy drink. The roasted dung was soaked in vinegar and consumed. Human urine was believed to whiten teeth and hence was used by Romans.The Roman sculptures, mosaics, and art were sculpted with phallic art to please God Fascinus. The Roman crowd was allowed to watch the criminals being punished. The men would be hung 15 ft (457 cm) up in the air, and another upside down and left as a treat to wild animals.The tongue of a flamingo bird would often be served as a delicacy to the Roman emperors. These used to have long dinners that stretched into the mornings.Often mistook as an emperor, Julus Caeser was a great dictator and military leader who disciplined and guarded Rome from 49 to 44 B.C.The sweat of the mighty gladiators would be preserved in bottles and sold to the women as it was used in beauty treatments and perfumes. The gladiators were looked up to as celebrities as they procured lots of money. By the 1st century A.D., there were female gladiators as well.While during the Middle Ages, Roman hygiene was cleaner. Research indicates the unclean Roman bathhouses and toilets were retreats for parasites. The Romans also used a sponge tied to a wooden stick to clean communal washrooms.An annual winter festival, Saturnalia, was celebrated in honor of the god Saturn, where masters and slaves would interchange roles.Roman charioteers earned lots of money in comparison to present-day athletes.The Roman emperor Claudius changed the Roman law to marry his niece in 49 A.D.Emperor Commodus assumed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules, son of Zeus, and compelled the Senate to declare him a living god. Emperor Caligula, who emptied the Roman treasury, was believed to be trying to make his horse a consul but did not manifest. Emperor Trajan Decius was the first to be killed in a battle.The Roman army was brutally stuck and defeated by the Goths in 251 A.D. Emperor Domitian had one of his governors executed because the governor owned a lance and gave his name to it.The Roman-Persian War took place for over seven centuries, from the first century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. It is reportedly the most prolonged military combat in human history. The Colosseum would be filled with water for the enormous Roman crowds to witness bloody naval fights.Ancient Rome’s TimelineRome has always been famous for expanding its boundaries and territories through war after war, king after king. With a vast history and a reign of nearly 1000 years, Roman history has many eventful timelines. Rome has it all, from evolving as a city in Italy to conquering the borders of the Mediterranean Sea.Rome was formed and found by one of the twin sons of Mars, Romulus. The year 753 B.C. marked the beginning of the Roman era when Romulus killed his twin Remus and became the first king of the throne. Beginning here, Rome was under the rule of the kings for the next 240 years. The year 509 B.C marked the revolution and formation of the Roman Republic after the last king was thrown from the throne.Rome was now under the governance of a constitution consisting of elected senators with a separation of powers. Thus, the first republican government of Rome was formed. In the year 218 B.C, Hanibal, who led the Cartharage army, invaded Rome with the iconic crossing of the Alps to enter Rome during the first Punic war. It was considered to have occurred during the Second Punic War. The year 73 B.C saw the surprise of the slaves headed by the gladiator Spartacus.Julius Caesar, a military leader, became the first dictator of Rome in the year 45 B.C. after defeating Pompey in a civil war. What followed was the famous Rubicon crossing. This indicates the end of the Roman Republican era, with Caeser becoming the supreme ruler of Rome. The following year, in 44 B.C., Caeser was assassinated by Markus Brutus on the Ides of March. A civil war followed, and finally, in 27 B.C, Caeser Augustus occupied the throne and became the first Roman Emperor.The magnificent Colosseum was built in 80 A.D. with a capacity of 50,000, which stands out as a great illustration of Roman engineering. Also, the Hadrian Wall was built across Northern England in the year 121 A.D. to safeguard it from invaders.An essential event in the timeline was when Christianity evolved. Then Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in the year 306 A.D. In 376 AD, Germanic tribes migrated into the empire from the Huns. In the year 380 A.D, Theodosius declared that the Roman Empire would follow the Christian God. The glory of ancient Rome started to diminish in 395 A.D. when it was split into the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Empire.In the year 410 AD, Rome fell to its enemies, the Visigoths. This was the first defeat for Rome in 800 years. Strangely, the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, was named after Romulus, the founder of Rome. The year 476 AD saw the downfall of ancient Rome and the end of the Western empire when Romulus Augustus was defeated by the German Oath Odoacer, who destroyed the Roman empire. However, the Eastern empire, called the Byzantine empire, survived till 1453 A.D, until the Ottoman Empire defeated it.Ancient Rome’s HistoryThe ancient city of Rome became famous for its rich and complicated history. It is a magnificent city with astonishing facts. There are many eventful occurrences in Roman history in the process of making it popular in world history. Facts about Rome, according to ancient historians, depict Roman civilization from the origin of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD.The history of Rome could be explained in three periods. The beginning of the era of Roman politics could be termed the regal period of the Roman kingdom from 753 BC to 509 BC. The period when Rome was under the governance of elected senators and consuls in the early republic period of the Roman Republic was from 509 BC to 27 BC.The formation of the constitution could be called a revolution in a country where the Roman citizens were under the rule of kings for centuries. And the period where Rome was ruled by the emperors is called the Imperial period. In the Imperial period of the Roman Empire, between 27 BC and 476 AD, Rome was ruled by more than 70 emperors. In the year 69 AD, four emperors commanded the throne. But the first of the four Augustus was the one who ruled the city for the longest period of 44 years.During the Imperial period, though ruled by emperors, Rome still had a senate with power restricted to administration. The ancient historians state that civilization evolved as an Italic establishment in the Italian Peninsula on Palatine Hill, that flourished into the city of Rome and, in the aftermath, gave its name to the empire and slowly spread the wings of the empire and its civilization. This civilization was headed by the Romans, and this ethnic group became a nationality.The Roman Empire spread to become one of the greatest empires in the ancient world, which was centrally ruled from the city. Rome had almost 20% of the total world’s population at that time, roughly estimated at 50-90 million. By 117 AD, the kingdom stretched to 1.9 million sq. mi (5 million sq. km). The Punic wars with Carthage were critical in proving Rome’s status as a world power. By 27 BC, Rome had conquered land in the vicinity of the Mediterranean and beyond. The Roman domain spread from northern Italy to southern Italy, the Atlantic to Arabia, and from the mouth of the Rhine to northern Africa. The Roman Empire reached its territorial peak under the rule of the empowered Trajan.Ancient Rome was addressed as Caput Mundi, which means the capital of the world.What is ancient Rome known for?Ancient Rome was the epitome of power, democracy, and public affairs. They were great warriors, but the Romans also took a great interest in construction, art, and social gatherings. Hence, Rome had many constructions that looked like works of art. The Romans were fond of food, art, and music and also had exotic foods.Rome was the first to establish a legal system. In the 5th century BC, the laws of 12 tables were created, and by the third century BC, these laws were further extended. The Romans loved victory. When the Romans won a battle, the victory was often addressed as a ’triumph’, and to celebrate the victory, they used to organize street parties and showy parades. As the Romans were engrossed in chariot riding and entertainment, Rome also created the Circus Maximus, other than the Colosseum. The Chariot Marcus is a gigantic stadium that often organizes chariot riding. It was vaster than the Colosseum and was open to all classes.Rome had the most significant Roman road network of its time and laid the Appian Way, the first highway constructed in 312 BC. In the first century, a vast road network was created and constructed from Italy to North Africa during Augustus’ reign. The Romans laid 10 ft (3 m) roads, and layered with sand, gravel, and stone, and concealed with volcanic rock. Hence, they are dead straight and highly resistant. The Romans were fond of constructing tombs after their names to be part of history in a glorious way. The pyramid of Gaius Cestius, the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, or the Mausoleum for Emperor Augustus and the Appian Way, were constructed in such a fashion. For over 2000 years, Rome has been the city of water. To exemplify, Rome had 2300 fountains, including the Trevi fountain, and not to mention, these were elegant and grand in detail. The Romans first invented the Roman number that is widely used in clocks. The Roman Forum was published for people to be in the know about current affairs. This included people’s assemblies, court trials, Senate debates, marine and military, births and obituaries, weddings, news, and executions.Being polytheistic, ancient Rome worshipped hundreds of gods. They even adopted the worship of Greek and Egyptian gods. The Greek goddess Isis was worshipped all over the Roman world. Rome is the heart of Christendom, having constructed as many as 300 churches all over the city. The extended city had up to 900 churches, probably the most significant number of churches any city can have in the world. The Romans created aqueducts and were the first to do so. These aqueducts bring in water from rivers and mountain streams that are even 62.1 mi (100 km) away.The Aqua Appia, built in 312 BC, was the first-ever aqueduct in Rome. The Aqua Vergine aqueduct was also known to supply fresh and clean water. The Romans had stadiums to organize naval battles among Roman soldiers. These stadiums would be filled with water to conduct Naumachia, the costly sea battles to celebrate triumph in, and were held only occasionally. The Romans gave us the world calendar as well. Julius Caesar introduced Julian’s calendar that would have 365 days and an extra day every four years called a leap year, and the month of July was added in his name posthumously.The first-ever palace was built in Rome. The Pantheon, the building of Rome, is one of a kind and unique in the world for its artistry and unsupported dome of concrete with a hole in the middle. The city of Rome also has more obelisks than the entire country of Egypt.The ancient Romans wore togas as a status symbol. A purple stripe on togas indicated the level of seniority and importance of the Roman citizen. The emperor usually wore a purple toga. Rome expanded its military glory and created the res publica system of government, which later inspired modern world republics such as France and the United States.Though they were not given Roman citizenship, the women of Roman society had more freedom than any other group, including women of the Greek city at that time. They were free to buy properties. Roman women often dyed their hair red or orange. From 27 BC to 180 AD was the period of Pax Romana, or Roman peace, during which there was almost total peace within the Empire and also a boom in the Roman economy.Once kidnapped in 78 BC while crossing the Aegean Sea, Julius Caeser demanded that the kidnappers double the ransom as he was a significant personality.The Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, was the last good king.The affair between Cleopatra and Marc Antony was quite famous.While visiting Rome, one can find cats resting on the walls of the Colosseum, as Rome has a law to protect cats.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ancient Roman facts, then why not take a look at ancient Roman government facts or ancient Roman religion facts.
Rome has a unique and significant place in history.
