There is proof that after the ancient city of Troy was destroyed, the people who survived fled to the

Etruscan area to live. The women burnt the boats, and told the men to set up home in this new area, calling it

“Rome”. Eventually, a mixture of Greek and Etruscan cultures immerged, and Latin became the language.  

This is a coin of Julius Caesar, showing

Aeneas, making his escape from Troy.  He claimed that he was a

descendant of the people who escaped from Troy. This is a

picture of their escape.

Nearly 3000 years ago, a tribe of people called the Latin's lived in a small village on the Tiber River.

This village grew to become the famous city of Rome.  

The Etruscans organized their towns into city-states, each ruled by a king. The city-states worked together in a

league - the Etruscan League. The 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 Latin's) learned a great deal from the

Etruscan traders.  While the Etruscans were building their own civilization,

the city of Rome grew more powerful. Soon, Rome was a center of trade and commerce. Some of Rome's early

kings were Etruscans.   

When a country establishes trade with many other kingdoms, they become a popular place to visit. They also become very rich, which

helped Rome grow into a great Empire. When you look closely at the map, you can see that Rome traded with many wealthy kingdoms, and grew larger and larger over time. Read the map and to learn what items they

traded. The red lines are the roads they traveled to trade.

Rome did required water in order for so many people to live in one area.

The Romans were one of the first peoples to build aqueducts to transport water into the city.

Some of these still exist today and can be visited.

The Romans developed the use of concrete to aid them in their massive building projects.

Their use of concrete was a huge breakthrough that we still use in building architecture today.

They were able to make massive building for less money and effort by building out of concrete and then applying a veneer

of stone or marble over the concrete.

This gave them greater freedom in the forms they could use, they didn’t have to transport as many heavy stones, and they

could stretch their resources.

The people were charged a price for the water that came into the city, and small pipes carried water into the public

baths which Rome was so famous for.

This is a photograph of one of the pipes which carried water into the city. On the right is a

picture of a Roman bath.

There were three main classes of people in ancient Rome - 

the Patricians, the Plebeians and the Slave class. 

Patricians: The patricians were the upper class, the nobility and wealthy land owners. 

Plebeians: The plebeians were the lower class. They included everyone in ancient Rome from well-to-do tradesmen all the way down to the very poor.

Slaves: If they could afford it, both classes had slaves to do the work.

The Family Unit

The family was structured in the same way in both classes. The head of the family was the oldest male. That could be the father, the grandfather, or perhaps even an

uncle. Everybody in one family lived under one room.

Women had no authority except in the home.

Old age was honored and respected.  

Citizenship of Rome

The citizens of Rome were adult free MEN from both classes - plebs and patricians.

Women, children, and slaves were not citizens. People from all classes considered themselves Romans. 

Language and Activities

Both classes worshiped the same gods and attended religious festivals. Both classes spoke the same language, Latin.

How the Wealthy Plebeians lived

Many plebeians lived in apartment houses called flats. Some the apartments were above or behind their shops. Even fairly well to do trades-men might chose to live in an apartment-building compound over their store, with perhaps 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.

How the Poor Plebeians lived

In the poorer apartment houses, an entire plebeian family (grandparents, parents, children) might all be crowded into one room, without running water. They had to haul their water in from public facilities. They did not have toilets. They had to use public toilets. The poor wore shabby clothing. Their jewelry was made of painted clay. They worked all the time.

How the Poor Plebeians lived

Fire was a very real threat because people were cooking meals in crowded quarters, and many of the flats were made of wood. The lower class Romans (plebeians) might have a breakfast of

bread, dry or dipped in wine, and water. Sometimes olives, cheese, or raisins were sprinkled on the bread.

How the Patricians lived

The rich had beautiful mosaics on the floors of their home. They wore lots of jewelry made of gold and gemstones. They had

beautiful clothing. They enjoyed a great deal of leisure time.  

How the Slaves lived

Roman slaves were acquired from the unfortunate people who had become prisoners of war, criminals who received the punishment of slavery and those who were born into slavery. Under Roman law, the offspring of slave women

assumed the status of their mothers.  

Next study:

Rome as a RepublicRome develops its own political structure.