How words shape our thoughts
The first major paved road was the Appian Way, started in the mid-fourth century BCE, linking Rome to Brindisi. The Roman roads were highly important to transport food and soldiers across the empire.
Founded in 330 CE, the Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital in Constantinople, today's Istanbul, was called the Byzantine Empire. It survived until 1453.
Sources: (All That's Interesting) (History) (History Hit)
See also: What happens to the coins tossed into Rome's Trevi Fountain?
Even if Roman plumbing and hygiene is widely praised, research has shown that Roman bathhouses and toilets were havens for parasites.
Caligula once ordered hundreds of merchant ships to form a floating bridge three miles (five km) long. He then spent two days galloping back and forth across it.
Claudius changed Roman law so he could marry his niece, Agrippina. They married in 49 CE and together had the future emperor Nero.
Romans liked to have their food often lying down on a couch while eating with their hands. They occasionally used a spoon, but never a knife and fork.
Roman legend tells of twin brothers named Romulus and Remus who were abandoned as babies in the area which later became Rome. Found and raised by a wolf, Romulus fought and killed Remus as adults, later becoming the first ruler of Rome.
Reports suggest that the Romans would often fill the Colosseum with water and stage bloody naval battles for enormous crowds.
By the first century CE, the practice was common among both slaves forced to fight and female citizens who did so of their own free will.
Small landowners and tradesmen had few rights, while the aristocrats ruled the city. This lasted until the Conflict of the Orders between 494 BCE and 287 BCE, when the lower class won concessions after withdrawing their labor.
Roman arenas were packed with people watching criminals who were mauled to death by wild animals, usually lions and tigers.
The Romans believed in gods and goddesses who ruled over different areas of life. For example, Neptune was the god of the ocean, and they prayed to him to protect them at sea.
Romans drank pig dung as an energy drink. Emperor Nero was a big fan of the drink, which was made by soaking roasted dung in vinegar.
Sweat and dirt scraped from the skin of popular gladiators would be bottled and sold to women. It was believed to be an aphrodisiac and a beauty treatment.
Known as the Cloaca Maxima, this sewer survived through the entire Republic and Empire. Parts of it are still used as a drain today.
During ancient Rome, going to the toilet was a social business. The Romans would use a communal sponge on a stick to clean themselves after pooping in open-air public toilets.
It was common for Romans to use urine to whiten their teeth. Ammonia, which is a common household cleaner, can be found in urine, and acted as a stain remover.
A Vestal Virgin was a priestess of the Roman goddess Vesta. These women took their vow of chastity very seriously, and if they were found to no longer be virgins, they would be buried alive.
Ancient Romans celebrated a festival called Saturnalia where slaves and masters would sometimes switch places. The celebration was held in honor of the god Saturn, who allowed slaves to be set free and even criticized their masters.
Julius Caesar was a military leader and dictator who controlled Rome between 49 and 44 BCE, but he was never technically emperor.
A popular delicacy with Roman emperors, flamingo tongue was often served alongside pheasant brains, parrot fish livers, and lamprey guts.
In about 67 CE, Emperor Nero married a boy named Sporus, had him castrated, and treated him as a woman. He would call Sporus by the name of his deceased wife, Sabina.
Emperor Commodus actually believed he was a reincarnation of Hercules, and even demanded that the Senate declare him a living god by addressing him as "Hercules, son of Zeus."
In 211 CE, Emperor Caracalla had his brother murdered in front of their mother and forbade her from crying. The brother, Geta, was his rival for control of the empire.
If a person was found guilty of killing their father, they would be tied up in a sack with wild animals and tossed into a river.
Since the start, Rome had an organized military. It started with Romulus himself, with regiments of 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry.
Gladiators were celebrities who brought in lots of money to their handlers, who didn't want to see their investments die. Therefore, they rarely fought to the death.
Some Roman emperors knowingly poisoned themselves on a daily basis by drinking a concoction called mithridatium, which contained small amounts of poison. They believed by doing this it would eventually immunize them against poisons in the event of an assassination attempt.
The wars between Rome and Persia over territory represent the longest-sustained military conflict in human history. It went on from 54 BCE to 628 CE.
Experts estimate that, when adjusted for inflation, some charioteers' fortunes were as much as 15 times greater than those of today's elite athletes.
Beginning in the eighth century BCE, ancient Rome grew from a small town into an empire that at its peak covered most of continental Europe, Britain, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. It left an enormous legacy, from the widespread use of the Romance languages to the alphabet and the calendar. When we think of ancient Rome, visions of emperors, gladiators, and astonishing architecture appear, but still there are so many things we might not be familiar with about this astonishing empire.
Want to discover more about ancient Rome? Then check out the following gallery.
Fascinating facts about ancient Rome that will surprise you
Discover more about the glory of ancient Rome
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Beginning in the eighth century BCE, ancient Rome grew from a small town into an empire that at its peak covered most of continental Europe, Britain, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. It left an enormous legacy, from the widespread use of the Romance languages to the alphabet and the calendar. When we think of ancient Rome, visions of emperors, gladiators, and astonishing architecture appear, but still there are so many things we might not be familiar with about this astonishing empire.
Want to discover more about ancient Rome? Then check out the following gallery.