A collaborative class book. The children were divided into groups with each group responsible for creation a chapter of the book you are now reading.

Ancient Rome

A sample of various history, geography and other social science books made by students around the world.

Social studies books

Here is a story about joining the Roman army. You've want to join the army. You have to sign up for 25 years. You are a Roman citizen so you are made a legionary. You begin your life as a solider by training to fight. It's pretty hard but you survive. You are promoted and win your first real battle. You continue to fight many more battles. An experienced solider you are promoted to a centurion. When your 25 years are up you retire. Like lots of soldiers you marry a local girl. When you die your eldest son gets all of your money and property and takes over as the head of the family.

Here's what the Roman soldiers wore: You had a metal helmet, a neck protector, an armour of metal strips held together with leather straps, you had a belt to hold your sword and dagger, you had a woollen tunic worn under your armour and you had sandals. Roman soldiers kept warm in cold days by wearing woolly underpants.

Gladiator games reached the peak of their popularity in the last days of Roman Republic. The famous leader Julius Caesar, spent a huge amount of money on such games. During this time the games provided popular and cheap entertainment to the public and was used to gain support before elections.

753 BC - The city of Rome is founded

395 AD - Rome splits into two empires.

509 BC - Rome becomes a republic.

80 AD - The Colosseum is built

Roman Emperors, Rome was an Empire for over 500 years. During this time there were over 140 different emperors. The roman emperors were the rulers of Ancient Rome. The roman Emperor had power over Rome. Augustus was the first emperor of Ancient Rome. Augustus refused to have supreme power as the emperor. Vespasian is known for building the colosseum.

Julius Caesar is one of the more famous emperors because he took over loads of land,but then he died because he was stabbed in the back about 25 times!

In the Ancient Roman times they had lot's of different foods. Rich Romans ate stuff like beef ,pork ,chicken ,mutton ,fish and even snails sometimes. And sometimes they invited guests for dinner. During dinner you could get so full you needed to get sick. So then they went into a room called the vomitorium .And they would go in there to get sick ,and then they  would go back to their dinner. And with there dinner they would have lots of spices like pepper and clove and nutmeg and cinnamon. And before they got killed they would eat walnuts , acorns and chestnuts and they  would spend a lot of their money on food. And did I mention that there spices were important all the way from India. And they would not eat stuff like bad fruits but they would eat the best fruits and with there dinner they would have a drink called the Mediterranean Triad and they were so rich they bought slaves to cook there food and if there food was good they would get an eye and if it was Hanson they would get a pied and that is the End of the rich romans

In 2007 The Colosseum was chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

EMPEROR NERO Nero was born in 37AD and ruled the Roman Empire from 54 to 68 AD . Nero was only 17 when the throne was given to him and he was the youngest emperor so far at the time. Nero liked art and architecture. He built many buildings and participated in many acting and singing activities. He is mostly famous for burning down Rome and recreating it and he forgot to tell the people of Rome that he was going to burn it down. While Rome burned down he played the harp. He was generous to the poor and they liked him for that but the rich despised him. Nero then had to run away from Rome. Then he made sure his secretary called Epaphroditos killed him before he could be arrested. The initial years of Nero rule were marred by the struggle for control and influence between his mother Agrippina and his close advisors Seneca and Burris. Agrippina's desire to exercise greater authority in matters of state resulted in strained relations between her and Nero.

Rome was ended by the Turkish Ottoman Empire (Osmanli). Rome had two empires which was both invaded by the ottoman.

Roman men wore tunics. Roman loved ❤️ Clothing. Roman men in Rome wore togas over their tunic when they went out to work and meeting with their friends. In the 2nd century the women were not allowed to were the toga. Only citizens were allowed to were togas.

This is a roman vase drawn and coloured by Gary 

Mosaics of family members on the floors of people's houses were very popular. People also used mosaics to tell stories of roman history. A relief is a type of art. This is when a scene of any sort is carved into rock. It is usually on the side of a building. Reliefs are usually of a battle. Roman art is also seen around the city. Some painted scenes showed important roman battles.

This is a painting of an important roman battle 

Art and pottery Art Mosaics of family members on the floors of people's houses We're very popular.people also used mosaics to tell stories of roman history. Paintings of gods ,back gardens,and special occasions were very Popular to paint on people's walls. The romans sculpted sculptures of heads and bodies. Sculpted heads are called busts. The romans often sculpted busts of the heads of their gods and goddesses. Romans loved to collect busts of all sorts. The Romans painted on a lot of their architecture like pillars and walls to display their work.wealthy romans had a lot of rooms in their houses painted to make the room look bigger. Wealthy romans bought beautiful paintings to display in their houses.relief is a type of art. This is when a scene of any sort is carved into rock. It is usually on the side of a building. Reliefs are usually of a battle. Roman art is also seen around the city. Some painted scenes showed important roman battles.

ANCIENT ROMAN MILITARY The roman army was the main reason that the Roman Empire was so powerful. The Roman Empire needed troops to defend it's land against enemy attack. There were two different types of soldiers in Rome: legion and auxiliary. Legions were roman citizens while auxiliary were non-citizens. When you joined the army you signed up for 25 years. Centurions were officers in the Roman army. Each one commanded about 100 soldiers. Here are some punishments. 1.laziness=sleep outside the safety of the camp. 2.falling asleep on duty.=You get the worst food 3.running away in a battle=death by beating. 4.putting your unit in danger=death by stoning. 5.running away with your unit=decimation of a unit.one man in every ten is executed.

Spartacus was bought by Lentulus Batiatus a gladiator school owner. He was very popular and he fought people and animals. Spartacus did not like the way slaves were treated and planned to escape. In 73 BC Spartacus and lots of other slaves escaped. They fought with things from the kitchen.

Mosaics are tiles on the floors of people's houses put into a picture

 The step was taken to make administration easier.It however, created rift between  the two parts and they frequently  quarrelled over resources, territories and military aid. Eastern part was farther from troublesome barbaric tribes and consequentially thrived under peaceful Circumstances. It grew more stable and economically sound. These internal problems weakened the empire, particularly the restive western part

Rome countered military adventures of barbaric tribes like Goths, Vandals and Germans for many years of the empire military defeats against these tribes weakened the empire .these tribes slowly and gradually got stronger the influence inside Roman territory and in 410AD, goths under the command of king Alaric,ransacked the city of Rome. It was eventually a Germanic military leader, Odoacer, who deafeted the last western Roman emperor Romulus in 476AD and became ad.

Ancient Romans considered that wine was a daily necessity. Every one in Rome could have it even the Slaves. Romans had grapevines

 They killed almost all of the roman force. Before he fought the romans again, he tried to escape to Sicily but some pirates he went with betrayed him even though he paid them. He did his final battle on the bank of river Sele in 71BC. He was killed in the battle. In the end the roman army caught the 6000 people and they were crucified.

This was a Roman military formation. The soldiers would use their shields to create a barrier around them. Arrows would glance of the shields and an attacking army would find it very difficult to attack the Roman soldiers.

Gladiators used swords, spears, short javelins and shields as weapons and wore helmets and body armour for protection. They were well fed and looked after by their owners and were rewarded after they won fights. Public also admired famous and successful gladiators and respected those who died courageously in arena.

They often fought against animals brought back from foreign countries such as Lions.

The Roman army marched around the empire to where they were needed. they travelled up to 30 km a day. There were many famous commanders in the Roman army such as Flavius Aetius, Mark Antony, Julius ceaser, Pompey the great, Alexander the Great and Scipio Afrcanus.

The Colosseum was built of stones and concrete. It had four main floors with eighty arches each.The first three stories were completed during the reign of Vespasian but the top floor was completed by Titus. Historians report that over 9000 wild animals and 2,000 Gladiators were killed during the first games held at the Colosseum.

The Gladiators would wait for the crowd to give them a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Thumbs down meant that the crowd wanted the Gladiator to kill their opponent.

Nero is a very bad man who burnt down Rome to make a new start and poisoned his mother

The romans sculpted sculptures of heads and bodies. Sculpted heads are called busts. The romans often sculpted busts of the heads of their gods and goddesses. Romans loved to collect busts of all sorts. 

4th Class A Carrigaline Educate Together National School

Part of the reason for the fall of Rome was the fault of the auxiliary units. They  sometimes refused to fight in some wars so the Roman Empire began to lose many battles which contributed to the fall of Rome.   

This was Nero when he was young

Claudius conquered 7 new places and started attacking Britain, he also built lots of roads and canals.

The two halves of the Roman Empire ended at different times. The western Empire ended in 476 AD when the last emperor Romulus Augustus, was defeated by the German, Odoacer. The eastern Empire ended with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD.

Oddly the last emperor was Romulus Augustus

Roman military was once famous for its discipline and efficacy won them to expand the Empire across Europe , Asia and North Africa. However, as the empire expanded, so did the demand for recruiting more soldiers. 

The largest arena for Gladiator fights was the Colosseum in Rome. You can still visit it today. The floor is no longer there as it was made of wood and destroyed many years ago.

It is believed that at times the arena could be flooded with water to allow naval battles to happen for the crowds.

Slaves Slaves were important in Ancient Rome. Most of the slaves were the people they caught in war. Each war they got thousands of slaves. Abandoned children were also slaves. Roman fathers were aloud to sell their older children as slaves,this law was made by Romulus. The slaves masters were very cruel to the slaves.

Revolt Against Nero and His Death: In 68 AD two of Nero’s influential governors Vindex and Galba revolted against his taxation policies and joined hands against him. While Nero’s loyal forces defeated and killed Vindex, Galba grew strong and popular and even Nero’s army generals and officers stopped taking orders from him. Nero lost all support in Rome and Senate also declared him a public enemy. Nero ran away from Rome with few close aides and in face of approaching enemy forces, made his personal secretary,Epaphroditos kill him before he could be arrested. He was the first Roman emperor to commit suicide.



EMPEROR NERO

NERO WAS BORN IN 37AD and ruled the  Roman Empire from 54 to 68 Ad . Nero was only 17when the throne was given to him and he  was the youngest emperor so far at the time . Nero likes art and architecture. He built many buildings and participated in many acting and singing activities.he was mostly famous for burning  down Rome and the recreating it.and he forgot to tel the people of Rome that he was going to burn it down .while rome  burned down he played the fiddle . He was generous to the poor and  they liked him for that but the rich despised him . Nero then had to run away lfrom Rome .then he made sure his secretary called epaphroditos kill him before he could be arrested.the initial years of Neros rule were marred by the struggle for control and influence between his mother agrippina and his close advisors Seneca and Burris. Agrippina's desire to exercise greater authority in matters of sate resulted in strained relatitons between her and Nero . Nero had a special liking for arts and architecture. He built many theatres and participated in acting and singing activities. While he is infamous for otohplaying fiddle while Rome burnt (great fire of Rome -64 AD.   Some historians believe that he in fact 9is umm did all he could to help victims and that's or Nero.dun dun dun ☃️

The Colosseum in Rome is widely believed to be the biggest and grandest amphitheater in the entire Roman Empire. It could hold around eighty thousand spectators which is as big as Croke Park in Dublin. The Colosseum was built by the first Flavian emperor, Vespasian. The construction started in 70AD and did not finish during Vespasian’s reign. Titus, Vespasian’s successor completed the construction in 80AD.

The adoption of Christianity as the state religion in late 4th century religion viewed emperor as having a divine stature. Christianity ended this and ended the obsession Of people with state and empire.

Before it's the end we would like to show the little animation that we made

The colosseum was a very big stadium it could hold up to 55,000 people.  In it the ancient romans held gladiator fights.  The place where the gladiators prepare to fight under the battleground.  Now the colosseum has mostly fallen apart but part is still standing.

I am a roman in the ancient times,my friends are rich, they eat foods like beef, pork, chicken, mutton, fish and even snails sometimes.

It is hard to relax around them because I, eat foods that are rotten, they eat foods like beef , mutton, fish and snails . That is the life story of them . Romans Life x3 

But I , am poor........... I eat food that is just       EWW!!!  It is , Pottage , that looks like paint , fruit and Veg , that aren't okay . Oh oh oh My my my Gosh!

I am a roman , in the ancient times , my friends are poor, they eat foods like , Pottage , fruit and vegetables sometimes they would even eat cheap salty bread

Paintings of gods ,back gardens,and special occasions were very popular to paint on people's walls. The Romans painted on a lot of their architecture like pillars and walls to display their work. Wealthy romans had a lot of rooms in their houses painted to make the room look bigger. Wealthy romans bought beautiful paintings to display in their houses.

They built amphitheaters like ‘The Colosseum’, where gladiator games were held regularly and were witnessed by excited crowds who cheered for their favourite fighters just like we cheer our favourite sportsmen and teams today.

Roman society depended greatly on the slaves. These men and women not only served their masters in their homes, but also worked in the fields, mines and mills of the empire. Roman military was the largest source of acquiring these slaves and after every military victory; thousands of slaves were brought to the empire and sold off.

Gladiators were recruited from different sources. Some were slaves bought from different lands under Roman control, some were prisoners of war and most of the others were volunteers. These volunteer combatants were paid for their services and were very skilled fighters. Most of the gladiators were Thracians, Gauls and Africans. There is evidence to suggest that females also took part in gladiatorial sports. Some emperors like Caligula, Commodus, Titus and Claudius also participated. But the fights involving emperors were usually fixed so that the emperor would always win.

Most of the historians believe that Roman Empire ceased to exist as an entity when Germanic leader Odoacer defeated the last roman emperor Romulus in 476AD to become the first king of Italy. However some historians believe that Roman Empire did not fall in 476AD as the eastern empire continued to exist for another 1000 years after that.

Gladiators were like soldiers who fought against each other, criminals and wild animals during the time of Roman Republic and Roman Empire. They were armed with deadly weapons and in most cases fought till either one of them accepted defeat or was killed fighting. Gladiators fought for the entertainment of Rome’s rich and mighty and also for public. People came to the arenas to watch gladiator games. It all sounds very cruel to us today but gladiator fighting was a popular sport in Rome, just like soccer is today. Roman people enjoyed the sight of blood and carnage.

Frequent internal conflicts and political instability weakened the empire from within. The wars of succession pushed the empire into crisis. This instability gave enemies of the empire a chance to pursue their agenda and make territorial gains.

This book is a collaborative effort by the children of 4th Class A at Carrigaline Educate Together National School in Ireland. Over the past month they have been learning and researching about life in Ancient Rome. The children were then divided into groups with each group responsible for creation a chapter of the book you are now reading. All of the images were sourced using a Creative Commons Search. The children have been learning about the importance of choosing appropriately available images for project work and have made huge efforts to ensure that all images are freely available to use. If for any reason you feel we have included an image in error please let us know and we will fix it right away. We have also used a Dyslexic friendly font throughout the book to make it more accessibility to everyone. Finally we hope you enjoy our book all about Ancient Rome. On the next page you will find an index of the chapters available.

In 27 BC Rome was transformed into an empire from a republic. Trajan was Spanish, he was the the first emperor that was not Italian. When Trajan was emperor the Roman Empire expanded its most.The Roman Empire expanded too much so Diocletian spit the Empire in half! The eastern empire which included the city of Rome, And the western empire. Valens was not the last emperor. There were some more after him. Constantine was the first christian Emperor. He ruled the eastern Empire.

Poor romans ate a good amount of food, but not as much as the rich romans . They ate a vegetable stew called Pottage. In the stew there was beef, pork, chicken, cheese and herbs. You could put lamb in it too. They also ate fruit, vegetables and a cheap salty bread. The rich and poor drank a drink called Mediterranean Triad. It was made up of olive oil, barley and wine.

Under the arena was where the animals and gladiators waited for battle.

Poor romans ate lots of salad . They would use vegetables, fruit and dried fruit to make the salad. Vegetables were popular all over Rome. Many romans would eat salads for lunch. They were a big part of romans diet.

<a href="bookcreator://page/nzo3zjwBSea7aWJKuPtU5A">Gladiators</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/WHq6sH1US5K92PKfnbaNJw">Roman Military</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/HLeu_nHSS5qv9HDJYR7tjA">Architecture</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/0oGYbLq-TNqwNIFgBJSohg">Clothing</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/NWmnl75xRMWEzNbqVz_0CQ">Spartacus and Slavery</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/FbuUpljXSNe1vOOhbtC70g">Art and Pottery</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/4pnzg2n2RNK4xmoe0UIe3w">Emperors</a>

EMPEROR NERO NERO WAS BORN IN 37AD and ruled the Roman Empire from 54 to 68 Ad . Nero was only 17when the throne was given to him and he was the youngest emperor so far at the time . Nero likes art and architecture. He built many buildings and participated in many acting and singing activities.he was mostly famous for burning down Rome and the recreating it.and he forgot to tel the people of Rome that he was going to burn it down .while rome burned down he played the fiddle . He was generous to the poor and they liked him for that but the rich despised him . Nero then had to run away lfrom Rome .then he made sure his secretary called epaphroditos kill him before he could be arrested.the initial years of Neros rule were marred by the struggle for control and influence between his mother agrippina and his close advisors Seneca and Burris. Agrippina's desire to exercise greater authority in matters of sate resulted in strained relatitons between her and Nero . Nero had a special liking for arts and architecture. He built many theatres and participated in acting and singing activities. While he is infamous for otohplaying fiddle while Rome burnt (great fire of Rome -64 AD. Some historians believe that he in fact 9is umm did all he could to help victims and that's or Nero.dun dun dun ☃️

I am a Roman , in the Ancient , times my friends are poor, they eat foods like , Pottage, fruit, vegetables and cheap salty bread 

I just got called for dinner , cook is making beef with Mediterranean Triad , olive oil , barley and wine. Yippee 

My life is amazing, it is ! I am rich . Well I don't really know. 

Woman's did not wear 🎩. But their hair was carefully arranged. Young girls sometimes wore a knot at the back of their neck. But some girls had curls or bangs that were straight curled.

Roman used wool, linen, cotton and silk for their clothing.The best linen came from Egypt and silk came from China.

This is a statue of Nero before he became emperor 

This is a statue of Nero before he became emperor

A young girl wears a tunic inside the house.a girls outer tunic was long and belted. Roman woman loved jewellery,and loads of money was spent on jewellery like rings, earrings,necklaces and pendants. 

All the children of slaves were considered slaves to and they had to provide for their parents master. Roman law decided that slaves should not get any legal rights. Slaves worked as teachers, physicians and cooks. The slaves had to do a lot of things around the house like washed clothes, cooked meals, bathed and dressed their masters. Freed slaves were called "libertus".

Pottery Roman pottery was used for all sorts of things including pots, pans and utensils. Roman pottery is separated in to two different categories which are fine ware and course ware. Fine ware was usually used for restaurant plates. The most popular fine ware pottery was the red glazed pottery called terra sigilala. Course ware was coarsely made for poor romans. It had thick walls because it was going to be handled roughly. Course ware was especially made for carrying liquids, cooking and eating.

The following links will take you to websites with even more information on the Ancient Romans.

<a href="http://www.historyforkids.net/ancient-rome.html">Ancient Rome 1</a>

<a href="http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome.php">Ancient Rome 2</a>

<a href="http://www.rome.mrdonn.org">Ancient Rome 3</a>

ROMAN ARCHITECTURE Wealthy Roman people in the towns lived in a domus. They were single story buildings. Domus came in many different sizes depending on how rich the owner was. Early roman architecture was based on Greek architecture.A building where romans spent time was a Thermae or a bathhouse.It was used for bathing.It was also a place to meet friends and chat. Thermae were in each tourin. Thermaes also had gardens there were three rooms one for hot baths. Warm baths and cold. The wealthiest families had pipes that carried water into the home. The romans built very long bridges. A lot of these bridges are still standing today. They were made of stone and concrete to malice the bridges. The biggest bridge in the world was the trujan bridge over the river Danub. It was 3700 feet long and 62 feet height. Roman engineering had a big part in Roman Architecture.

Early Roman architecture was based on Greek architecture. Roman architecture is noted arches, domes aqueducts, thermaes, Amphitheater, temples, apartments blocks and houses. The Romans used marble to make many buildings.

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