The Roman Republic (509-31 BCE) - Ancient History: Rome

The Acta Senatus was a Roman newspaper which documented the actions and decisions of the Roman Senate. It was initially only available to patricians and politicians, but was made available to the common people by Julius Caesar as part of his populist reform program.

The Romans invented concrete in the latter years of the Roman Republic. The Romans developed concrete from volcanic ash and slaked lime; an innovating that allowed the Romans to construct monumental buildings that have stood the test of time.

A codex is a stack of pages bound together to form a rudimentary book. The invention of the codex encouraged literacy in the Roman Empire by making information more accessible and easier to disseminate.

The Julian Calendar was created by Julius Caesar, and his scientific advisors, in 46 BCE. The Julian Calendar was incredibly reliable and was in continuous use for another 1,600 years before it was replaced by the slightly more accurate Gregorian Calendar.

These great stone aqueducts marked much of Rome's territory. While some of these other options may have been used within Roman cities, the aqueduct efficiently transported water from outside sources to the cities by using gravity.

Claudius Ptolemy was a Greco-Egyptian scholar and scientist who lived in Alexandria, in Roman Egypt, during the second century CE. He was an accomplished mathematician and scientist and wrote extensively on geography, astronomy, and astrology.

The population of the city of Rome (and other notable imperial cities) grew dramatically in the early years of the Roman Empire. So much so that it became impossible to feed the population based on what could be grown locally. As a result, much of the grain in cities like Rome, Syracuse, and Constantinople was shipped from more fertile lands. Most of the grain that arrived in Rome came from Roman occupied Egypt, which is sometimes referred to as “the breadbasket of the Roman Empire.”

Aqueducts were vital for conveying water to cities in the Roman Empire. Aqueducts were a notable accomplishment of Roman engineering, because they required precise measurements and intricate detail. Some historians contend that the Roman use of lead in their aqueducts caused widespread poisoning in the Roman Empire, which might have contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire, but this argument is heavily disputed.

Hadrian’s Wall is a defensive fortification that was built in northern England. It marked the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire, in the British Isles, at the time of Hadrian’s rule around 120 CE. It was constructed to deter the barbarian Picts (who lived in modern-day northern England and Scotland) from attacking the Roman Empire.

The Denarius was a silver coin, a unit of currency, first used in the Roman Republic and then used in the Roman Empire. It was the most common unit of currency in the Roman Empire.

Augustus Caesar is responsible for creating a professional standing army and is known for making countless reforms of the Roman military to try and improve its fighting capacity. It, therefore, seems logical to speculate that he would also be responsible for creating a professional corps of army medics, and this is indeed the case. The Romans made numerous notable innovations in battlefield surgery including arterial surgical tools to prevent death from loss of blood. Due to the skills of these army medics, Roman soldiers could expect to live as long or even longer than Roman civilians.

The Pater familia was a legal entity governing over the individual family. The emperor was not considered the head of the family, nor were church leaders. By eliminating these two incorrect options, we decide between the father or the mother as the head of the family. Remember that in ancient Rome, the father represented not only the head of a family, but was designated by the state to be in charge.

The Aeneid was written by the Roman poet, Virgil, in the first century BCE. It tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a refugee fleeing the conflict caused by the Trojan War. According to Virgil, Aeneas fled to Italy where he established the city of Rome. The Romans were great admirers of Greek literature and culture and The Aeneid represents how the foundational myths of Rome were associated with the continuation of Greek legacy.

Cicero was a politician, philosopher, political theorist, linguist, and orator who lived in Rome during the waning years of the Roman Republic. He is primarily remembered by contemporary history as a skilled orator. He notably opposed Julius Caesar when Caesar took control of the Roman Republic and he issued a series of diatribes against Mark Antony when the latter tried to take power for himself after Caesar’s death. Cicero was executed for his troubles, but history remembers him as a great public speaker, an important contributor to the development of European language, and a principled defender of republicanism.

Dido is the legendary founder of Carthage. The veracity of her existence is hard to prove, but the ancient Romans believed that Dido founded the city of Carthage during the tumultuous years after the end of the Trojan War. She appears as an important character in The Aeneid.

The Temple of Portunus was built in the late second century BCE in the city of Rome. It is one of the best-surviving temples left behind by the Roman Republic. The Temple of Portunus was constructed in the style of the Ionic order. The Ionic order is one of the three main architectural styles of the classical period of European history. It is characterized by the use of volutes (which are essentially ornamental bases for columns).

The latin phrase cursus honorum translates to “sequence of offices.” It was a term used during the history of the Roman Republic to describe the correct traditional order of political offices sought by aristocratic politicians (similar to the United States; if an inspiring president first serves as a representative, then a senator, then secretary of state). The highest position was that of the consul.

Much of the primary history of the Gallic Wars was written by Julius Caesar (the Roman general who led the Roman army during the Gallic Wars). For this reason, the history of the Gallic Wars cannot really be trusted — after all, how can one expect Julius Caesar to provide an unbiased account of his own actions?

In the latter years of the Roman Republic, the power of individual generals was growing due to a series of reforms and political changes. Originally, imperium_, or “the right to rule and command the army,_” was bestowed on an individual by the Roman Senate. Over time, however, as generals grew more and more powerful, they began to bestow imperium upon themselves and used their personal armies to reinforce their claim.