101 Facts About Ancient Rome

greetings mother factors my name is Sam and today I'm going to be talking to you all about Rome but not just any Rome ancient Rome yes you're about to learn all about aqueducts gladiators and several important Hills it's gonna be epic but which rude body part did the Romans use as a good luck charm here's a clue it's not the weenus why did some Roman emperors deliberately drink poison and do all roads really lead to Rome my street just leads to a sewage treatment facility what London's expensive anyway you do enter through those questions are going to be answered so put on your toga slip on your sandals and pursue a regime of the raesha symbolism as we've count through 101 facts about ancient Rome before we get started though remember to do the ancient Roman ritual of subscribing to the channel subscribe us mother faxes that's what I was gone it's a similar thing just please like and subscribe thanks anyway number one ancient Rome was the Roman civilization that existed from the founding of the city of Rome in the eighth century BC leading all the way to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD this encompasses the Roman Kingdom the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire until the fall of the Western Empire though sometimes the term ancient Rome is restricted to only the areas of the Roman kingdom and the Roman Republic number 2 the famous myth surrounding the founding of Rome involves two semi-divine imp and twin boys Romulus and Remus who were suckled by a she-wolf after being left to die on the banks of the river Tiber the two craftsmen decided to found their own settlement but after a dispute over where exactly to start building Romulus killed Remus and the resulting city would eventually be called Rome after the surviving brother number three the more likely origin of the city of Rome is that it grew from settlements around a fort on the river Tiber archaeological evidence suggests that the village of Rome was founded by members of an italic tribe called the Latins on top of the Palatine Hill at some point in the eighth century BC however some believe the settlements may date as far back as the 10th century BC number four over a period of several centuries the city expanded into one of the largest empires in the ancient world there have been several estimates of how many people were ruled over the Romans the traditional figure is somewhere around 55 million those sell most notes but that number as high as 120 million number five through conquest and assimilation the Roman Empire eventually dominated the Mediterranean region most of Western Europe part of northern and eastern europe asia minor and north africa at its height in AD one one seven the roman empire covered an area roughly five million square kilometers number six based on modern national boundaries the Roman Empire stretched across 40 modern countries one of them was England which if you haven't already guessed is where I'm from tune in next time for another obvious fact about Sam number 7 as mentioned the civilization began as a kingdom then became a republic in then I passed Empire ruled over by Emperor's the Roman Empire lasted for two hundred forty four years between 7-5 3 and 509 BC when it was overthrown in a place at the classical Roman Republic which lasted until 27 BC almost twice as long as the Regal period number 8 the system of government was created in 509 BC was called the rest pública which loosely translates to public affair this system formed the inspiration for modern Republic's like the United States and France which favored democratically elected leaders over monarchs and autocrats number 9 the motto of the ancient Roman Republic and Empire soon artists popular Skoob Romanus meaning the Roman Senate and people was often abbreviated to s PQ R and is regularly found in ruins and on artifacts in fact the letters are even inscribed on manhole covers in present-day Rome number 10 between 264 BC and 146 BC during the civilization second era as a republic Rome fought a series of wars against the ancient Carthaginian Empire known as the Punic Wars the Roman Empire was expanding and put very simply the Mediterranean Basin just wasn't big enough for the both of them Rome eventually emerged victorious because Rome it's a boss-ass b-word who doesn't give no apse number although even the period between 1 3 4 BC to 44 BC is often referred to by historians as the crises of the Roman Republic and its name suggests this period in Rome struggled with a variety of problems such as war with outside forces slave revolts land reforms and even civil wars twin 49 to 45 BC the great in civil wars for roman armies fighting each other across Italy Spain Greece and Egypt stuff was crave a sickly number 12 when Julius Caesar or JJ cease as I call him was young long before he became the victim of history's most famous shanking in 44 BC he was kidnapped by pirates while crossing the Aegean Sea apparently Caesar maintained an air of superiority throughout the whole ordeal he was so arrogant in fact that when the pirates declared the amount they wanted as ransom to his safe return he demanded that they increase it Deva number 13 interestingly I'm saying Julius Caesar wrong I know me saying things wrong doesn't happen often does it comment section the correct pronunciation of Julius Caesar in ancient Rome was very closer to Julius Kaiser but I can't be bothered to say that that every time so I'm just gonna keep saying Caesar okay cool number 14 in 92 BC a series of conflicts began that would later be referred to as the Roman Persian Wars if taken together these wars constitute the longest conflict in human history lasting an incredible 721 gears having major lasting effects and consequences on both sides number 15 the Roman Empire began in 27 BC when Octavius appointed himself Augustus meaning the exalted one or the increaser this period was characterized by an increasingly autocratic Empire with the balance of power shifting from the Roman Senate to the Emperor hmm that sounds familiar number 16 on one occasion when the Roman Emperor Augustus was visiting his friend Palio a slave accidentally broke one of his master's crystal cups Palio infamous for his cruelty attempted to have the man fed to lamprey eels which totally isn't an overreaction at all Augustus was so disgusted by his friends brutality that he not only free to save but have the rest of the man's cut smashed - that's so petty love it number 17 at the beginning of the Roman Empire the realm existed in a period of relative peace known as the Pax Romana meaning Roman peace this chapter of ancient Rome lost over 200 years after which the Romans decided to no longer give peace a chance peace I mean not peace what did I say that Oh number 18 instead of having a foreign office or an equivalent the Roman Empire instead had a Bureau of barbarians this sounds insulting but the term barbarian essentially meant non Roman and was used to refer to several groups such as the Celts Liberians Berbers and Pantheon's number 19 before ascending to power in 10 BC the Emperor Claudius survived the assassination of his family simply because he had severe disabilities and it was not seen as a threat Claudius eventually went on to become a capable and effective ruler and also began the conquest of Britain number 22 between 14 and 37 ad the Roman emperor Tiberius banned kissing in an attempt to halt the spread of face disfiguring fungal disease called mental gras number 21 the Roman Emperor Caligula who became Emperor in 37 ad was infamous for its alleged cruelty and just generally being a crazy-ass mother factorisation here today he's rumored to have made his favorite horse Incitatus a senator but in reality that probably didn't happen there is evidence though that he may have planned to do so possibly to insult and humiliate his inferiors Caligula was a dick basically number 22 another douchebag and Nero who became emperor in 54 ad once married one of his freedmen guerrillas and took the role of pride how progressive you might say later he married his slave could spore us this time in the role of the groom not before he'd had spores castrated though nice guy number 23 Nero was also infamous for allegedly singing and playing the fiddle while much of the city was engulfed by the quite fire of Rome this particular story is manifestly false Nero wasn't even in Rome at the time of the fire and the federal had not even been invented yet number 24 between 96 to 180 AD Rome was ruled over by the Imperial succession of Nerva Trajan Hadrian autonomous pious and Marcus Aurelius these Emperor's presided over a golden age for the Roman Empire and are known as the five good Emperor's owing to their benevolent dictatorship style which is also the star with which I run this channel right number 25 238 ad which is when your mum was born it's now ROS the year of the six Emperor's I'm sure you're wondering why luckily I've had my best men on this inscrutable mystery and we think we figured it out yes a total of six men were recognized as Emperor in that tumultuous year starting with Maximus Thrax who had been rolling since 235 ad maximalists racks which is an amazing name it sounds like an alien name though doesn't it really was another Roman Emperor known for his capricious brutality eventually prompting a revolt that created a leadership free-for-all Gordian the first and the second a father-and-son team ruled jointly lasted only 20 days as Emperor's number 26 in the middle of the 3rd century the Roman Empire almost collapsed due to the combined pressure of civil war invasion economic depression and plagues in a period known as the crisis of the 3rd century Havelock crises these Romans by 268 ad the Empire split into three competing regions the Western Gallic Empire the eastern pal marine Empire and the Italian centered Roman Empire nestled snugly in between them the successes of the Emperor Aurelian helped to reunite the Empire but ultimately something had to keep the state from collapsing number 27 at this point the Empire had literally become too vast and unstable to be governed effectively with messages from the outer reaches of the empire taking weeks to arrive and vice versa to solve this the Emperor Diocletian split the Empire in two and continued to rule the eastern empire while his friend Maximilian ruled the Western Empire however the Romans themselves did not consider the two entities to be literally separate number 28 the Western Roman Empire lasted for a little under 200 years a period of time in which was plagued by internal instability and attacks from various outside groups towards the end of the fifth century the western half of the empire broke up into independent barbarian kingdoms constituting the official end of that section of the ancient Roman civilization number 29 however the eastern Roman Empire endured for centuries throughout the medieval era and even regained parts of the fallen Western Empire for certain periods this Empire which historians refer to as the Byzantine Empire after its capital Byzantium finally fell in 1453 ad bringing an end to the last vestiges of the Roman civilization number 30 ultimately though the Roman civilization survived in various forms for over 2,000 years and Dysart exerted significant influence on the very nature of the modern Western world the ancient Roman Empire contributed to modern law and politics technology and engineering architecture arts literature religion and language and let be on same number 31 Rome was famously split into seven hills as all the best these are the Capitoline Quirinal women'll Esquiline Caelian Aventine and palatine hills Morgan now number 32 during the second century the imperial city of Rome was the largest urban center in the empire with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants no more the Western city would reach that size until the 19th century number 33 experts believe that at its height ancient Rome it's eight times more densely populated than present-day New York and it doesn't even have an M&M store either number 34 ancient Roman Society was extremely hierarchal with slaves known as survi at the very bottom freedmen known as Liberty followed by free born citizens known as calves at the top number 35 free citizens were also further divided by class the broadest division separated the patricians who could trace our ancestry back to the founders of Rome and the plebeians who could not these distinctions became less important in the later republic as many the laws regarding class were relaxed this allowed some plebeian families to become wealthy and enter politics while some patrician families less protected by the earlier more rigid class structure fell into poverty and obscurity number 36 average life expectancy in ancient Rome at certain points was as low as about 28 however this is skewed somewhat by infant deaths and women dying during childbirth individuals who made it past their milestones often lived much longer closer to modern-day lifespans number 37 however the situation was especially grim for slaves in ancient Rome the average recorded age at death for the slaves during his period could be as low as seventeen and a half years old number 38 in 2011 archaeologists reported having found the remains of close to one hundred infants while excavating a Roman city the victims have believed to have been smothered and then cast into a sewer that ran beneath a brothel it's believed that infanticide was actually a largely tolerated and fairly widespread method of limiting family size in the ancient world I said that wait what baited mind number 39 additionally Roman society apparently had a relatively permissive attitude towards suicide if a person wanted to top themselves they simply made an application to the Senate who reviewed their reasons for wanting to die if their petition was approved her be given free hemlock with which to off themselves number forty one of the most important public roles in ancient Rome was that at the Vestal Virgins they were responsible for maintaining a sacred fire dedicated that goddess Vesta which was not allowed to be extinguished number forty one as their name suggests the vessel virgins were bound to celibacy guttered in their role as keepers of the sacred fire they were considered embodiment of the state effectively making lovemaking with the citizen incestuous offenders would often be buried alive the meaning of life before the Roman Empire was slowly crystallized between the 1st and 4th centuries Roman of Religion consisted of a wide variety of deities that were adapted from the earlier Greek polytheism the various gods and goddesses all ruled over different areas of life and were prayed to when seeking help or support within those specific categories if it's all very organised number 43 as mentioned the Romans were known for their belief in various gods but it wasn't just war and agriculture and whatnot for which the people of ancient Rome and specific deities they also recognized that goddess of sewers a God of toilets and of course a God of excrement not only that ancient Romans also believed that extra world was food of the dead good grief the Empire could have fallen soon enough number 44 the native language of the Romans was Latin an italic language that posh people had to learn at school this sentence is for audio coming linguist out there by the way Latin grammar relies very little on word order and rather conveys meaning through a variety of ethics is attached a wire stems number 45 though the vast majority of surviving Latin literature was written in classical Latin the highly stylized and polished version of the language the spoken language of the Roman Empire was vulgar latin which doesn't have as many swear words as you think it does from that name but differed significantly from classical latin both in grammar and vocabulary vulgar latin eventually developed into modern Romance languages like French Spanish in Italian number 46 one of the most notable structures left behind by the Romans is the enormous arena in Rome known as the Colosseum for centuries the massive Stadium was infamously used for gladiator and wild animal fights and grisly public executions as well as reenactments of famous battles and dramas so you know that reenact spilling the tea in Koller see and that's what kids say these days right spinning today I don't have Saturday even number 47 the official name of the Colosseum in Rome the Flavian amphitheater is so known because it was built during the Flavian dynasty under the rule of Emperor Vespasian the name Colosseum arrived around the Year 1000 AD long after it cease to be used number 48 throughout the history of the Colosseum is grittily use it's thought that over 500,000 people and over a million wild animals were killed the last gladiatorial fights took place there in 435 ad number 49 in 86 AD the Colosseum was even flooded with water in order to stage a naval battle and you thought seeing ed Sheeran at Wembley was impressive number 50 interestingly the term gladiator was only used to refer to someone who fought against other men if you're fighting wild animals you were called AB Stra which weirdly is my fairy name odd number 51 according to experts vendors would also sell sweat that they somehow collected from the gladiators in small souvenir parts the women of ancient Rome would wear it to improve their beauty and complexion I'm pretty sure these experts for having them on number 52 not only that ancient Romans also used to drink the blood of fallen gladiators as they were under the gross misapprehension that the blood of these strong and fierce beings could cure epilepsy spoiler alert by the way it doesn't epilepsy specific that's weird number 53 it's thought that if ancient Rome's Colosseum was built today able to cost roughly 318 million dollars that is a lot of you know I'm gonna say here chicken nuggets that's right number 54 in fact flooding stadiums for aquatic entertainment happen not as well as you might think in the first century the Romans even managed to acquire polar bears to fight seals in flooded amphitheaters acoustic ain't like a Pokemon battle now number 55 another stadium the Circus Maximus was even larger largely dedicated to charity raising it measured 621 meters in length and held crowds of up to 150 thousand people today the building is almost entirely gone but the space is now used as a public park number 56 within Chariot Racing participants were arranged into four factions the reds whites greens and blues much like the sports teams of today these teams inspired great loyalty at the point of true fanaticism there were even club houses for each faction number 57 research has discovered that some of the most celebrated Roman charities and far more than even the best paid sports stars of today one charity over the name of Gaius Apuleius dar Solis managed to amass a fortune equivalent to fifteen billion dollars number 58 ancient Rome is also home to a four-story tall shopping center that contained around 150 shops and offices the complex was known as Trajan's market as it also housed the administrative offices of Emperor Trajan who rolled between 98 217 ad number 59 built in 118 AD the Roman pantheon remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world the Romans did not mess around when it came to unreinforced concrete domes no sorry number 60 this marble you may assume about dwellings in ancient Rome apartment buildings were fairly complex and could be up to nine storeys high known as initially the upper stories were often more cramped and cater to ordinary citizens whereas the lower floors or far more spacious and would feature laboratories running water and heating who could imagine such a thing number 61 ancient Roman aqueducts of some advanced and efficient they were able to supply Rome with roughly 370 gallons of running water a second which were excited around 11 billion gallons of water a year this enabled the city to flourish because humans need water to live bonus fact pier there number 62 Roman sewers are understandably less celebrated but in many ways but just as impressive the cloaca Maxima literally meaning greatest sewer was a sealer system built from the earlier Troost can open drains and canals and survived through the entirety of the Roman Republic and Empire part of the system is still used as a train today number 63 ancient Roman engineering even produced an early form of air conditioning wealthy citizens would run cold aqueducts water through the pipes in their homes which helped to keep them nice and cool in the harsh roman heat nintendo64 the ancient Romans were the first people to use concrete on a large scale having used it to create a number of impressive structures such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon which are still standing today the Romans first began building with concrete over 2100 years ago on everything from aqueducts to monuments throughout the Mediterranean Basin number 65 one of the most common cooking ingredients in ancient Rome is known laser eye was derived from a Silphium plant the exact species of the plant is not known but most experts believe it's extinct one theory claims the ingredient was so delicious that the plant was harvested to extinction it was that nice number 66 ancient Rome is also known for the vomitorium a room in the houses of wealthy Romans where they would go and vomit so they could keep eating more lavish feasts that's something an incorrect person would say in reality purging was actually not a regular part of Roman dining the word vomitorium simply referred to the entranceway through which crowds entered and exited a stadium number 67 though they likely didn't habitually vomit to facilitate indefinite gluttony ancient Romans did enjoy extravagant meals a particular population known as the Trojan pig called for whole pigs to be stuffed with fruit and sausages then roasted and served on their feet at the table the pigs had their belly split open spilling its edible guts in front of diners number 68 speaking of strange Roman dining customs a popular delicacy in ancient Rome where the tongues of flamingoes they had the whole bird to choose from and they ate the tongue but maybe I'm just being picky would you eat flamingo tongue by the way let me know in our youtube part above number 16 the concept of a cheeky takeaway is far older than you may previously assumed you presumptuous cretons market and roadside stalls which sold food were common in ancient Rome and some places even had counters that opened onto the street known as thermopolium which customers would buy their food from to take away number 70 ancient Rome also had public toilets but by the sounds of them using one wasn't a particularly pleasant experience not only what people expected to sit on long communal benches while they did their business reminds me of Glastonbury they also risked injury from fire due to the buildup of methane as well as bites from creatures such as rats emerging from below the box were so bad prayers to the gods of fortune would often be found written on the walls number 71 not only that the sensitive issue of wiping was also dealt with in a manner that will send shivers causing through every fibre on your body ready when a person was done using the toilet they clean themselves using a communal sponge try to a stick communal sponge don't worry though the sponge was rinsed in a bucket of salt water between uses hashtag gross effects salty hole number 72 even worse romans 4 to pay to use public toilets much like commuters at many train stations and shopping centers in London which is frankly a violation of my human rights I mean our human rights anyway Romans were charged to use the public box because urine was actually attached to commodity owing to its value was a cleaning product because it contains ammonia route number 73 so yes urine was used as a cleaning product most notably to wash clothes not only that the ancient Romans even used urine to whiten their teeth oh okay hard pass hard pass charcoal of use but not weighed number 74 in ancient Rome only Freeborn Roman men were allowed to wear togas which are worn as a symbol of their Roman citizenship the Roman women wore a somewhat similar garment known as stolen which were made from linen or wool though wealthy women also had stone as made of silk number 75 ancient Romans who ran for political office were a distinctive toga known as the toga Candida that was specifically whitened with chalk this is where we get word candidate other way number 76 the clothing of the average person in ancient Rome with the tunic which consisted of two pieces of wood and fabric sewn together at the sides and shoulders with openings for the arms and head number 77 in ancient Rome a single pound attire in purple dye cost three pounds of gold it was so expensive because it was made from the secretions of sea snails yummy 10,000 of which were needed to produce one gram of the dye number 78 as a result purple clothing became a symbol of wealth and status to the point that only Emperor's and Senators were allowed to dress entirely in the color for anyone else to do so was considered today's own number 79 in ancient Rome women used opium soaked tampons to relieve minstrel cramping if you didn't know already opium is the substance that's used to make heroines over here they weren't playing around number 80 doctors in ancient Rome utilized a rudimentary form of electro therapy for the treatment of neurological conditions like chronic migraines and epilepsy electrical charges were administered to patients by placing electrodes or pedo fish onto their heads which seems but no an expert but seems dangerous really dangerous number 81 in ancient Rome or AR as I call it some citizens hired professional Warren who would follow the funeral procession while ripping up their hair and scratching their faces having lot of these little sad acts signified great wealth which prompted an ever-increasing unofficial competition to see who could have the most mourners at their funeral this escalated to a point that the government eventually had to impose a limit on how many people could have number 82 some wealthy people but also hire an Arkham I'm who would walk behind the body of the deceased and imitate them copying their manners gestures and speech I bet Jennifer Lawrence would be great at that role in fact you can do so when I die number 83 in AR the punishment for patricide ie killing one's father was to be drowned in a sack along with a dog a rooster and a snake number 84 however when public figures committed particularly Grievous offenses such as treason or simply by bringing a Roman state into disrepute the Senate could pass a sanction of damnatio memory which literally means condemnation of memory images of offenders of remove from paintings and their name obliterated from public record a punishment many considered worse than death itself number 85 in a are Christians who betrayed other Christians to Roman authorities were known astray deters it's because of these people that the English language had words like traitor and treason number 86 the highest ranking embarrass military decoration in ancient Rome was a simple crown made of grass wheat and flowers it was awarded to those whose actions save the lives an entire Legion or even an entire army number 87 the Latin phrase Libre pondo meaning pound weight was used in ancient Rome to indicate well white the first word has since been shortened to lb as an abbreviation for the pound measurement of weight number 88 the Salima porgies a species of fish that a was probably picked on at school with a name like that and B is a potent hallucinogenic when eaten in ancient Rome it was consumed as a recreational drug because some things never change number 89 the yin-yang symbol that is most commonly associated with China was actually first an ancient Rome the symbol first appeared in than a t-shirt dignity autumn a document of the late Roman Empire that predates the first recorded Chinese versions by several hundred years the two symbols are not thought to be related number 90 in ancient Rome people that brought false accusations to court founded on the forehead for the letter K which stood for Columbia meaning lie or falsehood totally fair totally reasonable number 91 the ancient Romans also held an annual festival called Lupercalia which was said to avert evil spirits purify the city and promote health and fertility this was done by having two young men sacrifice a goat and smear its blood on their forehead before stripping naked and running anti-clockwise around the city sounds like a party number 92 the Statue of Liberty the giant green woman located at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York was inspired by libertas the Roman goddess of liberty and freedom number 93 likewise the American city of Cincinnati is named after Cincinnatus a Roman statesman and military leader who after saving Rome from an invasion immediately relinquished his power and retire to his farm rather than rule over the Republic number 94 contrary to popular belief the beautiful white statues from Roman antiquity were actually not white at all these statues were actually painted in a variety of colors rather than just being white stone or marble and unfortunately the paint chomps which is usually super tacky number 95 salt was very favorable to the ancient Romans and who is used not only to flavor and preserve food but also made a good antiseptic it was so prized in fact that Romans used to buy and sell slaves using salt imagine finding out you're any worth of sack of salt number 96 because Romans were ultimately very silly people they utilize something called temporal hours each name is divided into 24 hours but in ancient Rome there were always twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness regardless of time of year this meant that a daylight hour in the middle of a summer was considerably longer than those during the dead of winter yeah stupid right number 97 many Roman emperors engaged in myth ridet ISM a practice in which small amounts of poison are ingested over a long period of time in an attempt to gain immunity though this is effective for some poisons for others you're basically just accumulating a lethal dose over time maybe just easier not to ingest poison just a thought number 98 in case you ever realize already the ancient Romans were a superstitious bunch and would often employ a variety of Goodluck charms to keep themselves safe one popular symbol used to ward off evil spirits was the phallus which is quite simply in the most professional medical term possible an erect penis yeah Google if you want but the ancient Romans loved penises they wore phallus necklaces hung phallus replicas in their doorways inscribe them on paving stones and even fashioned wind chimes in the shape of well you know to protect themselves from evil number 99 in ancient Rome the middle finger was known as the digitus impute okis which translates as the indecent finger or the shameless finger that it is a catch number 100 in ancient rome left-handed people were considered unlucky and untrustworthy the prejudice was so significant that the English word sinister actually derived from the original Latin word for left number 101 and in ancient Rome having a hook nose was considered a sign of leadership as a result such noses with a prominent bridge are often called Roman noses there you go and that was 101 fact about ancient Rome did you enjoy yourself did you learn anything of yourself what I mean that did you enjoy yourself did you learn anything let me know in the comments down below who throughout time and space would you like us to look at next or what or why maybe not why but let us know in the comments down below make sure you like and subscribe to this video and there are two videos on screen now that I'm sure you're gonna really did it that the dirt to dirt to dirt dig until next time I've been Sam bye

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Keywords: 101 facts, 101, 101facts, ancient rome, facts about ancient rome, ancient rome facts, education, educational, ancient rome history, history facts, rome, roman, ancient romans, roman facts, gladiators, gladiator, gladiator history, gladiator movie, roman empire, roman empire facts, roman history, coliseum, ceasar, caesar, julius caesar, italy, chariot race, chariots, nero, history, history buffs, history channel

Id: qL7VIl3oV3w

Length: 29min 42sec (1782 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 14 2018