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Rome: You may have heard of it Notes

The Silk Road was a good example that despite the old
saying, all roads did not lead to Rome. But a whole lot of
them not only led there, but were also built by subjects of
the Roman Empire.

As imperial capitals go, Rome was pretty impressive. For the

most part, the Romans were borrowers rather than
innovators. But they made the most of what they
appropriated from other cultures. While their architecture
was heavily influenced by Greece, for example, the Romans
added their own distinctive flourishes. As with most Roman
cities, Rome was generally well laid out, and relatively
clean by contemporary standards, even if the most popular
way of disposing of bodily waste was basically throwing it
out the window.

But there was plenty of water to go around from a dozen

aqueducts, and free heated public baths. And boy, were the
Romans conspicuous consumers! The Mons Testaceus, a
one-hundred - foot-high hill of broken pottery containers
built up from nearby warehouses along the Tiber River
during Romes heydey, is still evident today.
The people who ruled over the city - and the sprawling
empire it dominated - were a decidedly mixed lot. There
were some great leaders, such as the much-traveled
Hadrian, who in his twenty-one years as emperor visited
much of the empire and consolidated Romes control over
it; Constantine the Great, who was the first emperor to
embrace Christianity and who founded the immodestly
named city of Constantinople, which became one of the
worlds great metropolises.

And there were some real bozos, such as Vitellius the

Glutton, who hosted three of four banquets a day, feasted
on chow such as flamingo tongues and pike liver, then used
a peacock feather to induce vomiting so he could make
room for more.

As the Roman Empire began to unravel from within and

without, the capital city began to feel the pinch. Once
comprising the foundation of the states agrarian economy,
many Roman farmers gave up competing with cheaper
crops from outlying provinces and moved to the city. As
early as 6 CE, Rome was importing 14 million bushels of
grain per year, mostly from North Africa, and the city
swelled to a population of more than 1.5 million by the
third century.

But by the second century CE, the city of Rome was

essentially a welfare state. Free food was handed out daily,
and mammoth spectacles were staged to keep the natives
from getting too restless.

In 395 CE, the empire permanently split into two pieces. The
Eastern half transmuted into the Byzantine Empire and
lasted until the mid-fifteenth century. But in the West,
invading Huns ravaged Italy in the middle part of the fifth
century, and in 410 CE, the Visigoths sacked Rome itself.
Questions Connections Interpretations

Rome Burns: Who dunnit? Notes

During the night of July 18, 64 CE, a fire broke out in the shops
near the Circus Maximus, the citys mammoth stadium. It spread
quickly and lasted more than a week. Ten of the citys fourteen
districts, covering more than 70 percent of Rome were destroyed.

As soon as the smoke cleared, the shocked citizens began pointing

fingers at the emperor, Nero. After all, this was a guy who had
murdered both his mother and his wife in his climb to the top.

Rumors were Nero wanted to build a glittery new palace in the

heart of the city, and the Senate had balked at tearing down
buildings already on the site. The fire would remove the Senates
objections. Armed thugs were said to have stopped efforts to fight
the fire. Another rumor was that the emperor, who fancied
himself a talented musician, had strummed his lyre and sung
songs while Rome burned.

Actually, Nero wasnt even in Rome when the fire started, and
rushed back when he heard about it, throwing open public
buildings and providing food to those fleeing the fire.

But the mutterings continued, so Nero looked around for

someone else to blame. He decided on a small, shadowy religious
cult rumored to engage in sordid rites such as cannibalism. They
were called Christians.

Nero had some Christians tortured. They pointed fingers at other

Christians, giving Nero the excuse to order general persecution.
Hundreds were executed in grisly fashion: burned alive, crucified,
or torn apart by wild animals in the arena.

Although its most likely the fire started accidentally, some

historians believe its possible that Nero may have ordered the
conflagration. Its also possible, according to others, that Christian
zealots trying to fulfill biblical prophecies actually did start it.

Whatever the truth, it would be more than two centuries before

Christians got a respite from systematic persecution. Nero had far
less time left. Within four years of the fire, he was ousted from
office by the Senate and army, and killed himself.

Questions Connections Interpretations