Ancient RomeIn modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Ancient Rome began as an Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian Peninsula.
ColosseumThe Colosseum (ˌkɒləˈsiːəm ; Colosseo kolosˈsɛːo) is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world, despite its age. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian (69-79) in 72 and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir, Titus (79-81). Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81-96).
Pliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 - AD 79), called Pliny the Elder (ˈplɪni), was a Roman author, naturalist, natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field.
SuetoniusGaius Suetonius Tranquillus (ˈɡaːiʊs sweːˈtoːniʊs traŋˈkɥɪlːʊs), commonly referred to as Suetonius (swɪˈtoʊniəs ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of 12 successive Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian, properly titled De vita Caesarum. Other works by Suetonius concerned the daily life of Rome, politics, oratory, and the lives of famous writers, including poets, historians, and grammarians.
VigilesThe Vigiles or more properly the Vigiles Urbani ("watchmen of the City") or Cohortes Vigilum ("cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. The Triumviri Nocturni (meaning three men of the night) were the first men, being privately owned slaves, organized into a group that combated the common problems of fire and conflagrations in Rome. Another organization dedicated to fighting fires in ancient Rome was a band of slaves man led by an aedile named Marcus Egnatius Rufus.
Palatine HillThe Palatine Hill (ˈpælətaɪn; Classical Latin: Palatium; Neo-Latin: Collis/Mons Palatinus; Palatino palaˈtiːno), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." The site is now mainly a large open-air museum while the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites. Imperial palaces were built there, starting with Augustus.
Via SacraThe Via Sacra (Sacra Via, "Sacred Street") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The road was part of the traditional route of the Roman Triumph that began on the outskirts of the city and proceeded through the Roman Forum. Later it was paved. During the reign of Nero, it was lined with colonnades.
TacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus (ˈtæsɪtəs , ˈtakɪtʊs; AD 56 – 120), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals (Latin: Annales) and the Histories (Latin: Historiae)—examine the reigns of the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD).
Roman ForumThe Roman Forum (also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum (Foro Romano)) is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, gladiatorial matches and the nucleus of commercial affairs.
Seneca the YoungerLucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (ˈsɛnɪkə; 4 BC – AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in Córdoba in Hispania, and raised in Rome, where he was trained in rhetoric and philosophy. His father was Seneca the Elder, his elder brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus, and his nephew was the poet Lucan.
