The Genius of the Romans

The Genius of the Romans — page 1 — romanS Who The Romans were one of the greatest civilizations of all time It began around 1000 b c e with a group of Latin-speaking people who lived on the banks of the Tiber River which flows through the city of Rome in Italy By 600 b c e Rome was an important city-state ruled by kings The Romans then went through different stages of rule First there was the Roman Republic followed by the Roman Empire and the rule of emperors The Romans conquered land across Europe the Middle East and North Africa spreading their culture and leaving a legacy that lives on today Romans carried banners such as this one into battle the SPQR stands for the Roman Senate and people in Latin According to myths the twins Romulus and Remus were the founders of the city of Rome In the story the twins were raised by a wolf after their parents abandoned them 4

The Genius of the Romans — page 2 — Millions of tourists visit the Colosseum in Rome every year It was built for gladiator matches see pages 28 and 29 What happened Over time the Roman Empire was weakened by civil war and invasions from neighboring tribes By 395 c e the Roman Empire had officially split in half The Western Roman Empire ended in 476 and other groups won control of its territory The Eastern Roman Empire which became known as the Byzantine Empire continued for over 1,000 years Today the remains of Roman structures can still be seen across Europe northern Africa and the Middle East 5

The Genius of the Romans — page 3 — genius the professional soldiers Army The large and organized Roman army was key to the expansion of its empire Around 30 b c e the Roman army went from being strong to being unbeatable This was due to one major change being a soldier became a full-time job Volunteer to professional Training Ancient armies were made up of volunteer soldiers who only fought when needed They provided their own weapons and uniform However professional soldiers in the Roman army were committed to military life They signed up for around 20 years of service and received a salary The army provided their armor and weapons so that everyone was equally prepared for battle These actors show how Roman soldiers held their shields to protect themselves from enemy spears and arrows Having a professional army constantly ready for battle made it worthwhile for the Romans to spend money on training their soldiers New army members had to train hard learn to follow commands work as a team and practice fighting with swords and javelins A Roman soldier was expected to walk 19 miles 30 km a day in full armor and build a new camp every evening 6

The Genius of the Romans — page 4 — archers and cavalry moved tactical Into battle The soldiers training and preparation paid off on the battlefield Rather than running straight into battle soldiers WOW Any bad behavior could affect the organization and teamwork of the army so discipline was important A soldier who misbehaved was punished with fines dismissal or even death working together to take down the enemy Thanks to their hours of practice they knew how to quickly get into different military formations on the command of their leaders BATTLE PLANS The army's tactics depended on the size and strength of the enemy and the land of the battlefield enemy troops enemy troops enemy troops Roman soldiers Roman soldiers Roman soldiers Wedge formation The soldiers are concentrated in the center to break through enemy lines Single line defense The soldiers are arranged in a single line that wraps around enemy troops Weak center Only a few soldiers are placed in the center to tempt the enemy to attack there Then the other soldiers move in on either side BRAIN WAVE In the tortoise formation soldiers packed together tightly to form a square using their shields like a tortoiseshell to protect their sides and heads The result was an impenetrable block of soldiers moving together without getting hurt by the enemy

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