Ancient Rome started off as a small city but grew to be a huge empire.
All the lands around the Mediterranean and most of Europe became part of the Roman Empire. The United Kingdom was too! These lands were ruled for nearly 1000 years.
What was ancient Rome like?
The Romans were very good at building. Some of their buildings still stand today.
If you go to Italy, you can see the Colosseum. The Colosseum was a large amphitheatre that could fit over 50,000 spectators. Gladiator fights took place there.
The Romans also built paved roads and aqueducts that transported water around the city.
What language did they speak?
The Romans spoke Latin, some of them could speak Greek too. Languages like Italian, Spanish and French are evolved from Latin, they have many similar words.
What did the Romans wear?
Roman men and women wore tunics made of wool. Tunics were long pieces of cloth that were wrapped at the waist with a belt. Women's tunics were longer than men's.
Some men wore togas draped around their bodies. Married women wore a long pleated dress called a stola.
Most Romans wore leather sandals and rich women liked to wear a lot of jewellery including tiaras.
What did the Romans eat?
Poor people in Rome ate a kind of porridge called 'puls' They couldn't afford a lot of meat.
Rich Romans enjoyed fancy dinner parties and exotic foods like flamingo tongue or roast parrot. They liked to eat lying down on their left side. They also loved drinking wine. They mixed it with water so they could drink it every day!
Did you know?
The Romans developed their own system of writing numbers called Roman numerals. Roman numerals are still used today on clocks like London's Big Ben.
