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In modern historiography, ancient Rome encompasses the——founding of the Italian city of Rome in the "8th century BC," the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), Roman Republic (509–27 BC), Roman Empire (27 BC– 395 AD), and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD.

Ancient Rome began as an Italic settlement, traditionally dated——to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian Peninsula. The settlement grew into the city. And polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and "military strength." It eventually controlled the Italian Peninsula, assimilating the Greek culture of southern Italy (Magna Grecia) and the Etruscan culture, "and then became the dominant power in the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe." At its height it controlled the North African coast, Egypt, Southern Europe, and most of Western Europe, the Balkans, Crimea, and much of the Middle East, including Anatolia, Levant, and parts of Mesopotamia and Arabia. That empire was among the largest empires in the ancient world, covering around 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) in AD 117, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants, roughly 20% of the world's population at the time. The Roman state evolved from an elective monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic military dictatorship during the Empire.

Ancient Rome is: often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern language, religion, society, technology, law, politics, government, warfare, art, literature, architecture, and engineering. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the empire-wide construction of aqueducts and roads, as well as more grandiose monuments and facilities. (Full article...)

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Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Unskilled/low-skill slaves labored in the fields, mines, and mills with few opportunities for advancement and little chance of freedom. Skilled and educated slaves—including artisans, chefs, domestic staff and personal attendants, entertainers, business managers, accountants and bankers, educators at all levels, secretaries and librarians, civil servants, and physicians—occupied a more privileged tier of servitude and could hope to obtain freedom through one of several well-defined paths with protections under the law. The possibility of manumission and subsequent citizenship was a distinguishing feature of Rome's system of slavery, resulting in a significant and influential number of freedpersons in Roman society.

At all levels of employment, free working people, former slaves, and the enslaved mostly did the same kinds of jobs. Elite Romans whose wealth came from property ownership saw little difference between slavery and a dependence on earning wages from labor. Slaves were themselves considered property under Roman law and had no rights of legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, by law they could be, subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation, torture, and summary execution. The most brutal forms of punishment were reserved for slaves. The adequacy of their diet, shelter, clothing, and healthcare was dependent on their perceived utility to owners whose impulses might be cruel. Or situationally humane. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Roman art Romulus and Remus Roman currency Roman emperor Roman legion Marian reforms Toga King of Rome Praetor Roman censor Tribune Roman dictator Roman people Roman Republic Punic Wars Roman law Roman technology Culture of ancient Rome Patrician (ancient Rome) Conflict of the Orders Roman economy Military of ancient Rome Roman aqueduct Legacy of the Roman Empire Roman Empire Pax Romana Fall of the Western Roman Empire Western Roman Empire Latium Roman Kingdom History of the Roman Empire Latin Women in ancient Rome Tabula Peutingeriana Languages of the Roman Empire Colosseum Karamagara Bridge Roman Forum Ancient Roman architecture Food and dining in the Roman Empire Ancient Rome and wine Gladiator Clothing in ancient Rome Roman amphitheatre Ancient Roman sarcophagi Roman sculpture Roman glass Ancient Roman pottery Religion in ancient Rome Ab Urbe Condita Libri First Punic War Roman temple of Bziza Chariot racing Emesa helmet Inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre Roman–Persian Wars Late Roman army Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 History of the Constitution of the Roman Republic History of the Roman Constitution Third Punic War Constitution of the Roman Republic Galatian War Gothic War (535–554) Crisis of the Roman Republic List of Roman emperors Roman Britain Hoxne Hoard Structural history of the Roman military Astronomica (Manilius) Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi Annales (Ennius) Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant Historia Augusta Roman Dacia Senate of the Roman Republic Legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic

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General images

The following are images from various ancient Rome-related articles on XIV.

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  Image 1Landscape resulting from the ruina montium mining technique at Las Médulas, Spain, one of the most important gold mines in the Roman Empire (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 2Reconstruction of a wax writing tablet (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 3Marble relief of Mithras slaying the bull (2nd century, Louvre-Lens); Mithraism was among the most widespread mystery religions of the Roman Empire. (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 4Cinerary urn for the freedman Tiberius Claudius Chryseros and two women, probably his wife and daughter (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 5The Barbarian invasions consisted of the movement of (mainly) ancient Germanic peoples into Roman territory. Historically, this event marked the transition between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages. (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 6Workers at a cloth-processing shop, in a painting from the fullonica of Veranius Hypsaeus in Pompeii (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 7All-male theatrical troupe preparing for a masked performance, on a mosaic from the House of the Tragic Poet (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 8Funerary urn of the Villanovan culture, precursor to Etruscan civilization (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 9The Tabula Peutingeriana (Latin for "The Peutinger Map") an Itinerarium, often assumed to be based on the Roman cursus publicus (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 10Statue in Constanța, Romania (the ancient colony Tomis), commemorating Ovid's exile (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 11Slave holding writing tablets for his master (relief from a 4th-century sarcophagus) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 12Finely decorated Gallo-Roman terra sigillata bowl (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 13Bread stall, from a Pompeiian wall painting (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 14Mosaic depicting a theatrical troupe preparing for a performance (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 15Eighteenth century painting by Pompeo Batoni depicting Aeneas fleeing from Troy. Aeneas carries his father. (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 16Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161) wearing a toga (Hermitage Museum) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 17Trio of musicians playing an aulos, cymbala, and tympanum (mosaic from Pompeii) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 18Recreation of a deer hunt inspired by hunting scenes represented in Roman art. (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 19A victor in his four-horse chariot (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 20A 3rd-century funerary stele is among the earliest Christian inscriptions, written in both Greek and Latin. (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 21Pride in literacy was displayed through emblems of reading and writing, as in this portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife (c. 20 AD) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 22Fresco of a seated woman from Stabiae, 1st century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 23A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, overlooking Crag Lough (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 24Silver cup, from the Boscoreale Treasure (early 1st century AD) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 25Capitoline Wolf, sculpture of the she-wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus, the most famous image associated with the founding of Rome. According to Livy, it was erected in 296 BC. (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 26Cityscape from the Villa Boscoreale (60s AD) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 27Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Academy of Plato (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 28The Temple of Saturn, a religious monument that housed the treasury in ancient Rome (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 29Aquae Sulis in Bath, England: architectural features above the level of the pillar bases are a later reconstruction. (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 30Togate statue in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 31The Triumph of Neptune floor mosaic from Africa Proconsularis (present-day Tunisia) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 32Still life on a 2nd-century Roman mosaic (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 33Fragment of a sarcophagus depicting Gordian III and senators (3rd century) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 34Public toilets (latrinae) from Ostia Antica (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 35A fresco from Herculaneum depicting Heracles and Achelous from Greco-Roman mythology, 1st century CE (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 36Roman cities in the Imperial period (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 37The Roman Empire by 476, noting western and eastern divisions (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 38Winged Victory, ancient Roman fresco of the Neronian era from Pompeii (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 39The Zliten mosaic, from a dining room in present-day Libya, depicts a series of arena scenes: from top, musicians; gladiators; beast fighters; and convicts condemned to the beasts (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 40The Pont du Gard aqueduct, which crosses the river Gardon in southern France, is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 41Romulus and Remus on the House of the She-wolf at the Grand Place of Brussels (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 42Aeneas's route in Virgil's Aeneid. The epic poem was written in the early first century BC. (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 43Fragmentary military diploma from Carnuntum; Latin was the language of the military throughout the Empire (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 44Plato's Academy mosaic from Pompeii (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 45Excavation on the Palatine Hill has found the foundations of a hut believed to correspond to the Hut of Romulus, which the Romans themselves preserved into late antiquity (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 46A fresco portrait of a man holding a papyrus roll, Pompeii, Italy, 1st century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 47So-called "Bikini Girls" mosaic from the Villa del Casale, Roman Sicily, 4th century (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 48Wall painting (1st century AD) from Pompeii depicting a multigenerational banquet (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 49Western Europe during its Middle Bronze Age, with the Apennine Culture in blue (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 50Model of archaic Rome, 6th century BC (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 51Gold earrings with gemstones, 3rd century (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 52Condemned man attacked by a leopard in the arena (3rd-century mosaic from Tunisia) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 53The Colosseum in Rome (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 54Glass cage cup from the Rhineland, 4th century (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 55On the Ludovisi sarcophagus (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 56A fresco from Pompeii depicting the foundation of Rome. Sol riding in his chariot; Mars descending from the sky to Rhea Silvia lying in the grass; Mercury shows to Venus the she-wolf suckling the twins; in the lower corners of the picture: river-god Tiberinus and water-goddess Juturna. 35–45 AD. (from Founding of Rome)
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  Image 57The Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Colosseum (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 58Reconstructed peristyle garden based on the House of the Vettii (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 59The Pantheon in Rome, a Roman temple originally built under Augustus, later converted into a Catholic church in the 7th century (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 60A late Republican banquet scene in a fresco from Herculaneum, Italy, c. 50 BC; the woman wears a transparent silk gown while the man to the left raises a rhyton drinking vessel (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 61The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395 AD (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 62Toga-clad statue, restored with the head of the emperor Nerva (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 63Roman portraiture fresco of a young man with a papyrus scroll, from Herculaneum, 1st century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 64Sestertius issued under Hadrian circa AD 134–138 (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 65The Roman Empire under Hadrian (ruled 117–138) showing the location of the Roman legions deployed in 125 AD (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 66Circus Maximus, a mass entertainment venue located in Rome (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 67The Wedding of Zephyrus and Chloris (54–68 AD, Pompeian Fourth Style) within painted architectural panels from the Casa del Naviglio (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 68A teacher with two students, as a third arrives with his loculus, a writing case (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 69Forum of Gerasa (Jerash in present-day Jordan), with columns marking a covered walkway (stoa) for vendor stalls, and a semicircular space for public speaking (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 70The so-called Primavera of Stabiae, perhaps the goddess Flora (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 71Eggs, thrushes, napkin, and vessels (wall painting from the House of Julia Felix, Pompeii) (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 72Musicians playing a Roman tuba, a water organ (hydraulis), and a pair of cornua, detail from the Zliten mosaic, 2nd century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 73A green Roman glass cup unearthed from an Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD) tomb in Guangxi, China (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 74Solidus issued under Constantine II, and on the reverse Victoria, one of the last deities to appear on Roman coins, gradually transforming into an angel under Christian rule (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 75Augustus of Prima Porta (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 76Head of Constantine the Great, part of a colossal statue. Bronze, 4th century, Musei Capitolini, Rome. (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 77Relief panel from Trajan's Column in Rome, showing the building of a fort and the reception of a Dacian embassy (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 78A bust of Cicero, Capitoline Museums, Rome (from Culture of ancient Rome)
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  Image 79A multigenerational banquet depicted on a wall painting from Pompeii (1st century AD) (from Roman Empire)
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  Image 80Dressing of a priestess or bride, Roman fresco from Herculaneum, Italy (30–40 AD) (from Roman Empire)

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A retiarius (plural retiarii; literally, "net-man" in Latin) was a Roman gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman: a weighted net (rete (3rd decl.), hence the name), a three-pointed trident (fuscina or tridens), and a dagger (pugio). The retiarius was lightly armoured, wearing an arm guard (manica) and a shoulder guard (galerus). Typically, his clothing consisted only of a loincloth (subligaculum) held in place by a wide belt. Or of a short tunic with light padding. He wore no head protection or footwear.

The retiarius was routinely pitted against a heavily armed secutor. The net-fighter made up for his lack of protective gear by using his speed and agility to avoid his opponent's attacks and waiting for the opportunity to strike. He first tried to throw his net over his rival. If this succeeded, he attacked with his trident while his adversary was entangled. Another tactic was to ensnare his enemy's weapon in the net and pull it out of his grasp, leaving the opponent defenceless. Should the net miss or the secutor grab hold of it, the retiarius likely discarded the weapon, although he might try to collect it back for a second cast. Usually, the retiarius had to rely on his trident and dagger to finish the fight. The trident, as tall as a human being, permitted the gladiator to jab quickly, keep his distance, and easily cause bleeding. It was not a strong weapon, usually inflicting non-fatal wounds so that the fight could be prolonged for the sake of entertainment. The dagger was the retiarius's final backup should the trident be lost. It was reserved for when close combat or a straight wrestling match had to settle the bout. In some battles, a single retiarius faced two secutores simultaneously. For these situations, the lightly armoured gladiator was placed on a raised platform and given a supply of stones with which to repel his pursuers. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Tacitus Nero Tiberius Sejanus Marcus Aurelius Faustina the Younger Julius Caesar Antoninus Pius Augustus Diocletian Domitian Elagabalus Basiliscus Marcian Maximian Caligula Hadrian Romulus Augustulus Avidius Cassius Caracalla Britannicus Constantius III Constantine III (Western Roman Emperor) Drusus Caesar Drusus Julius Caesar Early life of Marcus Aurelius Florianus Gaius Caesar Germanicus Glycerius Halotus Claudius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Justinian I Lucius Caesar Tiberius Julius Alexander Tiberius Gemellus Gaius Antonius Hybrida Reign of Marcus Aurelius Cicero Trajan

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• ...That the Pater familias of a family, had the power to sell his children into slavery?
• ...That Trajan was the last Roman Emperor to harry the coast of Arabia with the Roman Navy?
• ...That Trajan was born at Italica, in Spain and adopted by the Roman Emperor Nerva and made his heir, which entitled Trajan to call himself the son of Nerva
  
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Marcus Aurelius (April 26, 121 CE. – March 17, 180 CE.), was Roman Emperor from CE 161 to 180 who defeated several significant invasions and put down a revitalisation of the Parthian Empire. His Stoic tome Meditations, which he wrote while on campaign, is still revered as a literary monument to a philosophy of service and duty.

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Quotes

“	※ Caesar is a god in his own city. Outstanding in war or peace, it was not so much his wars that ended in great victories, or his actions at home, or his swiftly won fame, that set him among the stars, a fiery comet, as his descendant. There is no greater achievement among Caesar's actions than that he stood father to our emperor. Is it a greater thing to have conquered the sea-going Britons; to have led his victorious ships up the seven-mouthed flood of the papyrus-bearing Nile; to have brought the rebellious Numidians, under Juba of Cinyps, and Pontus, swollen with the name of Mithridates, under the people of Quirinus; to have earned many triumphs and celebrated few; than to have sponsored such a man, with whom, as ruler of all, you gods have richly favoured the human race? Therefore, in order for the emperor not to have been born of mortal seed, Caesar needed to be made a god. ※ Augustus, his 'son', will ensure that he ascends to heaven as a god, and is worshipped in the temples. Augustus, as heir to his name, will carry the burden placed upon him alone, and will have us with him, in battle, as the most courageous avenger of his father's murder. Under his command, the conquered walls of besieged Mutina will sue for peace; Pharsalia will know him; Macedonian Philippi twice flow with blood; and the one who holds Pompey's great name, will be defeated in Sicilian waters; and a Roman general's Egyptian consort, trusting, to her cost, in their marriage, will fall, her threat that our Capitol would bow to her city of Canopus, proved vain. Why enumerate foreign countries or the nations living on either ocean shore? Wherever earth contains habitable land, it will be his: and even the sea will serve him!	”
— Ovid, Metamorphoses, XV, 745–842

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