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The rich, called patricians had little power. The commoners were
called plebeians and below them were the slaves. There was a constant
fight between the plebeians and patricians for control of power
and this led to constant trouble in the state.
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In
60 BC, Julius Caesar, a popular general used his army to take
over Rome and became the ruler. But in 44 BC, he was killed
by his own friend Brutus and his place was taken over by another
general, Augustus. But the fights for gaining power continued
and this brought about the downfall of the Roman empire. In
410 AD, a European tribe called Visigoths attacked Italy and
conquered Rome.
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The
Romans lived a luxurious life. New buildings, exotic architecture,
fast roads and stadiums spoke of the wealth of this powerful nation.
| Fundu
Fact |
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Most large Roman towns had their public bathhouses. People would
come and spent hours gossiping there while soaking themselves
in the hot water pools. The place was kept warm through the
steam passing under the floor of the building. They did not
have soap, so they covered themselves in oil and scraped off
the dirt. |
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Did
you know?
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The Romans were very fond of games. That's why they built
huge stadiums for the purpose. But their games were not
like the ones we see today. They had chariot races and gladiator
fights. Chariot races were held at a ring called the circus
where spectators would cheer their favorite team. Gladiators
were slaves or professional fighters who would fight wild
animals unto death in massive stadiums called amphitheaters.
One show involved 10,000 gladiators and lasted around 4
months.
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The Romans had the most disciplined army in the world. The
army was divided into legions. Each legion was made
of 10 cohorts. Each cohort was made up of 80-100
soldiers called centuries.
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