Rome

ROME

Introduction

Rome was a world power for its time. It was the center of trade; Rome traded with Greece, Egypt, and even China, 32,000 miles away. The things that were traded consisted of every thing from livestock to food and stones to metals. Rome also had an unbeatable military, with weapons that were suited for gods. But good weapons must have great soldiers handling them. Each recruit had to go through tough training to be enrolled, and after signing on, a recruit be in the military for twenty years. Rome invented many things and with out a few of them, life would be quite different. One example is the Roman Arch and concrete, many buildings and bridges would not be standing if it weren’t for these inventions. The Roman Empire also had a lot of farmers that were very good at their jobs. They produced a wide variety of food for the empire. Not all of the time was work for Romans, sporting events were held at the Coliseum and Circus Maximus. These included Chariot Races and Gladiator Battles. Read further if you want to learn more about Rome.

The Roman Military

Before getting accepted into the Roman Military, people had to be between the ages of 17 to 23 years old and have no serious criminal offenses. The Roman Military recruiters looked for men that were muscular and had fast reflexes. The recruits also had to be close to or taller than five feet eight inches, which the Romans considered to be tall. Then, after being registered, the training began. The training consisted of three twenty-mile marches that had to be completed in three hours, and they even had to carry all of their gear. (A saw, pickax, sickle, basket, bucket, and food.) Other training methods consisted of swimming, chopping down trees, jumping ditches, and practicing combat with heavy weapons, so when they were in combat, the weapons felt lighter. Then the recruits were ready for the real thing.

There were six different forms of fighters in the roman army. One, Velites fought with light spears and shields. Two, Hastati were equipped with a sword, two spears and wore light body armor. Three, Principes were equipped with swords, spears and a round shield. Four, Triarii were equipped with sturdy spears and full body armor. Five, Cavalrymen and their horses wore some armor. The riders had a sword and a shield, or spears, or javelins, or a pilum, or a bow and arrows. Six, Archers wore light or no armor and had a bow and arrows.