The Past Of Rome
Traditional Rome was the largest town in the then known world. It is thought that Rome’s population was over one million folk when the city was at the height of its power. From Rome, the heart of government beat ; military calls were taken and the vast wealth Rome earned was invested in a series of magnificent buildings.
To begin with, many buildings in Rome were built round the forum. Traditionally, this had been a market place and an area where folks met. Therefore , it would have been a natural place to put government buildings, churches and palaces. As Rome grew , however , the forum became more and more crowded. Therefore , a second town centre was planned and built some distance from the forum but still in Rome itself.
Rome itself had some magnificent buildings erected within the city. Some exist to this day, all be it in a less wonderful state. The most famous is maybe the Colosseum where thousands of Roman citizens would gather for their entertainment - be it animals fighting or gladiators etc . Such grand buildings were constructed so that emperors would be recalled by future generations. The Colosseum was built on the orders of the Emperor Vespasian and finished when the Emperor Titus was in power. The building was ultimately completed in AD 80.
Rome also had many triumphal arches made across the town to celebrate military victories. These served a twin purpose. First, they were a celebration of the military victories the Romans had and, second, they used to be a reminder to the people of Rome of how forceful the division was.
As with any city, Rome had its wealthy and poor areas. The poor could only afford to live in wooden homes which were a heavy fire risk in a hot country like Italy. On a number of occasions, Rome suffered severe damage as a result of fires starting in the town’s slums. The slums were also deadly places to go to if you had any money as crime was very common. The Emperor Augustus made a police force to patrol the town but the poor areas stayed all but wild. However , for the influential folk of Rome, this was of small significance as they never visited such areas.
The fall of traditional Rome started from about AD 190. The Roman Empire was attacked by clans like the Goths and the Vandals. Civil wars in parts of the empire further weakened the rule of Rome and respect for Roman law diminshed as a result.
Why was the empire attacked by cruel tribes people? Clans like the Goths needed to move south into parts of Europe that experienced a better climate that would assist their farming. This could only bring them into conflict with the Romans. Atroughly AD 190, Rome also experienced a succession of poor emperors who simply weren’t capable of doing the job.
Diocletian faced more than only administrative issues. More military defences had to be built across the whole empire. This cost money that Rome did not have. To pay for these, taxes were increased and extra coins were minted. This lead to inflation causing prices to rise. Therefore , the people of Rome were less than favourable towards people who led them.
With threats from tribes in northern Europe, financial issues in Rome itself and a civilian population becoming more discontented, Rome could ill afford further major issues.
In AD 307, Constantine became emperor. He ruled from AD 307 to AD 337. Constantine was Rome’s first Christian emperor and he is considered to have been astrong ruler.
He believed that Rome as a town was too far away from vital areas of the empire to be of value from a governmental level. Constantine, moved the capital of the empire to a new town - Constantinople. This was a new town that was built on the old city of Byzantium. Whatever the motives were, Constantine’s decision was a poor one. Constantinople was much further east than Rome and forcefully in the eastern empire. This left the western empire extraordinarily vulnerable - though the eastern empire was hardly free from attacks.
however , in AD 398, the leader of the Visigoths, Alaric, realised the Roman military was so thinly spread, that Rome itself was for the taking. Alaric moved carefully south but in AD 410 he captured the city of Rome. The town was sacked. Roman held territory in Spain, France, northern Africa and Britain all fell to the assorted tribes that attacked them.
In AD 455, Rome got attacked again. This time the damage was done by the Vandals. The city suffered serious damage. In AD 476, the last Roman emperor in the west, Romulus Augustulus, was removed from power by Odovacar, leader of the Goths. This date is usually used by historians as the year the Roman Empire stopped. However , Roman rule continued in the eastern empire for a number of years after this date - in modern Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and northerly Egypt. Even if the ancient Rome fell, today it is a cosmopolitan city. If you like to see the old and modern parts of the city do not hesitate and book your Appartment Rome. All the Appartments Rome are a good starting point to make the most out of the city.