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Article: If You Lived in Ancient Rome: What was it like to live in the capital city of the world's greatest empire? (World History).(Statistical Data Included)
- Article from:
- Junior Scholastic
- Article date:
- December 10, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Today, Rome is a city of 2.6 million people and the capital of Italy. But 1,900 years ago, Rome was the greatest superpower the world had ever known. It ruled an empire that stretched from Great Britain to Asia (see map, p. 17).
The first Romans were simple farmers. But over time, the Romans began to conquer other lands. By A.D. 117, Rome was at the height of its power. One out of every five people on Earth lived under Roman rule.
It was a time of peace and security known as Pax Romana (Roman Peace). A person could travel safely from Spain to the Middle East on roads built and guarded by Roman soldiers. As the Greek philosopher Aristides ...