Geography
Roma
Cities
In Latin, Rome is referred to as Roma. Rome is located in the marshlands of the Tiber River. At first it was a small village, but soon it grew into the capital of the Roman Empire. There are many great sites in Rome, including the Flavian Amphitheatre and the Colosseum. The Colosseum is where gladiators fought each other and wild animals. It was a great form of entertainment that many enjoyed. Another place of interest is the Forum. This area was where commerce, business, prostitution, cultism and the administration of justice occured. Located in the Forum was the Rostra, where politicians gave public speeches. Many great works of architecture and sculptures were built in the Forum to show off Roman culture. Finally, the Pantheon was a great temple dedicated to all the major gods. It had large arches and a dome which was the biggest of its time. It was quite an impressive building. The Pantheon, the Forum, and the Colosseum were all major landmarks of Rome.
Ostia
15 miles from Rome was the port of Ostia. Its name came from the word os, which means mouth. The city was located on the mouth of the Tiber River and was the main area for goods to be delivered from the Mediterranean Sea to Rome. Because it was so important for commerce, it was heavily guarded and a wall was built around it. Decumanus Maximus was a large road that cut through the city. There was also the Capitolium, which was a temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Perhaps the most important part of Ostia were three large warehouses or horrea. These horrea held large amounts of goods; some stored 5,500 metric tons of grains. Thanks to these horrea, Ostia was a major port for the Roman Empire.
Brundisium
Another important Roman port was Brundisium. It was located in southeast Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. The city gets its name from the bay, which looks like the branches of a stag’s antlers (brunda). It was said to have been founded by Diomede, a comrade of Odysseus. Its bay provided a natural harbor that was a primary port for the eastern part of the empire as well as Greece. Because of this, it was prized by the Romans.
Athens
The mighty city of Athens was a center for art and literature. It is world renowned for its democratic government. The city was located in Greece and prospered throughout the height of the Greek and Roman culture. It is best known for its Acropolis, which is Greek for: high city. The Acropolis sat on top of a large hill overlooking the city. It had many temples, including the Athena Parthenos, which was to honor Athena, the patron goddess of the city. The Romans were so impressed by Athens that when they took it over they decided not to burn the city.
Troy
Troy is a mysterious city that was located in modern day Turkey, in Asia Minor. It was a prosperous city, with a port to carry goods in from other cities on the Aegean Sea. Unlike other ancient cities that were previously mentioned, this one remained a mystery for a long time. It was written about in Homer’s Iliad, and it was said to have burned to the ground in the Trojan war. It was rediscovered in the late 1800s. The city was described as having large towers and a thick wall to keep out intruders. Troy is arguably the most interesting and cryptic city of the ancient world.
Carthage
Carthage is located in present day Tunisia, on the coast of northern Africa. At one time Carthage was the capital of a great empire that stretched over the north coast of Africa and southern Spain. The Carthaginian Empire fought the Romans in the Punic Wars and lost. When they lost, their land became the province called: Africa Proconsularis. The city was left in ruins with a corrupt government. Despite this, the city’s location was great for shipping goods across the Mediterranean Sea. It was known as a center of commerce.
Provinces
Gallia
Gallia was a Roman province that included modern day France, Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany (on the west bank of the Rhine), and the Po Valley, which is in present Italy. It was inhabited by 3 separate cultures: the Celtic Gauls of modern central France, the Aquitania Gauls who lived south of the Garonne, and the Belgica Gauls who lived in modern day Belgium. Each culture had its own laws, culture, and traditions. These people were separated into many clans, each with their own chieftain. Since this province was on the outskirts of the Empire, it did not benefit from the luxuries of trade that their counterparts in Italy had. Gallia was considered a savage and wild province.
Britannia
To the Romans, Britannia was the most remote and exotic of the provinces. It included all of modern day Britain except for Scotland. The wild clans in Caledonia (Scotland) had built Antonine's Wall to keep the Romans out. Like Gallia, the people were divided into family clans. Although there were Roman colonies, the majority of the land was still in the control of native clans who did not adopt Roman culture. The area was divided into Superior, Wales and SW Britain, and Inferior, the rest of the Island. There were several Roman settlements, such as Vindolanda, which had many homesteads. This was truly the edge of the world for the Romans.
Italia
The Italian Peninsula is located in the Mediterranean Sea and also includes the islands of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. Its capital city is Rome, which was the center of the Roman Empire. The Italian peninsula borders the Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Adriatic Sea. On land, it is bordered by the Alps. The Apennine Mountains stretch throughout the country. There are three plains within the Apennine Mountains. The most important of these plains is significantly the Latium plains, which is where Rome was founded. The mountains are separated by the Tiber River, which flows through the center of Rome. Major cities of Italia Include Rome, Ostia (Harbor city of Rome) Naples, Pompeii, and Brundisium. Greece is located to the west of Italia while Africa is to the south. Italia’s modern day name is Italy.
Graecia
Graecia’s modern day name is Greece. Graecia’s capital city is Athens. It is a mountain-filled country, including Mount Olympus, which is the home of the Gods. Graecia also has over 2,000 islands, a fraction of which are inhabited. Some of the major cities of Graecia included Athens and Sparta. It is bordered by the Aegean sea in the east and the Ionian Sea in the west. Italia is west of Graecia.
Africa
The Roman territory of Africa is located in modern day Tunisia (near the middle of northern Africa). It is a coastal territory, and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. Africa was conquered by Rome in the Third Punic War. The capital of Africa is Carthage, one of the most important cities in Roman history.
Asia Minor
Asia minor consists mostly of modern day Turkey. It is bordered by the Black, Mediterranean, and Aegean seas. It is one of the easternmost points in the Roman empire. It is home to Troy, the site of the infamous Trojan War.
Hispania
Hispania is known today as Spain. It was a territory of Rome. Hispania borders the Mediterranean Sea. One of its major cities is Carthago Nova, which also borders the Mediterranean sea. Hispania is large in area and is to the west of Italy.
Bodies of Water
Mare Nostrum
Over time the Roman Empire expanded over the entire Mediterranean Sea. The Romans called Mediterranean SeaMare Nostrum, which means: Our Sea. This sea stretches from Spain to Egypt and from Greece to Carthage. It is surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa. This sea allowed the Romans to move quickly across the Empire, whether to trade or to attack. To the Romans, the Mare Nostrum was the center of the world.
Tiber River
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The Tiber River is the second longest river in all of Italy. It starts in the Apennine Mountains and flows southwest. The Tiber River passes directly through the center of Rome. Its mouth is in Ostia, where it flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Tiber River was significant in trade and was home of the Ostians' naval base during the Punic Wars
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