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Ancient Rome was a powerful and important civilization that ruled much of Europe for nearly 1000 years. The culture of Ancient Rome was spread throughout Europe during its rule. As a result, Rome's culture still has an impact in the Western world today. The basis for much of Western culture comes from Ancient Rome, especially in areas such as government, engineering, architecture, language, and literature.

The city of Rome is the capital of Italy today
Map of Italy from the CIA World Factbook

The Roman Republic

Rome first grew into power as a Republic. This meant that Rome's leaders, such as senators, were elected officials that served for a limited amount of time, not kings who were born into leadership and ruled for life. They had a complex government with written laws, a constitution, and a balance of powers. These concepts became very important in forming future democratic governments, like the United States.

The Republic would rule Rome for hundreds of years from around 509 BC to 45 BC.

The Roman Empire

In 45 BC Julius Caesar took over the Roman Republic and made himself the supreme dictator. This was the end of the republic. A few years later, in 27 BC, Caesar Augustus became the first Roman Emperor and this was the start of the Roman Empire. Much of the lower level government stayed the same, but now the Emperor had supreme power.

The Roman Forum was the center of government
Photo by Adrian Pingstone

The Empire Splits

As the Roman Empire grew it became more and more difficult to manage from the city of Rome. Eventually the Roman leaders decided to split Rome into two empires. One was the Western Roman Empire and was ruled out of the city of Rome. The other was the Eastern Roman Empire and was ruled out of Constantinople (today's Istanbul in Turkey). The Eastern Roman Empire would become known as Byzantium or theByzantine Empire.

Fall of Rome

The fall of Rome generally refers to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It fell in 476 AD. The Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire, would rule parts of Eastern Europe for another 1000 years.

Interesting Facts about Ancient Rome

The city of Rome is the capital of Italy today. It sits on the same site as the city of ancient Rome. If you were to visit Rome you could see many of the original ancient buildings such as the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

The Circus Maximus, a huge stadium built for chariot races, could seat around 150,000 people.

The fall of Western Rome is considered the start of the "Dark Ages" in Europe.

The highest position in the Roman Republic was the consul. There were two consuls at the same time to make sure that one didn't become too powerful.

The native language of the Romans was Latin, but they often spoke Greek as well.

When Julius Caesar took power he named himself dictator for life. However, this didn't last long as he was assassinated a year later.

Recommended books and references:

Nature Company Discoveries library: Ancient Rome by Judith Simpson. 1997.

Exploring the culture, people & ideas of this powerful empire by Avery Hart & Sandra Gallagher ; illustrations by Michael Kline. 2002.

Eyewitness Books: Ancient Rome written by Simon James. 2004.

Activities

Take a ten questionquiz about this page.
Ancient Rome crossword puzzle
Ancient Rome word search

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Works Cited
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Kids learn about the civilization and history of Ancient Rome including the Roman Republic, Empire, art, religion, army, daily life, people, Senate, and the fall of Rome. Educational articles for students, schools, and teachers.

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Kids learn about the civilization of ancient Egypt including the pharaohs, pyramids, art, government, geography, Nile River, mummies, religion, hieroglyphics, and clothing. Educational articles for students, schools, and teachers.

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Kids learn about the history of Ancient China. Educational articles for teachers, students, and schools including the culture, art, religions, clothing, geography, empire, government, daily life, people, and dynasties of Ancient China.

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Kids learn about the civilization and history of ancient Greece including the government, philosophy, science, Athens, Sparta, daily life, people, art, architecture, theater, and mythology. Educational articles for students, schools, and teachers.

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Kids learn about the ancient civilizations of the Americas including the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca Empires.

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Kids learn about the history of Ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Educational articles for teachers, students, and schools including religion, art, daily life, people and kings, Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, Persia, city-states, science, and more.

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Britannica Kids

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Beginning in about 5000 bce, farmers near what is now Iran began to gather in villages. In about 3500 bce settlers began to move eastward into the Indus Valley. By about 2500 bce the Indus Valley civilization had developed at Harappa and other sites.

The Indus Valley civilization probably broke down in stages between 2000 bce and 1700 bce. Some historians blame invaders from the west, probably a group known as Aryans. Climate change, floods, and diseases also might have hurt the civilization.

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One of the first civilizations in the world developed in the valley of the Indus River in Asia. It occupied both sides of what is now the border between Pakistan and India....

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Explore Mode

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History Explored: Ancient Civilizations Around the World | EXPLORE MODE

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EdYouToo

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Florida PASS Program

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History for kids - Travel through Time - Compilation

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History for kids - Travel through Time - Compilation

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Smile and Learn English

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History for kids - Travel through Time - Compilation

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Erin Hill

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National Geographic Kids

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Discover the treasures of Ancient Egypt's most famous pharaoh

It's almost 100 years since 'Boy King' Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered. Now's your last chance to see its treasures before they're returned to Egypt...
King Tutankhamun (King Tut for short!) became ruler of Ancient Egypt when he was just nine years old. The Boy King died just ten years later and he was buried in a golden coffin surrounded by 5,000 priceless treasures, including animal statues, jewellery, clothes, weapons and even toys.

Some Egyptologists believe King Tut may have died in a chariot crash. But the cause of his death remains a mystery today!

When Howard and his Crew entered the tomb, they were greeted with thousands of spectacular treasures that had been left almost untouched, more than 3,300 years after the Egyptian Pharaoh's death. It was the only Ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found intact. Wow!

The discovery caused a sensation, and the little-known king instantly became the most famous Pharaoh on the planet.

Wooden Guardian Statue of the King

This life-sized statue of Tutankhamun, with piercing golden eyes, gold clothing and contrasting black skin, was one of two sentries that Howard Carter found guarding the sealed entrance of Tut's burial chamber. Would you have dared mess with it?!

Miniature Canopic Coffin

The afterlife was incredibly important to the Ancient Egyptians. They believed that by preserving a dead person's body - through the process of mummification - the soul would live on in the afterlife forever. During the mummification process, the internal organs were removed, wrapped in linen bandages and placed in containers called canopic vessels. Usually these were jars, but sometimes the organs were stored in miniature golden coffins. This beautiful coffin (left) contained King Tut's liver. Wow!

Gilded Wooden Bed

Experts think this gold-covered bed (below) was made for King Tut's funeral. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the dead were merely asleep and that they woke up when they were 'reborn' in the afterlife. To ensure the Pharaoh's safe passage into the afterlife and to keep evil forces at bay, divine figures were carved on to the bed - in this case Bes, a god who frightened away evil spirits from newborn babies, and Tauret, the hippo goddess. Sweet dreams!

Silver military trumpet

Two trumpets were found inside the tomb of Tutankhamun. It is said that the trumpets are magical. The first time one was blown after their re-discovery, the lights went out in Cairo's Egyptian Museum - and a few months later war broke out in Europe. The trumpets were played again before the Six Day War in 1967, before the 1990 Gulf War and the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Some people have blamed these weird coincidences on the curse. Spooky!

Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh presented by Viking Cruises is now open at London's Saatchi Gallery. Limited run. General adult admission from £28.50+ fees.
Visit tutankhamun‐london.com to find out more.

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TUTANKHAMUN: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh | National Geographic Kids

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Discover the treasures of Ancient Egypt's most famous pharaoh It's almost 100 years since 'Boy King' Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered. Now's your last chance to see its treasures before they're returned to Egypt... King Tutankhamun (King Tut for short!) became ruler of Ancient Egypt when he was just nine years old.

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History for Kids

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Roman Games

Games were a very important part of the Ancient Roman times.

Children and adults all enjoyed playing games. Sometimes, the games were very intense such as gladiator games, while there were other games that children loved to play.

Childhood Games

Ancient Roman children loved to play games and they had games called Battledore, which was similar to badminton. This game would be where the children would hit a pinecone or another round thing with flat paddles and would get points.

Another game was when the children would use a game board and would throw pebbles and pick up sticks.

Ancient Roman children would play games that were similar to hockey, basketball and baseball.

Children and adults loved to play a dice game that was called Knucklebones. This was a game that had five or ten small bones and they would get points depending on how the bones landed on the ground.

A game called tali was similar to jacks that we play today.

Board Games

Children and young adults would often get together and play board games. Many of the board games are similar to games that we play today.

One game called Latrunculi was a game that was similar to how we play chess, today.

Tabula was a game that was just like backgammon and other games included Terni Lapilli which was tic-tac-toe and other board games where the pieces would be made by hand out of clay or wood.

Sport Games

Another popular thing was sport games. It was during Ancient Roman times that sports were very popular. Some of the most popular sports were wrestling, jumping, racing, boxing, swimming and more.

Most of the time, girls and women did not play any type of sports game and most of these things were left to the men and boys.

Swimming was considered a sport or a game and children from all over the area would get together in different places such as the river or at the roman baths and would swim.

Even some women and girls learned to swim during these times.

Many of the people that swam would have water races and see who could swim the fastest and the best.

Ball games were another popular thing during Ancient Roman times. Most of the ball games involved balls that were made out of pig bladders or other materials.

The balls would be used in soccer, hockey, catching and even hitting the ball.

Some of the people in Ancient Rome would learn to play dodge ball where they would throw the ball and the other team would dodge it. Both men and women participated in ball games.Advertisement

Facts About Ancient Roman Games:

The dice would have pictures on them of paintings or pictures that were hanging on walls.

Dice were used to place bets and to gamble.

Some of the games that were played in Ancient Rome were first played in Ancient Egypt.

One game called Knucklebones were made of sheep and goat bones, but they were also made form glass, metals, gems and wood.

Marbles was a popular Ancient Roman game called Nux which meant nuts.

Tic-tac-toe was played on a rota board which was a three in a row wheel where players would try to get there three in a row before another player won.

In dice games, rolling three sixes was called a "Venus," after the goddess of love and was a lucky roll.

Dice games were played during the time of Pompeii.

Gambling was a big thing in Ancient Roman times and many people would win money while betting on their dice.

Some men would try to cheat at dice so they could win other people's money.

Most of the time, only the wealthy had board games.

Poor families had some toys but most of them did not own a board game.

Hopscotch was a game that was played during Ancient Roman times and it was meant to strengthen the people. This was even played by soldiers so they could learn to be agile and strong.

What Did You Learn?

1. Did Ancient Romans play board games? Ancient Roman board games were very popular.

2. What is similar to what people do for fun now? There are many similar board games that the Ancient Romans played that we play now.

3. Did all children own board games? The wealthier children owned board games and the poorer children did not.

4. What other games were played during Ancient Roman times? Children and adults played other games such as ball games, sport games and more.

5. Did both boys and girls play sports? Most of the time only boys and men played sports.

6. What sport is considered a game of Ancient Roman times that we do now? Swimming was considered a game during Ancient Roman times.

7. Who swam? Both boys and girls swam during Ancient Roman times.

8. Did the Ancient Romans play ball games? The Ancient Romans played many types of ball games.

9. Did both men and women play ball games in Ancient Rome? Men and women both played ball games in Ancient Roman times.

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Games were a very important part of the Ancient Roman times. Children and adults all enjoyed playing games. Sometimes, the games were very intense such as gladiator games, while there were other games that children loved to play. Ancient Roman children loved to play games and they had games called Battledore, which was similar to badminton.