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Citation: C N Trueman "Ancient Rome and Trade"
historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 16 Mar 2015. 11 May 2018.

Trade was vital to Ancient Rome. The empire cost a vast sum of money to run and trade brought in much of that money. The population of the city of Rome was one million and such a vast population required all manner of things brought back via trade.

The Roman Empire was criss-crossed with trade routes. There were sea routes that covered the Mediterranean and Black Seas and numerous land routes using the roads built by the Romans. Trade and moving the Roman Army around were the two principle reasons for building roads.

The most important port was Ostia as it was the nearest major port to Rome itself. Ostia was situated at the mouth of the River Tiber and was only 15 miles from Rome. Many ships travelled between Ostia and the major North African city of Carthage, a journey that took between three and five days. Ships also arrived from Spain and France at Ostia. All their goods could be quickly moved to Rome itself as they were taken in barges to the city up the River Tiber after slaves had transferred the products from the merchant ships to the barges. Ironically, Ostia was to play a major part in the downfall of Rome when Alaric the Goth captured Ostia in AD 409 knowing that this would starve Rome of much needed food.

The Romans did what they could to make sea journeys safe - lighthouses were built as were safe harbours and docks. The Roman Navy did what it could to make the Mediterranean Sea safe from pirates.

The Romans made trade as easy as possible. There was only one currency used and there were no complicating customs dues. Trade was also encouraged by many years of peace within the Empire. Trade was vital to the success of the Empire. When the Empire collapsed, trade throughout the lands that had once made up the Roman Empire, also collapsed. The Mediterranean Sea became a dangerous place for merchants as there were no powers to control the activities of pirates who marauded as far north as the English Channel.

What was acquired from where?

The Romans imported a whole variety of materials: beef, corn, glassware, iron, lead, leather, marble, olive oil, perfumes, purple dye, silk, silver, spices, timber, tin and wine. The main trading partners were in Spain, France, the Middle East and North Africa.

Britain exported lead, woollen products and tin. In return, it imported from Rome wine, olive oil, pottery and papyrus. British traders relied on the Romans to provide security within the Empire. When this collapsed and Europe was seemingly overrun by Barbarians, no one could guarantee traders that their produce would get through. Also, without the power of Rome, who would be willing to buy what was produced in Britain and other parts of Europe?

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Ancient Rome and Trade - History Learning Site

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Trade was vital to Ancient Rome. The empire cost a vast sum of money to run and trade brought in much of that money. The population of the city of Rome was one million and such a vast population required all manner of things brought back via trade.

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The Tang Dynasty (China's Golden Age) - Ancient China for Kids

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The Tang Dynasty is famous for it's encouragement of literature, dancing, music, scroll painting, and art. Craftsmen worked with bronze and silver and gold and copper. Scroll painting became popular during Tang times. Pottery was painted with ornate scenes of daily life, and of carriages, and bridges, and signs of the zodiac.

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facts about islamic empires - facts about islamic empires

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Kids and students learn about the history of early Islamic world including the Caliphate, daily life, art, architecture, religion, commerce, science, and more.

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Learn about the feudal system during the Middle Ages and Medieval times. Feudalism with lords and manors, serfs and peasants.

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Feudalism is a system of land ownership and duties. It was used in the Middle Ages. With feudalism, all the land in a kingdom was the king's. However, the king would give some of the land to the lords or nobles who fought for him, called vassals. These gifts of land were called fiefs.

Characteristics

Under feudalism, taxes were not paid with money. They were paid in products and services. Presents and taxes had to be given to the lords by their vassals. At harvest time, the vassals gave shares of their crops to the lords. The vassals would grind their grain at the noble's granaries. They would give part of the grain to their lord. When animals were killed for food, part of the meat was given to the lords. The lords promised to give protection, peace, and safety to their vassals.

Manors were completely owned by the nobles. They were given from one generation to another. The noble's firstborn son took it all when his father died. Each manor had its own pasture lands, mill, wine press, church, and village. A manor had to let many people live there. Lords gave their servants food and a place to sleep, but they did not pay their servants money.

The villein was in a poorer class. They had to serve the lords, but was free in other ways. They had work to do for the lord or the town. Then they went back to their little houses with floors made of earth and a thatched roof. On the walls of their houses, the villeins hung meats, tools, and dried vegetables.

A villein was more free than slaves or serfs, but they still were not completely free. They could not move or marry if the lord didn't say yes. They also could not leave the manor lands if the lord said no. If they escaped, they could run away to a town where they could try to live quietly without being known, until he is discovered. If they did this, they become a free men. If they wanted to help the Catholic Church, they needed special permission. As a member of the church, their position could get higher. However, if this did not work, they could join a band of outlaws.

The serf was in the lowest class. He was only a little better than slaves. He could not be sold away from the land, but was always sold with the land.

But villeins and serfs had rights as well. They could cultivate grain and vegetables for sale, and the lord had duty to protect them and provide them land to cultivate. If they got wealthy enough, they could buy their freedom from the lord. They also did not need to serve in levy (that is: army mustered up by conscription) and they did not need to pay state taxes. They usually paid 10% of their income to the Church and 10% to the feudal lord, which was called a tithe.

According to Karl Marx, feudalism was the stage of society before capitalism and after slavery. When the lords and the serfs fought, feudalism ended and capitalism came into being. However, instead of the lords exploiting the serfs, now it was the bourgeoisie exploiting the proletariat.

Philip Daileader (2001). "Feudalism". The High Middle Ages. The Teaching Company. ISBN: 978-1-56585-827-5

Francois-Lois Ganshof, Feudalism. Tr Philip Grierson. New York: Harper and Row, 1964.

Jean-Pierre Poly and Eric Bournazel, The Feudal Transformation, 900-1200., Tr. Caroline Higgitt. New York and London: Holmes and Meier, 1991.

Normon E. Cantor. Inventing the Middle Ages: The Lives, Works, and Ideas of the Great Medievalists of the Twentieth century. Quill, 1991.

Alain Guerreau, L'avenir d'un passé incertain. Paris: Le Seuil, 2001. (complete history of the meaning of the term).

Images for kids

Investiture of a knight (miniature from the statutes of the Order of the Knot, founded in 1352 by Louis I of Naples).

Orava Castle in Slovakia. A medieval castle is a traditional symbol of a feudal society.

Herr Reinmar von Zweter, a 13th-century Minnesinger, was depicted with his noble arms in Codex Manesse.

Homage of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis

Depiction of socage on the royal demesne in feudal England, c. 1310

In Spanish: Feudalismo para niños

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If you like knights in shining armor, kings, peasants and--er--plagues, pay fealty to this movie! Tim and Moby discuss life during medieval times.

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Feudalism- political and social order that developed during the Middle Ages when royal governments were no longer able to defend their subjects; nobles offered protection and land in return for service

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Kids learn about the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages and Medieval times. Eastern Roman Empire ruled for over 1000 years.

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Kids History: The Tang Dynasty of Ancient China

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Kids learn about the Tang Dynasty of Ancient China. A time of peace, prosperity, and inventions such as gunpowder, printing, and porcelain.

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The Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire) was the name of the eastern remnant of the Roman Empire which survived into the Middle Ages. Its capital was Constantinople, which today is in Turkey and is now called Istanbul. Unlike the Western Roman Empire, its people spoke Greek, not Latin.

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The Byzantine Empire - The Middle Ages - Facts for Kids

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Kids History: The Song Dynasty of Ancient China

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Kids learn about the Song Dynasty of Ancient China including the Northern and Southern Song, advancements, culture, and government.

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SONG DYNASTY LIFE

According to Columbia University's Asia for Educators: "The Song period (960-1276) was a time of economic growth, population growth, and urbanization. Song cities, centers of government and commerce, were among the largest cities of the world...Buddhism flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties along with religious Daoism and a revival of Confucian thinking (referred to as "Neo-Confucianism"). [Source: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Primary Sources with DBQs, afe.easia.columbia.edu ]

"Many ways of living and acting that Westerners now see as most thoroughly "Chinese," or even characteristically East Asian, did not appear before the Song. 1) The Chinese, we know, are rice eaters and tea drinkers; but most Chinese in the Tang and before ate wheat and millet and drank wine, in that respect looking perhaps more "Western" than "Eastern"; rice and tea became dominant food and drink in the Song. 2) China's population, we know, is huge, and tends to "explode"; its first explosion occurred in the Song. 3) The Chinese, we know, are "Confucians"; but the kind of Confucianism that served as government orthodoxy throughout late-imperial times was a Song reinvention. 4) Chinese women, we may know, bound their feet; but they did not bind them until the Song. 5) Even the "Chinese" roof with its turned-up corners is by origin a Song Chinese roof."

The world's first paper money was printed during the Song; it was in color and on special paper. The abacus and the compass were in common use. The practice of foot binding - the compression of the feet of girls with tight bandages to the feet are only a few centimeters long - originated in the Song Dynasty. Jacqueline M. Newman wrote in Food in History: "On the educational front, Emperor Song Taizu, whose earlier moniker was Zhao Kuangyin, encouraged printing. It was a cheap way to copy books, lots faster than charging someone with the task of rewriting them. As a matter of fact, it was so fast that one person could produce one thousand pages a day. This proliferation of the printed word increased scholarship and readership." [Source: Jacqueline M. Newman, Food in History Fall Volume: 2008 Issue: 15(3) page(s): 20 and 21 ***]

"The elite of the city often formed clubs. A text written in 1235 mentions the West Lake Poetry Club, the Buddhist Tea Society, the Physical Fitness Club, the Anglers' Club, the Occult Club, the Young Girls' Chorus, the Exotic Foods Club, the Plants and Fruits Club, the Antique Collectors' Club, the Horse-Lovers' Club, and the Refined Music Society. Members gathered for lively discussions and socializing.

Good Websites and Sources on the Song Dynasty: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Primary Sources with DBQs, afe.easia.columbia.edu ; Wikipedia Wikipedia ; San.beck.org san.beck.org ; BCPS bcps.org ; Good Websites and Sources on the Tang Dynasty: Wikipedia ; Google Book: China's Golden Age: Everday Life in the Tang Dynasty by Charles Benn books.google.com/books; Empress Wu womeninworldhistory.com ; Good Websites and Sources on Tang Culture: Metropolitan Museum of Art metmuseum.org ; Tang Poems etext.lib.virginia.edu enter Tang Poems in the search; Tang Horses persiancarpetguide.com China Vista chinavista.com

Good Websites and Sources on Early Chinese History: 1) Robert Eno, Indiana University indiana.edu; 2) Chinese Text Project ctext.org ; 3) Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization depts.washington.edu ; 4) Ancient China Life ancientchinalife.com ; 5) Ancient China for School Kids elibrary.sd71.bc.ca/subject_resources ; Good Chinese History Websites: 1) Chaos Group of University of Maryland chaos.umd.edu/history/toc ; 2) WWW VL: History China vlib.iue.it/history/asia ; 3) Wikipedia article on the History of China Wikipedia 4) China Knowledge; 5) Gutenberg.org e-book gutenberg.org/files ; Links in this Website: Main China Page factsanddetails.com/china (Click History)

Books: 1) Cambridge History of China Vol. 5 Part One and Part Two (Cambridge University Press); 2) Benn, Charles, "Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty," Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002; 3) Schafer, Edward H. "The Golden Peaches of Samarkan," Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963; 4) The Culture and Civilization of China, a massive, multi-volume series, (Yale University Press); 5) "Housing, Clothing, Cooking, from Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion 1250-1276" by Jacques Gernet (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1962). You can help this site a little by ordering your Amazon books through this link: Amazon.com.

RELATED ARTICLES IN THIS WEBSITE: TANG, SONG AND YUAN DYNASTIES factsanddetails.com; SONG DYNASTY (A.D.960-1279) factsanddetails.com; SONG DYNASTY (960-1279) ADVANCES factsanddetails.com; SONG DYNASTY (960-1279) ECONOMICS AND AGRICULTURE factsanddetails.com; GOVERNMENT, BUREAUCRACY, SCHOLAR-OFFICIALS AND EXAMS DURING THE SONG DYNASTY factsanddetails.com; SU SHI (SU DONGPO)-THE QUINTESSENTIAL SCHOLAR-OFFICIAL-POET factsanddetails.com; WANG ANSHI, HIS REFORMS AND HIS BATTLE WITH SIMA GUANG factsanddetails.com; SONG DYNASTY LIFE factsanddetails.com; SONG DYNASTY CULTURE: TEA-HOUSE THEATER, POETRY AND CHEAP BOOKS factsanddetails.com; SONG DYNASTY ART, PAINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY SONG DYNASTY factsanddetails.com; LANDSCAPE, ANIMAL, RELIGIOUS AND FIGURE PAINTING factsanddetails.com; SONG DYNASTY CERAMICS factsanddetails.com

Song Dynasty Population Boom

The Chinese population, long stable at around 50 million people, doubled in 200 years during the Song dynasty with the introduction of fast growing rice, improved tools and double harvests. These innovations also helped China develop a large permanent urban culture. A census taken in 1086 recorded 108 million people, more than four times the number of people in all of Europe.

According to Columbia University's Asia for Educators: "In 742 China's population was approximately 50 million, very close to what it had been in 2 CE. Over the next three centuries, with the expansion of rice cultivation in central and south China, the country's food supply steadily grew, allowing its population to grow as well. By 1100, the population reached 100 million. China was certainly the largest country in the world at the time. Its population probably already exceeded that of all of Europe, as it has in more recent centuries. [Source: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Consultants Patricia Ebrey and Conrad Schirokauer afe.easia.columbia.edu/song ]

Philip D. Curtin wrote: "Between... 960 and... 1127, China passed through a phase of economic growth that was unprecedented in earlier Chinese history, perhaps in world history up to this time. It depended on a combination of commercialization, urbanization, and industrialization that has led some authorities to compare this period in Chinese history with the development of early modern Europe six centuries later." [Source: Philip D. Curtin, "In Cross-Cultural Trade in World History" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008)]

The great world cities in the year 1000 were Constantinople, Bagdad, Cordoba in Spain, Angkor Wat in Indochina, Tollán in Mexico, and Changngan and Kaifeng in China. In 1020, Kaifeng was home to around a half million people and featured tores that remained open all night, named streets and powerful merchants. Largest cities in the world in the year 1000 (estimated population): 1) Cordoba, Spain (450,000); 2) Kaifeng, China (400,000); 3) Constantinople (300,000); 4) Angkor, Cambodia (200,000); 5) Kyoto, Japan (175,000); 6) Cairo (135,000); 7) Baghdad (125,000); 8) Neyshabur, Persia (125,000); 9) Al Hasa, Arabia (110,000); 10) Anhilvada, India; 11) Rayy, near modern-day Tehran (100,000); 12) Isfahan, Persia (100,000); 13) Seville, Spain (90,000); 14) Dali, China (90,000); 15) Thanjavur, India (90,000).

Song Daily Life Depicted in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"

"Along the River During the Qingming Festival" (also known as "Up the River During Qingming" and "The Spring Festival Along the River") is a painting by the Song dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145). It captures the daily life of people and the landscape of the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng, from the Northern Song period. The Song original by Zhang Zeduan at the Palace Museum, Beijing is 25.5 centimeters in height and 5.25 meters long. Within the painting are 814 humans (of whom only 20 are women), 28 boats, 60 animals, 30 buildings, 20 vehicles, 8 sedan chairs, and 170 trees. [Source: Wikipedia +]

The countryside and the densely populated city are the two main sections in the picture, with the river meandering through the entire length. In addition to the shops and diners, there are inns, temples, private residences, and official buildings varying in grandeur and style, from huts to mansions with grand front- and backyards. People and commodities are transported by various modes: wheeled wagons, beasts of labor (in particular, a large number of donkeys and mules), sedan chairs, and chariots. The river is packed with fishing boats and passenger-carrying ferries, with men at the river bank, pulling the larger ships. In the famous bridge scene the crew of an oncoming boat have not yet fully lowered sails of their boat and are in danger of crashing into the bridge. +

The right section is the rural area of the city. There are crop fields and unhurried rural folk-predominately farmers, goatherds, and pig herders-in bucolic scenery. A country path broadens into a road and joins with the city road. The left half is the urban area, which eventually leads into the city proper with the gates. Many economic activities, such as people loading cargoes onto the boat, shops, and even a tax office, can be seen in this area. People from all walks of life are depicted: peddlers, jugglers, actors, paupers begging, monks asking for alms, fortune tellers and seers, doctors, innkeepers, teachers, millers, metalworkers, carpenters, masons, and official scholars from all ranks. +

Outside the city proper there are businesses of all kinds, selling wine, grain, secondhand goods, cookware, bows and arrows, lanterns, musical instruments, gold and silver, ornaments, dyed fabrics, paintings, medicine, needles, and artifacts, as well as many restaurants. The vendors (and in the Qing revision, the shops themselves) extend all along the great bridge, called the Rainbow Bridge. Where the great bridge crosses the river is the center and main focus of the scroll. A great commotion animates the people on the bridge. A boat approaches at an awkward angle with its mast not completely lowered, threatening to crash into the bridge. The crowds on the bridge and along the riverside are shouting and gesturing toward the boat. Someone near the apex of the bridge lowers a rope to the outstretched arms of the crew below. +

National Palace Museum, Taipei description of version of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" attributed to Zhang Zeduan in their collection; "Many of these details are roughly corroborated by Song dynasty writings, principally the Dongjing Meng Hua Lu, which describes many of the same features of life in the capital...The version here traditionally attributed to Zhang includes such scenes starting from the right as a rustic countryside followed by a colorful bridal procession, the main arched bridge with a market, areas surrounding the city walls, and various bridges and waterfront activities."

Farmer Housing in the Song Dynasty

Chen Pu wrote in "On Farming": "The ancient kinds who reigned over subjects in all four directions and took advantage of the earth in the right seasons must have had good principles. They decreed that five mu of land should be set aside for housing, out of which two and a half mu were for a cottage erected in the center of the fields. [Source: "On Farming (Nongshu)" by Chen Pu (Chen Fu), 1076-1154, translated by Clara Yu from ""Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook"," edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey, 2nd ed. (New York: The Free Press, 1993), 188-191 ]

"In the period of plowing and sowing, move into this cottage to facilitate management and provide supplies for the farm workers. At the same time start a garden and plant vegetables. Along the walls, mulberry trees can be planted for the breeding of silkworms. In this manner you will live up to the system exemplified by the ancients.

"When the ninth month has come, transform the vegetable garden into a harvest processing area. In the tenth month, when the harvest is done and the year's work finished, you can rest as compensation for your labor of plowing and sowing in the spring. Now move the whole family, both old and new, back to the house. For if you stay too long in the cottage in the fields, your house will become dilapidated as a result of neglect.

Family, Women and Children in the Song Dynasty

The birth of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty re-emphasized by centrality of the family in Confucian teaching. According to Columbia University's Asia for Educators: "In Confucian teaching, the family is the most basic unit of society. Everyone should respect and obey his or her parents and put the interests of the family before personal interests. This attitude of "filial piety" extended also to ancestors. It was considered essential that everyone marry, so that family lines would continue and male heirs make offerings of food and drink to their deceased ancestors. [Source: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Consultants Patricia Ebrey and Conrad Schirokauer afe.easia.columbia.edu/song ]

"Girls left their families when they married. So long as they gave birth to sons, they would eventually gain a respected place in their family of marriage, and would be treated as ancestors by their sons and sons' sons. Mothers and grandmothers had important and respected places in their families. The Song is often seen as a time when the status of women declined. Compared to Tang times, women were less active in politics and less commonly seen on the streets. Song Confucian teachers argued against widows remarrying, and footbinding began in Song times. On the other hand, women's rights to property were relatively secure in Song times, and older women were often very powerful within their families. Li Qingzhao (1084-ca -1151) is a famous Chinese poet who wrote during the Song. She wrote poetry in a new form that had become popular at the time, with irregular lines that were inspired by musical lyrics.

"Children were highly valued in the Chinese family system. They were what made possible the continuation of the family. Although they were expected to learn to be filial, they were also indulged. Toy peddlers like the one in the scroll were sometimes depicted by painters surrounded by excited children."

Book: "Family and Property in Sung China: Yuan Ts'ai's Precepts for Social Life" translated by Patricia Buckley Ebrey (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984).

Song Paintings That Depict the Lives of Women and Children

"The Song and Yuan periods are considered by many the high point of painting in China. Patricia Buckley Ebrey of the University of Washington wrote: " In Song times, domestic life became an increasingly frequent subject not only for poetry and drama but for paintings as well. Under-represented in official written records, the lives and customs of people of all classes, were depicted in great detail in the visual arts. Women and children in particular became a focus for several academy artists who specialized in these genres. In many cases, the artists' sensitive treatment of personality and character, as well as careful attention to, say, the material distinctions between fine, elegant robes and the coarse textures of peasants' everyday clothing, gives useful data about how social class and status were expressed visually and the dynamics of social interactions.Paintings of children were popular at court and became a specialty of a handful of artists. This subject matter was considered auspicious, and was a favorite theme for New Year's pictures given as gifts. [Source: Patricia Buckley Ebrey, University of Washington, depts.washington.edu/chinaciv /=\]

"When women appear in official records in China, very little about their everyday lives, habits, and appearance is mentioned, so the abundance of paintings of women that lived during the Song and Yuan dynasties is of special interest to historians. Often painters portrayed upper class subjects larger than their servants. Performers at banquets were more likely to be professional musicians than the guests themselves. /=\

"Most paintings of women were made by artists who specialized in the genre of Palace Women and Children; Wang Juzheng, was best known for his portrayals of palace beauties. Views of women from the lower classes are quite rare, and this example shows sensitivity towards description of physical imperfections and maintains a sense of dignity in its treatment of the women's expressions." /=\

"It Is Difficult for Widows to Entrust Their Financial Affairs to Others" by Yuan Cai

Women's roles in imperial China varied with age, generational status, the bearing of sons, and with class. In both elite and commoner households, however, women were often in charge of managing the household - this involved the management and conservation of grain, cloth, and other goods, and the management of finances. [Source: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Consultants Patricia Ebrey and Conrad Schirokauer afe.easia.columbia.edu/song ]

In "It Is Difficult for Widows to Entrust Their Financial Affairs to Others", Yuan Cai (ca. 1140-ca. 1195) offers advice for family heads. He wrote: "Some wives with stupid husbands are able to manage the family's finances, calculating the outlays and receipts of money and grain, without being cheated by anyone. Of those with degenerate husbands, there are also some who are able to manage the finances with the help of their sons without ending in bankruptcy. Even among those whose husbands have died and whose sons are young, there are occasionally women able to raise and educate their sons, keep the affection of all their relatives, manage the family business, and even prosper. [Source: "It Is Difficult for Widows to Entrust Their Financial Affairs to Others" by Yuan Cai, ca. 1140-ca. 1195 from ""Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook"," edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey, 2nd ed. (New York: The Free Press, 1993), 168, Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Primary Sources with DBQs, afe.easia.columbia.edu ]

"All of these are wise and worthy women. But the most remarkable are the women who manage a household after their husbands have died leaving them with young children. Such women could entrust their finances to their husband's kinsmen or their own kinsmen, but not all relatives are honorable, and the honorable ones are not necessarily willing to look after other people's business. When wives themselves can read and do arithmetic, and those they entrust with their affairs have some sense of fairness and duty with regard to food, clothing, and support, then things will usually work out all right. But in most of the rest of the cases, bankruptcy is what happens.

Food in the Song Dynasty

Jacqueline M. Newman wrote in Food in History: "Reliance on rice increased during the Song Dynasty. Double-cropping came into fashion and rice use was able to increase. Some champa, rice, originally introduced from India, was coming to China as a tribute from the Champa state in Vietnam. Also growing in popularity, though less so, was red and black rices; these were grown locally. Thanks to the increase of and faster shipping of foods, litchi and sugar cane use spread throughout the country. Other foods did, as well. Some cities such as Hangzhou and Kaifeng set up special areas for the sale and distribution of these and other foods. Perishable foods were wrapped in lotus leaves for shipment; these were often the 'bags' used to carry them home from the marketplace. [Source: Jacqueline M. Newman, Food in History Fall Volume: 2008 Issue: 15(3) page(s): 20 and 21 ***]

"With increased quantity and availability, rich and poor had access to more kinds of foods, and they began to learn differences in food quality. They were now able to eat three meals a day, and large numbers of people did. Snacks became an adored item these days and many kinds were available for purchase, particularly during night markets.

"The variety of available dishes they offered, and one such boasted 100-Flavors Soup, Milk-steamed Lamb, Oven-strewn Hare, etc. One of these places listed two hundred thirty-four famous dishes their guests could choose from. 'Imitation' dishes became popular not just for Buddhist guests but for everyone who wanted to enjoy them. Barbecue shops increased as did oil-baked-pastry shops. ***

"Meat use expanded. Restaurants, more and more, used all parts of the pig, lamb, sheep, cows, and goats. Even horses, rabbits, deer, goat, frog, fish and other manners of seafood use increased during Song Dynasty times. Some meats were made into fermented pastes and sauces during the start of this dynasty, but near its end this use declined and virtually disappeared after the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1280-1368 and 1368 - 1644 CE, respectively). But before they did, unusual foods such as yellow sparrows, mussels, crabs, and the heads of pigs were enjoyed fermented from raw or from their cooked states. During and after the Yuan and Ming dynasties, foods such as eggplant, radishes, ginger, melons, pears, and citron, and soy pastes were added to the fermentation process. These, too, eventually, went out of fashion. Only soy paste and sauce use remained; and that is still true today. However, while they were popular, these fermented meat, fish, and vegetable pastes and sauces were used with whole or pieces of chicken, fish, and other animal foods." ***

Song Dynasty Cookbooks

Jacqueline M. Newman wrote in Food in History:"Many anecdotal food canons were published during" the Song Dynasty; "so were a few recipe books. The latter were a great improvement over earlier ones. One of these was the first ever to provide ingredients in measured amounts; it was called Madame Wu's Recipe Book and Wu Shih Ching Kuei Lu, in Chinese. This book was the first to offer more than simplistic generalized instructions, though they were a far cry from methods listed in steps, as they are these days. Instead, Madame Wu's book offered instructions such as 'bake on top of the stove' or 'drip oil over them' or 'cook... until very soft.' There was an oft quoted one that said 'cover the pot closely and add one or two mulberry stones which makes the meat tender.' Another frequently mentioned one is 'in summer, cook meat with only vinegar.' [Source: Jacqueline M. Newman, Food in History Fall Volume: 2008 Issue: 15(3) page(s): 20 and 21 ***]

"One poet, Yu Shipi, wrote about eating plain meat, brains, frog's legs, pigs' knuckles, fish maw, and other exotica. He liked them and said that these unusual foods were served to the Crown Prince. Some culinary, he discussed, included blanching kidneys and cooking them with wine and vinegar, sauteing quail with bamboo shoots, cooking crab legs with venison, preparing river prawns in soup with fish maw, and stewing whitefish in wine. How long any of these were prepared and/or cooked or how they should look when done, he mentioned not. That seemed to be left to the knowledge or imagination of each individual cook. ***

"Books of these times were more booklets than books, as we know them today. For example, one popular one was just a few pages. It was called Menu of Delectables. Others were a mite longer such as A Chef's Manual, or the Imperial Food List. A one hundred-plus page volume was titled Basic Needs of Rustic Living. There was another of one hundred fifty-pages titled Records of the Corrigible Studio. ***

"One can get a mental taste of foods then looking at the first two recipes below. They are from Madame Wu's Cookbook and written in paragraph form as they were in the original before translation. They are here to show how recipes were written then, not to cook them. 1) Shortbread: Mix four ounces butter, one ounce of honey, and a pound of flour. Make this into cakes and bake. 2) Pickled Shrimp: Use large shrimp and remove their tails and tiny legs. For each pound use five mace and salt and let them stand half a day (covered and in the refrigerator). Drain and place in an earthenware jar and top each layer with thirty grains of wild pepper to make the flavor interesting. Add three ounces salt for each pound of shrimp and first dissolve it in good wine. Pour it over the shrimp. Seal the jar with mud. In spring and autumn it will become tasty in five to seven days; in winter it takes ten days." ***

Restaurants, Tea and Tea Houses of the Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Jacqueline M. Newman wrote in Food in History: "More fermented wines, distilled alcohols, and other beverages were developed during Song times. Tea use increased in popularity and soon surpassed the consumption of alcoholic beverages. One of the latter that did increase considerably was koumiss, a drink made of mare's milk." Places to enjoy foods and drinks "meant increases in places to consume them away from home, and that was why more restaurants were built. Some had housing for prostitutes next door when more men were eating away from home. Some had rooms within for guests to bed down before making their long journey home. Some of these eateries offered entertainment such as sing-song girls, poetry readings, and other delights. With these many more eateries came need for more folk to cook in them. [Source: Jacqueline M. Newman, Food in History Fall Volume: 2008 Issue: 15(3) page(s): 20 and 21 ***]

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theater Academy Helsinki wrote: "In both Song period capitals, in northern Kaifeng and in southern Hangzhou, there were large entertainment or "red light" districts (wazi, wa-tzû) offering any kinds of amusements. In the theater houses and in the teahouses it was possible to see mimes, dance spectacles, acrobatics, circuses with animals, and magic shows. Prostitutes lured customers by singing and dancing, and the alleys were lined with fortune-tellers and street musicians. [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen, Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theater Academy Helsinki **]

According to the National Palace Museum, Taipei: "When taking tea, the Song people would customarily crush the tea cakes into tiny tea powder, place the powder in the tea bowl and add water; after some stirring the tea would be ready for drinking. Therefore a layer of white foam would often float to the surface of the tea, which would have suited well the black glaze of this tea bowl. The Song people had developed the practice of "tea competitions", and the coloring and foam appearing after stirring of the tea were both important criteria considered by the judges. Black glaze on tea bowls set off the white tea particularly well, and for this reason these tea bowls became extremely popular during the Song Dynasty. [Source: National Palace Museum, Taipei npm.gov.tw \=/ ]

Photographs: Photographer's Journal: A Teahouse in Hangzhou (New York Times, July 2, 2006) A narrated slide show about the Tai Ji teahouse in Hangzhou, with 14 photographs by Times photographer Chang W. Lee.

Kaifeng: A New Kind of City Emerges

According to Columbia University's Asia for Educators: "The quickening of the economy in Song times fueled the growth of cities. Dozens of cities had 50,000 or more residents, and quite a few had more than 100,000. As in previous dynasties, the Song's largest cities were its capitals - first Kaifeng in the North, then Hangzhou in the South. Both capitals are thought to have had about a million residents. (The population of London at the time was around 15,000). [Source: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Consultants Patricia Ebrey and Conrad Schirokauer afe.easia.columbia.edu/song ]

"The Song capitals boasted a lively street life, with markets, shops, restaurants, and houses right on the street. Some of these buildings were multi-story. Kaifeng did have an external wall, but its population spilled beyond it. Unlike previous capitals, such as the Tang dynasty's Chang'an, the Song capitals did not have walled wards. The wall we see in the scroll had no military purpose, but its gate still formed an impressive entrance into the city. To combat fire in the city, the government stationed 2,000 soldiers at 14 fire stations within the city and more outside it.

Poverty was more of a problem in crowded cities than in the countryside. The Song government not only distributed alms, but operated public clinics, old age homes, and paupers' graveyards.

Nicholas D. Kristof wrote in the New York Times: "An ancient 17-foot painted scroll, now in the Palace Museum in Beijing, shows the bustle and prosperity of ancient Kaifeng. Hundreds of pedestrians jostle each other on the streets, camels carry merchandise in from the Silk Road, and teahouses and restaurants do a thriving business. Kaifeng's stature attracted people from all over the world, including hundreds of Jews. Even today, there are some people in Kaifeng who look like other Chinese but who consider themselves Jewish and do not eat pork." [Source: Nicholas D. Kristof, "China, the World's Capital (From Kaifeng to New York, Glory Is as Ephemeral as Smoke and Clouds," New York Times, May 22, 2005]

Book: "Recollections of the Northern Song Capital," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture, translated by Stephen West, edited by Victor H. Mair, Nancy S. Steinhardt, and Paul R. Goldin (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005), 405-422.

Kaifeng, the city depicted in the Qingming Festival painting

Attractions of Hangzhou in 1235

The document excerpted below, by an unknown author, describes the Southern Song capital of Hangzhou - a city of between seven and eight square miles - in 1235: "Markets: During the morning hours, markets extend from Tranquility Gate of the palace all the way out to the north and south sides of the New Boulevard. Here we find pearl, jade, talismans exotic plants and fruits, seasonal catches from the sea, wild game - all the rarities of the world seem to be gathered here. [Source: "The Attractions of the Capital (Hangzhou)' by Unknown Author, ca. 1235, from ""Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook"," edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey, 2nd ed. (New York: The Free Press, 1993), 178-185]

"Commercial Establishments: Various businesses are designated by the word "company," which is a taxation category imposed by the government and is used for all businesses dealing in commodities, regardless of their size. Even physicians and fortunetellers are included. ... In general, the capital attracts the greatest variety of goods and has the best craftsmen.

"Restaurants: Most restaurants here are operated by people from the old capital, like the lamb rice shops which also serve wine. ... The so-called southern style is a misnomer. These restaurants were originally established in the old capital to serve southerners who were not used to the northern diet. Now that they are in the south, the term southern style becomes misleading. At any rate, noodles and seafood are the specialty of these restaurants, and each has its own house menu.

Marco Polo on Hangzhou

Marco Polo described Hangzhou, capital of the Southern Song as "the greatest city which may be found in this world." Situated at the southern end of the Grand Canal about 175 kilometers from present-day Shanghai, Hangzhou was a natural center for trade. Marco Polo reported that it had a population of 1.5 million people, 15 times more than his native Venice" and had ten marketplaces, each half a mile long, where 40,000 to 50,000 people would go to shop on any given day, and 10,000 bridges (a later traveler could only find 347). There were also numerous restaurants, a "great quantity of rich palaces" and bathhouses with hot or cold water baths, where "a hundred men or a hundred women can well bathe". [Source: National Geographic, Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Consultants Patricia Ebrey and Conrad Schirokauer afe.easia.columbia.edu/song ]

According to Marco Polo: "When you have left the city of Changan and have travelled for three days through a splendid country, passing a number of towns and villages, you arrive at the most noble city of Kinsay [Hangzhou], a name which is as much as to say in our tongue "The City of Heaven," as I told you before. [Source: Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa, "Book Second, Part III, Chapter LXXVI: Description of the Great City of Kinsay, Which Is the Capital of the Whole Country of Manzi" and "Book Second, Part III, Chapter LXXVII: Further Particulars Concerning the Great City of Kinsay," in The Book of Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian Concerning Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, translated and edited by Colonel Sir Henry Yule, Volume 2 (London: John Murray, 1903). This book is in the public domain and can be read online at Project Gutenberg. The excerpted text is from pages 179-180, 182, and 190-191 of this online text */*]

"And since we have got thither I will enter into particulars about its magnificence; and these are well worth the telling, for the city is beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world.... First and foremost, then, [the city of Kinsay is] so great that it hath an hundred miles of compass. And there are in it twelve thousand bridges of stone, for the most part so lofty that a great fleet could pass beneath them. And let no man marvel that there are so many bridges, for you see the whole city stands as it were in the water and surrounded by water, so that a great many bridges are required to give free passage about it. */*

"All the streets of the city are paved with stone or brick, as indeed are all the highways throughout Manzi, so that you ride and travel in every direction without inconvenience. Were it not for this pavement you could not do so, for the country is very low and flat, and after rain 'tis deep in mire and water. */*

"You must know also that the city of Kinsay has some 3000 baths, the water of which is supplied by springs. They are hot baths, and the people take great delight in them, frequenting them several times a month, for they are very cleanly in their persons. They are the finest and largest baths in the world; large enough for 100 persons to bathe together...At the opposite side the city is shut in by a channel, perhaps 40 miles in length, very wide, and full of water derived from the river aforesaid, which was made by the ancient kings of the country in order to relieve the river when flooding its banks. This serves also as a defence to the city, and the earth dug from it has been thrown inwards, forming a kind of mound enclosing the city." */*

Marco Polo on Hangzhou Markets

According to Marco Polo: In this part are the ten principal markets, though besides these there are a vast number of others in the different parts of the town. The former are all squares of half a mile to the side, and along their front passes the main street, which is 40 paces in width, and runs straight from end to end of the city, crossing many bridges of easy and commodious approach. At every four miles of its length comes one of those great squares of 2 miles (as we have mentioned) in compass. So also parallel to this great street, but at the back of the market places, there runs a very large canal, on the bank of which towards the squares are built great houses of stone, in which the merchants from India and other foreign parts store their wares, to be handy for the markets. [Source: Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa, "Book Second, Part III, Chapter LXXVI: Description of the Great City of Kinsay, Which Is the Capital of the Whole Country of Manzi" and "Book Second, Part III, Chapter LXXVII: Further Particulars Concerning the Great City of Kinsay," in The Book of Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian Concerning Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, translated and edited by Colonel Sir Henry Yule, Volume 2 (London: John Murray, 1903). This book is in the public domain and can be read online at Project Gutenberg. The excerpted text is from pages 179-180, 182, and 190-191 of this online text.*/*]

"In each of the squares is held a market three days in the week, frequented by 40,000 or 50,000 persons, who bring thither for sale every possible necessary of life, so that there is always an ample supply of every kind of meat and game, as of roebuck, red-deer, fallow-deer, hares, rabbits, partridges, pheasants, francolins, quails, fowls, capons, and of ducks and geese an infinite quantity; for so many are bred on the Lake that for a Venice groat of silver you can have a couple of geese and two couple of ducks. Then there are the shambles where the larger animals are slaughtered, such as calves, beeves, kids, and lambs, the flesh of which is eaten by the rich and the great dignitaries. */*

"Those markets make a daily display of every kind of vegetables and fruits; and among the latter there are in particular certain pears of enormous size, weighing as much as ten pounds apiece, and the pulp of which is white and fragrant like a confection; besides peaches in their season both yellow and white, of every delicate flavour. Neither grapes nor wine are produced there, but very good raisins are brought from abroad, and wine likewise. The natives, however, do not much are about wine, being used to that kind of their own made from rice and spices. */*

"From the Ocean Sea also come daily supplies of fish in great quantity, brought 25 miles up the river, and there is also great store of fish from the lake, which is the constant resort of fishermen, who have no other business. Their fish is of sundry kinds, changing with the season; and, owing to the impurities of the city which pass into the lake, it is remarkably fat and savoury. Any one who should see the supply of fish in the market would suppose it impossible that such a quantity could ever be sold; and yet in a few hours the whole shall be cleared away; so great is the number of inhabitants who are accustomed to delicate living. Indeed they eat fish and flesh at the same meal.All the ten market places are encompassed by lofty houses, and below these are shops where all sorts of crafts are carried on, and all sorts of wares are on sale, including spices and jewels and pearls. Some of these shops are entirely devoted to the sale of wine made from rice and spices, which is constantly made fresh and fresh, and is sold very cheap." */*

Transportation in the Song Dynasty

According to Columbia University's Asia for Educators: " As the economy became more commercialized, the need for transport grew. In the scroll, we see goods carried in backpacks, larger wheelbarrows, wagons, and on donkeys and camels. Camels carried goods from Inner Asia or further west across large desserts. Water transport, however, has always been far cheaper than going over land. The South, with its many rivers and waterways, had an advantage in this respect, but northern cities, too, were served by water transport, often canals. The Grand Canal linked the North to the Yangzi River region. One section of the Beijing qingming scroll shows men unloading bales of grain from a river boat, as a merchant, seated, directs them. [Source: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Consultants Patricia Ebrey and Conrad Schirokauer afe.easia.columbia.edu/song ]

Marco Polo was amazed at the boat traffic on the Yangtze River. He claimed to have seen no fewer than 15,000 vessels at one city on the river, and said other towns had even more: You must know that when you leave the city of Yanju, after going 15 miles south-east, you come to a city called SINJU, of no great size, but possessing a very great amount of shipping and trade.... And you must know that this city stands on the greatest river in the world, the name of which is KIAN [Yangzi].... This it is that brings so much trade to the city we are speaking of; for on the waters of that river merchandize is perpetually coming and going, from and to the various parts of the world, enriching the city, and bringing a great revenue to the Great Kaan. [Source: Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa, "Book Second, Part III, Chapter LXXI: Concerning the City of Sinju and the Great River Kian," in "The Book of Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian Concerning Kingdoms and Marvels of the East," translated and edited by Colonel Sir Henry Yule, Volume 2 (London: John Murray, 1903). This book is in the public domain and can be read online at Project Gutenberg. Chapter LXXI begins on page 167 of this online text */*]

"And I assure you this river flows so far and traverses so many countries and cities that in good sooth there pass and repass on its waters a great number of vessels, and more wealth and merchandize than on all the rivers and all the seas of Christendom put together! It seems indeed more like a Sea than a River. Messer Marco Polo said that he once beheld at that city 15,000 vessels at one time. And you may judge, if this city, of no great size, has such a number, how many must there be altogether, considering that on the banks of this river there are more than sixteen provinces and more than 200 great cities, besides towns and villages, all possessing vessels?" */*

Bridges and Pagodas in the Song Dynasty

According to Columbia University's Asia for Educators: "As in earlier cities, the highest structure in Kaifeng, the Northern Song's capital, was a pagoda." Pagodas dominated the skyline of many cities during the Song dynasty, as they had in the Tang dynasty. Like the spires of Europe's cathedrals and churches, the city pagoda was often the first thing the traveler would see as he approached a city or town. [Source: Asia for Educators, Columbia University, Consultants Patricia Ebrey and Conrad Schirokauer afe.easia.columbia.edu/song ]

According to China.org: "Youguo Temple Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng of Henan Province is also known as the Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng. Actually it is not made of iron, but of red, brown, blue and green glazed bricks. As the main hue is reddish brown, the pagoda looks like iron from afar and has thus been called the Iron Pagoda for hundreds of years. The pagoda is located in the northeastern corner of Kaifeng. The predecessor of the Iron Pagoda was a huge octagonal, thirteen-storeyed wooden pagoda called Lingwei. It was once very famous, but for a very short time. In 1044 during the Northern Song Dynasty the wooden pagoda was struck by lightning and burnt down. Five years after the wooden pagoda was burnt down, the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty ordered another one built on the same site. This time it was built of fire-resistant glazed bricks that remain today. It has been almost one thousand years since the pagoda was rebuilt, but it remains firm despite fierce winds, torrential rains and earthquakes. In 1841 the Yellow River overflowed and the city of Kaifeng was flooded. The thousand-year- old temple collapsed in the flood, but the towering pagoda survived and stood firm. [Source: China.org ***]

"The thirteen-storey brick structure, modeled after wooden counterparts, is 54.66 meters high. The glazed bricks are lined with ordinary bricks. The doors, windows, pillars, brackets, bracket supports, pent roofs and balconies on the pagoda's exterior are all modeled after wooden ones and pieced together from twenty-eight standard brick components. The outer walls, comer pillars, doors, windows and bracket supports are all composed of glazed bricks of various colors. Carved on these component parts are more than fifty ornamental designs, including images of Buddha, bodhisattvas, flying apsarases, heavenly kings, celestial guards, lions, unicorns, musicians, peony and lotus flowers and figurines, making the pagoda the oldest and largest artifact of glazed bricks and tiles in China.Under the main body is a high stone Sumeru pedestal that has been buried by mud because of frequent flooding by the overflowing Yellow River. The present pagoda has doors on four sides, but people can approach the pagoda only by the steps on the north side." *** [Images: Kaifeng, pagode de fer (Kaifeng Iron Pagoda), Jacques-Edouard Berger Foundation: World Art Treasures Slide Library, has many detailed images of the Kaifeng "Iron Pagoda."

"Rainbow" bridges, such as the one that occupies the dramatic center of the Beijing "Qingming" scroll, are so called because of the way in which the bridge arches, resembling a rainbow. The bridge pictured in the scroll is an elaborate wooden bridge that spans the river and offers room for peddlers to show their wares to the pedestrians crossing from one side of the river to the other. The technology of the bridge is impressive. In Song times one observer remarked that the bridge had no piers, but rather spanned the river using giant timbers curved like a rainbow. What keeps the bridge up is a series of interlocking horizontal and cantilevered beams." [ Secrets of Lost Empires: China Bridge a 2000 PBS program documented the "effort by a NOVA-assembled crew of scholars and timber framers to design and build a Chinese bridge known only from an ancient painting [the Beijing qingming scroll]."

Song Dynasty Household Objects

According to the National Palace Museum, Taipei: "The Southern Song enjoyed great economic prosperity. Their bustling, flourishing towns provided comfort and convenience; their everyday life was full of elegant delights. Incense burning, flower arranging, tea brewing, and paintings hanging--the so-called Four Arts of Life were practiced by all walks of life. A Southern Song lady's vanity cases, wardrobe, and jewelry spoke of ultimate fashion and fine workmanship. Either large banquets or family gatherings were served in fine table services of gold and silver with exquisite carvings and elaborate motifs. Articles at once utilitarian and creative graced gentlemen's studies and appealed to their aesthetic taste. As jade was scarce, miniature carvings made of smallest available pieces as thin as fingertips exhibited marvelous form and innate essence. The Southern Song connoisseur did not seek conspicuous exaggeration; rather he appreciated sudden realization, after attentive contemplation, of subtle beauty that was in the details. [Source: National Palace Museum, Taipei npm.gov.tw \=/ ]

National Palace Museum, Taipei description of a jade water dish in the shape of a lotus leaf with turtle décor, Southern Song to Yuan dynasties: "The texture of this water dish vessel is clear and transparent, and an entire piece of jade is used to carve out a large lotus leaf and the small lotus leaf by it. The edge of the lotus leaves curl up slightly, and the veins are finely carved out in intaglio. At center of each lotus leaf stands a turtle, gazing at each other. Legend has it that thousand-year-old turtles would stand on lotus leaves, and therefore symbolize longevity of life. The interlinked water plants under the lotus leaf are not only delicately carved decorations but also serve the functions of supporting and enabling lifting of the vessel, further enriching and enlivening the overall design. Another jade brush wash vessel with a lotus leaf theme that is unearthed from the Southern Song ancestral grave of Shi Sheng in Quzhou. \=/

"Water dish vessels are used by the literati to hold water for dampening or washing of writing brushes. These vessels are usually placed by the ink stone and are a necessary piece of desk stationery. Intellectual pursuits being so popular during the Song Dynasty, brush wash vessels were naturally fashionable items at the time, not only a practical writing implement but also a work of art for appreciation. Just imagine: as the literati fill this vessel with water, the two turtles would appear as if swimming in the water, playing amongst the lotus leaves; when the brush is washed in the vessel, the ink would flow between the lotus leaves, the black ink perfectly counter-balancing the delicate, green-white jade leaves, adding to the natural interest of the piece.

National Palace Museum, Taipei description of a silver-gilt cup and saucer with a story scene, Southern Song dynasty, 1127-1279 Excavated from the cache of Gu County, collection of Shaowu Museum, Fujian: "This octagonal cup has a matching tray. The silver cup is gold-plated, the combination of silver and gold giving the impression of extravagance. Silver and gold wine-drinking vessels were important to the Southern Song people, whether in large banquets or just a couple of friends having a drink. On the inner base of this silver cup is etched the lyrics to "Ta Sha Xing", which mentioned that being awarded top position in an imperial examination is like climbing a long ladder or a magical cinnamon tree, taking one right to the clouds; not only would one gain the admiration of others, one might also win an excellent marriage. The lyrics to this song vividly portray the scene and joyous atmosphere of a person receiving the top position in an imperial examination. \=/

"The spaces separated by the eight sides of the cup also depict in turn the examination results notice, the messenger, climbing the long ladder, climbing the cinnamon branches, and riding a horse across town - all scenes from the song. The tray depicts well-dressed characters in a garden; there is a pond in the center, and a dragon and phoenix soar in the sky, earnestly depicting the longing of the Southern Song people to win an official position and begin a governmental career through the imperial examination system. \=/

Image Sources: Kaifeng, Brooklyn College; Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Robert Eno, Indiana University indiana.edu /+/ ; Asia for Educators, Columbia University afe.easia.columbia.edu ; University of Washington's Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization, depts.washington.edu/chinaciv /=\; National Palace Museum, Taipei npm.gov.tw \=/ Library of Congress; New York Times; Washington Post; Los Angeles Times; China National Tourist Office (CNTO); Xinhua; China.org; China Daily; Japan News; Times of London; National Geographic; The New Yorker; Time; Newsweek; Reuters; Associated Press; Lonely Planet Guides; Compton's Encyclopedia; Smithsonian magazine; The Guardian; Yomiuri Shimbun; AFP; Wikipedia; BBC. Many sources are cited at the end of the facts for which they are used.

&copy 2009 Jeffrey Hays

Last updated November 2016

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According to Columbia University's Asia for Educators: "The Song period (960-1276) was a time of economic growth, population growth, and urbanization. Song cities, centers of government and commerce, were among the largest cities of the world...Buddhism flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties along with religious Daoism and a revival of Confucian thinking (referred to as "Neo-Confucianism").

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The rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire - Leonora Neville

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The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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After 300 years of division and fragmentation following the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 A.D., China was once again unified under the Sui dynasty (581-618). The political and governmental institutions established during this brief period lay the foundation for the growth and prosperity of the succeeding Tang dynasty. Marked by strong and benevolent rule, successful diplomatic relationships, economic expansion, and a cultural efflorescence of cosmopolitan style, Tang China emerged as one of the greatest empires in the medieval world. Merchants, clerics, and envoys from India, Persia, Arabia, Syria, Korea, and Japan thronged the streets of Chang'an, the capital, and foreign tongues were a common part of daily life.

In the beginning decades of the Tang, especially under the leadership of Emperor Taizong (r. 626-49), China subdued its nomadic neighbors from the north and northwest, securing peace and safety on overland trade routes reaching as far as Syria and Rome. The seventh century was a time of momentous social change; the official examination system enabled educated men without family connections to serve as government officials. This new social elite gradually replaced the old aristocracy, and the recruitment of gentlemen from the south contributed to the cultural amalgamation that had already begun in the sixth century.

The eighth century heralded the second important epoch in Tang history, achieved largely during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-56), called minghuang-the Brilliant Monarch. It is rightfully ranked as the classical period of Chinese art and literature, as it set the high standard to which later poets, painters, and sculptors aspired. The expressions and images contained in the poems of Li Bo (701-762) and Du Fu (712-770) reflect the flamboyant lives of the court and the conflicting sentiments generated by military campaigns. The vigorous brushwork of the court painter Wu Daozi (689-after 755) and the naturalist idiom of the poet and painter Wang Wei (699-759) became artistic paradigms for later generations. Although the An Lushan rebellion in the middle of the century considerably weakened the power and authority of the court, the restored government ruled for another century and a half, providing stability for lasting cultural and artistic development.

Department of Asian Art. "Tang Dynasty (618-907)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tang/hd_tang.htm (October 2001)

Benn, Charles. Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Schafer, Edward H. The Golden Peaches of Samarkand. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963.

Watt, James C. Y., et al. China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 A.D. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. See on MetPublications

Whitfield, Susan. Life along the Silk Road. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.

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Tang Dynasty (618-907) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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After 300 years of division and fragmentation following the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 A.D., China was once again unified under the Sui dynasty (581-618). The political and governmental institutions established during this brief period lay the foundation for the growth and prosperity of the succeeding Tang dynasty.

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Mongolian Empire - East Asia History for Kids

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Designed for middle and high school students to learn the basics of East Asia's history including China, Japan, and Mongolia.

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The Mongol Empire, an area ruled by the great Mongol Khans in the 13th and 14th centuries, was the largest contiguous land empire in history. The original homeland of the Mongols, was bounded by the Khingan Mountains on the east, the Altai and Tian mountains on the west, the Shilka River and the mountain ranges by Lake Baikal on the north, and the Great Wall of China on the south.

It was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206 AD when he brought together the Mongol and Turkic tribes. When he died in 1227 AD, he had conquered Central Asia, North China and parts of eastern Persia. Later his grandson Kublai Khan would go on to expand the empire and found the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty, ruling whole China. The Mongol Empire stretched from Eastern Europe to Western Asia, including Central Asia and the Middle East. Its power did not last long, though. By the 1360s it had broken into several empires, all of which were later destroyed.

The Mongol Empire saw some significant developments in science due to the patronage of the Khans. Roger Bacon attributed the success of the Mongols as world conquerors principally to their devotion to mathematics. Astronomy was one branch of science that the Khans took a personal interest in. According to the Yuanshi, Ögedei Khan twice ordered the armillary sphere of Zhongdu to be repaired (in 1233 and 1236) and also ordered in 1234 the revision and adoption of the Damingli calendar. He built a Confucian temple for Yelü Chucai in Karakorum around 1236 where Yelü Chucai created and regulated a calendar on the Chinese model. Möngke Khan was noted by Rashid al-Din as having solved some of the difficult problems of Euclidean geometry on his own and written to his brother Hulagu Khan to send him the astronomer Tusi. Möngke Khan's desire to have Tusi build him an observatory in Karakorum did not reach fruition as the Khan died on campaign in southern China. Hulagu Khan instead gave Tusi a grant to build the Maragheh Observatory in Persia in 1259 and ordered him to prepare astronomical tables for him in 12 years, despite Tusi asking for 30 years. Tusi successfully produced the Ilkhanic Tables in 12 years, produced a revised edition of Euclid's elements and taught the innovative mathematical device called the Tusi couple. The Maragheh Observatory held around 400,000 books salvaged by Tusi from the siege of Baghdad and other cities. Chinese astronomers brought by Hulagu Khan worked there as well.

Kublai Khan built a number of large observatories in China and his libraries included the Wu-hu-lie-ti (Euclid) brought by Muslim mathematicians. Zhu Shijie and Guo Shoujing were notable mathematicians in Yuan China. The Mongol physician Hu Sihui described the importance of a healthy diet in a 1330 medical treatise.

Ghazan Khan, able to understand four languages including Latin, built the Tabriz Observatory in 1295. The Byzantine Greek astronomer Gregory Chioniades studied there under Ajall Shams al-Din Omar who had worked at Maragheh under Tusi. Chioniades played an important role in transmitting several innovations from the Islamic world to Europe. These include the introduction of the universal latitude-independent astrolabe to Europe and a Greek description of the Tusi-couple, which would later have an influence on Copernican heliocentrism. Choniades also translated several Zij treatises into Greek, including the Persian Zij-i Ilkhani by al-Tusi and the Maragheh observatory. The Byzantine-Mongol alliance and the fact that the Empire of Trebizond was an Ilkhanate vassal facilitated Choniades' movements between Constantinople, Trebizond and Tabriz. Prince Radna, the Mongol viceroy of Tibet based in Gansu province, patronized the Samarkandi astronomer al-Sanjufini. The Arabic astronomical handbook dedicated by al-Sanjufini to Prince Radna, a descendant of Kublai Khan, was completed in 1363. It is notable for having Middle Mongolian glosses on its margins.

Mail system

The Mongol Empire had an ingenious and efficient mail system for the time, often referred to by scholars as the Yam. It had lavishly furnished and well-guarded relay posts known as örtöö set up throughout the Empire. A messenger would typically travel 40 kilometres (25 miles) from one station to the next, either receiving a fresh, rested horse, or relaying the mail to the next rider to ensure the speediest possible delivery. The Mongol riders regularly covered 200 km (125 mi) per day, better than the fastest record set by the Pony Express some 600 years later. The relay stations had attached households to service them. Anyone with a paiza was allowed to stop there for re-mounts and specified rations, while those carrying military identities used the Yam even without a paiza. Many merchants, messengers, and travelers from China, the Middle East, and Europe used the system. When the great khan died in Karakorum, news reached the Mongol forces under Batu Khan in Central Europe within 4-6 weeks thanks to the Yam.

Genghis and his successor Ögedei built a wide system of roads, one of which carved through the Altai mountains. After his enthronement, Ögedei further expanded the road system, ordering the Chagatai Khanate and Golden Horde to link up roads in western parts of the Mongol Empire.

Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan dynasty, built special relays for high officials, as well as ordinary relays, that had hostels. During Kublai's reign, the Yuan communication system consisted of some 1,400 postal stations, which used 50,000 horses, 8,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 4,000 carts, and 6,000 boats.

In Manchuria and southern Siberia, the Mongols still used dogsled relays for the Yam. In the Ilkhanate, Ghazan restored the declining relay system in the Middle East on a restricted scale. He constructed some hostels and decreed that only imperial envoys could receive a stipend. The Jochids of the Golden Horde financed their relay system by a special Yam tax.

The Mongols had a history of supporting merchants and trade. Genghis Khan had encouraged foreign merchants early in his career, even before uniting the Mongols. Merchants provided information about neighboring cultures, served as diplomats and official traders for the Mongols, and were essential for many goods, since the Mongols produced little of their own.

Mongol government and elites provided capital for merchants and sent them far afield, in an ortoq (merchant partner) arrangement. In Mongol times, the contractual features of a Mongol- ortoq partnership closely resembled that of qirad and commenda arrangements, however, Mongol investors were not constrained using uncoined precious metals and tradable goods for partnership investments and primarily financed money-lending and trade activities. Moreover, Mongol elites formed trade partnerships with merchants from Italian cities, including Marco Polo's family. As the empire grew, any merchants or ambassadors with proper documentation and authorization received protection and sanctuary as they traveled through Mongol realms. Well-traveled and relatively well-maintained roads linked lands from the Mediterranean basin to China, greatly increasing overland trade and resulting in some dramatic stories of those who travelled through what would become known as the Silk Road.

Western explorer Marco Polo traveled east along the Silk Road, and the Chinese Mongol monk Rabban Bar Sauma made a comparably epic journey along the route, venturing from his home of Khanbaliq (Beijing) as far as Europe. European missionaries, such as William of Rubruck, also traveled to the Mongol court to convert believers to their cause, or went as papal envoys to correspond with Mongol rulers in an attempt to secure a Franco-Mongol alliance. It was rare, however, for anyone to journey the full length of Silk Road. Instead, merchants moved products like a bucket brigade, goods being traded from one middleman to another, moving from China all the way to the West; the goods moved over such long distances fetched extravagant prices.

After Genghis, the merchant partner business continued to flourish under his successors Ögedei and Güyük. Merchants brought clothing, food, information, and other provisions to the imperial palaces, and in return the great khans gave the merchants tax exemptions and allowed them to use the official relay stations of the Mongol Empire. Merchants also served as tax farmers in China, Rus and Iran. If the merchants were attacked by bandits, losses were made up from the imperial treasury.

Policies changed under the Great Khan Möngke. Because of money laundering and overtaxing, he attempted to limit abuses and sent imperial investigators to supervise the ortoq businesses. He decreed that all merchants must pay commercial and property taxes, and he paid off all drafts drawn by high-ranking Mongol elites from the merchants. This policy continued under the Yuan dynasty.

The fall of the Mongol Empire in the 14th century led to the collapse of the political, cultural, and economic unity along the Silk Road. Turkic tribes seized the western end of the route from the Byzantine Empire, sowing the seeds of a Turkic culture that would later crystallize into the Ottoman Empire under the Sunni faith. In the East, the Han Chinese overthrew the Yuan dynasty in 1368, launching their own Ming dynasty and pursuing a policy of economic isolationism.

The Mongol Empire, at its height of the largest contiguous empire in history, had a lasting impact, unifying large regions. Some of these (such as eastern and western Russia, and the western parts of China) remain unified today. Mongols might have been assimilated into local populations after the fall of the empire, and some of their descendants adopted local religions. For example, the eastern khanate largely adopted Buddhism, and the three western khanates adopted Islam, largely under Sufi influence.

According to some interpretations, Genghis Khan's conquests caused wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale in certain geographic regions, leading to changes in the demographics of Asia.

The non-military achievements of the Mongol Empire include the introduction of a writing system, a Mongol alphabet based on the characters of the Old Uyghur, which is still used in Mongolia today.

Some of the other long-term consequences of the Mongol Empire include:

Moscow rose to prominence while it was still under the rule of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, some time after Russian rulers were accorded the status of tax collectors for the Mongols. The fact that the Russians collected tribute and taxes for the Mongols meant that the Mongols themselves rarely visited the lands which they owned. The Russians eventually gained military power, and their ruler Ivan III completely overthrew the Mongols and formed the Russian Tsardom. After the Great Stand on the Ugra River proved that the Mongols were vulnerable, the Grand Duchy of Moscow gained independence.

Europe's knowledge of the known world was immensely expanded by the information which was brought back to it by ambassadors and merchants. When Columbus sailed in 1492, his mission was to reach Cathay, the land of the Grand Khan in China, and give him a letter from the monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

Some studies indicate that the Black Death which devastated Europe in the late 1340s may have traveled from China to Europe along the trade routes of the Mongol Empire. The total number of deaths worldwide from the pandemic is estimated at 75-200 million with up to 50 million deaths in Europe alone.

Western researcher R. J. Rummel estimated that 30 million people were killed by the Mongol Empire. Other researchers estimate that as many as 80 million people were killed, with 50 million deaths being the middle ground. The population of China fell by half during fifty years of Mongol rule. Before the Mongol invasion, the territories of the Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported that China's total population was roughly 60 million. While it is tempting to attribute this major decline in China's population solely to Mongol ferocity, today scholars have mixed opinions about this subject. Scholars such as Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to keep records rather than a de facto decrease, while others such as Timothy Brook argue that the Mongols reduced much of the south Chinese population, and very debatably the Han Chinese population, to an invisible status through cancellation of the right to passports and denial of the right to direct land ownership. This meant that the Chinese had to depend on and be cared for chiefly by Mongols and Tartars, which also involved recruitment into the Mongol army. Other historians such as William McNeill and David O. Morgan argue that the bubonic plague was the main factor behind China's demographic decline during this period.

The Islamic world was subjected to massive changes as a result of the Mongol invasions. The population of the Iranian plateau suffered from widespread disease and famine, resulting in the death of up to three-quarters of its population, possibly 10 to 15 million people. Historian Steven Ward estimates that Iran's population did not reach its pre-Mongol levels again until the mid-20th century.

Mesopotamia, for millennia a showplace and pinnacle of human civilization and achievement, was depopulated and pastoralized, never to resume its previous pre-eminence.

Images for kids

Hulagu, Genghis Khan's grandson and founder of the Il-Khanate. From a medieval Persian manuscript.

The samurai Suenaga facing Mongol's bomb and Goryeo's arrows. Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba (蒙古襲来絵詞), circa 1293.

A European depiction of the four khans, Temür (Yuan), Chapar (House of Ögedei), Toqta (Golden Horde), and Öljaitü (Ilkhanate), in the Fleur des histoires d'orient.

Hungarian King Béla IV in flight from the Mongols under general Kadan of the Golden Horde.

In Spanish: Imperio mongol para niños

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The leader of the Mongol Kiyad Sub-Clan was Yesugei, who happened to be a descendant of a Khan (chieftain) of the former Mongol Kingdom. In 1167, Yesguei and his wife had a son named Temujin, the one who would become Genghis Khan. When Temujin was nine years old, his father was poisoned by Tartar chiefs.

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Kids learn about the history of the Empire of Ancient Mali including location, history, the gold trade, founding, Sundiata, Mansa Musa, facts, culture, and fall of Mali.

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Ancient Mali - Miss Wright's Third Grade

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This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Policy here.

Good morning! We're wrapping up our first week of African history with a look at the Ancient Ghana and Mali empires.

Where were Ancient Ghana and Mali?

Despite their names, we learned that the Ghana Kingdom was not located in the same place where present-day Ghana is located. Rather, it was one of the first West African kingdoms. When we studied Egypt and Nubia, we learned that early kingdoms in Africa were generally located near large sources of water. The Ghana Empire was also located near a reliable water source, the Niger River. Mali, which later engulfed the Ghana Kingdom, covered a larger area that now includes Cote D'Ivoire, the Gambia, Niger, Senegal and Mali. At its height, the Mali Empire encompassed 500,000 square miles.

The Rulers of Ghana and Mali

One of the first rulers of the Ghana Empire was Dinga Cisse. What was fascinating about Ghana's rulers is that, unlike some of the other empires in Africa such as Egypt and Kush, their kings had a semi-divine status. That means the people viewed them as kind of half-gods. Dinga Cisse set up his capital at Koumbi Saleh and turned it into a major stop along one of the trans-Sahara trade routes. The empire made most of its revenue by trading in gold.

Sundiata Keita was the first ruler of the Mali Empire. His story is recounted in the Epic of Sundiata, an oral legend passed down through generations. While he was the father of the Mali Kingdom, the empire's greatest ruler was Mansa Musa, whose title means "King of Kings". Mansa Musa was like the King Solomon of the Mali Empire. During his reign, the kingdom grew to its wealthiest status. When Mansa Musa made his hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in 1324, he took along a caravan of over 70,000, along with 80 camels carrying more than 50 pounds of gold each. On the way, he handed out so much gold along to the citizens that the value of gold nationwide plummeted for the next 10 years!

Mansa Musa also commissioned some of the Mali Empire's most memorable architectural works. After Islamic architects learned how to combine timber and mud brick, they were able to build taller buildings. The Djinguereber Mosque, which was built in 1327 in Timbuktu, still stands today:

In this image, you can get a closer look at the ends of the wooden timber sticking out of the sides of the mosque:

Image c/o: KaTeznik

Life in Ancient Ghana and Mali

One of the games that originated in West Africa during this period was mancala. The game is considered to be the oldest board game on Earth. It's still played today with the same exact rules:

We used the activity in the book The History and Activities of the West African Kingdoms to create our own mancala game using an egg carton, some hair beads, and a couple of small containers.

A typical mancala board only has 12 holes, so you're supposed to use a dozen-size egg carton. We only had the 18-egg size carton, so we just skipped the second row.

Mancala looks like a really simple game, but it actually requires quite a bit of logic and skill. The instructions require you to capture as many beads (or beans, or marbles, or any small item) from your partner into your mancala as possible. But it takes some serious planning and foresight to understand how to do it. In that way, mancala is very similar to chess.

It took some time for the kids to learn the rules, but once they got the hang of it, they loved it! It's a testament to African ingenuity that a game played with such simple items can be so complex.

Books and Resources about the Ghana and Mali Empires

AncientWeb.org: Ancient Nigeria - An overview of the history of kingdoms that were located in present-day Nigeria: Mali, Ghana, and Songhay.

ThinkQuest.org: Africa: The Cradle of Civilization - Quick summary of both the Ghana and Mali Empires, including their rise and eventual fall.

BBC: The Story of Africa - Origin of the Ghana Kingdom and a look at its people, their religious beliefs, and the empire's decline.

Wikipedia: Ghana Empire - Well-sourced article detailing the development of the Ghana Empire, the nation's trade system, and its leaders.

Wikipedia: Mali Empire - An excellent in-depth article covering Mali's kings, most significant cities, and the history of how the kingdom was formed.

Wikipedia: Sundiata Keita - Extensive article discussing the birth, growth, and rulership of Mali's first king.

Wikipedia: Mansa Musa - Thorough history of Mali's greatest king, including his ascent to power and his historic hajj to the city of Mecca.

PBS: Wonders of the African World - A look of the glory of Timbuktu, one of Africa's most prestigious centers of learning in the Middle Ages.

University of Maine: Mancala Rules - A nice summary of basic mancala game rules, with variations for other styles of play and suggestions for making a mancala game board.
Black African empires by Joan Joseph (A First book) Kings and Queens of West Africa (Watts Library) Centuries of Greatness: The West African Kingdoms, 750-1900 (Milestones in Black American History) The History and Activities of the West African Kingdoms (Hands-on Ancient History) African Beginnings
We hope you'll come back next week to learn more about African history with us! We'll be discussing more ancient kingdoms, the colonization of Africa, and apartheid.

This post is part of the Autumn 2013 Hopscotch from iHomeschool Network! Click below to see all of the Hopscotch posts from our fellow bloggers!

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Day 5: The Ghana and Mali Empires - Look! We're Learning!

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This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Policy here. Good morning! We're wrapping up our first week of African history with a look at the Ancient Ghana and Mali empires. Where were Ancient Ghana and Mali? Despite their names, we learned that the Ghana Kingdom was not located in the same place where present-dayKeep Reading...

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This is a very informational video about eh kingdom of Mali.

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Back to History for Kids
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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For more about Ancient Rome:

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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The Roman Empire was the largest empire of the ancient world. Its capital was Rome, and its empire was based in the Mediterranean. The Empire dates from 27 BC, when Octavian became the Emperor Augustus, until it fell in 476 AD, marking the end of the Ancient World and the beginning of the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages.

The empire was the third stage of Ancient Rome. Rome was first ruled by Roman kings, then by the Roman Republic, then by an emperor.

Many modern lands were once part of the Roman Empire, for example Britain (not Scotland), Spain, Portugal, France (Gaul), Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Egypt, Levant, Crimea, Switzerland, and the north coast of Africa. The main language of the Roman Empire was Latin with Greek as an important secondary language, especially in the Eastern Provinces.

The western half of the Roman Empire lasted for about 500 years till the barbarian general Odoacer deposed its final emperor Romulus Augustus. On the other hand, the eastern half, consisting of the Balkans, Anatolia, The Levant and Egypt, continued for about a thousand years more (the Levant and Egypt were lost to the Arabs in the 8th century). The eastern part was called the Byzantine Empire. Its capital was Constantinople, now called Istanbul.

Governing the Empire

In order to control their large empire, the Romans developed important ideas about law and government. They developed the best army in the world at that time, and ruled by force. They had fine engineering, and built roads, cities, and outstanding buildings. The Empire was divided into provinces, each with a governor plus civil and military support. Letters, both official and private, would constantly go to and from Rome.

Trade was most important for Rome, a city of more than a million people, by far the largest city in the world. They needed, and got, wheat from Egypt, tin from Britannia, grapes from Gaul, and so on. In return, the Romans built provincial capitals into fine cities, protected them from raids by barbarians, and provided education and career opportunities for young people in the provinces, such as jobs in the Roman Army.

In principle, emperors had absolute control, and could do as they pleased. In practice, they faced many difficult problems. They had a staff of what we call ' civil servants' and the advice of the Roman Senate. The emperor had to decide what were the most important issues facing the Empire, and what should be done about them. Most of them tried to do two sorts of thing. One was to do things to improve the life of Romans in peacetime. The other was to fight and defeat Rome's enemies. A wealthy empire always has enemies.

With kings and emperors, a big problem is the order of succession. Kings were sometimes followed by their eldest son, if he was capable of ruling. For Roman emperors, more often it would be an adopted son. It worked like this. The emperor would notice an outstanding young man from one of the best families. He would adopt him as his son. Before he died he would make clear whom he thought should succeed him, by making him a Roman consul, or by stating in his will that the younger man should succeed him. Sometimes this worked; sometimes it did not. Every now and then there would be a civil war between claimants to the throne.

An adopted son or two gave the emperor more choices. Some emperors had no son; some had sons who did not survive. Later on, emperors grew so weak that the Roman army would just pick one of their generals to be the next emperor. This often led to civil war. The life stories of the emperors can be found in List of Roman emperors.

The Romans fought many wars against other countries, and enjoyed watching violent sports. They enjoyed watching races between chariots pulled by horses, and fights between men using weapons ( gladiators). Unlike in modern sports, the fighters were often killed in fights. Romans enjoyed these shows in the Colosseum.

The Romans had great civil engineering. They built many large public buildings and villas, aqueducts to carry water, stone bridges and roads. Some of these things can still be seen today. Many famous writers were Romans, including Cicero and Virgil.

The New Testament of the Bible tells about the Romans in the life of Jesus Christ. During Jesus' life, the Romans, who were pagans, ruled his country. Later, several emperors tried to destroy Christianity but they did not succeed. By 312 the emperor Galerius allowed people freedom to follow Christianity, and the next year, a general, Constantine, became emperor and converted to Christianity.

The city of Rome was taken over several times by barbarians, notably in 410 when the Goths sacked the city ( looting). The last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, resigned in 476 . The Roman Empire would last another 1,000 years as the Byzantine Empire in the east.

The main coin of the Roman Empire was the silver denarius. Later denarii were smaller.

Various reasons have been given for the fall of Rome. Edward Gibbon wrote The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in which he investigated various ideas. Chief among them was (in his opinion) was the effect of Christianity on the ability of the Empire to defend itself militarily.

Other historians blame the unstable system of leadership. In a 50-year period, only 2 out of 22 emperors died a natural death. Most of the emperors were assassinated.

Images for kids

The Barbarian Invasions consisted of the movement of (mainly) ancient Germanic peoples into Roman territory. Even though northern invasions took place throughout the life of the Empire, this period officially began in the 4th century and lasted for many centuries, during which the western territory was under the dominion of foreign northern rulers, a notable one being Charlemagne. Historically, this event marked the transition between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages.

The cities of the Roman world in the Imperial Period. Data source: Hanson, J. W. (2016), Cities database, (OXREP databases). Version 1.0. (link).

A green Roman glass cup unearthed from an Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) tomb in Guangxi, southern China; the earliest Roman glassware found in China was discovered in a Western Han tomb in Guangzhou, dated to the early 1st century BC, and ostensibly came via the maritime route through the South China Sea

Landscape resulting from the ruina montium mining technique at Las Médulas, Spain, one of the most important gold mines in the Roman Empire

The Tabula Peutingeriana ( Latin for "The Peutinger Map") an Itinerarium, often assumed to be based on the Roman cursus publicus, the network of state-maintained roads.

Aquae Sulis in Bath, England: architectural features above the level of the pillar bases are a later reconstruction.

Claudius wearing an early Imperial toga (see a later, more structured toga above), and the pallium as worn by a priest of Serapis, sometimes identified as the emperor Julian

The Triumph of Neptune floor mosaic from Africa Proconsularis (present-day Tunisia), celebrating agricultural success with allegories of the Seasons, vegetation, workers and animals viewable from multiple perspectives in the room (latter 2nd century)

Reconstruction of a writing tablet: the stylus was used to inscribe letters into the wax surface for drafts, casual letterwriting, and schoolwork, while texts meant to be permanent were copied onto papyrus.

The Pantheon in Rome, a Roman temple originally built under Augustus and later rebuilt under Hadrian in the 2nd century, dedicated to Rome's polytheistic religion before its conversion into a Catholic church in the 7th century

In Spanish: Imperio romano para niños

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Facts about Romans for Kids - Roman Britain Homework help

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Information, photographs and facts on Roman life in Britain for kids - including Roman food, Roman clothing and a large section on Roman soldiers.

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Ancient Rome

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An overview of the Ancient Roman Empire and its lifestyle, culture and general background heritage.