9781422283417

This map shows the extent of the Roman Empire at its most powerful in 117 ad .

TOO BIG TO FAIL?

A few patricians (nobles) and equites (businessmen) were rich. Most ordinary people, called plebeians, were poor. Roman citizens —a group of men who lived in and around Rome—could vote. Noncitizens had fewer rights. There was a class even below noncitizens—slaves. By law, slaves were like animals and could be beaten or starved by their owners.

The Romans had a favorite legend that described how

their city began. It said that the very first Romans were twin boys, called Romulus and Remus. They were abandoned as babies and rescued by a friendly she-wolf. When the twins grew up, they decided to build a great human city. Romulus became king and named the city after himself.

8 THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS: ROMANS