The Roman Empire, led by rulers such as Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Caligula and Nero, was a vast and powerful domain that gave rise to the culture, laws, technologies and institutions that continue to define Western civilization. The first Roman emperor was Augustus Caesar in 27 BC, and the last was Romulus Augustulus whose reign ended in 476 AD.

The Romans came to Britain nearly 2000 years ago and changed our country. Even today, evidence of the Romans being here, can be seen in the ruins of Roman buildings, forts, roads, and baths can be found all over Britain.

The Romans invaded other countries too. The Roman Empire covered much of Europe, north Africa, and the Middle East.
(see map)

Who were the Romans?

The Romans lived in Rome, a city in the centre of the country of Italy .

One day, some years before Jesus Christ was born, the Romans came to Britain.

Britain before the Romans (The Celts)

Who founded Rome?

According to the Roman legend, Romulus was the founder of Rome. Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the sons of the God Mars. When they were very young they were abandoned by the banks of the River Tiber and left to fend for themselves. Luckily for them they were found by a she-wolf who took pity on them fed them with her milk. The boys were later found by a shepherd who raised them. The boys grew up to be very strong and clever and they decided to build a town on the spot where the Shepherd had found them. They named their town Rome.

When did the Romans invade Britain?

First invasion - Caesar's first raid

In August 55 B.C. (55 years before Jesus was born) the Roman general, EmperorJulius Caesar invaded Britain. He took with him two Roman legions. After winning several battles against the Celtic tribes (Britons) in south-east England he returned to France.

Second invasion - Caesar's second raid

The following summer (in 54 B.C.) Caesar came to Britain again landing at Walmer near Deal in Kent. This time he brought with him no fewer than five legions (30,000 foot soldiers) and 2,000 cavalrymen (horse riders). This time the Romans crossed the River Thames. After more fighting, the British tribes promised to pay tribute to Rome and were then left in peace for nearly a century.

Third and final invasion

Nearly one hundred years later, in 43 A.D. (43 years after Jesus was born), Emperor Claudius organised the final and successful Roman invasion of Britain. General Aulus Plautius led four legions with 25,000 men, plus an equal number of auxiliary soldiers. They crossed the Channel in three divisions, landing at Richborough, Dover, and Lympne.

(Click here for more information on the map of Kent in Roman times)

The biggest battle was fought on the banks of the River Medway, close to Rochester. It went on for two days before the Celtic tribes retreated.

Many tribes tried to resist the Romans. It took about four years for the invaders to finally gain control over southern England, and another 30 years for them to conquer all of the West Country and the mountains and valleys of Wales. The battle for Yorkshire and the remainder of northern England was still underway in AD 70.

The first Roman city was Camulodunum also called Colonia Vitricencis. (We know it by the name of Colchester.) It was the seat of Roman power and governance of Brittania until sacked during the Boudiccan revolt. London was then established as a seat of governance, and only became important after the Camulodunum event.

Vampire knight manga. Why did the Romans invade Britain?

Why the Romans came to Britain is not quite certain. Two reasons have been suggested:

1. The Romans were cross with Britain for helping the Gauls (now called the French) fight against the Roman general Julius Caesar.
2. They came to Britain looking for riches - land, slaves, and most of all, iron, lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold.

How long did the Romans stay in Britain?

The Romans remained in Britain from 43 AD to 410 AD. That is almost four hundred years (four centuries).

What lanuage did the Romans speak?

The Romans spoke a form of Latin known as vulgar Latin. It was quite different from the Classical Latin that we learn today.

Why did the Romans leave Britain?

Their homes in Italy were being attacked by fierce tribes and every soldier was needed.

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What did the Romans call London?

The Romans called London 'Londinium'.

The River Thames was quick way to transport goods between Britain and the Continent. The Romans saw this and built the town of Londinium around the river's main crossing point.
Find out more about Roman London

Why was the Roman Empire important?

The Romans, even today, play an important part in our lives. Many of the things we do or have originated from the Romans.

The Romans gave us

• Language
  The language we used today was developed from the Romans. The Romans spoke and wrote in Latin and many of our words are based on Latin words.
• The Calendar
  Did you know that the calendar we use today is more than 2,000 years old? It was started by Julius Caesar, a Roman ruler. It is based on the movement of the earth around the sun, and so is called the 'solar calendar.' The solar calendar has 365 days a year, and 366 days every leap year, or every fourth year. The names of our months are taken from the names of Roman gods and rulers. The month 'July,' in fact, is named after Julius Caesar himself!
• Laws and a legal system
  The laws and ways we determine what to do with someone who is accused of breaking a law came originally from the Roman Empire.
• The Census
  The Roman Empire was huge and included millions of people living over a large area. How did they keep track of all these people? Easy! They counted them! The Roman Empire began the practice of taking a census, or a 'count,' of all the people within its boundaries every so often. Today, many countries like ours take a census every 10 years.

The Romans also gave us:

• straight roads
• central heating
• concrete
• aqueducts (bridges for water)

Use the links, top left, for more information about the Romans.

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/The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Roman Empire started off in Rome, and then spread it’s borders until it had dominated the Mediterranean.

It’s controlled territory in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The Empire reached it’s largest extent under Trajan. Who reigned as Emperor from 98 to 117.

At this point the Empire owned 5 million square kilometres of land. There were 55 to 60 million people living in the Empire’s borders at it’s extent. This isn’t a lot today, but at the time it was one fourth of the world’s population. It was the largest united political entity until the mid 19th century. This helps give you an idea of just how powerful it really was.The Urine TradeIn Rome, they had a different view of urine than we have today. It was considered quite valuable because of the amount of ammonia found in it. The Romans considered urine useful for cleaning laundry, tanning leather, and cleaning their teeth.

Laundry places used to leave giant clay pots outside their residence, as they wanted people to fill it with valuable ammonia, whenerver they needed to go. People would buy and sell urine due to its value. The emperor Vespasian smelt money, and perhaps something else, so he invoked a tax on the urine trade. This tax was quite controversial, and Vespasians own son protested in quite a dramatic way.

His son Titus, took a piece of the money he had earnt, and put it up to his nose. He then asked him if it smelt, since it was the product of urine.Romans Feared Left Handed PeopleThe Romans had a deep prejudice against left handed people, which stemmed from the belief that they were untrustworthy, and spread bad luck. Sinister is a negative word in the modern day but originally it meant left.

It’s due to this strange belief held by the Romans, that the word holds negative connotations. This prejudice ran so deep they would wear a ring on the third finger of their left hand, to ward off bad luck brought by lefty devils.The Sack Of RomeAlaric the Visigoth is the man who sacked Rome in 410 AD. He did so out of revenge, and envy. He wanted above all else to be a Roman, but he was betrayed and attacked by Rome. In response he took revenge by crushing the “Eternal City”. It had been 800 years since Rome had been lost to an enemy force. Even though Rome wasn’t the capital at the time, it sent shock waves throughout the empire.

Alaric planned on entering into negotiations with the Romans but was tricked, and outraged. He had already invaded Rome twice, but the third invasion was a total shock, which likely contributed to its victory.Roman Gladiators Drank Energy Drinks. /In France archaeologists made an amazing discovery giving us a window into an old Roman tavern. The tavern is 2,000 years old, and littered with drinking bowls animal bones. It was also full of plates, and reclining chairs. Inside were three ovens, and a millstone. Millstones were used for grinding flour.

The tavern was a gathering place for both Romans, and Celts, and was likely a particularly popular spot. If you were to enter the tavern as a customer you could enjoy cuts of cow, and sheep, as well as flat bread, and fish.

Many of the patrons of this bar would have stopped growing food just to eat here.The Praetorian Guard. /The Praetorian Guard was responsible for guarding the emperor, but over the years their loyalty began to disappear, and corruption took its place. They had an unprecedented amount of influence over the emperor’s well being, and it was even possible for them to appoint, remove, and kill emperors of the Roman Empire. One part of this was known as the Donative. A gift the guard would receive from a new emperor, after the last one was killed.

This created an incentive for the guard to kill an emperor in order to try and gain this financial reward.DecimationDecimation was the punishment dealt by the Romans, to discourage crimes such as mutiny or desertion. It involved stoning to death every tenth man in an army unit, where the crime took place. This was one of the most effective punishments against those crimes because it meant any who deserted not only risked their own lives, but the lives of their friends as well. It also meant their fellow soldiers might attempt to catch them, or take action to stop mutiny or desertion themselves, before it was too late. A cohort or around 480 soldiers would be selected for punishment, and split into groups of 10. Each group would have to draw lots, and one of the soldiers would draw the lot that meant he had to die. The remaining nine would then stone their unlucky friend to death.Gladiator Matches Began As Funeral CeremoniesThey were originally a part of funeral ceremonies for rich aristocrats.

Two slaves would fight, as a despicable form of eulogy. It was supposed to display the virtues of the deceased. Romans believed that human blood purified deceased souls. Julius Caesar took this further than anybody else, when he had hundreds of slaves kill each other after his daughter, and father’s death.

The death matches were so popular that it wasn’t too long before they were put on for simple entertainment.NaumachiaNaumachia was a type of Roman gladiatorial battle, and it was one of the most ludicrous, magnificent things the Roman Empire ever concocted. It involved filling the Colosseum with water, and then simulating a naval battle with large, real ships, full of real men. They would fight for real, and many of them died.

This was one of the most insane things the Romans ever came up with. The first battle involved 2000 combatants, and 4000 rowers, which amounted to 20 ships in total. This likely wasn’t even the biggest match.

The men in the ships were death row inmates, who were ordered to salute the emperor beginning with the words “those who are about to die salute you”. This was one of the most expensive games for obvious reasons, so it was only used for special occasions to “celebrate”.