A permanent Roman fort laid out in a grid pattern, with grain stores and workshops. Housestead’s Fort on Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England is an example of one of these.
General in command Dormitories for sleeping Civil war
Caesar defeated Pompey in a civil war when he crossed the Rubicon River and marched on Rome in 49 BC. Caesar made himself consul and dictator (ruler with full power) of Rome.
Before that, he had brought in popular reforms such as redistributing land to the poor. Later, he reformed the calendar. He changed the year from 355 to 365 days and added the month of July (after his name).
He ruled without consulting the Senate so some senators feared that it would be abolished. They planned and carried out his assassination on 15 March 44 BC – the Ides of March.
Slaves in Ancient Rome
It was estimated that there were between 1.5 and 2 million slaves in Italy, which was about 20 per cent of the population. ● Slaves were workers who were owned by Roman citizens or by the government. Slaves were mainly owned by patricians; many ordinary Romans did not have any slaves.
Slaves could be bought and sold at markets. Many were brought back from foreign wars or were captured by pirates and slavers. Some were born as slaves to slave women.
Slaves did most of the work on farms and in the towns, especially in the domus of the patricians. The government used slaves to maintain public buildings and to work in the public baths.
The treatment of slaves varied from owner to owner. The owners had the power of ‘life and death’ over the slaves. Many were treated very harshly; some got their freedom.
Spartacus as portrayed in a Hollywood movie poster (1960)
Slaves rebelled many times against their harsh treatment. Spartacus led one of those rebellions, but he was eventually defeated. Over 6,000 rebel slaves were captured and crucified.