The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Roman Empire Read Online Free PDF

from which to march into the stronghold in 73—but not before some of the insurgents may have killed themselves (and their families) to avoid capture.
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Rewards and Punishments
    The Roman system of punishments and rewards could be summed up with something like this: “Use some reason in making mandatory compliance bearable, and use terror to make noncompliance unimaginable. Provide examples when necessary.” This applied to both discipline of the military and treatment of enemies.
    The rewards for settling with the Romans were often a degree of local autonomy and integration within the Roman orbit. The potential for rewards tapered off quickly as an enemy resisted and then passed into horrific punishments. All right of negotiated surrender for terms ended when the first battering ram hit the wall or gate of the town. After that, Roman reprisals could be so incredibly harsh and far-reaching that everyone thought twice before crossing that line.
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    Â  Great Caesar’s Ghost! The word decimate came from the rarely used Roman military punishment of Decimatio in which every tenth man of a unit was selected to die. In what was a gruesome and savage twist to group punishment, the selected men had to be beaten or stoned to death by the comrades spared in the lottery. The brutal practice, though seldom used, imprinted our language with words for a terrible, random, and deadly thinning of group members.
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Two Thumbs Up! Games and Gladiators
    Roman games and spectacles are one of the major areas of interest about the Romans to the modern audience. These public entertainment venues grew in size, depravity, and popularity during the last century of the Republic and first century of the Empire. Modern readers focus on the arena games because of the jaw-dropping horror and fascination that they evoke. The Romans’ penchant for the grand scale played into this area—they even flooded the Colosseum to create naval battles. It’s sobering to contemplate what these events may have to say about Roman mass culture, since they occurred by popular demand.
    To be sure, the arena games were big events and had many spectators. But their fans in no way represented a majority; the popularity of the arena paled in comparison to the Romans’ love of chariot racing. Whether you compare the number of race tracks to arenas or the size of the crowds at those venues, racing wins by several lengths. The Colosseum, for example, held around 45,000 people. The Circus Maximus held 250,000.
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    Â  Veto! The most famous Roman entertainment venue is the Colosseum, built in Rome under the emperor Vespasian in C . E . 72. It held around 45,000 spectators. Nearly destroyed as a rock quarry in the Middle Ages, the Colosseum was protected during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as a place of Christian martyrdom. Lots of blood was spilled in the Colosseum but not, however, in Christian persecutions.
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The “Games” of Rome
    Roman games, or ludi , originated in festivals and holidays that included public entertainment, much like county fairs. This entertainment began with races and theatrical events and grew, over time, to include arena spectacles of death and carnage. The Romans seemed to have a fascination with death and combat. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the executions and gladiatorial combat were only a part of the public venue. Many Romans deplored the games of the arena and considered them to be a sad and barbaric commentary on both their culture and human nature in general.
Contests of Animals and Humans
    The Romans imported thousands upon thousands of animals for their games. Some were killed in mass hunts; others were paired against each other in experimental battles (to see what happened if you pitted an ox against a bear, for example). Lions and tigers were imported in huge numbers and used for killing both other animals and people. Sometimes armed men were pitted against the