About ninety percent of the people in the Roman world lived by farming, as they understood the need to rotate crops. In fertile valleys north and south of Rome, farmers grew such grains as wheat, rye, and barley. However, they created their surplus with grapes and olives. Olives or olive oils were in great demand because people used it from flavoring to oil in lamps. They left half of every field unplanted each year so the soil would be enriched for a crop the next year. Few small landowners could afford that practice. On hillsides and in less fertile soil, they planted olive groves, vineyards, and grazed sheep and goats. Yet Roman farmers also raised p

The urbanism of early Roman civilizations is studied from what remains today. In the center of most Roman cities were the amphitheaters where the gladiators entertained civilians and aristocrats. Most often, this is where the Acta Diurna (newspaper) was posted containing the day’s events, not to mention the last twenty-four hour’s events. There were also public bathing houses, religious temples, and religious monuments. Often these were so massive that many still stand today. Above all, there were massive walls surrounding the towns to protect citizens from alien armies. Life in Rome was originally simple and not very different from life in the countryside.

Gradually town and county became very different from one another due to the special life within the city walls. Important men spent most of the morning dealing with either senate business or committees, legal or personal problems. Most of these important men lived in the city due to the rigorous senate schedule. One thing if all else seems to be true: Rome had massive congestion. Rome became the center of a road system so highly developed that outside observers could notice it from hills away. As historical documents have shown, Rome tried to enforce regulations to control the hours during which various types of wheeled traffic were permitted (The Roman Principate: 27 B.C. – 285 AD).

The members of the Senate were addressed as patres conscripti (conscript fathers); this might represent the patrician in a patriarchy society. By the time of the late Republic, the distinction between patricians and plebeians had virtually disappeared. The numbers of the Senate, which had fallen, mainly owing to senators being killed in the civil wars, were raised by Sulla during his dictatorship from 300 to 600 BC, as he elected wealthy landowners and high society members to encourage the senate.

Some topics in this essay:
Class Stratification, People Rome, Twelve Tables, Roman Republic, Gaul Spain, Trade Rome, Life Rome, AD Houses, Specialization Romans, Consequently Italy, roman army, occupation specialization, distance trade, oil lamps, class stratification, roman world, vines planted, town county, women involved, fight wars,