Do Rome and Rome have the same meaning?
Before starting the text, it is better to correct a common belief about the term ancient Rome. We all know more or less the current capital of Italy, which is the city of Rome. When we talk about "Ancient Rome", we usually mean the city of Rome in ancient times, and if we want to talk about the ancient empire that made this city the center of its rule, we should mention it with the phrase "Ancient Rome". But due to the similarity of these two expressions, they are still used interchangeably in many sources, and we cannot consider this as a big mistake. Besides, the Latin dictation is the same for the Roman Empire and the city of Rome.
Facts from the territory of ancient Rome
Since this great empire has experienced many ups and downs, we can only say where the Roman country is based on a certain period of history; But if you are curious to know in which country are the ancient remains of Rome, Italy definitely attracts more attention than anywhere else. In the following, we present three of the most interesting facts about the size of Rome:
At the height of its expansion, Rome brought under its dominion about 5 million square kilometers of the land area of the world. This limit of Rome's greatness was reached in 117 AD.
The territory of Rome in the second century AD included the entire Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, some of the North African countries, including Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, were taken as their own.
About 40 to 50 countries in today's world were once part of the Roman Empire. This huge territory was leading to Türkiye and Armenia from the east.
Cleopatra is one of the most mysterious, influential and powerful characters in the history of Egypt, but due to the vastness of the Roman territory and the border with ancient Egypt, this character also played an important role in the history of Rome. To learn more about Cleopatra, you can read the following article.
It is impossible not to mention the name of Cleopatra VII in the discussion of the most powerful women in history. Some historical and ancient figures have shown their charisma and authority to such an extent that in addition to becoming immortal in history, they became legends and national symbols of a country. Among all people, Cleopatra VII is also one of the most important ancient figures of this country, who is famous for her beauty, intelligence, politics and high influence.
Cleopatra VII's life was short. But the stories about it were so fascinating that it inspired many works of art, literature and movies. Since strange and special events are an integral part of the lives of rulers and famous figures of history,
Who is Cleopatra?
Although when studying history, we know Cleopatra with titles such as Egyptian Cleopatra, and according to the documents, she was born in Egypt, but you should know that the origin of Cleopatra's family goes back to Macedonia, Greece. Cleopatra is a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander's greatest commanders. Cleopatra's family ruled Egypt for about 3 centuries. As a child, he learned to write, read and speak Greek.
When you think of the name Cleopatra, only one Egyptian queen comes to mind, but that's not the case. She was the seventh woman from the Ptolemaic dynasty to bear this name. Her full name is Cleopatra VII T. Philopartor, which means "Father-loving Goddess" in Greek.
Cleopatra was an Egyptian princess as a child and her father was Ptolemy XII. Ptolemy XII was known for his skill in playing the flute. Cleopatra's intelligence and shrewdness made her become the favorite child of her family and she gradually learned the art of governance from her father.
Cleopatra's actions in history
When Cleopatra was 18, Ptolemy XII died, leaving the throne to her and her younger brother (Ptolemy XIII). In this way, Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother began to rule Egypt. Since she was the older sister, she quickly took the lead. But later, Ptolemy 13 grew older and his thirst for power came to life and he became the title of pharaoh and threw Cleopatra out of the palace.
48 years BC, Julius Caesar entered Egypt. At the same time, Cleopatra disguised herself in a rolled carpet and secretly entered the palace and met with Caesar. Cleopatra asked him to support her brother to take back power. Caesar faced Ptolemy XIII in the Nile War. After being defeated by Caesar, Cleopatra's brother ran away and finally drowned in the Nile. After that, Cleopatra and Caesar got married and had a child named Caesarion (Little Caesar).
Cleopatra also had a younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, who ruled over her and her descendants after winning the Nile War. She married Caesar and traveled to Rome. Despite her romantic relationship with Caesar, Cleopatra wanted Egypt to become independent from Roman rule, so one of her most important tasks while leading Egypt was to strengthen the country's economy. He established many trades with Arab countries
Caesar was assassinated in Rome in 48 BC. After him, three rulers took power in Rome, one of them was Mark Antony, whom Cleopatra married. Cleopatra allied with Mark Antony against the other two rulers. Because Cleopatra wanted her son to succeed Octavian (Caesar's legal successor). Finally, with Cleopatra and Mark Antony, they were defeated in the war with Octavian (Battle of Actium) and returned to Egypt.
Appearance and personality characteristics of Cleopatra
One of the most important reasons for Cleopatra's power was her increasing popularity among the Egyptian people. Unlike the previous Greek kings and queens, he mastered the Egyptian language and cared about the culture of this country. So that he used the clothes of Egyptian gods and myths in his cover, and this had an effect on the people of Egypt to some extent, who believed that he was the embodied form of Isis. Also, during the power of this Egyptian queen, Egypt was developed.
Cleopatra is portrayed in movies and art as a very beautiful woman, but according to the evidence, she was not that beautiful. The actual image of Queen Cleopatra can be found on ancient Egyptian coins, where she has a humped nose and a deep smile line. People believed that Cleopatra was trying hard to be accepted by the common people, so to emphasize her power and right to reign, they always painted her face more bony. In addition, the historian Plutarch wrote somewhere that "Cleopatra did not have an attractive face at all, but her intelligence, intelligence and charm and her very beautiful voice were the talk of the town and no one could resist her."
Although some people have doubts about Cleopatra's beauty, there is no doubt about her high knowledge and wisdom. It is interesting to know that Cleopatra spoke several different languages and was proficient in mathematics, philosophy, rhetoric and astronomy. To impress her allies, Cleopatra always wore beautiful clothes and entered the gatherings with splendor. When he visited Mark Antony, he arrived in Rome with a gold boat, purple sails and silver oars. She was dressed like the goddess Aphrodite. Antony, who imagined himself as the incarnation of the Greek god Dionysius, immediately fell in love with Cleopatra and later married her.
Death of Cleopatra
No one is sure of the cause and manner of Cleopatra's death and there are various stories about it. Some of these narrations are romantic and mysterious. After the defeat at Actium, Mark Antony returned to the battlefield hoping for victory and was besieged. At this time, the false news about Cleopatra's death reached him and he committed suicide. Cleopatra also committed suicide with snake venom after hearing this news.
Interesting facts about Cleopatra
Cleopatra's level of education was so high that it is said that she wrote several scientific books in Al-Masudi language.
He used the clothes of Egyptian gods along with luxury items to attract the attention of the Egyptian people. Her presence with these appearances had created a good image of Cleopatra in the minds of the Egyptian people.
She had 4 children, one by Caesar and the next three by Mark Antony.
Cleopatra considered her sister Arsinoe to be her rival, so in 41 BC she assassinated her sister on the steps of a temple in Rome.
Cleopatra is the last pharaoh of Egypt. She is also known as one of the most successful queens in history.
According to ancient discoveries, unlike the Mediterranean diet (meat, fish and simple food) of the Egyptian people at that time, Cleopatra was more in favor of vegetables and nuts.
It is mentioned in ancient texts that he was highly skilled in playing flute and harp.
In addition to influencing movies and stories, the character of Cleopatra has also made its way into video games such as Assassin's Creed 2.
So far, no definitive traces of Cleopatra's tomb have been found. Although some theorists believe that his tomb is in the ruins of Taposiris Magna.
She was a very brave woman to the extent that she led a military fleet in a war against the Romans.
Mark Antony was so fond of Cleopatra that he divorced his ex-wife in order to spend more time with her.
Like the Egyptian Lady Nefertiti, she used henna to decorate her nails.
Despite the experience of several marriages, he did not divorce any of his wives.
last word
Despite the great efforts of explorers and archaeologists, much of the lives and actions of historical figures are still obscure, and many popular stories cannot be relied upon. In this article, in addition to introducing Cleopatra, her historical actions were also explained in simple language. We also added some interesting facts about the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt. If you have seen interesting writings about this powerful queen in books and legends, you can share it with others in the comments section.
Facts from the history of ancient Rome
Ancient Roman civilization dates back to 8 centuries BC, which was first formed in the Italian peninsula and is considered one of the oldest countries in the world. In the previous title, we talked about the extent of the Roman Empire; But contrary to what is believed, the Roman Empire is not the largest and most powerful empire in history. At least 20 other empires have been formed throughout history, which were superior to the Romans in terms of power and conquest.
However, none of this calls into question the greatness of the Roman Empire. Two centuries after Christ, ancient Rome had conquered the entire country of today's Italy, all the lands around the Mediterranean and countries like England and Wales. About three centuries after the height of ancient Rome, the barbarians of the German land crushed this great empire, and most historians consider this stage to be the last breath of ancient Rome. In the following, we have brought you a group of historical facts about ancient Rome:
The longest and longest foreign war in the history of mankind goes back to the battle between Iran and Rome, which lasted for 721 years!
The ancient Roman Empire dominated Europe for more than 700 years, and their territory extended to parts of Asia.
It is interesting to know that in ancient Rome, the triple pyramids and the Sphinx statue were considered ancient monuments; Because the Egyptian pyramids were from 2500 years before Christ, while the Roman Empire was established about 1700 years after they were built.
The first emperor who committed suicide in the world was Nero, the Roman emperor. The murders he carried out during his reign have immortalized his name in the list of the world's most feared emperors.
According to historians' estimates, more than 500,000 people and about 1 million animals were killed during gladiator fights in the largest theater of ancient Rome.
In the history of ancient Rome, even horses had a role, the third emperor of ancient Rome, Gaius Caligula, chose his horse as a Roman senator.
Facts about the eating customs of the Romans
According to the information that has been discovered so far, the ancient Romans, like the people of today, ate three meals a day. Some of the foods that the Romans ate at that time may be very strange to us; For example, one of the delicious appetizers in Rome was a type of mouse that was dipped in honey after cooking. Normally, ancient Roman foods were consumed with various sauces; Of course, the class difference in Rome had caused the people of this land to have the simplest foods.
Flamingo tongue was served as a popular and luxurious dish in ancient Rome.
In formal parties, the Romans had a short piece of furniture instead of a dinner table, where they had to lean on their left hand to eat and take a bite with their right hand.
Salema Porgy is a type of fish that causes hallucinations after eating it. For this reason, the ancient Romans used to eat this fish for fun.
Some of the important figures of the Roman country, in order to gain more popularity, gave free wheat to the people of the lower regions.
Garum sauce was one of the strangest foods of ancient Rome, which was obtained from the blood and stomach contents of fish and various spices. At first, this sauce had a medicinal aspect, but gradually it became a food for people of all different strata of ancient Rome.
Facts of hygiene in ancient Rome
Perhaps, the design of ancient Roman toilets is one of the wonders that people in today's world cannot even imagine. The toilets that were in the public places of ancient Rome were a hall full of toilets, none of the toilets were separated from each other. None of these lavatories had siphons, and instead, there was usually a weak stream of water flowing under the toilet seat, and sewage was conveyed through special channels. Apart from such trivial facts, there are much more strange things to know about the cleanliness of ancient Rome, some of which do not fit into our belief.
The goddess of sewers, the god of toilet and the god of excrement were considered some of the strangest cases of sanctity in ancient Rome.
In ancient Rome, urine was used as a detergent and the Romans washed their clothes with it.
Ancient Roman people even used urine to clean teeth and disinfect wounds.
Another fact of ancient Rome that does not fit in today's health logic is that women in ancient Rome used the sweat of gladiators to beautify their faces.
Facts about strange slavery in ancient Rome
Slavery is one of the most common things that have been abundantly repeated in the ancient world; But the treatment of slaves in the past is always part of the wonders of history. The hard life of ancient Roman slaves practically does not need much description. Suffice it to mention, the slaves who worked in the mines of this land, might not see the light of the sun for months. In some periods of the Roman Empire, the population of slaves in different territories was so large that it caused the rulers to worry. Of course, these concerns were not unfounded; Because the history of ancient Rome saw many rebellions by slaves. Here are some interesting facts about ancient Roman slavery:
In ancient Rome and Greece, people could exchange slaves for salt.
Most Romans did not treat their slaves badly, but rather tried to improve the performance of their slaves by encouraging and rewarding them, like employers do today.
Saturnalia was a famous festival in ancient Rome where masters and slaves swapped places with each other.
Any family in Rome, regardless of their wealth and social status, could buy slaves. Even some relatively poor Roman families might have owned a slave or two.
The number of slaves of some rich people reached more than a few thousand people; Even a wealthy Roman named Gaius Caecilius Isidorus owned 4,166 slaves at the time of his death!
If a slave killed his owner in Rome, according to the law, all the slaves in the house had to be executed. This law killed thousands of innocent slaves in this land.
Facts from the life of the citizens of ancient Rome
To recognize Roman citizens, it was enough to look at their clothes. Roman long dress was only for citizens and slaves did not have the right to wear such clothes in ancient Rome. In order for slaves to be citizens of ancient Rome, they had to buy their freedom with the little money they earned; Of course, such an opportunity was not given to every slave. One of the easiest ways to become a citizen in Rome was to participate in military activities. People who served in Roman wars for 20 years could register themselves as citizens in this empire.
In ancient Rome, the punishment for a person who killed his father was death; But not an ordinary execution. The agents put the murderer in a bag along with a dog, a rooster, a monkey and a viper and sewed the way out of the bag forever.
Men aged 17 to 40 in ancient Rome were required to appear on the war fronts when the empire needed soldiers. Even the barbarians who were willing to join the Roman army enjoyed this privilege.
In ancient Rome, if a person died due to lightning, no one had the right to hold a funeral for him, and if he did, he had to be sacrificed to Jupiter.
In the early days of the ancient Roman Empire, a father had the right to do whatever he wanted with his family. This law included selling sons as slaves and even killing the entire family.
Although cities like Babylon had a large population at that time, the population of Rome was not comparable to any other city, according to the statistics of Rome, it had a population of about 1 to 2 million, and it was considered the first metropolis in The history of humanity is taught.
Facts of the development of structures in ancient Rome
One of the usual habits of ancient civilizations has been to build large buildings to show off their powers. The artistic style of Roman architecture can still be seen all over the world. Many Roman buildings were unprecedented in the world; For example, the Appian Way, which was built about 300 years before Christ, is the first highway in Europe, which is considered one of the masterpieces of the Roman state. When we talk about the great structures of Rome, no name stands out like the Colosseum, which is one of the Seven Wonders; But there are many other wonders about engineering in Rome, the following are some of them:
There is evidence that thousands of years ago, Roman residents used plumbing to enjoy the cool water of the aqueducts.
It is estimated that if a building like the Colosseum is built today, it will cost nearly 380 million dollars.
Apart from the Colosseum, more than 200 amphitheatres were built in Rome, where many competitions and performances took place throughout the great empire.
Many bridges in Rome were built to last forever. A clear example of them is the Alcantara bridge, which is still usable after all these years.
A kind of concrete was used in the construction of the buildings of ancient Rome and important points of the Roman Empire, in which materials such as volcanic ash and lime were used.
The very wide and efficient network of Roman roads made transportation and military operations faster. Also, by using the knowledge of these roads and the remains of historians, they give us a lot of information about where the main area of Rome is.
In ancient Rome, there were 4 large shopping malls with 150 offices and shops in each of them.
Interesting facts from local beliefs in ancient Rome
Maybe if we write all the superstitions and strange ideas of the ancient territories, several big books will be obtained. But in the meantime, some beliefs are so amazing that not everyone can believe them. Whether you like it or not, many of the superstitious beliefs of the ancient Roman people have had their effects on today's culture. Even today's English and French have many words from the Roman Empire; The interesting thing is that some of these strange beliefs are very similar to the beliefs of the people of Iran and many parts of the world.
The people of Rome believed that by kissing a donkey's nose, their hiccups would stop, and they considered this an effective treatment for a runny nose.
In ancient Rome, there was a strong belief in the sore eye, and such a phenomenon was called the "devil's eye". Also, for the Roman people, seeing an owl was equivalent to the nearness of ominous events.
Smelling the cyclamen flower in Roman beliefs prevented evil and evil spells.
In the belief of the Roman people, being left-handed was a bad phenomenon, which was called "sinister". This word in today's English language means "Ominous".
A broken mirror in Rome allowed the gods to see the souls of humans through it, and this might bring the wrath of the gods. From about 2,000 years ago, the broken mirror had a symbolic meaning in the culture of Rome and many parts of the world.
last word
It is impossible to understand the greatness, secrets and truths of ancient Rome by reading books and watching movies. Sometimes you have to travel to do this task and see the remains of this great empire up close. Unfortunately, during the wars of recent centuries, some valuable works of the Roman Empire have been lost in countries like Syria; However, if you travel to Europe, you will see many wonders from the glory days of Rome. Of course, some of the Roman antiquities can be seen in Antalya, Turkey, and you don't need to travel to Europe to see them, you just need to go to Turkey with an Antalya tour and see these works.
