Romans not rated by skin color
Romans were not racists at all and not rated by skin colour. Seneca the Younger claimed that people with black complexion were not a surprise in Rome.
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Curiosities of ancient Rome
The world of ancient Romans abounded in a number of amazing curiosities and information. The source of knowledge about the life of the Romans are mainly works left to us by ancient writers or discoveries. The Romans left behind a lot of strange information and facts that are sometimes hard to believe.
Roman short dagger with cover
Roman short dagger with cover. Found in the Cetina riverbed near the city of Trilj (Croatia). Dated to the end of the 1st century BCE.
Preserved signature of Cleopatra VII
Dated to the 1st century BCE an Egyptian document on which, according to the researchers, there is the only preserved handwritten signature of queen Cleopatra VII. Papyrus has survived to our times, because it was used in the first century CE to wrap the mummy in the ancient cemetery of Busiris (200 km southeast of Alexandria).
Roman sunglasses
According to the records of Pliny the Elder, Roman Emperor Nero during gladiatorial fights looked at the arena through a concave emerald. In this way, he eliminated the glare of the sun and his nearsightedness.
Decorated Roman colander
Decorated Roman colander, made of bronze. The object was found in Pompeii and dates from the 1st century BCE.
Roman hippodrome in Caesarea
Roman hippodrome in Caesarea Maritima in Israel. This facility is the best preserved of its kind and could seat up to 20,000 spectators. It was place were mostly chariot racing were kept.
Deserted ancient buildings have become churches
When in 313 CE Constantine the Great announced with the emperor of the eastern part – Licinius – tolerance edict in Mediolanum, the freedom of religion in the Roman Empire. In practice, this meant that the rapidly spreading Christianity would be able to get out of hiding and start publicly proclaiming the truths of faith in Christ.
Goths’ emigration
On August 9, 378 CE near Adrianopol (once Thrace, now the province of Edirne in Turkey) there was a great battle, the result of which Saint Ambrose summed up with the words: “the end of all humanity, the end of the world”. The goths who were admitted to the Roman lands defeated Valens army and directed the fate of the Roman Empire to decline.
