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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.
Certainly, the Roman shoemakers (sutor) were very good artisans and their products were widely worn throughout the Mediterranean. Most often, the inhabitants of the Tiber wore the most ordinary sandals (sandalia or soleae). Shoes (calcei – from the word calx meaning “heel”) were also popular, apparently, they looked best with a toga and thus were worn by the upper classes.
Demand for prostitutes was on the agenda and relatively high. The earnings of prostitutes were subject to taxation by the state, which also, thanks to appropriate legislation, secured the money invested in the lupanaras of that time.
Preserved gladiator skull with visible traces of a trident hit. This weapon was used by the retiarus – a lightly armoured warrior who also had a net that he threw at his opponent to restrain him. Most often, his rival was murmillo – a heavily armoured infantryman who had a helmet and a large shield.
The word “abracadabra ” first appears in Liber Medicinalis (known as De Medicina Praecepta Saluberrima), a medical book written in verse in Latin. It is believed that the author could have been Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, a court scholar of Emperor Septimius Severus (ruled 193-211 CE) and Caracalla (209-217 CE). In chapter 51 the author recommends that people suffering from malaria wear an amulet containing the said word in the form of a triangle:
More than 90% of the population of Roman Empire came from the rural poor and it was barely making ends meet. The Roman historian Titus Livius mentions a centurion who in the 2nd century BCE. After inheriting a provincial house and one iugerum (about two-thirds of an acre) of land, he had to feed his wife and eight children.
In ancient Rome, fashion developed more than in Greece. The same was true of jewellery. Precious stones were very popular with the ladies; the most popular were emeralds. A big surprise for modern women may be the fact that diamonds appeared in these areas for the first time. In addition, stones such as agate, garnet, yarrow, and aquamarine were used to make jewellery.
Vibia Perpetua lived at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. She came from a wealthy Roman home, and her parents professed various faiths: her father was a pagan, and her mother was a Christian. Vibia went down in history as a Christian martyr from Carthage.
Before, during and after the conquest/subjugation of new territories, the Roman state always tried to find local elites who were ready to cooperate with the Romans.
Roman Empire was a country extremely open to internal migration; additionally, it relocated troops (especially auxiliary troops) to areas far from their homeland. This is evidenced by the preserved, inter alia, tombstones of soldiers and people associated with the military stationed near Hadrian’s Wall.
