Roman Geography

 

“All roads lead to Rome.” Even today, people use this ancient saying. The City of Rome was once the capitol of the most powerful empire. The Roman Empire stretched over three whole continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa. Since the empire was so big, you would think that the climate, water sources, jobs, resources, and trade items would change from area to area.

I thought that the different climates would have affected the economy in many different ways, but the climate in Ancient Rome was pretty much the same as it is now, and it didn’t seem to change much around the empire. The gentle climates of Rome encourage outdoor activities such as street markets and sidewalk cafés. The average Roman temperature in the summertime was 78 degrees Fahrenheit. In winter it was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. It rained a lot in fall and winter but not as much in spring and barely any in summer. Summer days in Rome could be very hot, but a nice breeze would often cool off the evening. Sometimes, it was so hot, many people died of fever. It was very uncomfortable during the days of summer. In warm places, the farmers grew grapes and olives, but in cooler places they grew apples and turnips.

Another thing that would affect the economy would be the bodies of water that were in the Roman Empire. Those would provide transportation and water to drink for the Romans. The Tiber River was a river that flowed through Rome to the sea. The Atlantic Ocean was on the west of the empire. That would be an easy way for the people who lived on the west side to travel and trade. The people in other areas would have to find a different way to travel. The Mediterranean Sea weaved through the empire. That was probably the easiest source of water for the Romans. The Red Sea was off in the southeast corner, so that sea would probably be one of the less used. The Black Sea was northeast, and the Caspian Sea was not far off east. The Danube River went through Romania (Dacia). The Elbe River was near the Alps and by the city of Cologne. The Rhine River was near the Elbe, but on the other side of the Alps. It was also by France and Pyrenees. The Vistula River and the Dniester River were by where the Barbarians were mostly, north and northeast. The little rivers that flowed through the empire helped people get resources and trade items to the land-blocked cities. Smaller boats, which were usually large hollow logs with flat bottoms, were used to take the items down those long, shallow rivers to inland parts of the empire. 

I assumed that because the Empire was so big some jobs would not be available in all areas. The kinds of jobs would depend on the resources they had. A lot of farm sites that produced food were in Europe and North Africa. Farmers and craftsmen sold goods from their shops or in the market. Goldsmiths, silversmiths, jewelers, potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, artists, sculptors, cobblers who made shoes, bakers, and leatherworkers were some of the jobs that Romans had. The jewelers, of course, needed jewels for their jobs. Jewels and precious stones, like emeralds and amethysts, came from China and India. That means that probably the majority of jewelers were in the east. Gold and silver came from Spain and Macedonia. Therefore, gold and silversmiths were probably found everywhere in the empire because the two places where the resources came from were far away from each other. Copper was mined in Italy, Cyprus, and Spain, so people who needed copper for their jobs were most likely everywhere because those three places were spread out over the empire. Tin came from Britain (northwest), and iron was found almost everywhere. Farming was the most common job. Farmers were found everywhere.

The resources that were available to the Romans in certain areas would also affect the economy.  Some resources that were needed to make the things they sold and traded were not available in all areas. A lot of the poor people in the empire made jewelry. That is probably one of the items they traded. The people who made the jewelry needed jewels, which were mostly only available in areas near China and India. Samian Ware was a kind of pottery that all Romans liked. The Romans traded the pottery with people from all over. They needed clay to make the Samian Ware. The people of Rome also needed gold, silver, iron and wood.

Another thing that would affect the Roman economy would be the things Romans in some areas had to trade with the Romans in other areas. The people in the northwest area of Rome would receive wine and pottery from France. They could then trade them with other Romans all over the empire. Those same people could get the things that the British had to trade them (hunting dogs, silver, and lead) and trade those with the rest of the empire. The people in the southern part of the empire would trade goods with Egypt for papyrus (material to make paper) and corn and then trade those new items with other Romans. The people in the east areas would trade with China for silks, spices, perfumes, and jewels so they could trade them with others.

It seems that the economy of Rome didn’t change much from continent to continent. Some of the jobs that Romans had weren’t available everywhere, though. The people could easily trade with other areas of the Roman Empire, so pretty much all of the people in Rome had access to the same resources. This variety helped to make the empire strong because of its diversity.

 

Works Cited

 

Amery, Heather, and Patricia Vanags. Rome and Romans. London: Usborne Publishing,  LTD, 1976.

Corbishley, Mike. What do We Know About the Romans? New York: Peter Bedrick  Books, 1991.

Dineen, Jacqueline. Worlds of the Past; The Romans. London: Heinemann Children’s  Reference, 1992.

Fisher, Grant, and Cherl Beth Harlan. Voyage Back in Time: Ancient Greece or Rome. (1998). http://oncampus.richmond.edu/.

Guy, John. Early Civilizations: Roman Life. Hadlow, Kent, UK: Ticktok Publishing, LTD, 1998.

Louis, Paul. Ancient Rome at Work. (1927). http://www.questia.com/.

Nardo, Don. Life in Ancient Rome. San Diego, California: Lucent Books, INC, 1997.

                     Daily Life: Ancient Rome. San Diego, California: Kid Haven Press, 2002.

Sheehan, Sean. Ancient Rome. Austin, Texas: Steck-Vaughn Co., 2000.

Stein, Conrad. Cities of the World: Rome. U.S.A.: Children’s Press, 1997.

Stroud, Jonathan. Ancient Rome: A Guide to the Glory of Imperial Rome. New York: Kingfisher Publications, 2000.           

 

 

 

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