History is very extensive, but there are always places or dates that are more special than others and few places are more special to history than Rome, the capital of the roman empire that ruled the world for so long and that left us the current world as we know it.
The history of Rome not only focuses on their beliefs in various gods or in the existence of the emperors, but many of its structures are still vital to understand our world as we live it and one of those keys is the Roman Forum, which we are going to tell you about from its origin to the different functions for which it what happened in the past.
History and origin of the Roman Forum
The origin of the Roman Forum is located around the year 44 BC, when Julius Caesar was the emperor of Rome. The origin of its creation was the rise and growth of the Empire throughout Europe., and it is that Julius Caesar had a certain modesty that so much power and responsibility was not well reciprocated and that is why he thought of centralizing all power in one place. From the Roman Forum, Emperor Caesar was able to control the economy, religion, and administration of the Roman Empire.
The first thing to understand about the Roman Forum is that it was the heart of the city and the center of greatest importance for all Romans, and it was there that their whole life took place, but not only in the commercial aspect. ; but in the Roman Forum was where the religious temples that worshiped the gods were located and where the famous Roman justice was administered.
Characteristics of the Roman Forum
To fully understand the Roman Forum, we must understand that in its day this was the center of the city and that all life in the city revolved around it, from the economy of the city, religious issues to the areas that were He was in charge of justice for the entire Roman Empire. Also the Roman Forum was always renewing itselfthat is, being the center of an entire Empire, as it grew and became more powerful, its administrative, religious and economic center grew along with it.
If we look at the Roman Forum today there are only a few paved areas left, some columns, as well as some monuments. It is a rectangular-shaped enclosure, built before entering the Capitoline Hill, with three sides on which there were buildings and on the fourth side, there was a temple dedicated to the goddess Venus, and it is said that the Emperor Caesar himself was a descendant of her. If we stand in front of the temple of Venus, we can see a sculpture of Alexander the Great riding his own horse and this is because Julius Caesar wanted to be as great and important as he was.
One of the many characteristics of the Roman Forum is that the arch of Titus is right at the entrance of it, this means that it is the oldest arch in the city and it is that these were made after winning an important battle. In the arches themselves, if we look, you can read and see the history of each battle. In the case of this arch, it is based on a battle against the Jews, although it cannot be seen very well, like other parts of the forum such as the Temples of Antonino and Faustina, which ended up being a church.
In the ancient temple of saturn It was where the Romans kept the treasures they collected through their conquests, from gold to jewels.
If we focus on the rich side of this society, we would have to go to the Palatine Hill, where people with money and power not only lived, but had their own religious centers and shopsso that they would not have to mingle with the poorer classes, so if we look at the Temple of Vesta You can see the remains of pools, which were private for powerful people in this area. At present, there are certain very interesting monuments:
- Sacred Way: This is the main street of ancient Rome and leads to the Colosseum.
- Arch of Titus: commemorates Rome’s victory over Jerusalem and was built after the death of Emperor Titus.
- Arch of Severus the Seventh: raised in 203 AD to commemorate the third anniversary of Severus Seventh as emperor.
- Temple of Antoninus and Faustina: the best preserved temple currently in the Roman Forum.
- Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
- The Curia: here the Senate met to make administrative decisions and about the Government of the Roman Empire.
Activities that were done in the Roman Forum
As we have mentioned before, the Roman Forum was the center of Roman society and for that reason, the activities that we could see were different, but at the same time important.
The townspeople were going to do all kinds of business dealings, you could even see the shepherds take their sheep to the same center, people sold their crafts, such as pots or baskets, …. in religious temples offerings were made and the approval of the gods was sought so that they would not be punished and filled with wealth and health.
Also receptions were made to the war heroes after the hard battles of the Empire and for this reason it was the place to make the arches and columns, as well as the sculptures, which made references to their battles.
The history of the Roman Empire was glorious and lasting, one of its keys was undoubtedly the Roman Forum. Surely now that you know everything about it, you understand much better how they lived and why they became one of the most important civilizations known throughout history, not only in Europe, but throughout the world.