<h3 id="1-the-romans-lived-in-an-independent-state-for-more-than-2200-years-e17323b0"><strong>1.</strong><strong> The Romans lived in an independent state for more than 2,200 years</strong></h3><p>According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753 BC, shortly after the beginning of the Italian Iron Age. Its inhabitants were Latin-speaking pagans who lived along the river Tiber in what is now central Italy. The empire of Trebizond, the last independent Roman kingdom descended from that state, was captured in 1461 by an Ottoman army equipped with gunpowder weapons. The people living in Trebizond also called themselves ‘Roman’, but they were Christians who lived in a city on the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey and spoke a language they called <em>Romeika</em> (which translates as ‘Roman’, but which we now call Greek).</p><h3 id="2-the-roman-empire-once-included-all-or-part-of-nearly-50-countries-751896d9"><strong>2.</strong><strong> The Roman empire once included all, or part of, nearly 50 countries</strong></h3><p>At the empire’s greatest extent in AD 117, Roman territory stretched from what is now the Atlantic coast of Portugal to the Persian Gulf beaches in Kuwait, from southern Egypt near the current Sudanese border to northern England, and from just south of Casablanca in Morocco to the Caspian Sea shores of Azerbaijan. The land area of the Roman empire was smaller than Australia, but if one included the territorial waters controlled by Rome (as is customary with modern states) the empire would rank as the fifth-largest country on earth if it existed today.</p><h3 id="3-as-much-as-one-third-of-the-worlds-population-lived-under-roman-control-1ea9f634"><strong>3.</strong><strong> As much as one-third of the world’s population lived under Roman control</strong></h3><p>Late during the reign of the emperor Trajan (ruled AD 98–117), it is thought that the Roman empire reached a population of 80 million, out of a total world population of around 230 million. In modern terms, Rome’s share of the world population at that moment would be nearly equivalent to a country with the combined populations of India and China.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/2GettyImages-1369193411-fa1bfb0-e1764241964618.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A yellow, blue and red map showing the Roman empire" title="The Roman empire reached its maximum territorial extent in the early second century AD, during the reign of the emperor Trajan. The empire would rank as the fifth-largest country in the world if it existed today (Image by Getty Images)" />
<h3 id="4-rome-was-the-first-city-in-the-world-with-a-million-residents-f714f596"><strong>4.</strong><strong> Rome was the first city in the world with a million residents</strong></h3><p>Rome reached a population of 1 million during the first century BC, and aside from temporary population decreases caused by plagues or natural disasters, did not fall below that level until the end of the fourth century AD. This is even more remarkable considering that poor sanitation and crowded conditions meant that the city lost as much as 3 per cent of its population each year to disease – a number far greater than the birthrate. Rome’s massive population was sustained through large-scale migration from other parts of the empire, nearly every year, for five centuries.</p><h3 id="5-hadrians-wall-was-not-the-longest-roman-wall-and-nor-was-it-the-most-northern-48053991"><strong>5.</strong><strong> Hadrian’s Wall was NOT the longest Roman wall – and nor was it the most northern</strong></h3><p>Almost everyone has heard of <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/hadrians-wall-romans-facts-archaeology-tourism-game-of-thrones-jon-snow-watcher-english-heritage/">Hadrian’s Wall</a>, the defensive structure that once stretched 73 miles across what is now northern England. However, an even longer fortification built under Hadrian and his successor, Antoninus Pius, extended nearly 190 miles across southern Germany. It began roughly where the Rhine turns west at Mainz, and extended to meet the Danube near Regensburg.</p><p>Antoninus Pius also ordered the construction of the empire’s northernmost wall – the eponymous Antonine Wall – which stretched 39 miles across what is now Scotland, from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/3GettyImages-639158628-7d65967-e1764242013260.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A modern illustration depicting Hadrian’s Wall as it may have appeared during the second century AD. The 73-mile-long fortification stretched from what is now Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria to Wallsend in Tyne and Wear (Image by Getty Images)" title="A modern illustration depicting Hadrian’s Wall as it may have appeared during the second century AD. The 73-mile-long fortification stretched from what is now Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria to Wallsend in Tyne and Wear (Image by Getty Images)" />
<h3 id="6-the-romans-produced-more-than-25-million-coins-each-year-04557b98"><strong>6.</strong><strong> The Romans produced more than 25 million coins each year</strong></h3><p>Following a reform instituted by joint emperors Diocletian and Maximian in AD 294, the Romans established a network of 15 mints across the empire – all the way from Londinium (London) to the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Although production slowed around 100 years later, no state in the world would again match Rome’s numismatic productivity until the 19th century.</p><ul><li><strong>Read more | <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/era-medical-practices/">How the Romans "reversed circumcision" and 5 other shocking medical realities from the ancient empire</a></strong></li></ul><h3 id="7-romes-eighth-hill-is-a-load-of-old-rubbish-literally-a96bc392"><strong>7.</strong><strong> Rome’s ‘eighth hill’ is a load of old rubbish… literally</strong></h3><p>The Testaccio region of Rome is now famous for its nightlife, but it takes its name from Monte Testaccio, an artificial hill that is 35 metres tall and created from the remains of ceramic shipping containers offloaded from barges along the Tiber. Most of the pottery has been dated to the period between AD 140 and 250, though the base of the hill may be much older.</p><p>Despite its unusual provenance, Monte Testaccio is sometimes described as Rome’s ‘eighth hill’, in addition to the seven other hills within the city walls: the Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal hills.</p><h3 id="watch-dr-david-musgrove-finds-out-what-the-romans-really-got-up-to-on-the-loo-aa96e319">WATCH | Dr David Musgrove finds out what the Romans really got up to on the loo</h3>
<a href="https://www.historyextra.com/membership/think-you-know-everything-about-ancient-rome-these-25-facts-will-prove-otherwise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Green Video on the source website</a>
<h3 id="8-the-pantheon-is-the-oldest-intact-continually-used-building-in-the-world-24ceaa5b"><strong>8.</strong><strong> The Pantheon is the oldest intact, continually used building in the world</strong></h3><p>Originally created in the style of a conventional Roman temple in the first century BC, the Pantheon was rebuilt under the direction of the emperor Hadrian in the AD 120s. The ground level was originally much lower than it is today, and when one approached the structure from the front, it appeared to be a normal temple because the structure’s 43-metre-wide dome was obscured by its triangular pediment (gable).</p><p>Nearly two millennia later, the Pantheon’s dome remains the largest of its kind in the world – its survival no doubt linked to the decision to convert the building into a Christian church in AD 609.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/4GettyImages-1211436528-b8e4a0d-e1764242052537.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="An aerial photograph of the Pantheon in Rome. It has a large dome roof with a hole in the top and is surrounded by several other red roofed buildings" title="Despite being nearly 2,000 years old, the Pantheon boasts the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world (Image by Getty Images)" />
<h3 id="9-there-was-once-a-giant-city-plan-carved-on-marble-blocks-that-showed-every-street-and-building-in-rome-4cf9303b"><strong>9.</strong><strong> There was once a giant city plan, carved on marble blocks, that showed every street and building in Rome</strong></h3><p>Between AD 203 and 211, the emperor Septimius Severus ordered the creation of a 234-metre-square map of the city of Rome that included accurate renderings of the ground-floor architectural plans for every building in the city. Carved on marble blocks, the map was hung on a wall of the Temple of Peace, which now forms the northern exterior of the Basilica of St Cosmas and Damian.</p><p>As of 2025, more than a thousand fragments of the Severan Marble Plan have been discovered since the Renaissance, representing around 10 per cent of the original map. Because many of these include the name of the building they represent, it has been extremely useful for archaeologists looking to identify newly discovered architectural remains. Today, the fragments are on display in the new Museo della Forma Urbis on Rome’s Caelian Hill.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/5GettyImages-1925908763-d918fdc-e1764242087895.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A photograph of large white stone fragments with inscriptions on them" title="More than a thousand fragments of the Forma Urbis Romae (‘The Shape of the City of Rome’) have been discovered, giving researchers a remarkable window into early third-century AD Rome (Image by Getty Images)" />
<h3 id="10-rome-is-still-surrounded-by-its-ancient-walls-7f6537b4"><strong>10.</strong><strong> Rome is still surrounded by its ancient walls</strong></h3><p>The Aurelian Walls that surround the city of Rome were built in the AD 270s, but they continued to be used by the city’s defenders until the late 19th century. The breaching of the walls by the army of the Kingdom of Italy in September of 1870 represented the final step in Italian unification.</p><h3 id="11-you-can-find-an-ancient-wall-in-mcdonalds-bdbdb30d"><strong>11.</strong><strong> You can find an ancient wall in McDonald’s</strong></h3><p>The Servian Walls of the fourth century BC may be less famous than the Aurelian Walls, but they have much more character. Stretching around 12 miles, multiple fragments of the walls still speckle the modern city of Rome. The largest fragment can be found next to Termini Station, but the most memorable remains are now found in the McDonald’s restaurant on the train station’s lower level.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/6Termini-McDonalds5-c5a8b6d-e1764242135272.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A photograph of a McDonald’s ordering screen and behind it there is a large, old brick wall" title="Burger, fries… and a fourth-century BC wall? Visitors to the Roma Termini station branch of McDonald’s can marvel at a feat of ancient engineering while they get their fast food fix (Image by Edward J Watts)" />
<h3 id="12-romes-walls-were-formidable-but-constantinoples-were-much-more-difficult-to-breach-6144b73d"><strong>12.</strong><strong> Rome’s walls were formidable… but Constantinople’s were MUCH more difficult to breach</strong></h3><p>Rome has been captured numerous times since the Aurelian Walls were built, but the city of Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) – which became the Roman empire’s eastern capital in AD 330 – has fallen to invaders on just three occasions. The city remained under Roman control for nearly 900 years until its walls were breached by the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, before being recaptured by the Romans in 1261. It then fell to the Ottomans in 1453, but has not been seized since.</p><h3 id="13-the-roman-empire-was-home-to-one-of-the-most-fought-over-cities-in-the-world-5e8f3154"><strong>13.</strong><strong> The Roman empire was home to one of the most fought-over cities in the world</strong></h3><p>Although only 134 miles from Constantinople, Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey) has been the site of at least 15 different battles and sieges. The last two occurred in 1913 when Bulgaria captured the city from the Ottoman empire before losing it again later that year.</p><h3 id="14-the-colosseum-was-the-largest-but-not-the-only-amphitheatre-5a1b9cd8"><strong>14.</strong><strong> The Colosseum was the largest (but not the only) amphitheatre</strong></h3><p>Rome’s Flavian Amphitheatre, or Colosseum, was once capable of seating 50,000 people, making it almost 30 per cent larger than the empire’s next-largest arena in Capua. But the Colosseum was unique because of its remarkable size, <em>not</em> because amphitheatres were rare. In fact, the remains of more than 230 amphitheatres have been found in former Roman cities, stretching all the way from Britain to Israel. One such example in Cahors, France, was discovered during the construction of a car park that is now aptly named the Parking Amphithéâtre. Another, found in suburban Paris, now serves as the courtyard for a high school.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/GettyImages-1451938726-d5b4185-e1764246957408.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A computer generated image of the Colosseum, a large circular building with several arches" title="A computer-generated image depicting the Colosseum during its ancient heyday. The amphitheatre is now a World Heritage Site and a symbol of both modern Italy and ancient Rome (Image by Getty Images)" />
<h3 id="15-arenas-werent-just-for-gladiator-fights-61f957c0"><strong>15.</strong><strong> Arenas weren’t just for gladiator fights</strong></h3><p>Thanks in part to the 2000 movie <em>Gladiator</em> and its recent sequel, Roman amphitheatres are now commonly associated with clashes between sandal-wearing warriors. However, gladiator battles weren’t the only events to take place in these ancient arenas. In fact, spectators were as interested in events that displayed exotic wild animals like rhinos, lions and ‘camel-leopards’ (giraffes). The largest games on record – the 100 days of spectacles marking the opening of the Colosseum in AD 81 – saw upwards of 9,000 animals killed.</p><ul><li><strong>Read more | <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/gladiator-ii-real-history-true-story/">Sharks in the arena? Gladiator II’s real history and historical accuracy explained</a></strong></li></ul><h3 id="16-commodus-was-a-much-better-fighter-than-hollywood-would-have-us-believe-4c20f85c"><strong>16.</strong><strong> Commodus was a much better fighter than Hollywood would have us believe</strong></h3><p>In comparison to Maximus (Russell Crowe), <em>Gladiator</em>’s main antagonist, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), is depicted as an unremarkable fighter – but this is a distortion of the truth. Following a failed assassination plot orchestrated by his sister Lucilla, the real-life Commodus sent for instructors from around the world to teach him how to shoot arrows, throw javelins, and excel in hand-to-hand combat. As his skills increased, Commodus wanted to show his subjects what he could do. In one memorable display in the Colosseum, the senator Cassius Dio witnessed the emperor “dispatching, with his own hands, five hippos and two elephants in two days. He also killed rhinos and a camel-leopard”.</p><p>Another time, Commodus arranged for “a hundred lions to appear in one group” and then “killed the entire hundred with exactly one hundred javelins” so that “no one saw a single extra javelin.” While Dio did not approve of these displays, even Commodus’s worst critics could not deny his talent.</p><h3 id="watch-historian-alison-futrell-discusses-the-real-history-behind-gladiator-ii-fcd3977f">WATCH | Historian Alison Futrell discusses the real history behind <em>Gladiator II</em></h3>
<a href="https://www.historyextra.com/membership/think-you-know-everything-about-ancient-rome-these-25-facts-will-prove-otherwise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Green Video on the source website</a>
<h3 id="17-chariot-racing-was-hugely-popular-e232a56e"><strong>17.</strong><strong> Chariot racing was HUGELY popular</strong></h3><p>The <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/circus-maximus-facts/">Circus Maximus</a> in Rome, the main site for chariot races, adjoined the imperial palace and had seating for at least 150,000 people. On competition days, 800 horses could race in as many as 24 different contests. The last races held in the Circus Maximus took place in AD 549, but racing continued at Constantinople’s 100,000-seater Hippodrome into the 13th century.</p><h3 id="18-chariot-racing-was-the-football-of-its-day-ffad8af7"><strong>18.</strong><strong> Chariot racing was the football of its day</strong></h3><p>Rome originally had four charioteer teams: the Reds, Whites, Greens and Blues. The Reds and Whites were the most historic, but they were surpassed in prominence by the Greens and Blues during the first century AD. The teams had franchises that competed in major cities across the empire and even boasted organised groups of supporters (akin to modern football ultras) prone to riotous behaviour.</p><p>Star drivers, who could often change teams during their careers, frequently earned enormous amounts of money. The tombstone of Gaius Appuleius Diocles, one of the greatest charioteers of the second century AD, mentions that he won 1,462 races and earned 35,863,120 sesterces in prizes across a 24-year career spent racing for the Reds, Whites and Greens. Although he is believed to have died at the age of 42 and would have kept only a portion of his winnings, his career earnings exceeded the fortunes of most Roman senators.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/GettyImages-520726031-6041b74-e1764247102231.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A chariot race in the Circus Maximus depicted by 19th-century painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. Star drivers could earn huge sums of money (Image by Getty Images)" title="A chariot race in the Circus Maximus depicted by 19th-century painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. Star drivers could earn huge sums of money (Image by Getty Images)" />
<h3 id="19-rome-became-the-first-large-empire-to-enact-universal-citizenship-b9342817"><strong>19.</strong><strong> Rome became the first large empire to enact universal citizenship</strong></h3><p>In AD 212, the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus – better known by his nickname, Caracalla – issued a law making all free people in the empire Roman citizens. The new citizens had to legally change their names to honour their new benefactor, flooding the Roman bureaucracy with tens of millions of people now bearing the name ‘Aurelius’.</p><p>The reason for Caracalla’s generosity? He wanted everyone in the empire to celebrate the murder of Geta, Caracalla’s brother and co-emperor who was killed in his mother’s arms.</p><h3 id="20-roman-trade-across-the-indian-ocean-was-hugely-lucrative-b0da9443"><strong>20.</strong><strong> Roman trade across the Indian Ocean was hugely lucrative</strong></h3><p>When we think of ancient trade, the <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/silk-road-trade-route-length-history/">Silk Road</a> – the sprawling network of trade routes stretching some 4,000 miles between China and the Mediterranean – often springs to mind. Yet, it wasn’t the only source of wealth for the Romans. Merchants also travelled across the Indian Ocean to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, carrying gold coins and bringing back spices and exotic animals.</p><p>At times, the demand for Roman coins in India and Sri Lanka so exceeded the supply that Indian mints struck their own coins featuring the portraits of Roman imperial figures and legends written in Latin.</p><h3 id="21-the-romans-developed-a-sophisticated-financial-system-538f8008"><strong>21.</strong><strong> The Romans developed a sophisticated financial system</strong></h3><p>From the second century BC, Roman bankers managed investment accounts that their clients could use for depositing money and making transfers. The system was so sophisticated that emperor Trajan used subsidised government loans to fund social welfare programmes in the second century AD.</p><h3 id="22-the-romans-invented-some-truly-terrifying-military-technology-063acbcb"><strong>22.</strong><strong> The Romans invented some truly terrifying military technology</strong></h3><p>The Romans developed a napalm-like substance commonly known as ‘Greek fire’ which was placed in hand grenades or sprayed from hoses equipped with special nozzles – usually against enemy naval forces. When the substance ignited, it even burned on water.</p><p>The technology was first deployed in AD 672 and was used for more than 500 years against the navies of the Bulgars, Rus’ and Arabs. The empire lost the ability to manufacture Greek fire just before AD 1200, although no one really knows why.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/9Greekfire-madridskylitzes1-760acd4-e1764242423636.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="An illustration of two boats with men in them. The boat on the left are blowing fire over the one of the right" title="A 12th-century AD depiction of Greek fire being used against the rebel Thomas the Slav in AD 821. The exact composition of this devastating incendiary substance has been lost" />
<h3 id="23-the-longest-serving-roman-emperor-was-actually-pretty-unremarkable-ff64f88f"><strong>23.</strong><strong> The longest-serving Roman emperor was actually pretty unremarkable</strong></h3><p>He ruled for 66 years between AD 962–1028, but Constantine VIII’s passions for fine food and horses meant that he took little interest in state affairs until the last three years of his life. He instead trusted his older brother and co-emperor – the much more famous and capable emperor Basil II – to govern the empire for most of their lives. Coincidentally, Basil’s term in office (AD 960–1025), is the second-longest in Roman history.</p><ul><li><strong>Read more | <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/ancient-rome-empire-gladiatorial-arena-24-hours/">Step inside the ancient Roman empire’s gladiatorial arenas, and witness 24 hours of shocking violence</a></strong></li></ul><h3 id="24-two-emperors-share-the-record-for-the-shortest-reign-6edb5b44"><strong>24.</strong><strong> TWO emperors share the record for the shortest reign</strong></h3><p>Father-and-son duo Gordian I and Gordian II ruled for a mere 22 days in AD 238. The Gordians, who were governing a province in north Africa without an army stationed there, foolishly rebelled against Maximinus Thrax – one of four other men who also claimed to be emperor that year. Although the Gordians received senatorial support in Rome, they were quickly dispatched by a general loyal to Maximinus.</p><p>As for the second-shortest reign, the emperor Nepotian barely outlasted the two Gordians by holding Rome for 28 days in June of AD 350.</p>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/10Gordian-II-238-ADEdward-Watts–Author-1d53219-e1764242478419.jpeg" width="850" height="413" alt="Coins issued by the emperor Gordian II, who – along with his father, Gordian I – ruled for just 22 days in AD 238 (Image by Edward J Watts)" title="Coins issued by the emperor Gordian II, who – along with his father, Gordian I – ruled for just 22 days in AD 238 (Image by Edward J Watts)" />
<h3 id="25-it-took-a-very-long-time-for-the-romans-to-adopt-christianity-e13c60fd"><strong>25.</strong><strong> It took a VERY long time for the Romans to adopt Christianity </strong></h3><p>When Constantine I famously converted to Christianity in AD 312, the territory he ruled was only around 10 per cent Christian. In fact, the Roman empire did not become a Christian-majority state until the AD 390s, and some pagan-majority communities lasted long enough that they negotiated the surrender of their cities to Muslim generals in the AD 630s. The Syrian city of Harran (now part of modern Turkey) even maintained temples dedicated to its moon god into the 11th century AD.</p><p><strong>Edward J Watts</strong> is Alkiviadis Vassiliadis Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of the <em>The Romans: A 2,000-Year History </em>(John Murray Press/Basic Books, 2025)</p>
