Commercial Illustration: Roman Research

Due to the connection to Roman culture, I feel that it would pay off producing a lot of research into the Romans, and their culture, and of course, the caraway seed.

I have been looking at some books in the library, and the two that I have chosen, contain a wealth of Roman imagery, including such subjects as architecture, armour, soldiers, weaponry, animal, farming etc.

An excellent resource book.

The book above is a very good reference source, containing a wealth of images and information to work from.
From this book, as well as such online sources as the British museum, I have gathered relevant Roman research, and created from it, a small brainstorming book, containing illustrative doodles, imagery, and text.

My brainstorm book contains such imagery and information touching on the colosseum, Roman animals, history, and the Roman occupation of Britain etc.

I have also produced some primary research, going to such places as segadunum, which is the ruins of a Roman fort, situated in Wallsend, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

For the blog, I will be splitting my research up into chunks, exploring categories such as culture, music, everyday life etc, in order to get a much better understanding about the Romans.

The first category will be below, and it will begin the bulk amount of research.

Overview

The Roman Empire existed around about the year of 350bc, and ended around 535ad.

The Romans were an advanced civilisation at the time, and are often referred to as the worlds first superpower.

They influenced the foundations of our culture today, with our modern day characterised alphabet, architecture, governing systems, laws, religion and language, which are very important aspects to an advanced culture.

At the peak of the empire, Roman control extended from northern England at it’s most northern point, to lower Aegyptus, (which is modern day Egypt today) at its southern point.

Spain was at its most eastern, and Syria at its far western, this was a very wide area.

The empire was incredibly massive, and was very powerful and influential.

During occupation, Forts, defences and similar structures were established across Europe and surrounding territories, for example with Hadrian’s wall in Northumberland, England, which was a large wall stretching from Wallsend in the east, to the shore of Solway Firth in the west (Cumbria).

This was constructed to separate England, (known as Britannia to the Romans, a Latin term) from the ‘barbaric’ civilisations above, in modern day Scotland.

Scotland was never included in the Roman Empire.

Over a period of time, the Roman civilisation collapsed, and the empire’s influences were left as remnants around Europe. This means such extensive structures as Hadrian’s wall still stands today.

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/hadrianswallL_tcm4-553745.jpg < image reference at this link.

The large Eastern portion of the Roman empire remained somewhat intact even after the fall of Rome, and is usually referred to as the Byzantine empire.

http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/46/64946-004-74E0E52E.gif < image reference at this link.

The Byzantine civilisation was the Greek speaking continuation of the Roman empire, which continued into the middle ages.

Culture

The romans had a very varied culture, as their territory, at its highest extent, stretched from England to Syria.

The Romans primarily spoke in latin, and the worldwide modern distribution of languages containing Latin script, can be found in the image below.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Latin_alphabet_world_distribution.svg/2000px-Latin_alphabet_world_distribution.svg.png < image reference at this link.

There is a cultural legend that I wish to discuss, as it is one of the best known tales in Roman history.

It is about the legend of Romulus and Remus.

http://www.mainlesson.com/books/haaren/rome/zpage013.gif < image reference at attics link.

In Roman mythology, Romulus and his twin bother Remus were children of Rhea Silvia and Mars, and they are best known for being the founders of Rome.

...

On the subject of animals, I will talk about the colosseum, as it is a big example of Roman culture.

The colosseum stands as a monument in Rome, a symbol of an empire that was once the most powerful of its time.

The colosseum is a large part of Roman culture, and behind its walls, has resulted in the death of countless animals, and humans.

http://famouswonders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Juan-Lunas-rendition-of-Spoliarium.jpg < image reference at this link.

It was the place where large crowds came to watch bloody battles, often involving the use of wild animals, but sometimes human pitted against human.

http://www.ancient.eu/uploads/images/1278.jpg < image reference at this link.

The ancient mosaic above shows a depiction of battles in the Colosseum, and those involved in the fights were usually deemed criminals, or professional fighters known as gladiators.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gladiator_copy_7585.jpg < image reference at this link.

Today the structure stands as a ruin, as over the centuries, natural events such as earthquakes and storms, have had a large effect on the structure.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02448/colosseum_2448253k.jpg < image reference at this link.

The structure was ordered to be built by Nero, in a period of extravagance, but after he committed sicide due to internal civil wars. The next emporer, Vespasian, decided to boost morale of citizens, by building an amphitheatre, (or pleasure palace for the people). The building was capable of holding 50,000 spectators, at its height.

The colosseum wasn't the only amphitheatre in the Roman empire, but to this day is one of the most defining.

Food & Drink

The Romans are stereotypically known for being lovers of wine, however the Romans also drink beer, as well as other alcoholic beverages.

A lot of farmland in the Roman empire was used exclusively for the production of wine, using wineries.

http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/d30-30/artesa-winery-views-1.jpg < image reference at this link.

They tended to view beer as a very 'barbaric' drink, as this was known as a celtic drink, according to the site listed below.

http://www.therthdimension.org/AncientRome/RomanFoodDrink/romanfooddrink.htm < image reference at this link.

They also had a very wide variety of dishes embed in their culture.

http://www.therthdimension.org/AncientRome/RomanFoodDrink/romanfooddrink.htm < Image reference at this link.

Religion

Religion was a key influence in ancient roman artwork. This artwork spanned across multiple themes and styles, ranging from figures, to carvings, paintings, statues and more. Early romans had believed that godly beings where all around them, and that they could become friendly toward them if they did such activities such as praying, and giving offerings, even such things as participating in animal sacrificing rituals. Some of the gods that the Romans worshipped included Venus, Jupiter, Vesta, Mercury, Janus, Mars and Vulcan. Some of these names are more well known today, due to the names of many of the planets and celestial bodies in the universe. Many temples were built in rome for the purpose of worshipping. When Rome turned into an empire, their emperors, (leaders), were thought of as gods as well.

There exists a well known piece of artwork developed at a later period (1486), which displays the Roman goddess Venus, standing inside of a shell. Venus is notably surrounded by a veil type of clothing, and you can see it wafting in the breeze.

http://www.artwallpaper.me/wallpaper/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/14/541/Venus-The-Birth-Of-Botticelli-Wallpaper-Art.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/images/roman_religion_marcusaurelius.jpg < image reference at this link.

Because the romans had such a vast empire in their later stages, controlling some areas of Africa and northern Europe, the civilisations under their command consisted of a wide range of cultures. For example the Romans came across the gods of Isis and Serapis in Egypt, and although the Romans accepted other cultures differences in terms of religions, by accepting the new gods and goddesses into their own religion, certain practises and faiths were outlawed. Such religions that were outlawed, included the Jewish faith, and Christians at first, however later, Christianity became the official religion of the empire and state in 132ad.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/StJohnsAshfield_StainedGlass_GoodShepherd_Face.jpg < image reference at this link.

Roman Occupation of Britain

The existence of the English Channel formed one of the best natural defences, and Britain had been an interest to the romans for many years before the permanent occupation.

Caesar ordered brief expeditions to the isles in both 55, and 54bc, with the second expedition clashing with some early Britons.

The large scale invasion of Britain involved the use of over 40,000 troops, which landed in Richborough, which allowed them to advance up the themes.

The overpowering, and highly advanced Roman force soon advanced to Wales, moving upward toward Northumberland.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Roman.Britain.campaigns.43.to.60.jpg < image reference at this link.

There were many attempts to conquer Scotland, however the barbaric forces were too difficult to engage, which resulted in the large scale structure to separate the two nations, known commonly as Hadrian's Wall.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Milecastle_39_on_Hadrian's_Wall.jpg < image reference at this link.

Roman inventions

The Romans are well known for being the civilisation that developed such things as the road system,

the sewerage system, underfloor heating, concrete, Viaducts, and the modern day interpretation of the Julian calendar, as well as many other things.

Even the font 'Times new Roman', resembles the font used on buildings, and in scriptures.

(Images in respective order).

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/schools/primaryhistory/images/romans/roads_and_places/r_roman_road.jpg < image reference at this link.

The Roman network of roads was an impressive size, crossing the country from North to South, and all the way from Northumberland, to Eastern Syria, containing a road span of approximately 53,000 miles.

http://richardbennett.info/images/edinburgh/vindolanda_hyper2.jpg < image reference at this link.

https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/415/flashcards/193415/jpg/opus_incertum1319422150159.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Thornton_viaduct_bradford.jpg < image reference at this link.

http://www.sdakodeso.org/images/Roman%20Calendar.gif < image reference at this link.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Times_New_Roman-sample.svg/2000px-Times_New_Roman-sample.svg.png < image reference at this link.

To help aid my research into the Roman history, and culture, I decided to take a trip to a local Roman fort, known as Segadunum.

The fort is based in Wallsend, which is very close to Newcastle, and it features the remains of a Roman fort, and has a museum, and a bathhouse, as well as a lot of different Roman artifacts, which highlights their culture.