15 interesting curiosities about the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was one of the most important and famous empires in the history of the world. Below you will find a small list, with some of the curiosities about this magnificent empire.

1. Ancient Roman civilization began in the Italian Peninsula in the 8th century BC. In 753 BC the legendary king Romulus founded a powerful and rich city, which dominated Europe for centuries to come.
2. The life expectancy of ordinary people living in the Roman Empire was 35-40 years.
3. At its peak, the Roman Empire estimated that about 12% of the world’s population lived there.
4. The Romans were 721 years at war with the Parthian Empire. During this time, numerous battles were fought between the two empires.
5. Rich Romanians enjoyed exotic food: fried parrot, flamingo and stork meat would be some of them.
6. Paris was called Lutetia in Roman times, and London was called Londinium.
7. Emperor Gaius Caligula made his horse a senator, to mock the senators.
8. The Romans paid their soldiers salt. Hence the word salary.
9. Same-sex marriages were allowed during the Roman Empire. It is said that Emperor Nero was married to two men.
10. The Romans used urine to wash clothes.
11. In Spain there are two dams built by the Romanians, which are still functional today.
12. And in the Roman period there were malls. Trajan’s Square was a shopping center that housed about 150 shops.
13. Some research states that the population of ancient Rome was 6 times denser than that of New York today.
14. Roman women believed that gladiator sweating helped skin health.
15. More and more people claim that the Statue of Liberty in New York is, in fact, the Roman goddess Libertas.