What was life like under the rule of the first roman emperor?

Answer 1

Life was very much Romanised or Romanized (depending on where you're from). The more vast the empire became the more Roman the world became. When a city or country was taken by Rome, the natives there had to learn to speak Latin. Retired Roman soldiers were given land in these areas and when they lived there began to create Roman pottery etc.. and hence then lands became Romanised. Even during excavations today, Roman pottery is unearthed all over Europe and in many cases, Africa. The Agricola by Tacitus focuses on the endeavours of General Agricola who took over and caused Romanisation in Britannia (England). This source is studied by classics students at university when researching Romanisation.

In Rome itself, there was a great strain on public finances as there were legions of soldiers all across the empire. All funding for this came from the administration in Rome. To cut costs the Emperor would use slaves as this was free labour. In doing this, the administration would cut lower and in some cases middle class people from their jobs. As a result lower class people had to be fed by the government as they could not afford to eat alone. Grain dole was provided for these types of cases which put more financial pressure on the empire.

There was also much war during these times as the Roman campaign was not looked favourably on by all other societies. Often 'barbarians' would mount attacks on Rome in the hope of bringing the empire down. For many people, the empire was a war zone.

All this considered, it then completely depended on your gender or class. If a town was sacked by Rome, slaves were brought back to the capital and sold to people with money. This was the lowest class of people. Slaves varied in price..if they could cook or sing they were more expensive than those who couldn't. Young boys were more expensive than young girls as it was considered that they could do more heavier work and also live for longer.

The lower class had very little and often begged in the streets. They were rarely educated.

The middle class could afford more and therefore had more education albeit not that much. It was usually only middle class men that were in any way educated. Education, especially 3rd level was very much reserved for the aristocratic.

The aristocrats owned villas and much land. Even aristocratic women were educated and could own land.

Prostitutes, depending on their age and beauty could do quite well for themselves. If they were young and beautiful, they may often be brought home by certain men and serve them alone. They would play a large part in that man's life for a few years until they got too old or lost their looks. They could also become quite wealthy in the process.

Life in Rome depended on many other factors but in general life was very different for different people back then.

Answer 2

Most of the Empire was secure and prosperous.