Analyze the Roman Empire under the Pax Romana (27 BCE - 180 CE) — including daily life across classes, Roman religion (polytheism + emperor cult + later spread of Christianity), Roman engineering (roads, aqueducts, concrete), AND Roman chattel slavery honestly per Walter Scheidel: ~30-40% of Italian population enslaved at the Pax Romana peak — the largest slave society of ancient Mediterranean
Exercise
Difficulty 2
~4 min
hist.g6.f.ex_38
Short Response
Prompt
Name 3 Roman engineering achievements still relevant today.
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
rubric scored writing
rubric
3 stars: 3 named — Roman roads (~400,000 km, many still drivable) + Roman concrete (Pantheon dome 125 CE still standing) + aqueducts (Pont du Gard) + sewers (Cloaca Maxima) — any 3 substantively named. 2 stars: 2 named. 1 star: 1. 0: 0.
Hints
- Roman concrete + Roman roads + aqueducts.
- All still operative today in modified form.
Misconceptions to watch
- Forgetting Roman engineering durability
- Treating Roman engineering as 'just decoration'
Used in lessons