Over time, some folded themselves into the Roman Empire, choosing to work with it. When people saw it coming, they had a stark choice to make: fight back, and risk losing everything, or give in and live to fight another day. The Roman military machine that took hold of those lands was legend: efficient, brutal, huge. Their territory stretched over 5 million square kilometers. But what was life like for women in the territories it conquered?Īt its height in 117 CE, Rome controlled everything from the misty fields of Britannia to the northern rim of Africa, then east through Egypt and north to Armenia. Those ladies lived at the center of Rome’s politics and aristocracy, very much a player at the heart of the game. On our journey through ancient Rome, we’ve walked mostly with imperial women, seeing the Republic, then the Empire, through their eyes.
