Writing systemLanguageAlthough in some remote areas of ancient Rome the Greek language had a strong accent as the main language, the population was predominantly Latin speaking. More specifically, Archaic Latin (also known as Ancient Latin) – the original version of Latin from which today's Modern and Classical editions branch off. Due to the conquest of many countries by the Ancient Roman Empire over its time, much of the present languages, such as English, French, and Italian, originate from archaic Latin. The Romans forced people from the new parts of the Empire to speak Latin and thus demonstrate their true "Romanness".Latin script (above)WritingOriginated from the first Etruscan alphabet, the ancient Roman alphabet, and indeed their characters, they are not too dissimilar to the Italian characters used today. By writing on animal skins and papyrus paper (an idea stolen from the ancient Egyptians), most people, even the poor, in ancient Rome learned to read and write early in their lives. While learning, however, students had to write on a wax tablet, imprinting letters on it with a pointed stick, called a stylus. Once they demonstrated to their teacher that they could write proficiently, they were allowed to write on paper, using pens and ink made from gum and soot or, occasionally, the ink of an octopus. In those days paper was very expensive, something only the rich could afford and, even then, only kids used it. The Ancient Roman Alphabet Cities and Great Structures The city-state of ancient Rome had numerous grand and advanced structures, many of which remain in their near-perfect splendor to this day. Some of their most famous... middle of the paper...could earn the same amount of money as a commoner. The army of ancient Rome consisted of approximately 150,000 soldiers at its peak. However, to make things easier, it was divided into "legions", which contained 4,000-6,000 soldiers each. Each legion was then divided into "cohorts" (about 1000 soldiers each), which were in turn divided into "centuries" (80-100 soldiers). The army of ancient Rome was extremely disciplined; this was probably one of the reasons why they were so successful in war. Another factor that helped, however, was tactics. The favorite strategy of the ancient Romans was to "besiege": surround the city and prevent anyone from entering or leaving until the inhabitants starved. They also used battering rams to destroy buildings and catapulted rotting animal carcasses into the city walls to help spread disease among the people. How horrible!