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World History 1

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Gladiatorial combat was an important element of Roman culture and a prominent part of public entertainments. Matches originated in central Italy in the third century BCE and were originally part of funeral games, spectacles that honored the deceased. The first games in the city of Rome occurred in 264 BCE, with three pairs of <OpenstaxTerm>gladiators</OpenstaxTerm> fighting. In the centuries that followed, the number of games increased until, under the emperors, they included hundreds of gladiators.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Gladiators came from a variety of backgrounds, and though some were volunteers, enslaved people forced into the role formed a substantial number. A team of gladiators was called a <OpenstaxEm>familia</OpenstaxEm> and was trained in a gladiatorial school by a <OpenstaxTerm><OpenstaxEm>lanista</OpenstaxEm></OpenstaxTerm>, the manager of the group. The <OpenstaxEm>lanista</OpenstaxEm> and other trainers assessed new recruits and picked the weapons they would use in combat. Daily training was strenuous, but gladiators were expected to fight only a handful of times over a year.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Matches usually consisted of differently armed gladiators fighting one another. In one common type of match, gladiators armed with swords fought a <OpenstaxEm>retiarius</OpenstaxEm>, who was armed with a net and a trident (<a href="#fig-00002">Figure 7.8</a>). Gladiators did not usually fight to the death, but the crowd played a major role in the fights, often encouraging gladiators to kill their wounded opponents. The emperor, if in attendance, could also influence the outcome by giving a “thumb up” or “thumb down,” meaning allow the opponent to live or die, respectively. The most talented and successful gladiators could acquire a devoted following of fans as well as earn money for fighting.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00002" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/0ed02489e7ae8001db360cb9fb3acd00c8e6a1ed" alt="An image of a square mosaic is shown. The perimeter is alternating black and white squares and the inside shows two rectangular scenes. The scene at the top shows four figures. Words are printed across the top and the background is pale brown and white with the ground a darker shade of brown. The figure on the left stands with a thin brown spear holding his right hand up. He wears a white robe with colorful trim and has brown hair. The figure to the right is covered in a highly colorful cloak and one white, thick boot. His other foot is bare and his face is covered by a blue mask. He holds a sword in his right hand. The next figure to the right is on the ground wearing a waistcloth baring his shoulders. He has brown short hair and holds a short blue sword in his right hand. Pools of red surround him. Behind him stands a man in a white robe with black trim holding up his right arm. The scene below has a similar background with words across the top and a trident above the words. The cloaked figure from the top is shown at the left here in the same position and same clothing. The figure from the floor above is shown standing here aiming a spear at the cloaked figure. A gold shield shows behind his head. The man in a long white cloak from above is shown here standing in the right corner holding a long brown spear." mediaType="image/jpg" width="900" height="903" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="900">
	<strong>Figure 7.8</strong> This third-century CE mosaic tells the story of a gladiatorial match in ancient Rome. The fight begins in the bottom panel with the retiarius Kaliendio throwing his net over Astyanax and thrusting his trident at him, but in the upper panel Kaliendio has been wounded, his trident has missed, and he is surrendering by raising his knife. The caption “Astyanax vicit” at the top indicates that Astyanax has won, while “Kaliendio Ø” tells us that Kaliendio was killed. The two toga-clad figures are lanistae (plural of lanista). (credit: “Astyanax vs Kalendio mosaic” by James Grout/Encyclopaedia Romana/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
</OpenstaxFigureText>
<OpenstaxNote>
	<OpenstaxNoteTitle> Link to Learning </OpenstaxNoteTitle> 
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		Explore a newly discovered <a href="https://openstax.org/l/77Gladiator">gladiatorial training camp</a> in Austria.
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
</OpenstaxNote>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	There is also evidence that both senators and women participated in gladiatorial combat, possibly to ceremonially reenact scenes from myth. A law enacted by the emperor <OpenstaxTerm>Tiberius</OpenstaxTerm> in 19 CE declared that no senator or person of equestrian rank could take part in the fighting, suggesting that their participation had been an ongoing issue. That women took part is clear in a stone relief from the first or second century CE, showing two female gladiators fighting (<a href="#fig-00003">Figure 7.9</a>).
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00003" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/ac4d5a6dd97665f5a829f5d19aa8ffc4852fd1af" alt="A carving on a gray stone is shown on a black background. The image is worn and lacking details. Two figures face each other with curved rectangular shields at their fronts and weapons in their hands. No facial features are shown. The letters “AnEAYOHEA” are carved above and the letters “AMAZONAXANA” are carved below the figures." mediaType="image/jpg" width="900" height="768" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="900">
	<strong>Figure 7.9</strong> The two women gladiators facing off in this stone relief from the first or second century CE are identified below as “Amazon” on the left and “Achillea” (a version of the name Achilles) on the right. Stage names like these were often adopted for the reenactment of mythological scenes in the arena. (credit: “Two female gladiators, named as Amazonia and Achillea” by “Xastic”/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
</OpenstaxFigureText>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The <OpenstaxTerm>Colosseum</OpenstaxTerm> was a massive structure in the middle of the city of <OpenstaxTerm>Rome</OpenstaxTerm> that was the site of many public entertainments, including gladiatorial matches. Built between 69 and 79 CE, it was named the <OpenstaxTerm>Flavian Amphitheater</OpenstaxTerm>, after the ruling dynasty at that time. It was also known as the Colosseum because a colossal statue of the emperor Nero stood nearby. (Well over one hundred feet tall, the statue was later rededicated to the Roman sun god Sol.) The amphitheater was officially dedicated in 80 CE by the emperor Titus in a ceremony that included one hundred days of games. Its design featured a rising arrangement of columns in different styles and a complicated network of barrel vaults. Up to fifty thousand spectators could be seated within the structure, and spectacles included gladiator matches, mock naval battles, and animal hunts. The impressive displays of showmanship were intended to be entertainment, but they also served an important political function. As part of a policy mockingly called “bread and circuses,” these epic games (and the distribution of free wheat) were meant to distract the people from potential weaknesses in Roman governance. The idea was that those whose immediate needs were being met with food and entertainment were less likely to notice social inequality, become discontented, or foment rebellion. The games were also a way to bolster popular enthusiasm for the sitting emperor, who usually attended regularly.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxNote>
	<OpenstaxNoteTitle> Link to Learning </OpenstaxNoteTitle> 
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		Explore a <a href="https://openstax.org/l/77Colosseum">virtual reality reconstruction of the Colosseum</a>, the site of public spectacles in Rome, including gladiatorial matches. This video gives a sense of the Colosseum’s scale and what Romans may have seen when they entered the structure as gladiators or as spectators.
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
</OpenstaxNote>

7.2.3 Gladiators

1 Understanding the Past

1.1 Developing a Global Perspective

1.1.1 World History as Preparation for Life after College

1.1.2 World History and Global Citizenship

1.1.3 Features of This Textbook

1.2 Primary Sources

1.2.1 Learning to Evaluate Documents and Images

1.2.2 Documentary Sources: Competing Narratives

1.2.3 Textual Sources: The Importance of Language

1.2.4 Hidden in History

1.3 Causation and Interpretation in History

1.3.1 Levels of Causation

1.3.2 Interpretation in History

2 Early Humans

2.1 Early Human Evolution and Migration

2.1.1 Human Evolution

2.1.2 Why Did Humans Move and Where Did They Go?

2.1.3 Early Human Technologies

2.2 People in the Paleolithic Age

2.2.1 Ice, Ice, and More Ice

2.2.2 Life in the Paleolithic Age

2.2.3 Diverse Paleolithic Peoples

2.3 The Neolithic Revolution

2.3.1 The Development of Agriculture

2.3.2 How Farming Changed the Human Experience

2.3.3 Neolithic Peoples

3 Early Civilizations and Urban Societies

3.1 Early Civilizations

3.1.1 Attributes of Early Civilizations

3.1.2 The First Urban Societies

3.2 Ancient Mesopotamia

3.2.1 The Rise and Eclipse of Sumer

3.2.2 The Rise of the World’s First Empire

3.2.3 Later Empires in Mesopotamia

3.2.4 Society and Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia

3.3 Ancient Egypt

3.3.1 The Origins of Ancient Egypt

3.3.2 The Age of Pyramid Building

3.3.3 A Second Age of Egyptian Greatness

3.4 The Indus Valley Civilization

3.4.1 The Origins of the Indus Valley Civilization

3.4.2 Trade, Writing, and Religion

3.4.3 The Era of Decline

4 The Near East

4.1 From Old Babylon to the Medes

4.1.1 Power Politics in the Near East

4.1.2 Foreign Affairs and Trade

4.1.3 Daily Life and the Family in the Near East

4.2 Egypt’s New Kingdom

4.2.1 The Hyksos in Egypt

4.2.2 The Pharaohs of the New Kingdom

4.2.3 Egypt’s Foreign Policy

4.3 The Persian Empire

4.3.1 The Rise of Persia

4.3.2 Darius I and the Reorganization of the Empire

4.3.3 Persian Culture and Daily Life

4.4 The Hebrews

4.4.1 The History of the Hebrews

4.4.2 The Culture of the Hebrews

5 Asia in Ancient Times

5.1 Ancient China

5.1.1 Prehistoric China

5.1.2 Early Dynastic China

5.1.3 The Zhou Dynasty

5.1.4 The Warring States Era and Qin Unification

5.2 The Steppes

5.2.1 The Nomadic Culture of the Steppes

5.2.2 Tribes, Confederations, and Settled Neighbors

5.3 Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

5.3.1 Ancient Korea

5.3.2 Ancient Japan

5.4 Vedic India to the Fall of the Maurya Empire

5.4.1 Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

5.4.2 The Aryans and Brahmanism

5.4.3 Buddhism

5.4.4 The Mauryan Empire

5.4.5 The Gupta Dynasty

6 Mediterranean Peoples

6.1 Early Mediterranean Peoples

6.1.1 The Late Bronze Age World

6.1.2 Phoenicians, Greeks, and Etruscans

6.2 Ancient Greece

6.2.1 Archaic Greece

6.2.2 Sparta and Athens

6.2.3 Classical Greece

6.3 The Hellenistic Era

6.3.1 The Kingdom of Macedon

6.3.2 Hellenistic Culture

6.4 The Roman Republic

6.4.1 The Foundation and Function of the Roman Republic

6.4.2 The Expansion of the Roman Republic

6.5 The Age of Augustus

6.5.1 The First Triumvirate

6.5.2 From Republic to Principate

7 Experiencing the Roman Empire

7.1 The Daily Life of a Roman Family

7.1.1 The Structure of Roman Families

7.1.2 A Day in the Life of a Roman Family

7.1.3 What Family Meant in Rome