2,000 Years Ago...

The daily routine of a wealthy Roman, Gaius Plinius:

'You asked how I spend my day in summertime at my villa in Tuscany. I rise when I please, generally at the first hour (after sunrise), often earlier, but seldom later. The windows remain closed, for I think best in the quiet darkness with no distractions... This is when I do my thinking, if I have any writing that needs to be done--I think in finished sentences, like a person actually writing and correcting. This is the way I compose, now less, now more, depending on how difficult the subject is and how much I can remember. Then I call in my secretary, and letting in the daylight, I dictate to him what I have just been composing. I do this a number of times. About the fourth or fifth hour, depending on the weather, I go to the terrace or the covered porch, and there I finish my dictations. Then I go for a ride in my carriage to refresh myself. I sleep a little again followed by a walk, and after that I read aloud, more to help my digestion than for my voice, although it does strengthen the voice also. I then take another walk, followed by exercise and a bath. When I eat dinner with my wife or a few guests, a book is read aloud to us; and after the meal there is a dramatic reading from a comedy, or music is played. The evening is spent visiting and talking with my servants, some of whom are well educated men.'

2000 years ago the Roman empire was at its peak in Europe, while half a world away, the Chinese Han empire matched the Romans in wealth and military might. The Romans controlled the entire Mediterranean, including all of North Africa, Spain, France, Britain, Turkey, the Balkans, and the Middle East. The Han held all of modern China, plus Vietnam and Central Asia. In between these two powerful neighbours were the Gupta empire of India and the Sassanid empire of Persia. In Africa, the armies of Meroe under their warrior queens held back invading Roman legions, while in northern Europe, the German clans also defeated Roman invasions. In 9 AD, at the battle of the Teutoburg forest, the Romans suffered one of their worst military defeats, losing three entire legions almost to a man--more than 15,000 soldiers. Christianity began at this time, while Buddhism spread into China. However, by 500 AD, both the Roman and Chinese empires would be shattered.

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