1. Slavery-the romans had many slaves. Most of the hard work all over the empire was done in forced labor by slaves. Slaves worked farms, cleaned sewers, and were servants in the wealthy houses. They were owned like they were animals. They could be bought, sold, whipped, and punished by their masters.
2. Bloody Events-when the Romans gathered for events like circuses and chariot races, they gathered for the bloody spectacle. They starved animals and pitted them against each other to tear each other apart. They would have these animals fight people, and people fight others to the death.
3. Insane, Cruel Emperors-Rome had many maniac emperors. Remember the phrase, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." That definitely applies. Brutality was often the order of the day. For some examples, Caligula had his legions collect shells so he could say he conquered the sea. Nero had his mother and wife killed. Septimius Severus had his opponent's dead body laid out in front of him so he could walk over it with a horse.
4. Ordered Suicides-If an emperor wanted to be rid of a particular person, say, a senator, all he had to do was write the senator a letter telling him to kill himself. He could also order someone else to kill that person. Dictator Sulla invented the proscription, by which he would announce who he wanted dead. This would be read in public, and he would reward whoever did the deed.
5. Religious Persecution-Rome kept a brutal enforcement of religion. Several wars were fought with Jews to try to make them worship the Roman gods.
