Roman (Terra Cognita)

Romans (Romanian: Romana) are a Latinic ethnic group and nation inhabiting the Roman Republic, or Romania. Historically the heritage of the Roman people is an amalgamation of Latinic, Celtic, Hellenic and Germanic origin. Approximately 90% of Romanian speakers reside in Romania while the remainder are distributed around the world. Romanian-speaking groups are found in neighboring states, including significantly - Moritania, Sicily, and Dalmatia. Globally Romans can be found in Goa, Bakitara, Crimea, Meshica, Tenacoma, Patagonia, and Sina.

Romans have greatly influenced and contributed to diverse fields, notably the arts and music, science and technology, fashion, cinema, cuisine, sports, jurisprudence, banking and business. Supposedly, according to studies provided by Finnish political scientist Tatu Vanhanen and Cambrian Psychologist Rhisiard Lenna and by the World Population View, the Romanians have the 6th highest IQ rating worldwide (102), ranking highest in Europe (globally the top 11 being: Sina, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Bakitara, Romania, Vinland, Cambria, Francia, Persia, and Ganonsia).

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Language
The language of the Romans, Romanian, is a Latinic language of the Indo-European language family. Romanian descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. The standard which modern Romanian derives from was adopted by the Imperial administration in the latter part of the early Third Era. Standardized and promoted by Augustus Torgodoriu in the Carta Vulgare in AUC 1823, the language was dubbed Romanian in a clear understanding of its departure from Latin. The broad homogeneity of Romanian across Romania is attributed to a number of factors: Torgodoriu’s standardization and promotion on an Imperial scale, the quality of Roman infrastructure and communication from the Classical Era onward, the myriad education reforms taken by successive emperors (it is estimated that Torgodoriu’s education reforms culminated in a 40% literacy rate in the Romanian populace by the time of the death of his successor – one of the highest in the world at the time). Romania’s development was also influenced, to some minor extent, by the Germanic languages of the Late Classical Era invaders.

Sport
Sport in Romania has a long tradition, with activities such as chariot races, gladiatorial fights, athletics, and harpastum (the predecessor to Calcio) being prominent in daily Classical Era Roman life. Athletes are held in very high esteem by Romans and the country has been described as 'sports obsessed', culminating in a billion dollar industry. Nicomachus Flavianus is credited with reviving the Olympic Games after their being banned in the Eastern Roman Empire by Greek Emperor Theodosios, giving them a home in Medilan instead.

The predecessor of modern calcio, a sport largely unique to Romania and the most popular in the country, evolved principally in the Post-Classical Era. Other significant sports to evolve during the Post-Classical Era are horse-racing and, growing from various combat-oriented competitions, argladia.

Football and calcio are the most popular sports in Romania and the nation is regularly among the top in the world in the former. Stickball, particularly women’s, and cycling are the next two most popular sports in Romania, ranking collectively as the top four in the Romania. The other most popular sports, which Romania has strong traditions in, are tennis, argladia, athletics (particularly discus, pole-vaulting and sprinting), gymnastics, wrestling, equestrian, shooting, tennis, boxing, auto racing, and alpine skiing.

Romania is the leading nation in total number of medals at the Olympics with 2,132, sitting at number one among the top ten nations, followed in order by Sina, Cambria, Persia, Bakitara, Francia, Scandia, Gepidia, Japan, and Ganonsia. Romania additionally has the most gold medals at 799, followed by Sina, Cambria, Bakitara, and Persia. For silver the Romans have 670 and for bronze 663.

Calcio
Calcio, the most popularly followed sport in Romania, is unique to the Romans. It has adherents and participants in neighboring Cambria, Francia, and Dalmatia, as well as Hibernia, Congo, Bakitara, and a number of other spots globally. The domestic leagues abroad are, however, minimally followed and most international players end up playing in Romania. The remote ancestry of calcio has been linked to a Roman game known as harpastum, which spread throughout their Empire. Athenaeus writes: "Harpastum, which used to be called Phaininda, is the game I like most of all. Great are the exertion and fatigue attendant upon contests of ball-playing, and violent twisting and turning of the neck. Hence Antiphanes, "Damn it, what a pain in the neck I've got." He describes the game thus: "He seized the ball and passed it to a team-mate while dodging another and laughing. He pushed it out of the way of another. Another fellow player he raised to his feet. All the while the crowd resounded with shouts of Out of bounds, Too far, Right beside him, Over his head, On the ground, Up in the air, Too short, Pass it back in the scrum." Galen, in On Exercise with the Small Ball, describes Harpastum as: "better than wrestling or running because it exercises every part of the body, takes up little time, and costs nothing."; it was "profitable training in strategy", and could be "played with varying degrees of strenuousness." Galen adds, "When, for example, people face each other, vigorously attempting to prevent each other from taking the space between, this exercise is a very heavy, vigorous one, involving much use of the hold by the neck, and many wrestling holds."

A high degree of pageantry follows the calcio season in Romania, with notable singers vying for the chance to perform before the major games.

Matches last 60 minutes and are played on a field covered in sand, twice as long as it is wide (approximately 80x40 meters). A white line divides the field into two identical squares, and a goal net runs the width of each end.

Each team has 27 players and no substitutions are allowed for injured or expelled players. The teams are made up of four goalkeepers, three fullbacks, five halfbacks, and 15 forwards. The Captain and Standard Bearer's tent sits at the center of the goal net. They do not actively participate in the game, but can organize their teams and occasionally act as referees, mainly to calm down their players or to stop fights.

The referee and the six linesmen officiate the match in collaboration with the Judge Commissioner, who remains off the field. The referee, above everyone else, is the Master of the Field, and is responsible for making sure the game runs smoothly, stepping into the field only to maintain discipline and reestablish order when fights occur.

A small cannon shot announces the beginning of the event. The game starts when the ball is thrown toward the center line, then at the first whistle as the ball first rests on field, 15 forwards begin fighting in a wild match - wrestling, kicking, tripping, hacking, and tackling with each other in an effort designed to tire opponents' defenses, but which often descends into an all-out brawl. They try to pin and force into submission as many players possible. Once there are enough incapacitated players, the other teammates come and swoop up the ball and head to the goal. From this moment on, the players try by any means necessary to get the ball into the opponents' goal. The teams change sides with every goal scored. It is important to shoot with precision, because every time a player throws or kicks the ball above the net, the opposing team is awarded with a half point. The game ends after 60 minutes and the team which scored the most goals wins.

Football
Football is a close second to calcio for the status of most popular sport in Romania. Both the men and women's national teams are highly supported and successful. The men's national team have won four World Cups while the women have obtained one, placing both among the top in the world.

The domestic league, La Lega, is ranked second globally and subsequently attracts immense attention within Romania as well as globally.

Gymnastics
Gymnastics is an immensly popular sport in Romania. The women's teams in particular have collected a string of medals throughout the history of the Olympics and garner considerable media attention. The celebration of the Roman team is due to their ranking among the best squads in the world, facing competition against the top nations Persia Japan, Sina, Wendland, and Wallachia.

It estimated that a competitive gymnast's chances of making the elite level in Romania are 1-5%. To qualify to elite status, there are various criteria to separate the elite-worthy gymnasts from the elite trialist who may not be ready for elite status at that particular time.

Equestrian


Chariot racing was one of the most popular Persian, Greek, and Roman. Chariot racing was dangerous to both drivers and horses as they often suffered serious injury and even death. In the Roman form of chariot racing, teams represented different groups of financial backers and sometimes competed for the services of particularly skilled drivers. As in modern sports like football, spectators generally chose to support a single team, identifying themselves strongly with its fortunes, and violence sometimes broke out between rival factions. The rivalries were sometimes politicized, when teams became associated with competing social or religious ideas. This helps explain why Roman emperors took control of the teams and appointed many officials to oversee them.

The sport faded in importance in the course of the fifteenth century, with the losses the Empire suffered at the hands of the Arabs and continued conflict with the Greeks, as well as the decline of the population and economy. The Blues and Greens, deprived of any political power, were relegated to a purely ceremonial role. Individual horse-racing came into prominence in the 1900s and gradually supplanted chariot racing, giving rise to a sport that evolved and continues to this day.

Education
At the height of the Roman Republic and middle era of the Roman Empire, the Roman system of education gradually found its final form. Formal schools were established, which served paying students; very little that could be described as free public education existed. Both boys and girls were educated, though not necessarily together. In a system much like the one that predominates in the modern world, the Roman education system that developed arranged schools in tiers. The educator Quintilian recognized the importance of starting education as early as possible, noting that "memory ... not only exists even in small children, but is specially retentive at that age". A Roman student would progress through schools just as a student today might go from primary school to secondary school and then to college. They were generally exempted from studies during the market days which formed a kind of weekend on every eighth day of the year. Progression depended more on ability than age, with great emphasis being placed upon a student's ingenium or inborn "gift" for learning, and a more tacit emphasis on a student's ability to afford high-level education.

Education throughout the Imperial Eras focused heavily on speaking and writing (Grammaticus), public speaking (rhetoricus), philosophy, numbers, and moral education.

At the foundation of ancient Roman education was, above all else, the home and family, from which children derived their so-called "moral education". Whereas Greek boys primarily received their education from the community, a Roman child's first and most important educators were almost always his or her parents. Parents taught their children the skills necessary for living in the early republic, which included agricultural, domestic and military skills as well as the moral and civil responsibilities that would be expected from them as citizens. Roman education was carried on almost exclusively in the household under the direction of the paterfamilias. From the paterfamilias, or highest ranking male of the family, one usually learned "just enough reading, writing, and Arithmetic to enable them to understand simple business transactions and to count, weigh, and measure. Men like Cato the Elder adhered to this Roman tradition and took their roles as teachers very seriously. Cato the Elder not only made his children hardworking, good citizens and responsible Romans, but "he was his (son's) reading teacher, his law professor, his athletic coach. He taught his son not only to hurl a javelin, to fight in armor, and to ride a horse, but also to box, to endure both heat and cold, and to swim well". Job training was also emphasized, and boys gained valuable experience through apprenticeships. Mothers, though, cannot be overlooked for their roles as moral educators and character builders of their children. Cornelia Africana, the mother of the Gracchi, is even credited as a major cause of her sons' renowned eloquence. Perhaps the most important role of the parents in their children's education was to instill in them a respect for tradition and a firm comprehension of pietas, or devotion to duty.

The Roman emphasis on ‘moral education’ received a religious injection via Julian the Philosopher’s Education Edict. Each of his successors would only emphasis the religious aspect of education for Roman youth, witnessing this aspect growing into an integral part of education by the height of the Post-Classical Era.

The 19th century AUC witnessed a series of revisions of the Roman education system by Augustus Torgodoriu. The first institutions generally considered to be universities were established in Romania, Francia, Hibernia, and Cambria in the 1800s AUC for the study of arts, law, medicine, and theology. These universities evolved from older religiously oriented Hellene schools and Hellene priest schools, and it is difficult to define the date on which they became true universities. Roman Emperor Torgodoriu broadened the types of education, standardized the language, and aided in the further establishment of more universities, particularly focusing on the furthest reaches of Romania. He is largely attributed with the idea of mass education, with the establishment of Minor Schools in most towns across Romania. The education here focused heavily on Hellenism, but it also allowed a broad understanding of philosophy and arithmetic as well as the Romanian language.

Education was principally divided into two parts by the post-Torgodoriu reforms and remained so until the 2550s. Part of the education, a substantial element, was in the home via the paterfamilias. The local town schools furthered this with what is arguably the first compulsory state education in the world. Numbers, rhetoric, grammar, and theology were the focuses in these schools. Further education, at the universities, remained limited to wealthier families. Even so, it is estimated that 40% of the population was literate at this point and, notably, with no gender-gap. Standardized compulsory public schooling came into place across Europe in the 2550s, their origin in Cambria via a system largely inspired by the existing model in Romania but taken many steps further. Romania adopted this system not long after.

Màrias Mòntesoriu developed what is the current standard of primary education in Romania, initiated in 2665. A child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations, Mòntesoriu’s Method, or the Roman Educational Standard, views the child as the one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment. It attempts to develop children physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. The Roman governments cited essential elements include: Mixed-age classrooms: classrooms for children ages two and one-half or three to six years old are by far the most common, but 0–3, 3–6, 6–9, 9–12, 12–15, and 15–18-year-old classrooms exist as well. Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours; A constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials rather than by direct instruction; Specialized educational materials developed by Mòntesoriu and her collaborators often made out of natural, aesthetic materials such as wood rather than plastic; A thoughtfully prepared environment where materials are organized by subject area, within reach of the child, and are appropriate in size; Freedom within limits; A trained Montessori teacher who follows the child and is highly experienced in observing the individual child's characteristics, tendencies, innate talents, and abilities. Romania has subsequently spent a considerable amount on education, among the highest spenders on that sector in the world, lagging only behind China, Japan, Bakitara, and Korea.

Romania ranks first globally for overall higher education, with nine of the top 20 universities, the most worldwide. Public education and higher education remain free, excepting minor administrative fees at public universities. Private universities, most Hellene organizations, do cost a tuition.

Stereotypes
Romans are subject to an array of stereotypes, the plethora of which that are contemporary can be traced as historically held views with longevity. The physical stereotype, auburn or sandy hair, hazel or green eyes, aquiline nose (co-dubbed the ‘Roman Nose’), complexions of mild olive or light skin, tall height: all physical assumptions that have historic precedence. Promoted by the Romans themselves as well as those abroad: Post-Classical descriptions from Francia of Romans typically explain their southern neighbors as being a middle example between themselves and the Greeks, with the Franks being golden and light, the Greeks being swarthy and dark, and the Romans being the in-between. Greeks similarly explained the Romans in this way – and suggested that they are one small step from being barbarians, the Romans being physically more akin to the 'depraved and pale northerners' than to the Greeks, in Greek eyes.

Romania displays an array of skin tones and hair color in truth, with brown, green, and blue eyes widespread, light eye colors (blue, grey, light green) are an average of 35 to 55% in Romania; as well hair ranges black, brown, and blonde various shades thereof – blonde hair is an average of 15 to 20% in Romania. Skin tones similarly range from olive to light, broadly placed. The average height for men is 5' 9" and for women 5' 6".

Personality stereotypes, all hangers on from history, sum the Romans up as stoic, honor-bound, intensely patriotic, militaristic, and pious with: extreme family loyalty, subsequent family feuds and clan violence stemming from that; rebellious and libertine youth; still largely religious in a devout sense – superstitious; bigoted – particularly anti-semitic, anti-sinti, anti-persian, and anti-christian; martial talents, being militarily and strategically capable, strong, and subsequently scrappers on the negative side, into blood sports; the Black Legend which stems from this, the notion of militaristic conquerors, cruel and tyrannical, also coupled with the aforementioned bigotry.

Internal stereotypes, Roman views held by Romans, are revealed in the two groups that Romans consider their chief rivals, and subsequently, in their eyes, their opposites – the Greeks and Persians. Romans subsequently consider themselves to be non-overly emotional – preferring laconic being – in contrast to their view of Greeks being emotional. Also, the Romans consider themselves to be the opposite of their stereotypes of Greeks: mercantilism, political frailty, bad warriors, bickering embezzlers. The Romans consider themselves the opposite of their stereotypes views of Persians: despotism, slavishness, and exotic licentiousness.

Ethnogenesis
Due to demographic shifts throughout history, as well as Romania’s ethnic diversity since ancient times, the modern Romans are not a genetically homogeneous population. This makeup includes pre-Indo-European language people, such as the Etruscans, Rhaetians, Camuni, Ligures, Vasconics, and pre-Roman Indo-European language peoples, including the Celts, the Italic peoples (such as the Latino-Faliscans, the Osco-Umbrians, the Sicels and the Veneti), Germanic people, and a significant number of Hellenic people. The majority of Romanians originate from these two primary elements and share a common Latin heritage and history.

The Romans — who according to legend originally consisted of three ancient tribes: Latins, Sabines and Etruscans—would go on to conquer the whole Italian peninsula and expand far beyond. Hundreds of cities and colonies were established throughout Italia. Initially many of these cities were colonized by Latins, but later also included colonists belonging to the other Italic tribes who had become Latinized and joined to Rome. Population movement and exchange among people from different regions was not uncommon during the Roman period.

A large Germanic movement into Romania occurred in the AUC 1200s, with of Heruli, Turcilingi and Rugians settling in Italia; Alemanni, including 30,000 warriors with their families, settled in the Po Valley in 1124; Burgundians settled in the western portion of the Alps and beyond; Goths settled along river valleys in Aquitania and Hispania, and Alemanni further settled along both banks of the Rhine. Some Venetic incursions and settlements occurred along what is now the eastern border of Romania, along the alpine valleys found there. In addition to the Germanic and Venetic settlers there were Alans from the east who settled along Aquitania and central Hispania and Cambrian refugees from the north who took refuge and settled in northern Hispania and Aquitania. The last major wave of outside migration came with Viking settlers from Scandia, populating areas along the Atlantic coast of Romania.

The Yellow Plague (1289-1295) played a significant role in modern Romania ethnogenesis. DNA studies have revealed a leveling of the genetic landscape after the Yellow Plague, witnessing a pre-plague population diversity from Italia to Hispania and Italia to the Silva Marciana. This diversity tanks downwards after the Plague and results in a genetic landscape in Romania today that is far more broadly homogenous, with the genetic map looking like what might have been confined to central and northern Italia, now spread across the entire country. Pre-plague DNA samples suggest a population more rooted in the Gaulish, Vasconic, Germanic, and Hispanic past with moderate Roman, or Italic, contribution. This contrasts to current samples across Romania, which resemble the opposite – a significant Italic contribution with more minor of the others. This is broadly contributed to a few factors: the Yellow Plague’s decimation, the relatively plague free situation of Italia at that time, and the warfare that ran parallel during the re-conquest of the west. This resulted in a peopling of the depopulated reconquered Roman Empire with settlers from Italia en masse. Additionally, pre-plague colonization was enacted in force by Romulus Augustus, continued by Probus Orestes, and continued further by Vitalius. Probus Orestes additionally stands out in his colonial-quarantine, which saw a degree of success in the quarantine of not only Italia, but of the new colonial and re-colonized settlements of Italians while neglecting the remainder of the populace in the reconquered west. Orestes’ act is considered by many modern historians as a deliberate attempt at genocide.

Some modern scholarship has suggested a furthering of the above scenario with the much later Black Plague and events afterwards. For reasons largely unknown, northern Italia and parts of central Italia, in particular Milan, remained largely unscathed compared to the rest of Europe and Asia. The Yellow Plague quarantine is well documented but as of yet no quarantine of such scale was enacted during the Black Plague though this is still being researched with some evidence that at the least, the governor of Milan did enact a quarantine - but nothing on the Imperial level scale as was done during the Yellow Plague. In any event, there was another wave of re-population from Italia after the Black Plague reduced the populaces elsewhere in Romania.

Naming System
Romania’s surnames largely derive from Latin and arose from an individual's peculiar qualities, occupation, relation of fatherhood or lack, and geographic location. Some of them also indicate a remote foreign origin.

Romans have at least four names, consisting of two given names - a first name, a second name, and two surnames – the mother’s second surname and the father’s second surname. On marriage there is no name exchange, rather both spouses maintain their full names as they were born with. Often, the practice is to use one given name and the second surname only most of the time, the complete name being typically reserved for legal, formal, and documentary matters.