Roman Forum, Latin Forum Romanum, most important forum in ancient Rome, situated on low ground between the Palatine and Capitoline hills. The Roman Forum was the scene of public meetings, law courts, and gladiatorial combats in republican times and was lined with shops and open-air markets.

A forum (Latin forum “public place outdoors”, plural fora; English plural either fora or forums) was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls.

Events taking place in the Forum included:

• Elections.
• Public speeches.
• Criminal trials.
• Gladiator matches (before the Colosseum was built)
• Social gatherings.
• Business dealings.
• Public meetings.
• Religious ceremonies.

Made increasingly grandiose and ceremonial in function by the Imperial Period, the Forum became a monumental symbol in stone and marble of Roman power and vanity with temples of deified emperors, dedicatory columns and massive triumphal arches celebrating military victories from far corners of the Empire.

The Curia was one of the meeting places of the Roman Senate. The building standing in the forum today is a reconstruction carried out after a fire destroyed the previous one in 283 CE. The building, as it is now, is fairly well-preserved due to the fact that it was converted into a Church for St. …

the Catholic Church

The three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam readily fit the definition of monotheism, which is to worship one god while denying the existence of other gods. But, the relationship of the three religions is closer than that: They claim to worship the same god.

Modern Judaism evolved from ancient Israelite religion around 500 BCE, and is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions. The Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as “Jews” in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title “Children of Israel”.