Discuss the significance of the Forum Romanum and Imperial Forums in terms of urban life and ...

The Forum Romanum, or Roman Forum, was the chief public square of Rome, the center of Roman religious, ceremonial, political, and commercial life. Originally, a Roman forum was comparable to a Greek agora, a meeting place in the heart of the city. But gradually the forum took on a symbolic function as well, becoming a symbol of imperial power that testified to the prosperity  and peacethat the emperor bestowed upon Rome's citizenry. A competition emerged among successive emperors to outdo their predecessors by creating their own more spectacular forums. The result was an extremely densely built city center. Little remains of the Roman forums. A basilica is a large rectangular building with a rounded extension, called an apse, at one or both ends, and easy access in and out. It was a general-purpose building that could be adapted to many uses.