Transcript From Empire to End

Rome Notes
The Rise and Fall of Rome
Geography
 Rome has a Mediterranean climate
 Warm (dry) summer, wet mild winter.
 Rome is located near river (Tiber) and hills all
around city, Mountains to North. (protection)
 Italy is a peninsula.
Geography
 The city of Rome was the Empire’s capital, its
borders expanded from Britain to Egypt. West
to Spain and East to Modern day Iraq.
Geography cont.
 Rich in agriculture. Fertile soil in Rome
lots of conquered land that could produce food.
 Geography led to easy
trade on Mediterranean sea
-Rome easily expanded its
empire through its location
(sea travel and land travel)
Economy and Trade
Econ./Trade
 Rome Produced (grapes, olives, grains)
 Goods from all over Europe, Asia, and Africa reached
Rome.
 Roads were the key to overland trade routes. (quick
travel, and moving lots of goods, mainly used to
move lots of people SOLDIERS)
 African caravans from South, merchant vessels from
Middle East, everyone wanted to trade in/with Rome.
 Major trading ports on Mediterranean sea under
Roman Control.
Econ./Trade
 Rome’s wealth, power, and population grew
over time.
Population over 1,000,000.
-Could not produce enough food (had to import
grain)
-Army was very important
(protect trade and empire,
but hard to feed and sustain)
Rome as an Empire (Politics/Gov.)
*-Octavian is sole leader (first Emperor)
-renamed Augustus--“revered one”
-beginning of Roman Empire{one person has
complete power} 27 B.C.—lasts until 476AD
-emperor has power to:
-declare war
-raise taxes
-punish lawbreakers
-nominate public officials
-influence Senate
-lead religious festivals
Pax Romana (P&G cont’d.)
-during Octavian’s rule (spread of Roman
ideas into the world—not marked by
war)
-rulers had to follow written laws
-Roman citizenship (so appealing, conquered
people asked to become one!)
“roman peace”
Rome’s Leaders (P&G cont’d.)
-Some emperors held power well, others did
not
-Nero: brutal emperor who lived lavishly and
blamed others for all that was going wrong
with Rome (fire in 64…)
-Trajan: expanded empire further eastbuilding projects-education-social welfare
Religion
 Similar to the Greeks (Polytheistic) the gods were
used to explain things that happened in the world.
 Christianity developed during the time of the Roman
Empire. Jesus was born during Augustus’ reign.
 Followers of Jesus and his life
Would lead to the religion of
Christianity. Some emperors
Embraced Christianity (Justinian)
Others persecuted Christians. (Nero)
Science Technology (Advancements)
 Romans developed many things we use
today: (LEGACIES)
 Roads to transport troops.
 Architecture – domes, arches, and concrete.
 Aqueducts-transport water to cities for
fountains, baths, and drinking.
 Battle field surgery (C-Section)
Society/Culture
 The Romans shared many cultural
tendencies with the Greeks.
 Art- Realistic statues and paintings.
 Philosophy- “Stoics” don’t be concerned with
possessions live a virtuous life.
 Later in the 500’s Empire Religion became a
huge part of the Roman culture (most people
valued religion)
Rome Weakens
-Unrest in late 200 AD
-Romans off to fight too much and cannot farm enoughRome’s opponents begin to rebel/
-civil unrest-death by disease-raised taxes…
-Diocletian:
-divided empire in late 200s(east and west)
-he rules east (Byzantium)
-co-emperor to rule west
-after Diocletian, Constantine takes over and
reunites
empire
-capital city Constantinople-“city of
Constantine” (modern Turkey)-power
moved east and opened borders of the west
Predictions
 Wealthy People Leave Rome, move to
Constantinople.
 Emperor now rules from Constantinople.
 Army is focused around Constantinople
Barbarian Invasions (P & G cont’d.)
-Goths caught between Romans and Huns so
they flee from the Huns--locate in Western Rome
because east is well protected
-Attila the Hun raids in east (takes over a lot of
Rome-scary ruler, death in 453 AD)
-Romans are weak and pay for invaders to leave,
but then they are poor and cannot defend
themselves—Goths conquer city of Rome in AD
410
-East not Rome anymore, but
Byzantine Empire (lets west fall)
Barbarian Invasions (P&G cont’d.)
-West: barbarian son (6 years old) named
emperor Romulus Augustus (Momyllus: “little
disgrace”)-kidnapped after one year and sent
away
-476 AD barbarians conquer Rome (barbarians
were any people who did not speak Latin, so
they were seen to be uncivilized)
Rome’s Decline (P&G cont’d.)
-What led to Rome’s decline (West)?
-invaders
-political corruption
-size (too big—difficult to manage)
-wealthy people fled
-tax increases
-Dark Ages (period after Rome fell and before
rebuilding of Europe)