Unit 3: New Empires and New Faiths

• Ancient Rome (chapters 8 and 9) • Romans invented concrete and used the arch in building • The Rise of Christianity (chapter 10) • Christians helped shape the West’s religious beliefs • Islamic Civilization (chapter 11) • Muslims spread the religion of Islam and invented algebra

Chapter 8: The Rise of Rome

Katya, Brittany, and Rachel Standard 6.7: Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures during the development of Rome.

California State Standards

• 6.7.1: Identify the location and describe the rise of the Roman Republic, including the importance of such mythical and historical figures as Aeneas, Romulus and Remus, Cincinnatus, Julius Caesar, and Cicero. • 6.7.2: Describe the government of the Roman Republic and its significance (e.g., written constitution and tripartie government, checks and balances, civic duty).

• 6.7.3: Identify the location of and the political and geographic reasons for the growth of Roman territories and expansion of the empire, including how the empire fostered economic growth through the use of currency and trade routes.

• 6.7.4: Discuss the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome’s transition from republic to empire.

• 6.7.8: Discuss the legacies of Roman art and architecture, technology and science, literature, language, and law.

• 7.1.1: Study the early strengths and lasting contributions of Rome and its ultimate internal weaknesses.

Location of Rome

• Italy: peninsula in Mediterranean region • Surrounded by mountains and seas • Mild climate, good farming • Earliest inhabitants 1500-1000 BCE • 15 miles upriver from Mediterranean Sea • 7 hills • Easy crossing of the Tiber River

Rome’s Beginnings

• Historians are not sure how Rome began • Latins lived in huts on hills (c. 1000 BCE), banded together for protection (800-700 BCE) • Two legends of Rome’s beginnings • Romulus and Remus • Aeneas

Romulus and Remus

• Traditional story • Twins abandoned near Tiber River; rescued by a wolf, raised by a shepherd • Decided to build city in 753 BCE • Romulus killed Remus, became first king of Rome

Aeneas

•

Aeneid

, epic by Virgil • After Greek capture of Troy, Aeneas unites Trojans and Latins

Weeping, I drew away from our old country....I took to the open sea, borne outward into exile with my good people, my son, my hearth goods, and the greater gods....Now making landfall under the southwind there, I plotted out on that curved shore the walls of a colony--though fate opposed it--and I devised the name Aeneadae for the people, from my own.

-Virgil,

Aeneid

Early Influences

• Greeks • Olives and grapes; alphabet; architecture, sculpture, and literature • Etruscans • After 650 BCE, controlled Rome and most of Latium • Skilled and rich; good military • Wood and brick houses; public buildings surrounding central square; style of dress; army model

Early Roman Republic

• Etruscan rule • Rome becomes wealthy, powerful • Romans rebel in 509 BCE, overthrow Tarquins, form republic • Republic: a form of government in which the leader is put in office by citizens with the right to vote • Citizens have power

Rome at War

• 200 years of fighting • 338 BCE, Romans defeated other Latins; attacked Etruscans • 284 BCE, Romans defeated Etruscans • 267 BCE, Romans conquered Greeks in southern Italy

The Roman Army

• Early Republic: all male citizens who owned land; later, professional soldiers • Legions: groups of 6000, divided into groups of 60-120 • Legionary: Roman soldier • Armor made of iron strips joined with leather • Shield made from wood, covered with leather or cloth • Weapons: gladius (short sword) and pilum (spear)

Roman Confederation

• Some conquered peoples granted full citizenship • Could vote, serve in government, protected by law • Others considered allies • Could run own local affairs, but paid taxes to Republic • Loyal allies could become citizens • Republic grew strong and unified