Transcript Ancient Rome

Ancient
Rome
Origins of Rome
According to legend, Romulus and Remus
founded Rome in 753 B.C.
They were the twin sons of the god Mars and a
Latin princess.
The twins were abandoned on the Tiber River
as infants and raised by a she-wolf.
Origins of Rome
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Rome’s Geography
 Build on 7 rolling hills at a curve on the
Tiber River – near the center of the
Italian peninsula
 Midway between Alps and Italy’s
southern tip
 Near midpoint of Mediterranean Sea
Origins of Rome
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The First Romans
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From 1000 to 500 B.C., 3 groups inhabited the region and battled
for control
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Latins
 Considered first Romans
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Greeks
 Established colonies along southern Italy and Sicily
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Etruscans
 Native to northern Italy
The Early Republic
 republic- a form of government in which
power rests with citizens who have the
right to vote for their leaders
 In Rome, citizenship with voting rights
was granted only to free-born male
citizens
The Early Republic
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Patricians
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wealthy landowners
held most of the power
Inherited power & social status
claimed ancestry gave them power to make laws
The Early Republic
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Plebians
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common farmers, artisans, & merchants
made up the majority of the population
citizens of Rome with right to vote
barred by law from holding most important government
positions
In time, Rome’s leaders allowed the plebians to form their own
assembly & elect representatives called tribunes
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Tribunes protected the rights of the plebians from unfair acts
of patrician officials
Twelve Tables
Victory for plebians– forced creation of
written law code
 Laws carved on 12 tablets (tables) & hung in
the Forum
 Became basis for later Roman law
 Established idea that all free citizens had a
right to protection of the law
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Roman Republic
Consuls
•2 rulers
•Serve for 1 year
Senate
•Aristocrats
•Serve for life
• Advises consuls
Centuriate Assembly
•Soldiers only
•Chose consuls
•Serve for life
Tribal Assembly
•Ordinary citizens
•Serve for life
•Makes laws
Rome
Comparing Republican Governments
United States of America
Executive
2 consuls, elected by the assembly for 1 yearchief executives of the government and
commanders-in-chief of the army
A president, elected by the people, for 4 years- chief
executive of the government and commander-in-chief
of the army
Legislative
Senate of 300 members, chosen from
aristocracy for life, controls foreign & financial
policies, advises counsels
Senate of 100 members, elected by the people for 6
year terms- makes laws, advises president on foreign
policy
House of Representatives- 435 members- elected by
people for 2 yrs—makes laws, originates revenue bills
Centuriate Assembly, all citizen-soldiers are
members for life—selects consuls, makes
laws
Tribal Assembly- citizens grouped according to
where they live, members for life– elects
tribunes & makes laws
Judicial
Praetors, 8 judges chosen for 1 year by
Centuriate Assembly—2 oversee civil &
criminal courts (others govern provinces)
Supreme Court- 9 justices appointed for life by
president- highest court, hears civil and criminal
appeals cases
Legal code
12 Tables- list of rules that was the basis of
Roman legal system
U.S. Constitution- basic law of the United States
Citizenship
All adult male landowners
All native-born or naturalized adults
Roman Army
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All citizens who owned land were required to
serve in the army
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Seekers of certain political offices had to
perform 10 years of military service
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Roman soldiers were organized into large
military units called LEGIONS
Rome’s Rise to Greatness
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Key Factors
Military
organization
Fighting
army
skill of the Roman
Rome’s Commercial Network
Location gave easy access to lands around
Mediterranean Sea
 Traded Roman wine and olive oil for a
variety of foods, raw materials, and
manufactured goods from other lands
 Other large & powerful cities interfered with
Roman access to Mediterranean
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Carthage—rise to power put it in direct opposition
with Rome
War with Carthage
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264 B.C.- Rome & Carthage went to war
Beginning of the Punic Wars
3 wars fought between 264-164 B.C.
1st- for control of Sicily & western
Mediterranean—lasted 23 yrs, Carthage
defeated
2nd- Carthaginian general named Hannibal is
defeated by Romans
3rd – Rome sacks Carthage and ends War
End of Punic Wars
 Victories
gave Rome
dominance over the western
Mediterranean
 Empire
stretched from
Anatolia to Spain
The Republic Collapses
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Rome’s increasing wealth and expanding
boundaries brought many problems
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Growing discontent among lower classes of society
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Breakdown in military order
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Led to emergence of a new political system
Julius Caesar Takes Control
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60 B.C.- J.Caesar, a military leader, joined
forces with Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and
Pompey, a popular general
Caesar was elected consul in 59 B.C.
For 10 years these men dominated Rome as a
triumvirate (a group of 3 rulers)
Julius Caesar Takes Control
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Caesar was a strong leader and genius at
military strategy
Served only 1 year as consul
Appointed himself governor of Gaul (now
France)
Led his legions to conquer all of Gaul
Shared fully in hardships of war—won men’s
loyalty and devotion
Julius Caesar Takes Control
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Reports of Caesar’s success in Gaul made
him popular with the people of Rome
Pompey became his political rival and feared
his ambitions
At Pompey’s urgings in 50 B.C., Caesar was
ordered to disband his legions and return
home
Julius Caesar Takes Control
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Caesar defied the Senate’s order
On the night of January 10, 49 B.C., he took his
army across the Rubicon River in Italy
He marched his army swiftly toward Rome and
Pompey fled
Caesar’s troops defeated Pompey’s armies in
Greece, Asia, Spain, & Egypt
Caesar returned to Rome where he had the support
of the army and the masses
The senate appointed him dictator for life
Caesar’s Reforms
Caesar governed as an absolute ruler
 He started a number of reforms
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Granted Roman citizenship to many people in the
provinces
Expanded the senate, adding friends & supporters
from Italy & other regions
Helped poor by creating jobs esp. through the
construction of new public buildings
Increased pay for soldiers
Caesar’s Reforms
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Nobles and senators expressed concern over
Caesar’s growing power, success, & popularity
They feared him becoming a tyrant
Many important senators, led by Marcus Brutus &
Gaius Cassius, planned his assassination
On March 15, 44 B.C., they stabbed him to death
in the senate chamber
Beginning of the Roman Empire
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Civil war broke out after Caesar’s death
Destroyed what was left of the Roman
Republic
3 of Caesar’s supporters banded together to
crush the assassins
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Octavian, Mark Antony, Lepidus
Took control of Rome and ruled for 10 yrs as the
2nd Triumvirate
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Triumvirate
Alliance ended in jealousy & violence
Octavian forced Lepidus to retire
Octavian and Antony became rivals
Antony met Cleopatra, fell in love with her, &
followed her to Egypt
Another civil war erupted, Octavian defeated
forces of Cleopatra & Antony
Antony & Cleopatra committed suicide
Octavian
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Restored some aspects of the republic
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Became unchallenged ruler of Rome
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Accepted title of Augustus or “exalted one”
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Kept title “imperator” or “supreme military
commander” (emperor is derived from this title)
A Vast & Powerful Empire
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Peak of Rome’s power- from peak of rule of
Augustus (27 B.C. to A.D. 180)
Peace reigned for 207 yrs- Pax Romana“Roman peace”
Roman Empire included more than 3 million
square miles & its population was between 6080 million people
1 million people lived in Rome during this time
Augustus
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Stabilized frontier
Glorified Rome with public bldgs
Created system of government that survived
for centuries
Set up a civil service- paid workers to manage
affairs of government
Civil servants drawn from plebians and former
slaves administered the empire
Agriculture
Agriculture- most important industry in the
empire
 90% of people were involved with farming
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Roman World
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Most Romans lived in the countryside &
worked on farms
Diverse society- merchants, soldiers, slaves,
philosophers, foreigners
Romans honored:
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Strength more than beauty
Power more than grace
Usefulness more than elegance
Gods & Goddesses
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Honored gods & goddesses through rituals
hoping to gain favor and avoid misfortune
Government & religion were linked
Head god: Jupiter
Society & Culture
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Classes have little in common: lives different for poor
and rich
Government provided games, races, mock battles, &
gladiator contests to distract & control masses
Colosseum- huge arena that could hold over 50,000
people
Christianity- a new religion slowly emerging during
this time
CHRISTIANITY
Roots in Judaism
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Many people in the Mediterranean were
practicing Jews at this time
They lived in Judea, but were treated bad
by the Romans
They hoped that a messiah, or a deliverer
sent by God, would help free them
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This had been told by prophets for many years
Roots in Judaism (cont’d)
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After several rebellions the Jews were
forced to live in other parts of the
Mediterranean and the Middle East
Continued to study the Torah and pass
down their beliefs
Jesus
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During this time he grew up in Nazareth
He traveled around preaching kindness and
repentance of sins
He gathered many followers called disciples
Often taught through parables
Controversy arose over his status (messiah or not)
and this scared the Romans
They felt he was a threat to Roman stability
Ordered to die on a cross by Pontius Pilate in 33
AD
Early Christians
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Many believed that Jesus rose from the
dead and was the true messiah
Followers of his disciples became known
as Christos, the Greek word for messiah
These people formed a community of
believers
Two men helped spread Christianity:
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Paul  wrote letters about Jesus; helped convert
non-Jews
Peter  went to Rome to help set up the church
Early Christians Suffer
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Believed that their religion was the one true
faith and refused to worship the emperor or
other Roman gods
The Romans felt divine punishment would
befall the Christians, still they made martyrs
of many (death in arenas)
Christians competing with polytheistic
beliefs
The Romans Convert
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The strength of Christians in Roman cities
at this time made them more influential
The religion really flourished with the aid of
emperor Constantine
Issued the Edict of Milan which allowed
everyone to worship freely
It eventually became the official religion of
the Roman Empire in 392 AD
The Early Church
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Early Christians knew that organization of
the church and tangible writings were
important for success
Organized into a hierarchal system:
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Priests  Bishops  Patriarchs (5 Bishops of
the largest cities)  Pope
The Early Church (cont’d)
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At the Council of Nicaea church doctrine (official
teachings) was established by Bishops
People in Greece did not think the Pope had
authority over them
In time the Church would split into 2 factions:
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Roman Catholic Church (Rome)
Eastern Orthodox Church (Greece)
The Decline of the Roman Empire
Problems within the Empire
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With the death of Marcus Aurelius and end
of the Pax Romana, violence and
corruption took center stage in the Empire
Several problems contributed to the
decline:
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Political Instability
Economic Decline
Invasion from the North
Political Instability
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Began with the successor to Marcus Aurelius
He was killed by his own troops
Political disorder took over Rome, as armies
appointed 28 emperors only to kill them off
Since there was so much internal fighting, the
borders were not protected and Germanic tribes
were successful in attacking the Empire
Economic Decline
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A byproduct of political instability
Warfare hurt trade, farming
Inflation happened when more coins were
printed to pay soldiers
Economics affected all parts of the Empire
Money was needed to pay the soldiers 
landowners were more heavily taxed  farmers
abandon their land  food shortage
Emperors’ Attempts at Reform
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Emperor Constantine tried to stop the
decline of the Empire and halt German
invasion
Moved capital to Byzantium (more suited
for trade and protected by natural barriers)
Renamed this city Constantinople
Empire Splits
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Problems arose after Constantine’s death
Theodosius I said that when he died the
Empire would be two separate one: East
and West
Byzantine Empire  eastern empire
Roman Empire  western empire
Invaders
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Germanic warriors  looking for warmer
climate, wealth; trying to escape the Huns;
labeled by Romans as “barbarians”
Visigoths  most important Germanic group;
defeated large sections of Roman Empire
Huns  came from central Asia; led by Attila;
entered Gaul and eastern Europe; eventually
brought down by plague and famine
End of the Roman Empire
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When the Huns left and the Empire left in ruins,
it was very easy for the Germanic tribes to take
over
It ended when Germanics named themselves
king, along with a series of preceding events
Though the Empire fell, its culture did not
The Germans and Byzantines adopted
language, laws and religion