G.R.A.P.E.S.

Geography

Expansion

• Expansion brought a few negatives such as unemployment and increased the number of poor people in Rome. Also some people believed expansion weakened the stability of the government

• Some positives were that it protect Italy from attacks and gave women rights

• Expansion caused the displacement of many small farmers who lost their land in battle or could not afford their land. The small farmers drifted towards the big cities, particularly Rome. That made Rome very crowded.

Location

• Ancient Rome is in present day Europe

• Rome is in present day Italy• Today, Italy is surrounded by

France, Switzerland, and Austria

• Today Rome is a popular city worldwide

• Rome is surrounded by is the Captain Sea, the Black Sea, and the Meditarian Sea

Topography

• The Apennines Mountains were across Italy

• The Arno and Tiber River ran through Italy

• Ancient Rome had a lake called Regillus

Resources

• In Rome there was various resources such as gold, marble, granite, and grain

• Olives and vegetables were grown as well

• The rich houses were usually made of marble or stone

• Grain was Rome most important crop

• They made silver bowls and bronze wares

G.R.A.P.E.S.

Religion

Christianity

• Christianity was not popular with the Romans

• The Christians were disliked so much that sometimes the Romans would feed them to the lions

• Christians believed in one god who created heaven and Earth

• They highly believed in not killing people or sacrificing animals which would be a sin

Jewish Beliefs

• Jews believed in one god who created the world

• Jews did not think killing was just

• Jews did not sacrifice animals for any reason

• Jews believed that Jesus was Jewish but that he was not the son of God

• Romans did not except the Jews were exucuted

Roman Beliefs

• Romans believed in many gods and goddesses like Jupiter

• Romans sometimes believed their emperor was a god

• They had their dead bodies cremated and put into a columbarium

• At religious ceremonies Romans scarified animals to please their gods and goddesses because Romans believed they controlled every aspect of life

Greek Mythology

• Greek Mythology included many

gods and goddesses.

• Roman beliefs were based on Greek Mythology

• Greeks had elaborate rituals and scarifies

• Greek gods and goddesses controlled all parts of life

G.R.A.P.E.S.

Achievements

Art and Architecture

• Painting and sculpture was influenced throughout Rome

• Bridges, buildings, and homes contained various designs with mosaics

• Pottery was another common form of art

• The Romans also created concrete

Latin Language

• Latin became the language of the western part of Rome

• This language is made from pieces of other European languages

• Today many languages have Latin roots

Technology and Science

• Romans made paved roads to make it easier to travel for trade

• Most medicines were made from plants

• Back then there was no sedative medicine, so surgery was performed while the patient was awake

• Romans also had water systems called aqueducts that made getting water easier

Military Organization

• Rome had a very efficient and organized Military

• Rome usually succeeded in battle

• The basic unit of the Roman army was a legion

• Each legion could divided into a maniple to make the attack easier

G.R.A.P.E.S.

Politics

Political Corruption

• Political Corruption was one of the many reasons that led to the fall of Rome

• Rome never really found an effective way to choose their rulers

• Later Rome chose their rulers by whoever could bid the most money on the throne. However this just made people want to kill the current rulers.

Nero

• Nero was considered to be one of Rome’s cruelest emperors

• At first he reduced taxes, banned capital punishment, and forbade contest involving bloodshed

• After a devastating fire destroyed much of the cities Nero started a building project with money from the Roman treasury instead of rebuilding the city

• Many people blamed Nero for the fire but Nero tried blaming it on the Christians. Then the Christian were treated very bad

Excessive Military Spending

• Much of Rome’s money was put into defending the empire

• So much money was being put into the Roman Military that there was little money for other things such as providing public housing and maintaining the roads

• Romans also lost interest in defending the empire. Hiring soldiers was very expensive and the government raised taxes in order to pay for it. Most people who paid the taxes were farmers and businessmen which hurt the economy

Roman Government

• Rome had a tripartite form of government. The three main parts were the Senate, the assemblies, and the magistrates.

• The magistrates were the main officials in the Roman government. They represented the monarchy.

• The Senate was the second branch in the government. The Senate represented the oligarchy

• The assemblies was the democratic element of the Roman government

G.R.A.P.E.S.

Economy

Unemployment

• When expansion was happening unemployment became bad

• Overpopulation made unemployment worse. Most citizens who arrived in Rome needed jobs

• Without much work in Rome many poor people depended on the government which had to spend more money providing for them.

Inflation

• The coins in Rome were made of gold. One point in time the supply in gold was low

• The government tried to help the problem by making the coins in a less expensive material

• By doing this you had to pay more coins because the coins were not made from the gold

Farming

• Majority of Rome food came from the local farmers.

• During the period of expansion, many farmers loss their lands because their farm turn into a battle field.

• Government reduced the price of corns in half resulted low profit.

High taxes

• The civil wars created enormous economic problems. Wars cost money and to get that money emperors raised taxes.

• However, few people had high enough incomes to pay what they owed

• Empire’s supply of gold and silver was declining and made it hard to pay the taxes. Wealthy Romans paid for imported goods with Roman coin, and more gold and silver coins left the empire that could be replaced.

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Socialocial Structures

Plebeians

• 90% of the Roman population were plebeians

• Plebeians were the lower class of the social

• Most plebeians did not have jobs because they were poor

Patricians

• 10% of the roman population was made up of patricians

• They were wealthy

• Patricians were upper class in Roman society

• Most Patricians worked in the government

Slavery

• Slaves had no rights• Slaves were often sold to

other wealthy people or even killed

• Slaves had to follow their master’s orders

Housing

• Plebeians and Patricians lived in different houses

• Plebeians lived in apartment buildings that usually had stores on the bottom floors

• The higher you went in the apartment the worse that apartment would get

• Patricians lived in big houses made of marble and stone

• Rich people had slaves in their house for their every need

What I learned…

The most important ideas I learned about in Rome would be the fall of Rome. I think the fall of Rome was the most important idea because today we face a lot the same problems in American right now. Also the U.S. can learn from Rome’s mistakes and make our country better and solve all the problems we face today. My #1 reason for the fall of Rome would be Political Corruption. Rome might have been more successful if they found a more effective way to pick their emperors.