Ancient romeGeography, people, & expansion

Founding Legend of romulus and remus - twin boys left to die by a wicked uncle, found and suckled by a she-wolf, raised by a sheperd, who grow up to reclaim their royal birthright and found rome

1. Italian peninsula – shaped like a boot

2. Alps – mountains to the north, separating italy from the rest of europe

3. Apennines – mountains running north to south along the peninsula

Geography:

4. Tiber River- rome is located 15 miles from the mouth, off the west coast of the peninsula

5. Po River- in the north, its valley is the “bread basket” of rome

6. Sicily – large island off the toe of the boot

people

2. etruscans

1. latinsFound and settle rome along the tiber river In the 700’s bc

Influenced roman:Engineering – paved roads, sewers, draining swamps

Architecture – the dome & arch Religion – prophecy based on flight of birds & internal organs of animals

Triumph – parade for victorious returning military

Government (The Republic)1. Romans overthrow

Etruscan king in 509 B.C. and set up a form of gov’t in which voters elect officials to run the state called a Republic

2.Senate•The most important and powerful governing body (300 Patricians).•Controlled public funds or taxes•Determined foreign policy•In times of emergency the Senate could name a dictator for 6 months

3. Assemblies•Citizens in these assemblies voted on laws

4. Magistrates(officials)>Consuls

•Served as the chief executives who ran the gov’t.

>Praetors•In times of war they commanded armies•In times of peace they oversaw the legal system>Censors- Recorded population for tax purposes-Oversaw moral conduct of the people*Censors/Census today?

Conflict of the Orders(or Social Classes)

1. The powerful aristocratic or upper class that controlled the government was called the Patrician class

2. The lower social class, discriminated against by law and which gradually gains more rights, was called the Plebian class

3. The Twelve Tables of law, which spelled out rights, were engraved on stone tablets and placed in the chief public square called the Forum

Miscellaneous1.Army

– The most important military unit of the Roman army was made up of 4,500 - 6,000 men and was called the legion

2. Family– The father had absolute authority in the family and Was called the paterfamilias

3. Religion– Family worship centered on the goddess of the hearth called Vesta– After the Romans Conquered the Greeks they identified their gods with those of Olympus –

just giving them Latin names Ex. Zeus becomes Jupiter– Etruscan influence also caused Romans to believe a god’s will or the future could be

learned by observing the internal organs of sacrificed animals and the flight of birds

* Later Romans will at first persecute Christians and then adopt Christianity as the official state religion

expansion Rome expands from A village to a city-state, (then a monarchy under the etruscans) then to a republic, and finally to an empire

1. rome vs carthage A. Carthage

> A powerful citY-state on coast of north africaOriginally a phoenician (a people from the Eastern Mediterranean sea) colonyBecame a commercial (business) power in the Western Mediterranean

C. First punic war 264 – 241 B.C.

>Initially Rome has the better army, carthageThe better navy

>the War was fought largely over control of sicily

B. The PUNIC WARSLatin word for Phoenician is Punicus (so they get called the “punic” wars)

>rome then builds ships equipped with boardingBridges and uses marines to defeat carthage(after over 20 years of fighting)

>in 241 B.C. carthage asks for peace

>terms include: paying a large indemnity (or payment for war damages) And the loss of Sicily

D. Second punic war 218 – 202 B.C.

>Carthaginian general hannibal makes a famous march with his army from spain over the alps and into italy

>Carthaginian army includes infantry, Cavalry, and war elephants

Crossing the rhoneRiver In southern france

Going Over the alps

E. Hannibal’s army over 15 years:>defeats any roman legions sent out from rome to fight it

>also, hannibal is unsuccessfull in his attempt to win italian allies Away from rome to fight for him

>it can’t defeat rome’s fortified cities or deliver a knockout Blow to rome itself, but it does ravage S.E. italy for years

Rome eventually turns the tables by invading north Africa And threatening the city of carthage itself

Battle of zama 202 b.c.Here, the Roman general scipio (africanus) defeats hannibal, Ending the 2nd punic war

Battle of Zama

Scipio

Peace treaty terms following 2nd punic War include:

>Another large indemnity

>loss of spain

>Loss of navy*and, carthage was not to make war without rome’s permission

F. 3rd Punic War• 149-146 B.C.• Senator Cato says “Carthage must die”!• Roman Senate declares war on Carthage, which falls after

a bitter siege and eventually brutal house to house fighting• Romans raze (or burn) Carthage, enslave surviving

population, and sow the fields with salt

cato

G. Conquest of Hellenistic East

• During 2nd Punic War, Macedonia had been was allied with Carthage

• In 197 B.C. Rome defeats Macedonia

• By 133 B.C. Rome’s supremacy in the Mediterranean was complete

Problems of Roman Expansion: 1.Government

• Officials in charge of provinces, called Proconsuls (like our Governors today), took bribes and neglected needs of the people.

• Tax Collectors, because they could keep whatever they collected in excess of the legitimate tax, would attempt to squeeze as much money from the provincial people as they could

2. Agriculture• Some Romans acquired large estates called Latifundia

(similar to our pre-Civil War Southern plantations)• As time passed, Rome came to depend on the provinces

for grain (Ex. Egypt) to feed the masses of people now living in Rome

• Many small farmer-soldiers had to sell their farms and move to the cities (Rome)

• Many, not finding jobs came to depend on the government for food (The “dole”) (*Today’s welfare programs…)

3. Social• The decline of independent farmers and the growth of jobless

masses in the cities weakened early Roman ideals of discipline and devotion to the state

• Some slaves enjoyed humane treatment, but some led wretched lives, and some revolted

• The most brutal slave revolt began in 73 B.C., involved more than 70,000 slaves, lasted 2 years, and was led by a slave named Spartacus *6,000 slaves who initially survived the

Gov’t’s crushing of the revolt were thenCrucified along the Appian way, the mainRoad leading into rome