TERMS & NAMESrepublicSenatepatricianplebeianJulius CaesarempireAugustusConstantine

The ancient Romans made impor-tant contributions to government,law, and engineering.

The cultural achievements of theRomans continue to influence theart, architecture, and literature of today.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Yet another Roman

road was completed

today! Rome is famous

for its vast network of

roadways. Repairing old

roads and adding new

ones keeps Roman engi-

neers busy. Construction

is time-consuming

because the lengthy

roads, which are paved

with large stones, must

be carefully planned.

However, the benefits

are worth the effort.

The roads connect

the great city to distant

lands under Roman

rule. These roadways

also enable the army to

move quickly. These

days, it seems that

almost all roads lead to

Rome. In fact, when this

massive undertaking is

finished, Roman roads

will stretch for tens of

thousands of miles

across the land.

ROME, 295 B.C.

Location • All roads lead to Rome—including

the Via Appia (VEE•uh APP•ee•uh) shown

here. �

Ancient RomeAncient Rome

TAKING NOTESTAKING NOTES

AncientGreece

AncientRome

TimePeriod

Archi-tecture

SocialStructure

Use your chart to take notes about WesternEurope.

78 CHAPTER 3

The Beginnings of Ancient RomeAncient Rome began as a group of villages located along thebanks of the Tiber River in what is now Italy. There, early set-tlers herded sheep and grew wheat, olives, and grapes. Around750 B.C., these villages united to form the city of Rome.

The Formation of the Roman Republic For more than 200 years,kings ruled Rome. Then, in 509 B.C., Rome became a republic. Arepublic is a nation in which power belongs to the citizens, whogovern themselves through elected representatives.

The Senate The Roman Senate was an assembly of elected rep-resentatives. It was the single most powerful ruling body of theRoman Republic. Each year, the Senate selected two leaders,called consuls, to head the government and the military.

Patricians At first, most of the people elected to the Senate werepatricians (puh•TRIHSH•uhns). In ancient Rome, a patricianwas a member of a wealthy, landowning family who claimed to beable to trace its roots back to the founding of Rome. The patriciansalso controlled the law, since they were the onlycitizens who were allowed to be judges.

Plebeians An ordinary, working male citizen ofancient Rome––such as a farmer or craftsper-son––was called a plebeian (plih•BEE•uhn).Plebeians had the right to vote, but they could nothold public office until 287 B.C., when they gainedequality with patricians.

The Expansion of the Roman WorldOver hundreds of years, Rome grew into amighty city. By the third century B.C., Romeruled most of the Italian Peninsula. This gaveRome control of the central Mediterranean.

The city-state of Carthage, which ruled NorthAfrica and southern Spain, controlled the westernMediterranean. To take control over this area aswell, Rome fought Carthageand eventually won.

As Rome’s population grew,its army also expanded in sizeand strength. Under the leader-ship of ambitious generals,Rome’s highly trained soldiersset out to conquer new territo-ries one by one.

Western Europe: Its Land and Early History 79

Roman Law It may be hard tobelieve, but in the early RomanRepublic, laws were not writtendown. Only the patrician judgesknew what the laws were. Thismeant that judges usually ruled in favor of fellow patricians andagainst plebeians.

The plebeians grew tired ofunfair treatment and demandedthat the judges create a writtencode of laws that applied to allRoman citizens. This code, calledthe Law of the Twelve Tables,was written around 450 B.C.It formed the foundation of Roman law.

In ancient Rome,a senator held hisposition for life.

As Rome’s control over its neighbors expanded, its culture andlanguage continued to spread into Spain and Greece. By the endof the second century B.C., the Romans ruled most of the landsurrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The ancient Romans evencalled the Mediterranean mare nostrum (MAH•ray NOH•struhm),which means “our sea.”

From Republic to EmpireAs the Roman Republic grew, its citizens became a more

and more diverse group of people. Many Romanspracticed different religions and followed differ-

ent customs, but they were united by a commonsystem of government and law. In the middleof the first century B.C., however, Rome’sform of government changed.

The End of the Roman Republic JuliusCaesar, a successful Roman general and

famous speaker, was the governor of the terri-tory called Gaul. By conquering nearby terri-

tories to expand the land under his control, heincreased both his power and his reputation. The

Roman Senate feared that Caesar might become too powerful,and they ordered him to resign. Caesar, however, had other ideas.

80 CHAPTER 3

Region • Once in power, JuliusCaesar had hislikeness stampedon coins such asthis one. �

Rome

CarthageAF

RI

CA EGYPT

ITALY

GREECESICILY

SPAIN

GAUL

SYRIA

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Black SeaAdriatic Sea

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

50°N 10°W

509 B.C.

241 B.C.

146 B.C.

Major city

N

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Extent of Roman Control, 509 B.C. to 146 B.C.

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Location • Around which

body of water was Romancontrol located in 146 B.C.?

2. Region • When wasRoman control at itsgreatest?

Ancient Gaulincluded the lands that aremodern-dayFrance, Belgium,and parts ofnorthern Italy.

Rather than resign, Caesar fought along, fierce battle for control of theRoman Republic. In 45 B.C., he finallytriumphed and returned to Rome. Caesareventually became dictator of the Romanworld. A dictator is a person who holds totalcontrol over a government. Caesar’s rulemarked the end of the Roman Republic.

The Beginning of the Roman Empire JuliusCaesar had great plans to reorganize the wayancient Rome was governed, but his rule wascut short. On March 15, 44 B.C., a group ofsenators, angered by Caesar’s plans and power,stabbed him to death on the floor of the RomanSenate. A civil war then erupted that lasted forseveral years.

In 27 B.C., Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, wasnamed the first emperor of Rome. This marks the officialbeginning of the Roman Empire. An empire is a nation orgroup of territories ruled by a single, powerful leader, or emperor.As emperor, Octavian took the name Augustus.

The Augustan Age Augustus ruled the Roman Empire for morethan 40 years. During this time, called the Augustan Age, theempire continued to expand. To help protect the enormousamount of land under his control, Augustus sent military forcesalong its borders, which now extended northward to the Rhineand Danube rivers.

Western Europe: Its Land and Early History 81

Rome

CarthageAF

RI C A

ITALYGREECE

SPAIN

EGYPT

SYRIA

GAUL

MACEDONIA

PALESTINE

A T L A N T I C

O C E A N

Black SeaAdriatic Sea

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

40°N

30°N

50°N

20°W

Roman Empire in A.D. 14

Major city

N0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Region • Sculpturesof Augustus weresent all over theRoman Empire tolet people knowwhat their leaderlooked like. �

The Roman Empire, A.D. 14

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Location • Name

two continents onwhich the RomanEmpire was located.

2. Location • Whatwas the easternmostterritory of theRoman Empire in A.D. 14?

A. RecognizingImportant DetailsHow many yearsseparated the rulesof Julius Caesarand Augustus?

While the Roman army kept peace, archi-tects and engineers built many new publicbuildings. Trade increased, with olive oil, wine,pottery, marble, and grain being shipped allacross the Mediterranean. Lighthouses wereconstructed, too, to help ships find their wayinto port.

The Augustan Age was also a time of greatRoman literature. One of the most famousworks of the age is the Aeneid (ih•NEE•ud).This long poem tells the story of Rome’sfounding. Augustus himself asked the famouspoet Virgil to write it. This period of peaceand cultural growth that Augustus created inthe Roman Empire was called the “Pax

Romana” (pahks roh•MAH•nah). The Pax Romana, or RomanPeace, lasted for 200 years.

marble:a hard, smoothstone, often whitein color

Vocabulary

Region • A diver holds anartifact from an ancient Roman shipwreck in theMediterraneanSea. �

Architecture Various inventions helped the Roman Empire growand prosper. In addition to buildings and roads, Roman architectsand engineers constructed water systems called aqueducts. Ancientaqueducts were raised tunnels that carried fresh water over longdistances.

Built throughout the empire, aqueducts poured millions of gal-lons of water into Rome and other cities every day. They suppliedclean water to private homes, fountains, and public baths. Today,some ancient Roman aqueducts still stand in France, Spain, andeven on the outskirts of Rome itself.

THINKING CRITICALLY1. Analyzing Motives

Why did Romans want a way to transport water?

2. HypothesizingDo you think the Roman Empire would have grownso large and prosperous without the aqueducts?

For more on Roman architecture, go toCL AS SZONE .COM

RESEARCH LINKS

82 CHAPTER 3

Region •Constantine(died A.D. 337)was the firstChristianemperor ofRome. �

Review the information about the beginnings of ancient Rome. Create a chart that comparesthe two important classes of Roman society: patricians and plebeians.

SECTION ASSESSMENT

Using Graphics2. Use a chart like this one to outline

the achievements of ancientRome’s Augustan Age.

Main Ideas3. (a) On what waterway is the city

of Rome located?

(b) What helped to unite the manydifferent citizens of the RomanRepublic?

(c) How did Christianity spreadthroughout the Roman Empire?

Critical Thinking4. Drawing Conclusions

Why was ancient Rome able tocontrol most of the land surround-ing the Mediterranean Sea?

Think About◆ the location of the

Italian Peninsula◆ Rome’s army◆ Rome’s wars with

Carthage

Terms & Names(a) republic (b) Senate (c) patrician (d) plebeian(e) Julius Caesar ( f ) empire (g) Augustus (h) Constantine

The Rise of ChristianityIn the years following the death of Augustus in A.D. 14, a new relig-ion from the Middle East began to take hold in the rest of theMediterranean world: Christianity. At first, this religion becamepopular mainly in the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Many fol-lowers there preached about its teachings. Christianity spread alongthe transportation network constructed by the Romans. By thethird century A.D., this religion had spread throughout the empire.

Most earlier Roman leaders had tolerated the different relig-ions practiced throughout the empire. Christians, however, wereviewed with suspicion and suffered persecution as early as A.D. 64.Roman leaders and people of other religions even blamed theChristians for natural disasters. Many Christians during this timewere punished or killed for their beliefs.

The First Christian EmperorThings changed when Constantine became emperor of Romein A.D. 306. In A.D. 312, before a battle, Constantine claimed tohave had a vision of a cross in the sky. The emperor promised thatif he won the battle, he would become a Christian. Constantinewas victorious, and the next year he fulfilled his promise.Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.Today, Christianity has nearly two billion followers worldwide.

Achievement Effects

B. MakingInferences Howdo you think theRoman Empireindirectly helpedthe spread ofChristianity?

Western Europe: Its Land and Early History 83

1. Explain thesignificance of: