ROME

World HistoryChapter 7

Early Beginnings

Unknown how Rome started

Legend holds that Mars (the god of war) and Silvia (a priestess) had two children:

Remus & Romulus: brothers raised by a wolf mom

Romulus kills brother and becomes first king

Geography of Italy

Location makes it vulnerable to invasion

Made unity possible No mountains allowed

travel inland (no good ports) so they traded inland

Farmers raised veggies, olives, grapes

Had marshes in their few rivers – malaria-carrying mosquitoes

Early history

1000 B.C. Latins entered the peninsula and settled on the Tiber River

Their villages formed Rome

Late 600’s B.C. Etruscans captured Latium Plains including Rome

Mixture of people became known as Romans

Etruscans

Etruscans had influence in Roman culture

Had written language using Greek alphabet for letters

Made fine clothing, jewelry, metal pottery

Had paved roads, drained marshes, built sewers

Greeks also settled in Rome to influence culture

Rome’s location

Many city-states in Italy but Rome had advantages:1. On Tiber River

(easy navigation)2. 15 miles inland

(away from invaders)

3. Inland trade hub

SEE VIDEO called Rome (3 Mins)

Roman Government

509 B.C. Rome sets up a republic (where voters elect their own leaders)

At first, only adult males could vote

Centum = One hundred Assemblies could

declare war; they elected 3 kinds of magistrates (public officials) that oversaw daily affairs of the gov’t

Roman Government Part Two

3 types of magistrates:1. Consuls – elected for one

year terms that were army commanders who ran the gov’t

Each could veto (or refuse to approve) acts of the others

Became known as a check and balance system to prevent one part from being too strong

2. Praetors – military commanders and judges

3. Censors – tax collectors

Roman Government Part Three

Assembly of Tribes – citizens grouped into 35 tribes that elected 10 officials called tribunes

Tribunes could veto senate bills and actions of public officials

The senate included 300 men – they controlled public funds, foreign policy, acted as a court

In emergency could name a dictator

Roman Government – Part Four Patricians – powerful

aristocrats that gained control of the gov’t

Plebeians – all other citizens (discriminated against); they couldn’t hold office

Plebeians lead strikes and gained rights (laws were written down) and gained power

Wealthy nobles – only ones who could afford to run for office; voted on officials and laws; dominated Republic

Roman Expansion

All adult males served in the army

Legionaries – excellently trained soldiers

When Romans conquered:1. They allowed citizenship of

its conquered2. Used treatise and

agreements3. No slaves were taken4. They spread Latin language,

law, and culture

Roman Family

Top values: religion, morals, education, family

Large families Pater familias – fathers in

the family that had absolute authority and taught religion

Greek gods became Roman gods

Family religion became state religion (built temples and ceremonies)

Punic Wars

Rome vs. Carthage (264-146 B.C.)

118 year long war Reasons for war: envy,

jealousy, and fear of each other

Carthage lost and were forced to pay indemnities (money for the damages it caused)

This pissed off Carthage and they wanted revenge so…

The 2nd Punic War Began in 218 B.C. Hannibal (Carthaginian

military leader) put together a crazy big army (50 war elephants) but lost a lot of them due to the snow and cold

Even so, he beat the Roman army for 15 years but could not capture Roman cities (due to walls)

Rome then decided to attack Carthage in Africa and Hannibal returned to be defeated by a Roman general named Scipio

Carthage had to pay for stuff again and never again was a threat but…

The 3rd Punic War Senate declared war on

Carthage again just because

Many Roman veterans hated Carthage

Carthage was destroyed and salt poured over the land

Modern things we learned from the Punic Wars:1. Make countries pay that lose2. Use bad excuses to declare war3. Listen to emotion rather than

brain

Problems with Roman Expansion Nobles got too powerful All people that got

conquered weren’t given citizenship but were taxed heavily

Tax collectors (proconsul) kept a lot of the money they collected

The Publicans (people that worked for the censors) kept money also

Changes in Agriculture

Latifundia – large Roman estates that were rented out by the gov’t

Rome depended on provinces for grain

Only the wealthy owned farms – became very expensive

Changes in Commerce

Trade increased within the Roman Empire

Equites – a trader class of Roman business people who had great wealth but very little political power

Social Change

Poor farmers in the city meant people began to judge others on how much money they made

Slaves led miserable lives and often revolted

Death by crucifixion

From a Republic to an Empire 2 brothers: Tiberius

and Gaius Gracchus tried to reform Roman gov’t

One was beaten to death; the other imprisoned for using public funds to buy grain for the poor

Turning point: when law and order turned into violence

Continued…

Gaius Marius gained popularity for defeating German invaders and giving his soldiers money and loot in return

Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Marius were enemies in a civil war in which Sulla won and executed thousands of citizens in 82 B.C.

Sulla ruled until 79 B.C.

The 1st Triumvirate & Rise of Caesar The nephew of Marius

(Julius Caesar) gained popularity and made Sulla retire

Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus then joined forces to form the First Triumvirate in 60 B.C.

Caesar made himself Proconsul of Gaul (France)

Pompey became jealous and Caesar attacked Rome and crossed at the Rubicon River

Caesar continued… Pompey fled and

Caesar secured Italy, Spain, and Egypt

He put Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt to be a Roman ally

Senate appointed Caesar dictator for life

Granted citizenship, gave land to vets, reduced size of Senate

Cassius and Brutus stabbed Caesar to death in the Senate

The 2nd Triumvirate

Octavian (grand nephew of Julius Caesar), Marc Antony (friend of Caesar and a general) and Lepidus (2nd in command) formed the 2nd Triumvirate

Together they beat the armies of Cassius and Brutus

Lepidus retired; Octavian took the west; Antony took the east with Cleopatra

They eventually fought over total control and Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide rather than be taken prisoner

Augustus Caesar After the war, the

Senate declared Octavian as Augustus (means “sacred”)

Became first Roman Emperor

The emperors that followed became known as the Julian Emperors

Julian Emperors

Tiberius – good ruler Caligula – brutal; insane Claudius – good; intelligent;

wife killed him Nero – cruel; idiot;

committed suicide Nerva – good emperor Trajan – conquered more

territory Hadrian – promoted art Antonius Pius – nothing Marcus Aurelius – well

educated; fought off invaders from the north and east

Pax Romana

Pax Romana – (means “Roman peace”) the time beginning with Augustus and ending with Marcus Aurelius

During this time:1. Gov’t ruled 100 million

people2. Law and order was

maintained3. Emporer made all

decisions & appointed officials

Pax Romana continued…

4. Constructed new cities in Spain and Gaul

5. Built public baths and aqueducts (bridge-like structures that carried water from the mountains)

6. Paved streets and built sewer systems

7. Code of 12 tables (law books) was created

Early Christianity

Jesus of Nazareth (born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth) claimed to be the Son of God

Romans feared he would cause a Jewish uprising

The local governor (Pontius Pilate) reluctantly ordered his crucifixion (even though he feared a Jewish uprising from his death) in the city of Jerusalem

Christianity Spread

Many of Jesus’ teachings are found in the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John

After Jesus’ death, Saul (aka Paul) helped spread the word of Christianity

Roman emperors required that THEY be worshipped, not a god; Christianity became outlawed

Jews resisted, refused, some revolted and died and became martyrs (a person put to death for a belief)

Christianity Spread Further

In 200 A.D., a civil war broke out and many converted

There were too many followers so Christianity became un-outlawed

Constantine – the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity

Theodosius – his successor that banned Pagan worship

Bishops of Rome, Alexandria became known as patriarchs

Over time the patriarchs became known as the Pope

Beginning of the end…

Marcus Aurelius did not pick a great successor

He appointed his spoiled son named Commodus

Commodus was harsh to farmers and city workers

Diocletian and Constantine helped to slow the fall by reorganizing and appointing a co-emperor named Maximian

That led to a civil war

Fall of Rome continued…

Constantine became emperor in 306 A.D. until 324 A.D.

Created a new capital called Byzantium

Corruption in the gov’t followed his death

Invaders Visigoths & Ostrogoths (from Germany) were constant

Final Straws

Visigoths finally conquered Rome in 410 A.D.

Vandals attacked everything in the western reaches

Attila the Hun attacked Gaul which was the final straw in breaking the empire up

The invaders couldn’t rule an empire which led to anarchy

Vandals, Visigoths, Huns, and Ostrogoths destroyed schools, churches, stopped trade, & laws were abandoned

Poor leadership, political weakness, economic decline, and social decay led to the end

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