Roman Republic

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Roman Republic
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Geography

• Rome is located on the peninsula of Italy. The
  Mediterranean Sea provides transportation and
  food.
• Italy provides fertile plains and river valleys
  for food and easy communication.

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Roman Religious Ideals

• Romans were polytheistic, believing in many gods
  and spirits.
• Knowledge of the Greek Gods filtered into Roman
  culture. This is known as cultural diffusion.
• The Greek God Zeus became the almighty Roman God
  Jupiter.
• The Greek Goddess Hera became the Roman Goddess
  Juno.

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The Roman Republic

• Rome was founded about 509 BCE. Romans founded a
  new type of government called a republic. In a
  republic people chose officials to represent
  them.
• The highest form of government in Rome was the
  Senate. Senators were wealthy landowners (called
  Patricians.)

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The Roman Republic Cont

• The senators elected two Consuls, whose job it
  was to run the government and command the army.

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Romans Valued Family Ties

• Roman families were headed by the eldest male.
  The Romans emphasized discipline, strength, and
  loyalty.
• Women had many rights and duties in Roman
  society. She did not, however have the key
  right, the right to vote.
• Officially, the Roman women were expected to
  remain in the background.

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Society was Divided Into Classes

• Upper class Romans were known as patricians.
  These people held nearly all the important
  political offices.
• Common framers, artisans, and merchants were
  known as plebeians.
• These two classes were based on birth alone. The
  line between the two classes was extremely rigid.

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Rome Built a Mighty Army

• Both patricians and plebeians lead double lives
  as farmers and soldiers because of the constant
  threat of war.
• All male citizens were required to serve in the
  army, and no one could hold public office until
  he served 10 years as a soldier.

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Rome Built a Mighty Army

• Massive military units were called legions.
  Which consisted of
• Infantry 4,000-6,000 Heavily armed foot
  soldiers.
• Cavalry Smaller groups on horseback that
  assisted the infantry.
• Each legion was divided into 60 smaller groups
  called a century.

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A Fight with Carthage

• By 270 BC Rome had conquered all of Italy. They
  went on to control northern Africa (Carthage),
  Greece and parts of Asia Minor. But the
  expansion also led to much corruption.

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Julius Caesar

• Caesar came to power in 48 BCE. Under Julius
  Caesar Rome conquered many lands.
• Caesar also reformed the government, founded
  libraries and planned public work projects.

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Caesar Murdered

• Caesar was murdered in 44BCE by a group of Roman
  aristocrats who feared his power and did not want
  a dictator.

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Augustus

• After Julius Caesar died, his grandnephew,
  Octavian (Augustus) took over.
• Augustus ruled with absolute power. This began
  the Roman Empire period during which Rome was
  ruled by a series of emperors.

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• Under Augustus Rome enjoyed a peaceful period
  that lasted about 200 years. This was referred
  to as the Pax Romana.
• The government maintained order, enforced laws,
  defended the borders and helped the poor. Many
  public works projects were conducted, such as
  aqueducts, canals and roads.

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• Solid paved roads were built to assist trade and
  communication around the empire. Many still
  exist today.

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• Roman aqueducts were incredible works of
  engineering and architecture.
• The aqueducts could carry up to 300 million
  gallons of water to the city of Rome every day.

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• Roman architecture borrowed Greek elements, but
  made them more grand and heavy.
• Roman architects designed arches and domes that
  could carry great weights.

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The Colosseum
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Cultural Contributions

• Roman poets, historians and philosophers like
  Virgil and Tacitus wrote works in Latin that
  survive to this day.
• Latin is the root of several modern languages.
• Roman numerals can also be seen in many places
  today.

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Legal Contributions

• The most valued contribution of the Romans to the
  world was the Twelve Tables of written laws.
• The Roman legal system provided security for the
  empire, equality under the law, the right to a
  defense and to be considered innocent until
  proven guilty.
• The Roman legal system inspired legal principles
  still practiced around the world today.

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Decline and Fall

• Rome wasnt built in a day and it took a long
  time to decline. Eventually the emperor
  Diocletian divided the empire into eastern and
  western empires.
• While the western empire fell into chaos and was
  invaded, the eastern empire survived as a center
  of trade and culture and became the Byzantine
  Empire.

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Decline and Fall
Invasions of Visigoths and Germanic tribes
Governmental Corruption, People stop Supporting
the government
Causes of the Fall of Rome
Heavy taxes, Shrinking middle Class, Not enough
farmers
Population decline From war and Famine, People
got lazy
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