Ancient Rome

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Ancient Rome
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Origins of Rome

• According to legend, Romulus and Remus
• founded Rome in 753 B.C.
• They were the twin sons of the god Mars and a
  Latin princess.
• The twins were abandoned on the Tiber River as
  infants and raised by a she-wolf.

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Origins of Rome

• Romes Geography
• Build on 7 rolling hills at a curve on the Tiber
  River near the center of the Italian peninsula
• Midway between Alps and Italys southern tip
• Near midpoint of Mediterranean Sea

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Origins of Rome

• The First Romans
• From 1000 to 500 B.C., 3 groups inhabited the
  region and battled for control
• Latins
• Considered first Romans
• Greeks
• Established colonies along southern Italy and
  Sicily
• Etruscans
• Native to northern Italy

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The Early Republic

• republic- a form of government in which power
  rests with citizens who have the right to vote
  for their leaders
• In Rome, citizenship with voting rights was
  granted only to free-born male citizens

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The Early Republic

• Patricians
• wealthy landowners
• held most of the power
• Inherited power social status
• claimed ancestry gave them power to make laws

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The Early Republic

• Plebians
• common farmers, artisans, merchants
• made up the majority of the population
• citizens of Rome with right to vote
• barred by law from holding most important
  government positions
• In time, Romes leaders allowed the plebians to
  form their own assembly elect representatives
  called tribunes
• Tribunes protected the rights of the plebians
  from unfair acts of patrician officials

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Twelve Tables

• Victory for plebians forced creation of written
  law code
• Laws carved on 12 tablets (tables) hung in the
  Forum
• Became basis for later Roman law
• Established idea that all free citizens had a
  right to protection of the law

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Roman Republic
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Comparing Republican Governments
Rome United States of America
Executive 2 consuls, elected by the assembly for 1 year- chief executives of the government and commanders-in-chief of the army A president, elected by the people, for 4 years- chief executive of the government and commander-in-chief of the army
Legislative Senate of 300 members, chosen from aristocracy for life, controls foreign financial policies, advises counsels Centuriate Assembly, all citizen-soldiers are members for lifeselects consuls, makes laws Tribal Assembly- citizens grouped according to where they live, members for life elects tribunes makes laws Senate of 100 members, elected by the people for 6 year terms- makes laws, advises president on foreign policy House of Representatives- 435 members- elected by people for 2 yrsmakes laws, originates revenue bills
Judicial Praetors, 8 judges chosen for 1 year by Centuriate Assembly2 oversee civil criminal courts (others govern provinces) Supreme Court- 9 justices appointed for life by president- highest court, hears civil and criminal appeals cases
Legal code 12 Tables- list of rules that was the basis of Roman legal system U.S. Constitution- basic law of the United States
Citizenship All adult male landowners All native-born or naturalized adults
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Roman Army

• All citizens who owned land were required to
  serve in the army
• Seekers of certain political offices had to
  perform 10 years of military service
• Roman soldiers were organized into large military
  units called LEGIONS

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Romes Rise to Greatness

• Key Factors
• Military organization
• Fighting skill of the Roman army

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Romes Commercial Network

• Location gave easy access to lands around
  Mediterranean Sea
• Traded Roman wine and olive oil for a variety of
  foods, raw materials, and manufactured goods from
  other lands
• Other large powerful cities interfered with
  Roman access to Mediterranean
• Carthagerise to power put it in direct
  opposition with Rome

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War with Carthage

• 264 B.C.- Rome Carthage went to war
• Beginning of the Punic Wars
• 3 wars fought between 264-164 B.C.
• 1st- for control of Sicily western
  Mediterraneanlasted 23 yrs, Carthage defeated
• 2nd- Carthaginian general named Hannibal is
  defeated by Romans
• 3rd Rome sacks Carthage and ends War

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End of Punic Wars

• Victories gave Rome dominance over the western
  Mediterranean
• Empire stretched from Anatolia to Spain

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The Republic Collapses

• Romes increasing wealth and expanding boundaries
  brought many problems
• Growing discontent among lower classes of society
• Breakdown in military order
• Led to emergence of a new political system

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Julius Caesar Takes Control

• 60 B.C.- J.Caesar, a military leader, joined
  forces with Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and Pompey,
  a popular general
• Caesar was elected consul in 59 B.C.
• For 10 years these men dominated Rome as a
  triumvirate (a group of 3 rulers)

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Julius Caesar Takes Control

• Caesar was a strong leader and genius at military
  strategy
• Served only 1 year as consul
• Appointed himself governor of Gaul (now France)
• Led his legions to conquer all of Gaul
• Shared fully in hardships of warwon mens
  loyalty and devotion

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Julius Caesar Takes Control

• Reports of Caesars success in Gaul made him
  popular with the people of Rome
• Pompey became his political rival and feared his
  ambitions
• At Pompeys urgings in 50 B.C., Caesar was
  ordered to disband his legions and return home

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Julius Caesar Takes Control

• Caesar defied the Senates order
• On the night of January 10, 49 B.C., he took his
  army across the Rubicon River in Italy
• He marched his army swiftly toward Rome and
  Pompey fled
• Caesars troops defeated Pompeys armies in
  Greece, Asia, Spain, Egypt
• Caesar returned to Rome where he had the support
  of the army and the masses
• The senate appointed him dictator for life

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Caesars Reforms

• Caesar governed as an absolute ruler
• He started a number of reforms
• Granted Roman citizenship to many people in the
  provinces
• Expanded the senate, adding friends supporters
  from Italy other regions
• Helped poor by creating jobs esp. through the
  construction of new public buildings
• Increased pay for soldiers

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Caesars Reforms

• Nobles and senators expressed concern over
  Caesars growing power, success, popularity
• They feared him becoming a tyrant
• Many important senators, led by Marcus Brutus
  Gaius Cassius, planned his assassination
• On March 15, 44 B.C., they stabbed him to death
  in the senate chamber

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Beginning of the Roman Empire

• Civil war broke out after Caesars death
• Destroyed what was left of the Roman Republic
• 3 of Caesars supporters banded together to crush
  the assassins
• Octavian, Mark Antony, Lepidus
• Took control of Rome and ruled for 10 yrs as the
  2nd Triumvirate

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2nd Triumvirate

• Alliance ended in jealousy violence
• Octavian forced Lepidus to retire
• Octavian and Antony became rivals
• Antony met Cleopatra, fell in love with her,
  followed her to Egypt
• Another civil war erupted, Octavian defeated
  forces of Cleopatra Antony
• Antony Cleopatra committed suicide

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Octavian

• Restored some aspects of the republic
• Became unchallenged ruler of Rome
• Accepted title of Augustus or exalted one
• Kept title imperator or supreme military
  commander (emperor is derived from this title)

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A Vast Powerful Empire

• Peak of Romes power- from peak of rule of
  Augustus (27 B.C. to A.D. 180)
• Peace reigned for 207 yrs- Pax Romana- Roman
  peace
• Roman Empire included more than 3 million square
  miles its population was between 60-80 million
  people
• 1 million people lived in Rome during this time

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Augustus

• Stabilized frontier
• Glorified Rome with public bldgs
• Created system of government that survived for
  centuries
• Set up a civil service- paid workers to manage
  affairs of government
• Civil servants drawn from plebians and former
  slaves administered the empire

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Agriculture

• Agriculture- most important industry in the
  empire
• 90 of people were involved with farming

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Roman World

• Most Romans lived in the countryside worked on
  farms
• Diverse society- merchants, soldiers, slaves,
  philosophers, foreigners
• Romans honored
• Strength more than beauty
• Power more than grace
• Usefulness more than elegance

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Gods Goddesses

• Honored gods goddesses through rituals hoping
  to gain favor and avoid misfortune
• Government religion were linked
• Head god Jupiter

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Society Culture

• Classes have little in common lives different
  for poor and rich
• Government provided games, races, mock battles,
  gladiator contests to distract control masses
• Colosseum- huge arena that could hold over 50,000
  people
• Christianity- a new religion slowly emerging
  during this time

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CHRISTIANITY
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Roots in Judaism

• Many people in the Mediterranean were practicing
  Jews at this time
• They lived in Judea, but were treated bad by the
  Romans
• They hoped that a messiah, or a deliverer sent by
  God, would help free them
• This had been told by prophets for many years

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Roots in Judaism (contd)

• After several rebellions the Jews were forced to
  live in other parts of the Mediterranean and the
  Middle East
• Continued to study the Torah and pass down their
  beliefs

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Jesus

• During this time he grew up in Nazareth
• He traveled around preaching kindness and
  repentance of sins
• He gathered many followers called disciples
• Often taught through parables
• Controversy arose over his status (messiah or
  not) and this scared the Romans
• They felt he was a threat to Roman stability
• Ordered to die on a cross by Pontius Pilate in 33
  AD

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Early Christians

• Many believed that Jesus rose from the dead and
  was the true messiah
• Followers of his disciples became known as
  Christos, the Greek word for messiah
• These people formed a community of believers
• Two men helped spread Christianity
• Paul ? wrote letters about Jesus helped convert
  non-Jews
• Peter ? went to Rome to help set up the church

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Early Christians Suffer

• Believed that their religion was the one true
  faith and refused to worship the emperor or other
  Roman gods
• The Romans felt divine punishment would befall
  the Christians, still they made martyrs of many
  (death in arenas)
• Christians competing with polytheistic beliefs

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The Romans Convert

• The strength of Christians in Roman cities at
  this time made them more influential
• The religion really flourished with the aid of
  emperor Constantine
• Issued the Edict of Milan which allowed everyone
  to worship freely
• It eventually became the official religion of the
  Roman Empire in 392 AD

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The Early Church

• Early Christians knew that organization of the
  church and tangible writings were important for
  success
• Organized into a hierarchal system
• Priests ? Bishops ? Patriarchs (5 Bishops of the
  largest cities) ? Pope

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The Early Church (contd)

• At the Council of Nicaea church doctrine
  (official teachings) was established by Bishops
• People in Greece did not think the Pope had
  authority over them
• In time the Church would split into 2 factions
• Roman Catholic Church (Rome)
• Eastern Orthodox Church (Greece)

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The Decline of the Roman Empire
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Problems within the Empire

• With the death of Marcus Aurelius and end of the
  Pax Romana, violence and corruption took center
  stage in the Empire
• Several problems contributed to the decline
• Political Instability
• Economic Decline
• Invasion from the North

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Political Instability

• Began with the successor to Marcus Aurelius
• He was killed by his own troops
• Political disorder took over Rome, as armies
  appointed 28 emperors only to kill them off
• Since there was so much internal fighting, the
  borders were not protected and Germanic tribes
  were successful in attacking the Empire

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Economic Decline

• A byproduct of political instability
• Warfare hurt trade, farming
• Inflation happened when more coins were printed
  to pay soldiers
• Economics affected all parts of the Empire
• Money was needed to pay the soldiers ? landowners
  were more heavily taxed ? farmers abandon their
  land ? food shortage

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Emperors Attempts at Reform

• Emperor Constantine tried to stop the decline of
  the Empire and halt German invasion
• Moved capital to Byzantium (more suited for trade
  and protected by natural barriers)
• Renamed this city Constantinople

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Empire Splits

• Problems arose after Constantines death
• Theodosius I said that when he died the Empire
  would be two separate one East and West
• Byzantine Empire ? eastern empire
• Roman Empire ? western empire

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Invaders

• Germanic warriors ? looking for warmer climate,
  wealth trying to escape the Huns labeled by
  Romans as barbarians
• Visigoths ? most important Germanic group
  defeated large sections of Roman Empire
• Huns ? came from central Asia led by Attila
  entered Gaul and eastern Europe eventually
  brought down by plague and famine

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End of the Roman Empire

• When the Huns left and the Empire left in ruins,
  it was very easy for the Germanic tribes to take
  over
• It ended when Germanics named themselves king,
  along with a series of preceding events
• Though the Empire fell, its culture did not
• The Germans and Byzantines adopted language, laws
  and religion