ANCIENT ROME
Romulus and Remus
Beginnings of Rome
The Legend- Rome founded by twins
Romulus and Remus.
Sons of the god Mars & a virgin
princess, were to be killed at birth
but left by the Tiber River.
Raised by a she-wolf until found by a
shepherd.
Romulus killed Remus in an argument
and built a city on the 7 hills where
they grazed their sheep.
The Truth- it is a great site for a city
central location in Italy, fertile land,
near the Tiber River, near the
coast.
Early Settlers
• Latins- farmers/shepherds, built the
first buildings, Language
• Greeks- religion, architecture,
culture, crops
• Etruscans- art (mosaics),
metalwork (weapons)
• Early Rome had a monarchy.
• Etruscan King Targuin overthrown
in 509 BC. Romans swore never to
have another king.
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
“Republic”- Latin means “public
affairs”
Leaders were elected - free male
citizens voted
Power Struggle
1- Patricians- upper class, land
owners, most power
2- Plebeians- middle - lower
classes, farmers, merchants,
artisans.
Could not be in Senate.
Patricians
Roman soldier
and slave
Plebeians
Early Roman Government
*The Consuls- 1 ran military 1 ran gov’t
One-year terms WHY?
*The Senate- elected for life,
300 members
*The Assemblies- or tribunes
– soldiers, merchants, etc.
*Dictators- elected in times of
crisis
Twelve Tables
• First Roman law- citizens’
rights, especially Plebeians
(marriage law, criminal law,
business law)
• Laws posted in the Forum
(central meeting area in
Rome) for all to see
The Roman Army
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“The Legion”
Stood at least 5,000 strong
infantry and cavalry
All Roman men required to
serve, great fighters,
armed with the best
equipment
ROMAN EXPANSION
Conquered all of Italy
The conquered:
-could apply for Roman
citizenship (not all
accepted)
-Had to live in Rome to vote
-Kept local govt. & customs
-Had to pay Roman taxes
The Punic Wars
Carthage - North Africa, Rome
wanted it.
The term Punic comes from the Latin word
Punicus (or Poenicus), meaning
"Carthaginian"
First Punic War- Rome took Sicily,
Corsica, and Sardinia
Second Punic War- Hannibal
attacked Rome through Spain
and over the Alps. Hannibal won
many battles (used elephants).
Rome attacked Carthage.
Hannibal called home - too late
Third Punic War- Rome destroyed
Carthage
THE RISE OF JULIUS CAESAR
Caesar rose to power through
military victories in Gaul (France)
Very popular w/ poor
B/cm Military Consul
First Triumvirate: 60-49
Marcus Crassus (d. 53 BCE)
Pompey (the Great) (106-48 BCE)
Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE)
JULIUS CAESAR
Civil War
Caesar defeated Pompey
(his friend) for control of
Rome
Declared dictator, gave
money & land to poor,
ignored Senate, passed
his own laws.
Adopted Julian calendar
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Assassinations of US presidents:
Abraham Lincoln - Lincoln was shot in the head while watching a play on April
14, 1865. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth escaped and was later shot and
killed.Conspirators who helped plan Lincoln's assassination were found guilty and
hung. Lincoln died on April 15, 1865.
James Garfield - Charles J. Guiteau, a mentally disturbed government office
seeker, shot Garfield on July 2, 1881. The president did not die until September
19th of blood poisoning. This was related more to the manner in which the
physicians attended to the president than to the wounds themselves. Guiteau was
convicted of murder and hanged on June 30, 1882.
William McKinley - McKinley was shot two times by anarchist Leon Czolgosz
while the president was visiting the Pan-American Exhibit in Buffalo, New York on
September 6, 1901. He died on September 14, 1901. Czolgosz stated that he
shot McKinley because he was an enemy of working people. He was convicted of
the murder and electrocuted on October 29, 1901.
John F. Kennedy - On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was mortally
wounded while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. His apparent assassin, Lee
Harvey Oswald, was killed by Jack Ruby before standing trial. The Warren
Commission was called to investigate Kennedy's death and found that Oswald
had acted alone to kill Kennedy. Many argued, however, that there was more than
one gunman, a theory upheld by a 1979 House Committee investigation. The FBI
and a 1982 study disagreed. Speculation continues to this day.
Death of Caesar
Feared & hated by
the Senate
Stabbed by Senators
on March 15, 44 BC
Civil War
Octavian
After the death of Caesar
Octavian & Marc Antony
(Caesar’s generals) fought
over Rome - 13 years
Octavian defeated Antony
Octavian b/cm “Augustus”“Exalted One” - the 1st
Roman emperor.
Marc Antony
Cleopatra
Battle of Actium
Cleopatra’s
Death
PAX ROMANA- ROMAN PEACE
27 BC- 180 AD
Begins under Augustus
• Created a civil service postal
system, census takers, tax
collectors.
• Created jobs building roads,
temples, farming- jobs to poor.
• Improved Roman Agriculturemost important industry, 90% of
the people involved in food
production
• Expanded the empire- 10,000
miles from Britain to Africa to
Asia.
Roman Roads
“All roads lead to Rome.”
Road Construction
CHRISTIANITY
Life of Jesus- b. Bethlehem (4 BC)
Jewish carpenter, began preaching at 30
*Followers- apostles/disciples.
*He told of only one God, believers have salvation & everlasting life.
*He b/cm the Messiah
Death on the Cross
*Jews feared Jesus- WHY?
*Romans feared Jesus- WHY?
*Jerusalem in 29 AD, Jesus welcomed by great crowds. Pontius Pilate
arrested Jesus & sentenced him to be crucified. Jesus tortured,
carried his cross thru the city & nailed to the cross. After death he
was sealed in a tomb, 3 days later his body disappeared.
Spread of Christianity- The Apostles spread the word of Jesus
*Paul only saw Jesus in a vision, lifetime spreading gospel (good news)
*Peter spent life teaching of Jesus, b/cm first Pope
BAD EMPERORS
Caligula (ruled 37-41 AD) ruled at
24, mentally unstable, tortured /
killed 1,000s, incest w/ sisters,
threatened to appoint his horse
to the senate, assassinated by
his own men
Nero (54-68 AD)- burned Rome
(burned poor areas) blamed fires
on Christians, executed
Christians, thought he was an
artist/musician (not very good),
committed suicide.
Domitian (81-96 AD)- paranoid
about being assassinated,
executed thousands assassinated
Roman Sport- The Gladiators
Gladiators were criminals or
slaves who were forced to fight
wild animals & each other
Winners b/cm heroes and
celebrities, but still slaves
Battles - to the death
Inside the Colosseum
DISASTER STRIKES
• 79 AD - Mt. Vesuvius
erupted, buried the
cities of Pompeii and
Herculaneum in
volcanic ash and lava.
• Poison gas killed most
of the people. The ash
hardened - preserved a
look at the Roman life.
Mt. Vesuvius Victims
THE HEIGHT OF ROME 96-180 AD
THE GOOD EMPERORS
TRAJAN- b. Spain- 1st nonItalian
*helped the poor esp. children
*Forum of Trajan- largest
baths in the world, Column
of Trajan
*military victories- territory all
the way to China.
HADRIAN- cousin of Trajan
*empire too big, gave land
back to locals
*built Hadrian’s Wall in Britain
empire’s northern border
*mostly toured the empire
*b/cm sick & died after the
death of his lover in Egypt.
Forum of Trajan
Roman Bath
THE GOOD EMPERORS
ANTOIUS PIUS- finished projects
(temples, bridges) started by
Hadrian
Gave money & gifts to the poor
MARCUS AURELIUS & LUCIUS
VERUS- co-emperors
Trained/educated by Hadrian & Pius
Ruled together for 8 years
Defended Rome’s borders often
Helped poor
Verus died- plague
ROMAN ACHIEVEMENT
GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION
• combo Greek & Roman cultures
• Roman Art- realism, frescoes & mosaics
• Roman Architecture- perfected the column
and arch
CONCRETE
• 1st domed building- the Pantheon- still
standing
Mosaics
Roman Fresco
Roman Architecture
Colosseum
Colosseum
Colosseum Model
Colosseum Roof
Pantheon
ROMAN DECLINE
• political / economic problems after 180AD
• Commodus- gladiator emperor - bad
• Emperors- overthrown or assassinated- Rome
had 26 different emperors in 50 years
• economic recession
• people had to pay high taxes to support gov’t. &
the army
• farmland overused, b/cm unproductive
• farmers became slaves to rich landowners
LAST CHANCE- SAVE THE EMPIRE
Diocletian (284-313AD)
-“price freeze” edict
-people pay taxes over time
-Divided empire
*EAST- Greek lang., Greece - East,
Diocletian ruled
*WEST - Latin speaking, West,
Maximian ruled
Constantine (284-313 AD)
Adopted Christianity, now the official
religion of Rome
Moved the capital to Byzantine
(Turkey)
Named it Constantinople
Invasion of the Empire
Western - Roman Empire attacked
by Barbarians (anyone not
Roman)
Visigoths- attacked Rome- in 408
AD
Vandals- sacked Rome in 455 AD
Saxons- British Isles
Franks- central Europe
Ostrogoths- eastern Europe
Attacks from Asia
The Huns
Led by Attila
100,000 strong
Plundered 70 Roman
cities
Never captured Rome.
Rome population went
from 1 million to 20,000.
The End of Rome
The Last Emperor- Romulus
Augustulus, age 14
powerless, forced to step
down by invaders.
The Western Empire over
The Eastern Empire b/cm
Byzantine Empirecontinued Greco-Roman
culture
Byzantine Empire
*Emperor Justinianconquered N. Africa,
Italy and Spain- b/cm
the new Caesar
*Justinian Code- 5,000
Roman laws, lasted
900 years, opinions on
laws, textbook on laws
and new laws
Byzantine Empire
Constantinople
Hagia Sophia
Byzantine Empire
Constantinople- center of
trade- products afar (tin
from England, silk from
China)
Hagia Sophia- church
built by Justinian
Hippodrome- chariot
races
The Plague- killed
thousands
Attacks- destroy empire
The Church Divided
Roman Catholic
West – Latin
Pope
Pope over kings
Priests not marry
No divorce
vs. Eastern Orthodox
East – Greek
Patriarch/bishops
Emperor over church
Priests marry
Some divorce
*Schism – splitting of the church