The Roman Empire
*Learn how Rome ruled an empire.
*Understand the Greek influence on
Rome.
*Identify key aspects of Roman
architecture and technology.
*Learn about key aspects of Roman
law.
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*Province: a unit of an empire
*Colosseum: a large amphitheater built in
Rome and around A.D. 70; site of contests and
combats
*Aqueduct: a structure that carries water over
long distances
*Polytheism: a belief in more than one god
*Arch: a curved structure used as a support
over an open space, as in a doorway
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1. Ruling an Empire
Rome controlled all the lands
surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
They called the Mediterranean, mare
nostrum, “our sea”.
A. The Power of Augustus
Augustus (Octavian-Julius Caesar’s
adopted son) was an intelligent ruler.
He showed great respect for the
senate and tried to avoid acting like a
king.
Augustus often said he wanted to
share his power with the senate.
Roman’s were so grateful for Rome’s
peace and prosperity that they gave
Augustus as much power as he
wanted.
B. Governing Conquered Peoples
Romans took some slaves after a conquest, but most
of the conquered people remained free.
To govern, the Romans divided their empire into
provinces.
Province: a unit of an empire
Each province had a Roman governor supported by an
army.
Rome wanted peaceful provinces that would supply
the empire with raw materials it need.
Rome also wanted the conquered people to buy
Roman goods and to pay taxes.
Many conquered people adopted Roman ways: spoke
Latin and worshipped Roman gods.
C. The Five Good Emperors
When Augustus (Octavian-Caesar’s adopted son) died, Rome had
good, bad, and terrible emperors.
Two of the worst were Caligula and Nero.
Both were considered to be insane.
Caligula proclaimed himself a god and was cruel and unfair.
Caligula
Nero
* Caligula was said to have made his horse his trustful senator.
* He witnessed his families murders.
* Reigned as Rome’s emperor for 4 years.
* First Roman emperor to be assassinated.
* Nero’s uncle.
* It’s believed he have had illnesses that caused him to seem insane.
*
* Nero was very musical and loved to perform.
* He had his mother murdered because she didn’t like who he wanted
to marry.
* He would randomly walk down the street and murder people.
* It is told that he would dip Christians in oil and tar and burn them at
night for a light to see by.
* Nero committed suicide because the Roman government considered
him an enemy of the state due to his insanity.
C. The Five Good Emperors
In A.D. 96, Rome is called the age of the
five “good emperors”; only the last emperor
had a son.
All other emperors adopted the best young
man he could find to be the next emperor.
The greatest of the five “good emperors”
was Hadrian.
His laws protected women, children, and
slaves.
He issued a code of laws so that all laws
were the same throughout the empire.
The last of the “good emperors”, Marcus
Aurelius, chose his son Commodus to follow
him.
Commodus was a terrible leader who ruled
with great brutality.
Hadrian
In Britain Hadrian ordered the
construction of what is now
known as Hadrian’s Wall, near
the modern border of England
and Scotland. The wall, 73
miles long, five meters high
and three meters wide,
marked the northern edge of
the Roman empire.
Commodus believed himself to be
a reincarnation of Hercules, and
enjoyed fighting in an arena as a
gladiator. His outrageous tactics,
such as slaying the crippled and
slaughtering wild beasts in the
arena, brought much negative
attention, and were believed to
have played a role in his eventual
assassination.
2. The Greek Influence on Rome
A. Religion
Greek religion influenced Roman religion; like the Greeks, the
Romans were polytheistic.
Polytheism: the belief in more than one god.
B. Building on Ideas
Greeks developed studies such as math, philosophy, and astronomy.
Romans benefited from the study of these subjects, but they were
more interested in using these studies to build and organize their
world.
Under the Romans, architecture and engineering blossomed.
An important difference between the Greeks and the Romans is that
the Roman’s emphasized practical knowledge.
3. Architecture and Technology
Early Roman art and architecture copied the Etruscan style. Then the
Romans studied and copied the Greeks’ sculpture and architecture styles.
A. Roman Style
Romans made advances in the use of the arch.
Arch: a curved structure used as a support over an open space as in a doorway
Romans used arches to build larger structures; wide arches for ceilings to
create large open spaces inside buildings.
Romans developed an important new building material-concrete, which
helped the Romans build buildings taller than any others built.
B. The Colosseum
Possibly the greatest Roman building was the Colosseum.
Colosseum: the site of contests and combats between people and
between people and animals.
The Colosseum was built so well that the bottom floors could be
flooded with water for mock naval battles.
There were even elevators that carried wild animals from the den
below to the arena floor.
C. Roads and Aqueducts
Roman engineers built roads to every part of the empire.
In roman times all of the major roads lead to Rome, so no matter
what road travelers started out on, they could always get to Rome.
This allowed the Roman military to have quick access to all parts of
the empire.
Romans were famous for their aqueducts.
Aqueducts: structures that carried water over long distances.
The aqueducts were huge lines of arches, often many miles long.
A channel along the top carried water from the countryside to the
cities, tunneling through mountains and spanning across valleys.
They are still used today.
4. Roman Law
Roman law spread throughout the empire.
A later ruler named Justinian created a code of justice from Roman
law. It said,
“No one suffers a penalty for what he thinks.
No one may be forcibly removed from his own house.
The burden of proof is upon the person who accuses.
In inflicting penalties, the age and inexperience of the guilty party must be
taken in account.”
Roman ideas of justice are basic to our system
of laws.
Persons accused of crimes had the right to face
their accusers.
If reasonable doubt existed about a person’s guilt,
 that person would be considered innocent.
* Romans are most famous for its laws, buildings, and roads.
* At one time the Roman empire included (remember the map we
colored)
* Britain,
* North Africa (Carthage),
* and parts of Asia (Fertile Crescent and Egypt)
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