Classical Rome
Origins of Rome
 Legend tells us that Rome was founded in 753 B.C.
by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of the god
Mars and a Latin princess.
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http://Myth of Romulus and Remus
 Location of Rome was decided based on its strategic
location and fertile soil.
 Built by the Tiber River.
Geography of Italy
 Northern Italy is closed off (isolated) by the…
 Alps – tallest mountain range in Europe
 Home to a group of people called the Etruscans.
 The middle of Italy has rolling hills…
 Is where Rome is situated
 Home to the group referred to as the Latin's
 Similar to the NC foothills
 The Southern portion of Italy is…
 Home to an early group of Greeks
Early Rule of Rome
 Ruled by Etruscan Kings
 Tyrannical rule by Tarquin the Proud caused the
people of Rome to overthrow him and they swore
never again to be ruled by a King.
 A Republic was established
 Republic – form of government where the people
(free born male citizens) have the right to elect its
leaders.
Social Structure
 Patricians – wealthy land owners with most of the
power.
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Small portion of Rome’s population.
Thought that their ancestry gave them the authority to make laws in
Rome
 Plebeians – common people like farmers, artisans, and
merchants.
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Large portion of Rome’s population.
Barred by law from holding most important government positions.
Elected their own assembly and representatives called TRIBUNES.
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Tribunes protected Plebeians from unjust acts and laws made by the
Patricians.
Early Roman Law
 Twelve Tables - a set of written laws that were
placed in Rome’s forum.
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Without the Tables, patricians interpreted the law to suit
themselves
Established that all of Rome’s citizens had a right to equal
protection under the law.
Roman Government Structure
 2 Consuls
 commanded the army and directed the government.
 Senate – 300 aristocrats
 Controlled foreign and financial policies.
 Assemblies
 Centuriate – all citizen-soldiers were members for life and
elected the Consuls and helped make laws
 Tribal – citizens grouped by location (tribe) elected tributes
and helped make laws.
Roman Dictator
 Dictator – a leader that has absolute power to make
laws and command the army.
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Only in times of crisis would a dictator be named
6 month term
Chosen by the consuls and elected by the senate
Roman Army
 All citizens who owned land
were required to serve in the
army.
 Some public offices required
10 years military experience.
 Legion – large military units
of 5,000 infantry supported
by cavalry.
Rome’s Empire Building
 By 265 B.C. Rome’s legions defeat the Etruscans to
the North and the Greeks to the South, and controls
all of mainland Italy.
 Conquered groups by Rome were left mostly to
themselves with the exception of providing soldiers
for Rome’s army.
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Helped keep Roman army with fresh troops.
Rome’s Empire Building
 Rome’s location gave it easy access to the riches of
the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea
 Merchants traded Roman wine and olive oil for a
variety of foods, raw materials and manufactured
goods from other lands
 However, other large and powerful cities interfered
with Roman access to the Mediterranean
Punic Wars
3 Wars where fought between Rome and Carthage
1st Punic War (264-241 BC)– was for control of Sicily
and the Western Mediterranean
Rome won
2nd Punic War
(218- 201 BC)
Hannibal led the
Carthaginians to avenge
Carthage.
Punic War Generals
 Hannibal
Scipio
3rd Punic War
(149-146 BC)
 Rome laid siege to
Carthage
 City was set afire
 Its 50,000 inhabitants
sold into slavery
 Its territory made a
Roman province
The Roman Empire
Economic Turmoil
 Economic Turmoil-
growing gap between rich
and poor
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Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
 Military Upheaval-
Generals seizing greater
power for themselves and
recruiting soldiers with
promises of land
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Replaces citizen-soldiers
whose loyalty had been to the
republic
Made it possible for a
military leader to take over
by force
The Triumvirate of Ceasar, Crassus, and Pompey
Crassus
Ceasar
Pompey
Ceasar
 Strong leader, genius at military strategy
 Served one year as consul, then appointed himself
governor of Gaul
 Pompey (who has become his political rival) begins
to fear Ceasar’s ambitions
 At Pompey’s urging, the senate orders Ceasar to
disband his legions and return home
Turning Point
Crossing the Rubicon
“Let us go where the omens
of the Gods and the crimes
of our enemies summon
us! THE DIE IS NOW
CAST!”
Crossing the Rubicon
Roman Republic Enters Civil War
 Within three months,
Caesar controls the entire
Italian peninsula and in
Spain had defeated legions
loyal to Pompey
 Caesar pursues Pompey to
Greece
 Outnumbered, Caesar
crushes the forces of his
enemy, Pompey flees to
Egypt- where he is
murdered
Caesar’s Reforms
 Granted Roman citizenship to many people in the
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provinces
Expanded the senate
Created jobs
Started colonies
Increased pay for soldiers
“Beware the Ides of March”
The Second Triumvirate
Pax Romana
Government in the Empire
 August stabilized the frontier, glorified Rome with
splendid public buildings, and created a system of
government that survived for centuries
 Set up a civil service
 The empire remained stable, even after Augustus’
death, mainly due to the effectiveness of the civil
service in carrying out day-to-day operations
Agriculture & Trade
 Agriculture was the most important industry in the
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empire- 90% of people engaged in farming
Additional food and luxury items were obtained
through trade
Rome had a vast trading network- ships from the
east traveled the Mediterranean protected by the
Roman navy
Cities along the Mediterranean grew wealthy
Rome also traded with India and China
All Roads Lead to Rome
Roman Roads
The Roman World
People
 Rome emphasized the values of discipline, strength,
and loyalty- gravitas
 A practical people
 Most lived in the countryside and worked on farms
 In Rome and other cities people of all walks of life
came together to create a diverse society
The Roman World
Slaves & Captivity
 Romans made more use
of slaves than any
previous civilization
 May have comprised
one-third of the total
population
 Occasional revolts
happened, but none were
successful
The Roman World
Gods & Goddesses
 Numinia and Lares
 Government and religion
were linked- deities were
symbols of the state
 Jupiter, Juno, Minerva
 Worship of the emperor
became part of the
official religion of Rome
Roman Life
Society & Culture
 Wealth and social status made huge differences in
how people lived
 Classes had little in common
 The rich lived extravagantly
 The poor and unemployed were given daily rations of
grain and lived in rickety, sprawling tenements
The Colosseum
The Colosseum
Gladiators
The Colosseum
The Rise of Christianity
Judea
Jesus of Nazareth & Christianity
 Historical records of the time mention very little
about Jesus of Nazareth- most of what we know
comes from the Gospels
 Some of the Gospels are thought to have been
written by one or more of the apostles
 Jesus’ growing popularity concerned Roman and
Jewish leaders
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Roman governor Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the
authority of Rome
Chief priests of the Jews denied that Jesus was the Messiah,
said his teachings were blasphemy
Christianity Spreads Through the Empire
 Paul- Epistles and
Teachings
 Pax Romana provided
the ideal conditions for
Christianity to spread
 Universality of
acceptance enabled
Christianity to become
more than a local
religion
The Diaspora and Persecution of Christians
 The Diaspora- dispersal of Jews from their homeland
 The Jewish political state ceased to exist for more than 1,800
years
 Persecution of Christians intensified as the Pax
Romana crumbled
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Martyrs
Constantine
 Battle at Milvian Bridge
 Edict of Milan
 Theodosius
The Early Christian Church
 Hierarchy of leadership
 Priest
 Bishop
 Pope
 Rome as center of the Church
 New Testament
 Nicene Creed
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Weakening Economy
 Rome’s economy began to weaken
 Trade disrupted by hostile tribes and pirates
 As expansion ceased, new sources of gold and silver were
unavailable
 Rise in taxes
 Minting of coins containing less silver
 Inflation
 Agriculture began to suffer
 Food shortages and disease spread- population declined
Military and Political Turmoil
 Lack of loyalty among soldiers and average citizens
 Lost sense of patriotism
 Mercenaries hired to defend Rome- but they had no
loyalty to the empire
Diocletian’s Reforms
 Doubled the size of the
Roman army
 Controlled inflation by
setting fixed prices for
goods
 Restored prestige to the
office of emperor
 Divided the empire
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Greek-speaking EastGreece, Anatolia, Syria,
Egypt
Latin-speaking West- Italy,
Gaul, Britain, and Spain
Constantinople
Germanic Invasions
 Germanic peoples had lived on the northern
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boarders of the empire and coexisted in relative
peace with Rome for decades
That changed when the Huns moved into the region
and began destroying everything in their path
Groups of Germanic peoples fled into Roman lands
and kept moving
The Western Empire was unable to field an army to
stop them
They reached Rome and plundered the city for three
days
Atilla the Hun
The End of the Empire
 Last Roman emperor- Romulus Augustulus
 Roman power in the western half of the empire had
disappeared
Greco-Roman Culture
A new culture produced by the mixing of elements of
Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman cultures
Roman artists, philosophers, and writers did not copy
Greek and Hellenistic models- they adapted them for
their own purposes and created a style of their own
Fine Arts
Bas-relief
Mosaic
Frescoes
Pompeii
The Crossroads
Roman Literature
 Virgil- poet of epics modeled after Homer- the
Aeneid
 Ovid- light and witty poetry for enjoyment- Amores
 Tactus- historian- Annals and Histories
 Presented facts accurately
 Concerned with Romans’ lack of morality
Legacy of Rome
Latin Language
 Remained the language of learning in the West long
after the fall of Rome
 Official language of the Roman Catholic Church well
into the 20th century
 Adopted by different peoples and developed into the
Romance Languages
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French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian
 Influenced other languages
 More than half the words in the English language have a basis
in Latin
Legacy of Rome
Master Builders
 The arch, dome, and
concrete were combined
to build spectacular
structures
 Aqueducts
 Roman architectural
forms are so practical
and thus have remained
popular
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Roman Revival in the U.S.
in the 18th Century
 Roads
Legacy of Rome
Law
 Most lasting and
widespread contributions
 Principles:
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Right to equal treatment
under the law
Innocent until proven
guilty
Burden of proof rested on
accuser
Punished for actions, not
thoughts
Questionable or unfair
laws could be set aside
Rome’s Enduring Influence
The historian R.H. Barrow has stated that Rome never
fell because it turned into something even greater- an
idea- and achieved immortality.