Ancient Rome
Geography
-Located on the Italian
peninsula, in the center of
the Mediterranean Sea
-The Alps are in the North
-The Apennine Mts. are on
the eastern coast
-broad, fertile plains in the
north and west
2
Rome Geography
Rome is located:
-On the banks of the Tiber
River
-On and around seven hills
Why would this
geographic location be an
advantage?
3
Early Civilization
-Italy was originally occupied by many different
groups of people
-Two main groups were Greek colonists and the
Etruscans
-The Etruscans ruled much of central Italy and
Rome itself
-Ancestors of the Romans, the Latins, settled in the
area that is now Rome around 800 B.C.
5
Legend of the Founding of Rome
-Legend has it that twin
brothers, Romulus and Remus
founded the city
-According to the tale, the
twins’ mother was a Latin
woman and their father was
the war god Mars
-This led Romans to believe
that they had a divine origin
6
Politics
- 509 B.C. Rome is Founded
-Romans drove out their Etruscan ruler and
established a republic
- They did not want one person to have all
the power
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Politics
-Rome grows strong and begins conquering the rest
of Italy
-By 270 B.C., Rome controls most of the Italian
peninsula
-Military is made up of citizens
-Rome conquered justly- allowing those conquered
to keep their culture, customs, and government- as
long as they supplied soldiers, paid taxes, and
acknowledge Roman leadership
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Main Idea 1:
The Roman Republic was governed by elected
leaders.
Government
• Rome was originally a monarchy, ruled by a king
• In 509 BC the Romans overthrew their king and created a
republic, a government in which people elect their leaders.
• Rome’s leaders were advised by the Senate, a council of rich and
powerful Romans.
• All Roman citizens were encouraged to vote and take part in the
government.
Expansion
• Under the republic, Rome grew. By 100 BC the Romans ruled
much of the Mediterranean world.
• The Romans conquered and took over many lands. For example,
they fought and defeated Carthage in North Africa.
Vocabulary
•
Citizens – people who could take part in the government.
•
Forum – a large public square in the center of the city where citizens met
to discuss city affairs and politics.
The Twelve Tables
•
After a 16-year battle with their last king, Tarquin the Proud, the people of
Rome vowed never to be ruled by a king again. The people wanted to be
ruled by elected leaders. They wanted to vote on any laws suggested. They
wanted to vote on who would rule over them each year.
•
This was the beginning of the ROMAN REPUBLIC.
•
Although many things changed, and much improved, women, children, and
slaves were still not citizens of Rome. They had no voice in government.
Only adult free Roman men were citizens.
•
But, things did improve under the Republic. Leaders of the Republic wrote
down many of the old laws, to make sure everyone understood them.
History refers to this group of laws as "The Twelve Tables" because the
written laws were organized into 12 sections.
•
Each law applied to every Roman citizen, be he rich or poor. That was a
huge change for the better!
Here are a few of the laws in the Twelve Tables
(These have been reworded)
•
If you are called to go to court, you must go. If you don’t show up, you can be taken to
court by force.
•
If you need a witness to testify and he will not show up, you can go once every three
days and shout in front of his house.
•
If it's your tree, it’s your fruit, even if it falls on another man’s land.
•
A person who had been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from
the Tarpeian Rock.
•
No person shall hold meetings by night in the city.
•
A dead man shall not be buried or burned within the city.
•
Marriages should not take place between plebeians and patricians. (As time went
on, this law was changed. When the tables were first written, this was the law.)
•The Roman government was a
republic.
•In a republic, citizens can choose
their leaders.
•The republic was established in 509
B.C. and lasted nearly 500 years.
•One difference between the Roman republic and the
Greek democracy was that in Greece all men could
vote, but in Rome, only men with money and property
could vote.
•Another difference between the Roman republic and
the Greek democracy was that in Greece all men voted
on every law and in Rome the wealthy elected
representatives to make laws for everyone.
•This type of democracy is called a representative
democracy. (This form of government originated in
Rome)
How was the
Roman
government organized?
Would I have been able to vote in
Rome?
•In ancient Rome, you were not allowed to
vote on laws or elect leaders of the
government until you were an adult.
•Even then, only men who owned land
were allowed to have a say in the laws.
Structure of the Republic
-Patricians= landholding
upper class
-Plebeians= farmers,
merchants, artisans,
traders
Patricians
-Senate= governing body
-Consuls= two patricians
Plebeians
-Dictator= assigned to be in
charge in the event of a
war for six months
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Patricians vs. Plebeians
-Plebeians have no say
in the government
- Eventually get to elect
their own officials
called tribunes in 494
B.C.
- For 84 years, (421-337
B.C.) plebeians fought
to have a role in each
part of the government
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The Roman Forum
The forum was the center of political, commercial and judicial
life in ancient Rome.
The Roman Legion
•
Legion- a division of the Roman army usually, comprising of 3000 to
6000 men.
•
The army was organized into legions. Each legion has 5000 men. Each
legion has its own leader, its own banner, and its own number. Each
also had its own nickname. They moved camp every night. Each legion
was broken into several fighting groups.
•
A legionary's uniform included a rectangular shield, a short sword, a
dagger, a metal jacket, a belt, a helmet, a kilt, a shirt, and hobnailed
sandals. The legion wore special hob-nailed sandals.
•
The legion was very organized, and very successful.
•
Each legionary served for 25 years. If they lived through their service,
they could retire. They were given land and a pension so that they live
comfortably. This system placed loyal military men all over the
provinces.
The Punic Wars
-Carthage had an empire
throughout the
Mediterranean
-Rome fought Carthage in
three wars from 264 B.C.
to 146 B.C. (118 years!)
-By the Third Punic War,
Rome had completely
destroyed Carthage and
gained all of Carthage’s
territory
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Julius Caesar
• Julius Caesar was a great
general and an important leader
in ancient Rome.
• During his lifetime, he had held
just about every important title in
the Roman Republic including
consul, tribune of the people, high
commander of the army, and high
priest. He suggested new laws,
most of which were approved by
the Senate. He reorganized the
army. He improved the way the
provinces were governed. The
Romans even named a month
after him, the month of July for
Julius Caesar.
•When Julius Caesar said he had something to say, the people flocked to the
Forum to hear his ideas. His ideas had been good ones. The people trusted
him. Julius Caesar told the people that he could solve Rome's problems.
Certainly, the Republic had problems. Crime was everywhere. Taxes were
outrageous. People were hungry. Many were out of work. It was easier to use
slaves to do work than hire Roman people. The people were angry that their
government had not been able to solve the many problems facing the Republic.
•As Julius Caesar became more powerful, and more popular with the people,
leaders in the Senate began to worry. They were afraid that Julius Caesar
wanted to take over the government and rule Rome as a king. The leaders of
ancient Rome had vowed that the Roman people would never be ruled by a king
again. That promise went back over 500 years in time, to when the Roman
Republic first began.
•One of the laws of the original Twelve Tables was that no general could enter
the city with his army. Julius Caesar ignored this law. In 49 BCE, he entered
Rome with the Roman Legion, and took over the government. The poor people
of Rome, who made up the bulk of the population, were glad. The people called
him "father of the homeland“. The Senate was furious.
Julius Caesar
Why was Caesar
murdered?
Caesar and Pompey
• One of Caesar’s biggest rivals was another
general called Pompey
• The Senate disliked Caesar and supported
Pompey – they ordered Caesar to get rid
of his army
• Caesar ignored them and defeated
Pompey in battle
• Caesar then took over Rome as ‘Dictator
for Life’
Caesar’s murder – the build up
• A few weeks before his
murder Caesar is told by a
soothsayer ‘Beware the
Ides of march!’
• The night before his
murder his wife Calpurnia
has a nightmare and begs
him not to go to the
Senate
• Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife, begged him not to go
to the Senate. She had had a nightmare that
he would be murdered.
• A violent storm happened. This was to
bring bad luck to Caesar.
• Caesar ignored a soothsayer outside the Senate. He
told him to “beware the ides of March”.
• Inside the Senate, a group of senators stabbed him to
death, one by one. Casca stabbed him first. There were 23
blows.
The Murder
• 15th March 44BC Caesar gets ready to go to the senate
• More than 60 conspirators wait for Caesar in the Senate
• The conspirators, all senators, are led by Brutus and
Cassius
• With daggers concealed under their togas they murder
Caesar, stabbing him at least 23 times
• Caesar says to his friend Brutus ‘You, too, my child.’
Republic to Empire
-Civil wars break out to decide who should
hold power. The senate wanted to keep the
status quo; political leaders wanted to weaken
the senate and enact reforms
-Slave uprisings throughout the republic
-Armies became loyal to their commanders
because they gave them benefits such as
captured land
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Main Idea 2:
The Roman Empire was a
time of great achievements.
•
The change from republic to empire began after the murder of Julius Caesar
in 44 BC.
•
Empire: a government that includes many different peoples and lands under
a single rule.
•
Caesar’s adopted son Octavian took over the Roman world. As ruler, he was
renamed Augustus, which means “honored one.” He was Rome’s first
emperor.
•
Augustus was respected for his many accomplishments:
– Added territory to the empire
– Built monuments and public buildings
– Improved roads
•
Augustus’s rule was the beginning of the Pax Romana or Roman Peace, a
period of peace and achievement that lasted for about 200 years.
The Life of a Roman Child
•Only children from wealthy families went to school. Poor families needed their children to
help work. Schools were not free. Often children from poor families were taught by their
parents at home.
•Some Roman families paid school masters to teach their children. The school year started
on March 24. Schools were usually just one room. There were about twelve students in a
class. Often the teachers were Greek slaves. The Romans thought the Greeks were smart.
•Children used wax tablets. They would scratch words or numbers in the wax with a
pointed stick. Roman books were on rolls of paper called scrolls. Each end of the paper
was attached to a rod. The reader had to unroll each page to read the book. People used
small reeds to write on the scrolls. The ink was made from a kind of tar called pitch or from
an octopus.
•School lasted until the children were about age 11. A
few boys would continue to go to school, but girls went
home to learn how to run a home.
•The boys of the wealthy class continued school. They
attended a "grammar" school. There they learned Latin,
Greek, grammar, and literature.
•At age 16 some boys continued their education. They
attended classes to prepare as a public speaker.
•Children of very wealthy families were taught at home
by tutors.
Toys
At the end of the school day children loved to play games. Roman children
played with the following toys:
rattles
scooters
jump rope
yo-yos
seesaws
swings
kites
dolls made from wax or clay - Some had jointed legs and arms.
balls
board games
hobbyhorses
carts hitched to goats, ponies, or dogs
models of animals and people
hoops with pieces of metal on them like bells
stilts
weight lifting
The following games were also enjoyed:
tic-tac-toe
knucklesbones - similar to jacks except with bones
boys played war with wooden swords
leapfrog
odd or even - One child held stones in a closed hand. The
other guessed if the objects were an odd or even number.
Pets
Dogs were the most common pet. Other pets included birds, monkeys, and cats.
Families
•In early Rome each family from children up to grandparents lived in one home. The head
of the family was the oldest male.
•The head of the household had authority even over the grown members of the family.
•Women had no authority. The role of the woman was to take care of the children.
•During the first century A. D. family life changed. Women had more rights. Women could
own land, run businesses, free slaves, make wills, be heirs, and get jobs.
Marriage
Youths married when the male was at least 14 and the female 12 years old. They could not
be closely related. Women brought slaves, clothing, jewels, and furniture into the marriage.
After marrying these items belonged to the husband.
Religion
-Romans were polytheistic-they believed in many
gods and goddesses
-Many of the gods were adapted from the Greek
gods
Greek God
Roman God
Zeus-ruler of all gods
Jupiter-ruler of all gods
Hera-wife of Zeus,
protected marriage
Juno-wife of Jupiter,
protected marriage
Poseidon-god of the sea
Neptune-god of the sea
-Roman calendar is full of feasts and celebrations to
honor the gods and goddesses
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Achievements of the Pax Romana
Building and
Engineering
• Great builders and
engineers
• Many Roman buildings
are still standing today.
• Romans also built
durable roads, bridges,
and aqueducts, or
channels used to carry
water over long
distances.
Language
and Law
• Many modern languages
based on Latin, the
Roman language
• Wrote great plays,
poems, and stories
• Roman law influenced
many legal systems
around the world,
including that of the
United States.
Main Idea 3:
The spread of Christianity began
during the empire.
• Christianity is based on the life, actions, and teachings of
Jesus of Nazareth.
• Christianity began in Judea in southwest Asia but quickly
spread through the rest of the Roman world.
• Early Christians traveled from city to city, teaching people
about their beliefs. As a result, large communities of
Christians formed in many Roman cities.
Christianity in the Roman World
• Some Roman leaders feared that Christians
would rebel against the government.
Persecution • To prevent rebellion, these leaders began to
persecute, or punish, Christians.
• Christians practiced their religion in secret to
avoid persecution.
• In the 300s the emperor Constantine became
a Christian.
Acceptance
• Constantine ended persecution.
• In the 380s all non-Christian religions were
banned in Rome.
Official Religion
• Christianity became a powerful influence in
the Roman world.
Main Idea 4:
Various factors helped bring about the
decline of Rome.
• By the late 300s, Roman society was weakening.
– Crime rates rose.
– Taxes and poverty increased.
– The Roman education system broke down.
– The government fell apart.
– Many people no longer felt loyal to Rome.
• Many factors contributed to the weakening.
Factors in Rome’s Decline
Government Problems
Invasions
• For years Rome was ruled
by bad emperors who were
more interested in their
own happiness than in
ruling well.
• Barbarian invaders began to
attack Roman territory in the
300s and 400s.
• Ambitious military leaders
tried to take over, but they
were no better than the
bad emperors.
• Civil wars between rival
leaders added to Rome’s
problems.
• The powerful invaders
defeated Roman armies and
took land away from the
Romans.
• In 476 an invading group
destroyed Rome and
overthrew the last emperor.
Most historians consider this
event the end of the Roman
Empire in western Europe.