ROME
Geography and Early Roman Peoples
• Lots of rich farm land and mild climate, able to support a large population
• Rome is based on the Italian Peninsula, which is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea
– Protected in the north by the mountains of the Alps
– Protected in the south, east, and west by the Mediterranean Sea
• Founding of Rome based on the legend of twin brothers Romulus and Remus
• The people who built Rome were members of an Indo-European tribe called the Latins around 1000
BC
– The city prospered due to its location on the Tiber
• In 616 BC a group named the Etruscans arrived and started to rule Rome
• Influences of the Etruscans – heavily influenced by the Greeks
– The toga, gladiator games, and Chariot races
– Introduced the alphabet and number system, also built Rome’s first walls and sewer
• The last Etruscan king was driven out of Rome in 509 BC
Roman Republic
• Since the Romans had been ruled by kings under the Etruscans, they distrusted monarchy and
decided it to replace it with a new form of gov’t
– Republic = a form of gov’t in which the leader is not a monarch, elected officials governed
the state, and certain citizens have the right to vote
• Early Rome was divided into two groups:
– Patricians = rich landowners who controlled the gov’t and society
– Plebeians = commoners, mostly farmers and merchants
• Men in both groups were citizens who could vote
• In the beginning, however, only patricians could be elected to governmental offices
• Plebeians eventually got more rights, and formed their own assembly called the Plebeian Council
– Even had the right to elect officials called tribunes
– It was the job of the tribunes to protect the plebeians against unjust treatment by patrician
officials
• Tribunes could even veto, or ban, laws that the patricians made that they felt were
harmful
• The plebeians also forced the patricians to have all laws written down
– The Law of the Twelve Tables = Rome’s first written law code, was displayed in the Roman
Forum (central square)
• The patricians and plebeians created an unwritten and flexible constitution
– Constitution = framework for gov’t or political structure
• The government consisted of three parts:
– The Senate = a select group of 300 hundred patricians who served for life
• Advised elected officials, handled all foreign relations, and controlled public finances
• By the third century it had the force of law
– Various popular assemblies
• All citizens voted on laws and elected officials
– Officials called magistrates = put laws into practice and governed in the name of the Senate
and the people
• Chief executive offers of the Republic
– Consuls – two elected each year, one to run the gov’t and one to lead the army
– Praetors – magistrates that could act as consuls when the consuls were away at war
• Also in charge of enforcing civil law
– Censors – recorded the city’s population and how much property people owned
1
• System of checks and balances that stopped one group from becoming too powerful
The Republic Expands
• Military might
– All men between the ages of 17 and 46 with a minimum amount of property were required to
serve in the army during times of war
– Army was organized into units called legions
• The backbone of the legions were centurions
• Centurions = commissioned officers who usually commanded a century of a 100 men
• Conquests
– Romans defeated the Etruscans and the Greek cities in southern Italy by 256 BC
– Rome fought and defeated the Hellenistic kingdoms of Macedonia and Persia, making them
Roman provinces
– Rome also annexed Greece as another province
• Annex = incorporate territory into an existing country
• Adopted many elements of Greek culture, especially religion
• Why was Rome successful
– Romans were good diplomats
• Extended Roman citizenship and allowed states to run their own internal affairs
• Only had the conquered people supply troops
– Romans excelled at military matters
• Accomplished and persistent soldiers
• Fortified towns and built roads
• Defeated the enemies surrounding Rome
• Roman Law
– One of the greatest achievements was its system of law
• First code of laws adopted was the Twelve Tables
• Later a more sophisticated system of civil law was developed
• As Rome expanded, legal questions arose that involved both Romans and nonRomans, needed special rules
• Gave rise to a body of law known as the Law of Nations
– Law of Nations
• Used natural law (universal law) based on reason
• Established standards of justice that applied to all people:
– Innocent until proven guilty
– Accused allowed to defend themselves before a judge
– This law system greatly influenced the law system of the United States
The Punic Wars
• Due to the conquest of Italy, the Romans now faced the powerful city and empire of Carthage
located in North Africa
– Both wanted to control the Mediterranean
• First Punic War
– War started in 246 BC when the Romans sent an army to help some allies in Sicily
• Carthage considered this an act of war because they believed Sicily to be part of their
empire
– Carthage’s powerful navy dominated the fighting early on
• The Romans were a land power and had to create their own navy
– The war ended when the Roman navy defeated the Carthaginian navy off the coast of Sicily
– Carthage gave up all rights to Sicily and vowed revenge
• Second Punic War
2
– Rome encouraged one of Carthage’s Spanish allies to revolt and Carthage struck back with
the greatest Carthaginian general, Hannibal
• Hannibal decided to bring war home to the Romans
• 218 BC Hannibal led a well-trained army of 46,000 men and a force of 37 war
elephants across the Pyrenees and the Alps to invade Italy
– 216 BC Romans decided to meet Hannibal head on
• Was a disaster for Rome – lost an army of 40,000
• Refused to surrender and raised another army
– For many years Hannibal dominated the Italian countryside
• Defeated one Roman army after another
• Battle of Trasimene – 15,000 Romans killed, 15,000 captured, Hannibal only lost
1,500 and an eye
• In another battle 50,000 Romans died or were wounded
– Unable to defeat Hannibal in Italy, the Romans decided on a new strategy
• The Roman army sailed across the Mediterranean and attacked Carthage
• Carthage was forced to recall Hannibal
– Battle of Zama (202 BC) – Romans defeat Hannibal’s army
• Carthage lost Spain, which became part of Rome
• Carthage was stripped of its navy
• Rome is now the dominant power on the Mediterranean
• Third Punic War
– Romans decide in favor of the complete destruction of Carthage
– After a siege of three years, Carthage finally fell in 146 BC
• Roman soldiers spent ten days burning and demolishing buildings
• The entire population was sold into slavery
• Carthage became a Roman province called Africa
Collapse of the Republic
• Social unrest
– Growing tension among the various classes
– Soldier-farmers were returning home from years of service and finding that their land had
either been sold or was in bad shape
• Two brothers, the Gracchi, tried to redistribute public land and were quite popular
• The Roman elite, especially the Senate, were unhappy about this
– The Senate urged mobs to kill the two brothers
– For the first time, the blood of Roman citizens was intentionally shed in the Forum
• Violence had become a political tool
• The Social War
– Rome’s allies in Italy wanted Roman citizenship
– The Senate refused and war broke out
– The Italian rebels were defeated, but only after the Senate promised them citizenship
• The military in politics
– Gaius Marius, a talented young military leader was elected consul and he decided to improve
recruitment for the army
• Eliminated property requirements
• Poor people began to join and swore an oath of loyalty to the general, not to the
Roman state, in hopes of sharing the plunder from war
– Result was that armies largely became private forces devoted to a general and placed much
power in the hands of individual generals
• Generals could use loyalty of troops as a political tool
3
– New type of army that was not under gov’t control
The Civil War
– General Sulla became consul following the Social War
– Marius and his supporters defied Roman custom by trying to prevent Sulla from taking a
military command
• Sulla responded by marching on Rome with his legions
– Sulla emerged victorious and became a dictator
• Dictator = an absolute ruler
• Executed all who had opposed him
• Carried out reforms aimed at protecting the power of the Senate and preserving the
Republic
– Legacy of Sulla = using an army to seize power
Rise of the Roman Empire
• The old Republic was mostly gone within a generation of Sulla
– Was the result of the ambitions of just a few men
• The First Triumvirate
– Triumvirate = rule by three people with equal power
– The first Triumvirate was composed of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus
• Caesar added Gaul – modern France
• Pompey added Syria and parts of Asia Minor
• Crassus was one of the wealthiest men in Rome
– Took over Rome in 60 BC
• Crassus died and Caesar and Pompey faced off in a civil war – Caesar was victorious
– Senate declared Caesar dictator for life in 44 BC
• Gave citizenship to people in the provinces and gave public land to veterans
• Was popular with the people, but many senators thought he meant to destroy the
Republic
– Ides of March (March 15) – a group of senators murder Julius Caesar
• Second Triumvirate
– Established in 43 BC – composed of Octavian (Caesar’s adopted son and heir), Marc Antony,
and Lepidus
• Lepidus was pushed aside and Octavian and Antony decide to govern half the empire
each
– Civil war breaks out and Octavian defeats Antony and his ally Queen Cleopatra of Egypt
• Both commit suicide after the defeat
– Octavian now alone controlled Rome
• Republic effectively dead
• Senate awards Octavian the title Augustus “the revered one”
– Continued to control the army and took the name imperator
• Imperator = commander in chief (emperor)
• Became the first emperor of Rome
• The Augustan Age
– Augustus ruled Rome for more than 40 years
– Divided the power to rule Rome between himself and the Senate
• Later emperors took over more and more powers of the Senate
– Augustus did great things for Rome
• Created a police force and fire brigades
• Vast building program, he restored old temples and built new ones
• Sponsored Latin literature – Vergil, Livy, Horace
•
4
•
Julio-Claudians – relatives of Caesar ruled for the next 54 years
– Tiberius – adopted son of Augustus
– Caligula – brutal and mentally unstable
– Nero – killed his own mother and committed suicide
• The Five Good Emperors:
– Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius
– Governed Rome for nearly a century and under them the empire grew tremendously
– Hadrian built defensive fortifications along the frontiers to guard against invasions
• Hadrian’s Wall – built in northern Britain
Pax Romana
• Pax Romana = Roman Peace
– Age of peace and prosperity
– Started off with the reign of Augustus in 27 BC and ended with the death of the last Good
Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, in 180 AD
• Stable gov’t, strong legal system, widespread trade
• Not much war or invasion
– The Roman gov’t was the strongest unifying force in the empire
• Maintained order and enforced the laws
– Extensive road network – 50,000 miles
Rise of Christianity
• Some Jews began to revolt against Roman rule, resulting in all Jews being banned from Jerusalem
• Jesus of Nazareth
– Born in the town of Bethlehem
– All knowledge about Jesus comes from the Gospels, the first four books of the New
Testament
– Traveled around preaching people to repent their sins and seek God’s forgiveness
• People needed to seek forgiveness in preparation for the coming of Judgment Day
• People were to practice humility, mercy, and charity
– As Jesus traveled, he gathered a small group of disciples, or followers
• According to the Bible, Jesus performed miracles and defended the poor
– Roman authorities feared a political uprising and arrested Jesus and sentenced him to death
• Jesus was crucified = nailed to a cross
– Some believed he rose from the dead and spent another 40 days teaching his disciples before
ascending into heaven
– As a result, people began to call him Jesus Christ, the Greek word for Messiah
• Spread of Christianity
– Jesus’ disciples began to teach that all people could achieve salvation
• Salvation = forgiveness of sins and the promise of everlasting life in heaven
– The Apostles – the 12 disciples that Jesus had specifically chosen to carry out his message
• Were the earliest Christian missionaries
• Mostly only taught in Jewish communities
– Paul of Tarsus believed that God had sent him to convert non-Jews
• Without him, Christianity might have remained a branch of Judaism
• He helped to make Christianity a broader religion
• Established Christian churches throughout the eastern Mediterranean
– Paul got rid of some Jewish customs, such as food prohibitions, that hindered his missionary
work among non-Jews
• Emphasized new doctrines that helped distinguish Christianity from Judaism
– The Christian message of eternal life after death appealed to many
5
– Roman religious toleration contributed to the spread
Persecution
– Some local officials and rulers saw Christians as a threat and arrested and killed them
• Fed to the lions, made them martyrs
• Martyrs = people who die for their faith and thus inspire others to believe
– Christianity survived and triumphed
• Imperial approval of Christianity
– Emperor Constantine became the first Christian emperor after he converted after winning a
battle
• He issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity legal within the empire and
declared official tolerance of Christianity
– Emperor Theodosius outlawed public non-Christian sacrifices and ceremonies
• As a result, Christianity was adopted as the Roman religion and polytheism began to
disappear
• The Early Christian Church
– Development of ceremonies that inspired people’s faith and made them feel closer to Jesus
• Eucharist = held in memory of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples
• Eat bread and drink wine in memory of Jesus’ death and resurrection
• Baptism = people admitted into the Christian faith
• Mass =
– Hierarchy
• Priests ran the ceremonies and instructed a small local community
• Bishops = high-ranking church official who oversees a group of churches in a
particular area
• Bishops were the most important official of the early Christian church
• Many Christians believed that Peter the Apostle founded the Roman Church
• Peter had been the bishop of Rome, so later bishops of Rome were seen as
Peter’s spiritual heir
• They took the name popes
• Popes were seen as the head of the entire Christian church
• This was due to the belief that Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of
heaven
Roman Society
• Rich vs. Poor
– The rich usually had a house in the city and one in the country
– The poor (most of the people of Rome) lived in crowded apartment buildings where fire was
a constant hazard
– To keep the poor from rebelling against the bad living conditions, free food and public
entertainment became a major feature of city life
• “Bread and Circuses”
• Entertainment – provided on a grand scale for Romans
– Chariot races
– Coliseum - Gladiator fights, animals killing prisoners
– Dramatic performances held in theaters
• Slavery
– Romans relied the most on slave labor and had the most slaves
– Large numbers of captured peoples brought back as slaves
– Slaves built buildings and roads, were used as tutors, on farms, and as shop assistants
– Conditions for most slaves were bad
•
6
– The murder of a master by a slave meant the execution for all the household slaves
– Most of the gladiators were slaves
– The most famous slave revolt was led by Spartacus and involved 70,000 slaves – they
managed to defeat several armies before being caught and crucified
• Family
– Headed by the paterfamilias – the family father
• Was the oldest living male and had extensive powers over his family
– Extended family – included wife, sons with their wives and children, unmarried daughters,
and slaves
– Legal age to marry: girls – 12 and boys – 14
– Families with no sons could adopt boys to be heirs
• Education
– The upper classes placed great importance on education
– The father was the chief figure in providing for the education of his children 1) teach them
himself, 2) hire a tutor, or 3) send them to exclusive schools
• Women
– Women could do little without the intervention of a male guardian
– Could own and inherit property
– Could attend races, the theater, and events in the Colosseum, but had to sit in separate female
sections
• Achievements
– Galen – Roman physician who wrote several volumes that summarized all the medical
knowledge of his time
• Was regarded as the greatest authority on medicine for centuries
– Ptolemy – stated that the earth was the center of the universe
– Aqueducts – man-made channels used to bring water to the cities
Decline and Fall of Rome
• Political problems
– Weak leaders
– Political upheaval – series of civil wars
• Military dictatorship – army deposed emperors and elevated their own leaders
• Between 235 to 284 there were 20 emperors, all but one died violently
• Economic problems
– Economic crisis – decline in trade and farming
– Military needs required emperors to raise taxes
– As taxes rose, the value of money declined
• Emperors minted new coins with copper and lead instead of the same amount of
silver
• People didn’t believe the money was worth the same
– The result was growing inflation = dramatic rise in prices
• Military Problems
– Difficult to pay and enlist more soldiers, had to rely on hiring Germans to fight
• Had little loyalty to the Empire
• Plague
– Disease weakened the Roman Empire
– Not enough soldiers or farmers to harvest crops
• Invaders
– Invading Germanic tribes, mostly enter Roman territory to flee from the Huns
• Huns = feared nomadic warriors from Asia
7
•
•
• Visigoths – crossed the Danube river into Italy
• Vandals – came into Italy from north Africa
– Sacking of Rome
• 410 the Visigoths plunder Rome
• 455 the Vandals sack Rome
• Famous for destroying everything in their path
• Vandal = “one who causes senseless destruction”
• The Huns were talked out of attacking Rome by Pope Leo I
Fall of Rome
– 476 – the last emperor of Rome was deposed by the Germanic commander Odoacer
– Many consider this to be the end of the Western Roman Empire
Division of the Roman Empire
– To slow the empire’s decline, emperors Diocletian and Constantine divided the empire into
two parts
– Western Roman Empire – capital at Rome
• Destroyed in 476
– Eastern Roman Empire – capital at Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople
• Lasted another thousand years, becomes known as the Byzantine Empire
8