The Roman Empire
College English 10
Walker
A Brief History
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The founding of Rome goes back to the
very early days of civilization.
So old, known as 'the eternal city'.
Romans believed that city was founded in
753 BC.
Modern historians believe it was 625 BC.
Government
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Early Rome governed by kings, but after
only seven ruled, Romans took power over
own city and ruled themselves
They had a council known as the 'senate'
which ruled over them
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From this point on note as the 'Roman
Republic'.
The word 'Republic' comes from the Latin
(the language of the Romans) words 'res publica'
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meaning 'public matters' or 'matters of state‘
The Senate
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Job was to advise the kings
appointed a consul (head
guy), who ruled Rome like a
king, but only for one year
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wise idea, because the
consul ruled carefully and
not as a tyrant, for he knew
he could be punished by the
next consul, once his year
was up.
A speech in the Roman
senate
Four Classes of People
NOBLES:
• called
“patricians”
• All the real
power in Rome
lay here
EQUESTRIANS:
AKA- 'knights'
• means the
“riders”
• They were given
a horse to ride if
they were called to
fight for Rome.
• Had to be rich.
PLEBIANS:
• They were free
people.
• They had little
say at all.
SLAVES:
• Owned by
other people.
• They had no
rights at all.
Julius Caesar Facts
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Rome's most famous citizen
Roman politician and general
conquered the vast territory of the Gauls to the north of
his province in France
In the year 49 BC crossed the river between his province
and Italy, called the river Rubicon, and conquered Rome
itself which he then ruled as a dictator.
His military campaigns also took him to Egypt where he
met the famous Cleopatra.
His life was ended as he was infamously murdered in the
senate in Rome.
A month of the year is still named after him and his heirs
today, July (after Julius Caesar)
Shakespeare wrote a famous play called Julius Caesar
about his famous murder (yes- we’ll be reading this!)
Map of Ancient Rome
Forum of
Julius
Caesar
Colosseum
Circus
Maximus
Colosseum
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The Colosseum was
begun by Vespasian
was finished by
Titus in AD 80.
could contain an
audience of
between 45'000
and 50'000
spectators.
The Colosseum:
The arena area today – as seen from the second level up
over the present main entrance
Circus Maximus
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very ancient origin
Its basic facilities appear to
date back as far as 329 BC
Today nothing really remains
but the large space, cleared
of any modern buildings in
the 1930's
once was filled by the
massive structure which
housed as many as 250'000
spectators.
Forum of Julius Caesar
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 begun in 51 BC and
completed in 46 BC
 Once contained not
merely a statue of the
goddess Venus, but so too
of Julius Caesar and his
Egyptian lover Queen
Cleopatra.
Using his booty from conquests
of Gaul, Caesar built the Forum
Julium
undoubtedly Caesar's grand
reply to Pompey's theatre, and
supplied entertainment
The Census
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Every five years, each male Roman citizen had
to register in Rome for the census.
he had to declare his family, wife, children,
slaves and riches.
Should he fail to do this, his possessions would
be confiscated and he would be sold into
slavery.
Throughout the entire republican era,
registration in the census was the only way that
a Roman could ensure that his identity and
status as a citizen were recognized.
Scribes and Censors
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Scribes = responsible to compile the list
from the census
Censors = responsible to scrutinize each
man, evaluate his riches and his rank and
placing him in his rightful place within the
civic hierarchy of Rome (four classes).
Roman Dress
Toga
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Stola and
Palla
Stola and
Palla
Priest's Toga
The Palla
Cloak
clothes needed to be simple
only one type of material: Wool, linen was available at
times
The Toga
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The standard dress worn by Roman citizens was the
toga for men and the stola for women.
 Basically it was a large blanket, draped over the
body, leaving one arm free.
anyone who didn't want to be seen as a slave or a
workman in Rome had to be seen in a toga
What was the women’s role?
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Note this quote from the ancient
Cicero:
'Our ancestors, in their wisdom,
considered that all women, because of
their innate weakness, should be under
the control of guardians.‘
Hypothesize the role of women in pairs.
How did their role differ from a man’s?
Sources:
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http://www.roman-empire.net/index.html