Chapter Five
Ancient Rome and the Rise
of Christianity
509 B.C. - 476 A.D.
Section One
The Roman World
Takes Shape
In a republic, power is held by the people. Their
elected representatives run the government.
When Lincoln said that we
“highly resolve” … “that
government of the people, by
the people, for the people,
shall not perish from the
earth,” he meant that our
republic must be preserved.
This is the only known photograph of Lincoln taken at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Ancient Romans spoke Latin.
In Latin “res publica” means “that which
belongs to the people.”
In a republic, the people chose some of the
officials. The ancient Romans hoped that a
republican form of government would prevent
any individual from gaining too much power.
Vaishali is a small village in northern India. It is
surrounded by mango groves and rice fields.
In the Sixth century B.C., King
Vishal ruled there. The Vaishali
created what historians now
believe was the world’s first
democratic republic. Vaishali
had an elected assembly of
representatives.
Today Vaishali is an
archeological site.
This is the lion atop the two
thousand year old Vaishali Pillar
of Asoka. The lion faces north,
the direction the Buddha took on
his last voyage. This pillar was
discovered, with the lion capital
still jutting out of the ground, in
1969.
Ancient Rome was
a republic. It was
not organized into
city-states.
This is The Oath of the Horatii,
painted by Jacques-Louis David
in 1784. It shows a group of
sons, triplets, swearing to their
father that they will defend the
Roman Republic to the death.
Ancient Rome’s most important long-term contributions
are found in our modern governments and laws.
The Roman state lasted
for a thousand years.
The
Romans
established
their
republic in
509 B.C.
This global view shows the Roman Empire at its height, at about 117 A.D.
In the early years of Rome’s Republic, the Senate
made the laws and controlled the government.
This is Cesare Maccari’s
Cicero Denounces
Catiline, a fresco from
1889. In this scene Cicero
stands at left. Catiline, an
ambitious soldier and a
senator, sits at far right.
Catiline had attempted to
overthrow the Roman
Republic with an army of
ten thousand.
In the beginning of the Roman Republic, the Senate had
three hundred members. All of the members of the
Roman Senate were Patricians.
This is a marble
sculpture of a
Roman man
holding the busts
of his ancestors.
It is from the late
First century B.C.
The importance
Romans attached
to family is
evident in this
sculpture.
Patricians were Rome’s
wealthy landowners.
According to an ancient Roman legend,
the first one hundred men appointed as
senators were referred to as “fathers,”
or “patres” in Latin. The descendants of
those men became the patrician class.
Sometimes, when Rome was in danger, the senate
would appoint a dictator. A dictator is a ruler who
has complete control over a government.
Each Roman dictator was granted
power to rule for six months. After
that time, he had to give up power.
Romans particularly admired their dictator Cincinnatus.
Cincinnatus organized an army, led the Romans to victory
over the attacking enemy, attended victory celebrations,
and returned to his farmlands - all within fifteen days.
This is Juan Antonio Ribera’s Cincinnatus Leaves the Plow for the Roman Dictatorship, from about 1806.
Plebeians were the farmers, merchants, and
artisans who made up most of Rome’s population.
In the beginning of the Roman
Republic, Plebeians had the rights
of citizenship - but little influence.
From 495 through 493 B.C. Rome’s
Plebeians left the city in protest.
They went to Monte Sacro (the sacred
mountain), just outside of the city. The
Patricians had to share political power
with the Plebeians to bring them back.
This is Barloccini’s engraving, Secession of the Plebeians to the Monte Sacro, from 1849.
In 180 B.C., the
Romans enacted
a law that
formalized the
career path of
Roman officials.
It was called the
cursus honorum.
The cursus
honorum became
the foundation of
a Roman political
system.
The cursus honorum
was a great benefit to
the ancient Romans.
It allowed the most
capable Romans to
become leaders in the
government, even if
they did not have
popularity or
influence.
and now…
some more final exam
questions…
Which civilizations were organized
into city-states?
a)
Ancient Greece and Mayans
b)
Rome and Egypt
c)
Phoenicia and India
d)
Ancient China and Ghana
Which civilizations were organized
into city-states?
a)
Ancient Greece and Mayans
b)
Rome and Egypt
c)
Phoenicia and India
d)
Ancient China and Ghana
Important long-term contributions of Ancient
Greek and Roman civilizations are primarily found
in the area of
a)
government and law.
b)
military technology.
c)
religious doctrine.
d)
economic policy.
Important long-term contributions of Ancient
Greek and Roman civilizations are primarily found
in the area of
a)
government and law.
b)
military technology.
c)
religious doctrine.
d)
economic policy.