PAGES 132-136
 Rome conquered the Italian peninsula & came into
contact with Carthage, a city-state on the northern
coast of Africa.
 246BC- 146BC
 Rome fought wars against Carthage
 We call these the Punic Wars
 1st Punic war Rome won and took over Sicily Corsica, &
Sardinia
 Carthage sought revenge
 Hannibal led his army across the Pyrenees, through
France, & over the Alps into Italy.
 For 15 years Hannibal moved through Italy winning
battles, but he never captured Rome.
 The Romans outflanked him by sending an army to
attack Carthage , & Hannibal retreated to defend his
homeland where he was defeated.
 After the 2nd Punic War many Romans still saw
Carthage as a rival even after they gave up all their lands
except those in Africa
 In the 3rd Punic War Rome completely destroyed
Carthage
 Survivors were killed or sold into slavery
 Romans salted their lands to prevent growth
• It has been said that while others fought for their own
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preservation; the Romans fought for supremacy & world
domination.
The Romans were committed to imperialism, or
establishing control over foreign lands & peoples.
Rome conquered Greece, parts of Asia Minor, & Macedonia.
They then became lands under Roman rule called
provinces.
Egypt allied with Rome.
133BC
– Roman power extended from Spain to Egypt.
– Romans called the Mediterranean Mare Nostrum which
translates to mean “Our Sea”
 With Rome gaining more land, they also gained control
of many busy trade routes. This brought many riches to
Rome.
 Generals, officials, & traders gained fortunes from loot,
taxes, & commerce.
 The new wealthy Romans built mansions filled with
luxuries imported from the east.
 Latifundias or huge estates began popping up. The
conquered slaves were brought to work on these
 Widespread use of slaves hurt small farmers
 They were unable to produce food as cheaply as the
latifundia
 Huge quantities of grain pouring in from conquered
lands drove down prices.
 Many farmers fell into debt & had to sell their land
 Landless farmers then flocked to Rome & other cities
looking for jobs.
 This developed a restless class of unemployed people &
created a gap between the rich & the poor
 This also increased corruption because greed & self
interest replaced the virtues of hard work, & devotion to
duty
 Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus
 Brothers who were the 1st to attempt reform
 Tiberius was elected tribune in 133BC & sought to
distribute land to poor farmers
 Gaius Gracchus elected 10 years later sought more
reforms
 Use of public funds to buy grain to feed the poor
 These reforms angered the senate, & they were killed by
the senates hired thugs
 They were unable to resolve their problems, & civil wars
began.
 Such as who should hold power
 This turmoil sparked slave uprisings & revolts among
Rome’s allies
 Citizen soldiers became professional armies whose first
loyalty was to their commanders.
 Caesar was an ambitious military commander
 He dominated politics with Pompey, who was another
brilliant general
 59BC
 Set out to make new conquests
 9 years of fighting later he completed his conquest of
Gaul (modern day France)
 Pompey became fearful of Caesar’s rising fame, & ordered
the senate to tell him to disband his army & return home
 Caesar disobeyed this order, & crossed the Rubicon River
into northern Italy.
 He then headed towards Rome & crushed Pompey & his
supporters.
 After he conquered Pompey, he swept around the
Mediterranean suppressing rebellions.
 He said “Veni, vidi, vici” --- “I came, I saw, I conquered”
 He returned to Rome & forced the senate to make him
dictator.
 48-44 BC Caesar’s Reforms
 Public works program to employ the jobless
 Gave public land to the poor
 Granted citizenship to more people
 Induction of a new calendar, the Julian Calendar is
basically the same one we use today
 Caesar’s enemies feared he would make himself king of
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Rome.
March 44BC Caesar arrived in the senate, & his
enemies stabbed him to death
This caused more civil wars.
Mark Antony, Caesar’s chief general, along with
Octavian, Caesar’s grandnephew, joined forces to hunt
down the murderers.
31BC
 Octavian defeated Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt
after they quarreled for power
 The senate gave Octavian the title of Augustus which
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means Exalted One. Augustus exercised absolute power
& named his successor just like a king would do.
He ruled from 31BC- AD14.
This was the beginning of the Roman Empire
Augustus laid the foundations for a stable government
He had a civil-service to enforce laws.
High-level jobs were open to men of talent regardless of
class.
He ordered a census or population count
Set up a postal service & issued new coins
 Not all of Augustus’ successors were great rulers.
 Caligula & Nero were evil & possibly insane.
 Caligula appointed his favorite horse as a consul.
 Nero persecuted Christians & had a fire set that destroyed
much of Rome
 AD 96- AD 180
 Good emperors ruled the empire
 Hadrian codified Roman law, which made it the same for
all provinces
 He had a wall built across Britain to hold back attackers
 Marcus Aurelius read philosophy on military campaigns
& was close to Plato’s ideal of a philosopher-king.
 The Pax Romana was the 200 year span that began with
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Augustus & ended with Marcus Aurelius.
Pax Romana means “Roman Peace”
During this time rulers brought peace, order, unity, &
prosperity to the empire that was roughly equal in size to
the continental United States.
Legions maintained & protected the roads & fleets chased
pirates from the seas
Trade flowed freely from Africa & Asia
 The Nile Valley supplied grain
 Ivory, gold, lions, & other wild animals used in entertainment
came in from Africa
 From India came spices, cotton, & precious stones
 From China & the Silk Road came silk
 People of all backgrounds loved entertainment
 The Circus Maximus
 Rome’s largest racecourse where chariots raced around an oval course.
 Fans bet on the teams- Reds, Greens, Blues, & Whites
 Winners were hailed as heroes
 Gladiator contests
 These were even more popular events
 Many were slaves trained to fight
 After their match, a gladiator could be awarded his freedom for a good
showing, or if they gave a bad showing and received the thumbs down
be executed
 These amusements were paid for by taxes collected, & used as a
way to pacify the mobs of restless citizens.
 They also gave grain to the poor. This is were people warned of
Roman policy of “Bread & Circuses.” Few listened & later emperors
after the Pax Romana faced problems that could not be fixed with
“Bread & Circuses.”