Plebeian – an ordinary citizen in the ancient Roman
Republic
Consul – an elected official who led the Roman
Republic
Veto – the power of one branch of government to
reject bills another branch of the government
Dictator – a person in the ancient Roman Republic
appointed to rule for six months in times of
emergency, with all the powers of a king
The legend of Romulus and Remus
Rhea was married to Mars, the Roman god of
war. Rhea had twin sons. She loved her boys, but
there were plots afoot by other gods and
goddesses to harm her father, herself, her
husband, and her children. To protect the boys,
she set them adrift on the river, hoping
someone would find them. Who would not love
such beautiful boys?
Sure enough, first they were found by a she-wolf
who fed them. Then a shepherd and his wife
adopted the boys.
As the twins grew older, they decided they did
not want to take care of sheep. They wanted to
be kings. They decided to build a city on the
shores of the Tiber. They both wanted to be the
only king. They quarreled. In a fit of rage,
Romulus picked up a rock, killed his brother,
and made himself king.
That’s how Rome started
Fertile soil and the Tiber river
made Italy a good place to settle
The Tiber River flowed into the
Tyrrhenian sea
Rome was at the center of a
long, narrow peninsula we now
call Italy
Italy is surrounded by the
Mediterranean Sea which was
the center of the western world
Historians know very little about the
people who founded Rome.
600B.C. people called the Etruscans
held power in Rome and spoke an
unusually Italian language (not Latin
related)
Historians claim that the people
revolted against the harsh reign of
Tarquinius Superbus starting the
roman Republic (other historians
refute this theory)
Romans adopted the Greek alphabet,
Area inhabited by the Etruscans
Etruscans gods and the garment
(in red)
known as the toga
In the Roman republic the most
powerful part of government was
the republic
The Roman senate was the basis of
the United States legislative branch
of government – proposes and votes
on new laws
The first senate comprised of 300
upper-class men called patrician
Plebeians were known as ordinary
citizens and could not hold office or
be senators
Rome found ways to govern that better
suited the people and didn’t give all the
power to one king
Rome started to expand its empire
264B.C. the Romans had gained control
of the entire Italian peninsula
A republic, a citizen who has rights to
vote select leaders, was formed
Leaders rule in the name of the people
Two chief officials called consuls led the
government and enforced, such as our
President, the Republics laws and policies
An assembly elected the consuls and the
consuls rule for 1 year
Power was divided equally between the
consuls
Consuls could veto, reject any planned
action by a person in power
The senate consuls on foreign affairs,
laws, and finances
In case two consuls disagreed a
dictator, a roman official who
had all the powers of a king but
could hold office for only six
months, would handle the
emergency
Praetors started out as serving
as junior consuls but later
served as judges in civil law
trials
Trials settled disputes about
money, business matters,
contracts and so on
This was the beginning of the
first ruled courts of law
-leaders
-fought hard to control the
government
-grew wealthy due to Rome’s
conquests
-used money to buy out small farms
and make large farms
-slaves worked these farms
-gave into plebeians and created the
Twelve Tables which stated laws so all
citizens knew the laws
-believed they had a right to be
respected and treated fairly
- did not trust patrician senate
-formed their own group to
protect their interests
-were without a job when the
patricians bought out the small
farms
-eventually, they refused to fight in
the army
- never found real power
Roman armies were conquering
new territories controlled by
Carthage, North African city
-In 146B.C. the Romans defeated
the Carthage while other Roman
armies conquered Greece
-The city of Carthage went from a
population of more than a quarter
million people was left with 50,000
survivors
Soon after, Roman armies
conquered Spain and the land of
Gaul (present day France)
Roman generals started to gather
their own private armies to fight
for power within Rome
Consuls no longer respected one
another’s veto power
Patricians and plebeians fought
over land
A Civil War emerged with private
armies roaming the streets and
murdering enemies
Caesar fought and won against Pompey
49B.C. Caesar became dictator of Rome but
ruled longer than the 6 months” allowed for
a dictator
Caesar took power away from the senate
46 B.C. Caesar became the only consul
44B.C. he became the dictator for life
From 58 – 51 B.C.
Caesar conquered Gaul
and his strong
leadership won him the
loyalty of his troops
Although he tried to reorganize the
government many Romans saw this as him
being a king
March 15th, the ides of March, the senate
surrounded and stabbed Caesar to death
Civil war followed Caesar’s death for 13
years
Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, held
power
In 27 B.C. the senate awarded Octavian
the title Augustus which meant “highly
respected”
Augustus was the first emperor of Rome
This time marks the end of the Roman
Republic and the beginning of the Roman
Empire
The Empire lasted almost 500 years
Roma was run by an emperor instead of
the people
Province – a unit of an empire
Colosseum – a large amphitheater built in Rome
around A.D. 70, site of contests and combats
Aqueduct – a structure that carries water over long
distances
Polytheism – a belief in more than one god
Arch – a curved structure used as support over an
open space, as in a doorway
Roman Empire
All Roads lead to Rome
As Augustus rise to power he
ignored the senate and its
laws
Once he established power
he had much respect for the
senate and was careful not to
act like a king and suffer the
fate of Julius Caesar
Romans were so grateful for
peace that the people gave
Augustus much power
Romans admired Greek achievements
-Hadrian spoke Greek better then Latin
-Marcus Aurelius wrote a book of
Greek philosophy
Greek religion influenced Roman religion
Many Roman gods had Greek counterparts
Ex) Jupiter shared characteristics with
Zeus
Ex)Minerva is similar to Athena
Heroes such as Heracles (Hercules) was
adopted by the Romans
As the empire spread Romans adopted other
ideas and gods as well
Terrible:
-Caligula proclaimed himself god and
was cruel and unfair
-Nero murdered his half brother, wife,
and mother
Five “Good Emperors”
Hadrian
-His laws protected women, children and
slaves.
-He issued a code of laws that were the
same throughout his empire.
-He reorganized the army, traveled
throughout his empire, commissioned
the building of many buildings, and
encouraged learning
Marcus Aurelius (last of good leaders)
-Chose his son Commodus to be emperor
who was a terrible leader
Some slaves were taken after Rome conquered
an area but most people remained free
The Romans divided the empire into provinces
which had a governor and an army
A city was built in each province to serve as the
capital
Romans did not force their way of life on people
but instead allowed them to speak their own
language and follow their own customs and
religions
Romans hoped that the peace and fairness would
help to supply them with raw materials
Romans wanted conquered people to buy roam
products and pay taxes
Greeks:
-interested in ideas
-sought truth about the world
through reason
-Developed studies in
mathematics
-Philosophy, and astronomy
Romans:
-built on these ideas to
organize the worlds
-architecture and engendering
soared under Roman Rule
Early Roman art copied Etruscan style
Later Romans copied Greek style
Eventually they developed their own style
Roman architecture was heavier and
stronger than Greek buildings
Romans made advances in arches
Wider arched ceilings helped create wide
open areas
Romans developed concrete, a mix of
stone, sand, cement, and water that dries
hard as a rock
Concrete helped big bigger and stronger
structures
Greatest Roman building
A site of contests and combats
between people and between
people and animals
The arena held 50,0000 spectators
The structure was so sound that
the bottom could be flooded with
water for mock naval battles in
boats
Elevators carried animals from
below up to the arena
All Roads lead to Rome
Roman engineers built
roads from Roma to all
empires
These roads helped the
military to travel easier
and faster
Roads improved trade
and helped Rome
prosper
Aqueducts were structures that
carried fresh water from country
sides to cities
The water came from mountain
springs
Sources of water had to be at
elevations higher than the city
They were huge lines of arches
which ran for many miles and
through mountains and valleys
Every five miles the aqueduct ran
underground to keep the water fresh
by keeping out dirt and animals
Roman law spread throughout the
empire
Roman ideas for justices are the
basis of our own system of laws
In Rome person’s accused of a crime
had a right to face their accuser.
If reasonable doubt existed about a
person’s guilt then they would be set
free
“Innocent until prove Guilty”