The Rise and Fall of the
Roman Empire
Impact of Geography
•
Apennines Mountains run north
and south, for the length of Italy
•
Mountains divide the east from the
west
•
Mountains less rugged, so citystates not as isolated as in Greece
•
Fertile plains lie in the north, below
the Alps separating Switzerland
and Italy today.
•
Plains at base of mountains good
for farming – fertile soil
Impact of Geography
 Rome began as a small
city-state located in the
center of the Italian
peninsula
 Rome on the Tiber River
 18 miles inland
 Safe from pirates
• Rome built on seven hills
 Easier to defend
Early Roman People
• Latins
• Etruscans
• Greek
Early Roman People
• Latins: ancestors of the Romans
 Herders and farmers
 Settled along the Tiber River along the 7 hills
• Etruscans: ruled central and northern Italy
 Came from Asia Minor (Eastern Mediterranean)
 Romans borrowed Etruscan alphabet, arch and
worshipped similar gods/goddesses
• Greeks: settled in southern Italy/Sicily
Influence of the Etruscans
Writing
Religion
The Arch
Engineering
The Founding Of Rome
THE MYTH
ROMULUS
AND REMUS
The Roman Republic
Reality
• Romans drove out Etruscan
rulers around 509 BC
• Set up a republic - a form of
government where people
elect representatives.
• The United States has a
representative government.
We learned about this form
of government from the
Romans.
Roman Republic
Representative Democracy - officials elected by
citizens
Also known as a republic
U.S. would also borrow the ideas of the
senate, the veto, and checks on political
power!
Government Set-Up
•2 consuls (rulers of Rome) every year the patrician
class elected two to supervise the business of the
government and to command the army.
•Senate (representative body for patricians) most
powerful governing body, made up of members of
the landholding upper class.
•Tribal assembly (representative
body for plebeians) made up of
farmers, merchants, artisans, and
traders who made up the bulk
of the population.
Roman
Senate
Roman Citizenship
• Romans had a strong sense of citizenship.
• Roman citizens were protected by Roman
government, but had a duty to participate in
society and to make it better.
• The philosophy that preached good citizenship
was called Stoicism.
• Stoicism stressed the importance of being a
good citizen.
Roman Society: Two Social Classes
Patricians
Plebeians
Patricians
 Patrician – an educated person of wealth or high
rank
 an aristocrat or member of the privileged class
 Once the Etruscans were driven out, the patricians
declared Rome a republic
 At the beginning of the republic, only the patricians
held public office, whether civil or religious
 Patricians served in the SENATE and as consuls
Consuls
• 2 patricians were elected as consuls
• Job was to supervise the government and
command the armies
• Consuls had to agree; this enabled a
system of checks and balances
• Consuls served 1 year term
Roman Senate
• Most powerful governing body made up of
300 patricians (landholding upper class)
• The Senate led the Roman Republic.
• They made the laws for the republic.
• Senators served for life
• Senate could choose a dictator
Dictator
• When Rome was in a time of crisis (War) they
would temporarily appoint a dictator
• A dictator - one whose word was law
• only a dictator could override the decision made
by the consuls.
• Senate chose a dictator to rule for 6 months
Plebeians
• Known as Plebs, they made up the majority of Romans
• Plebs (commoners): farmers, merchants, artisans,
traders
• Plebeians (all males of military age) had certain rights:
could serve in the ASSEMBLY, vote, trade, hold
property, and administer judicial self defense.
• But not as privileged as the patricians: could never
marry a Patrician, could not hold a public office and
could not receive entry into the Senate
Plebeians
• Gradually achieved political equality with the
patricians.
• Marriage of plebeians with patricians was
accepted
• Plebeians admitted to the consulate and the
dictatorship.
The 12 Tables of Law
• The Plebs did not know what the laws were because
laws were not written down, and were only known by
the patricians.
• The Plebs insisted the laws be written.
• In 450 BC the patricians agreed to engrave the laws on
12 bronze tablets and to set them in the Forum for all to
see.
• The 12 Tables are the most enduring legacy from the
Roman Empire
Roman Law and Rights
• Roman laws stressed fairness and common
sense.
• There was equal treatment under the law in
Rome and people were considered innocent until
proved guilty when accused of a crime.
• The U.S. took much of its system of government
from the Romans.
The Punic Wars
Growing Rivalry
ROME
VS
CARTHAGE
For control of trade
throughout the
Mediterranean Region
THE PUNIC WARS 264-146 B.C.
Competition in the Mediterranean caused conflict between
Rome and Carthage. These conflicts were known as the
Punic Wars. (There were three)
• The First Punic War-Rome defeated Carthage and gained
the island of Sicily
• The Second Punic War-Hannibal leads his army across the
Alp and for about 15 years moved through Italy winning
many battles. He was forced to return home to defend
Carthage but was defeated by General Scipio. Carthage
was forced to give up Spain and gold and silver mines.
• The Third Punic War-Rome completely destroyed
Carthage. Survivors were killed or sold as slaves and the
earth was salted so nothing would ever grow there again.
Results of Punic Wars
• Series of 3 wars
lasting100 years
• Carthage was destroyed
• Rome inherits
Carthaginian Empire
• Rome controls the entire
Mediterranean
Hannibal’s March
Carthaginian Empire
The First Triumvirate
• Julius Caesar
• Marcus Licinius Crassus
• Gaius Magnus Pompey
Civil War & Dictators
Julius Caesar
Pompey
ROME IS RULED BY THE FIRST
TRIUMVIRATE
• Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus will rule as
the First
Triumvirate.
• Crassus is killed in a war in Asia.
• Caesar defeats Pompey and becomes the
sole ruler of Rome.
JULIUS CAESAR
• Introduced a number of reforms





land to the poor
more people granted citizenship
roads built
public works undertaken
a new calendar introduced
THE DEATH OF JULIUS
CAESAR
• Members of the Senate, who were fearful
and jealous of Caesar’s power plotted
against him.
• On March 15, 44 B.C., as Caesar arrived at
the Senate they stabbed him to death.
• This sent Rome into a new round of Civil
Wars.
Beware the Ides of March!
44 BC
The Roman Empire
27 BCE – 476 CE
The Second Triumvirate
• Octavian Augustus
• Marc Antony
• Marcus Lepidus
AUGUSTUS – “EXALTED ONE”
• “PRINCEPS”-First citizen
• Caesars grandson, Octavian, and his chief general,
Mark Antony, joined forces to hunt down his
killers.
• These two soon began to fight one another Octavian defeated Antony at the battle of Actium.
• Octavian becomes the first emperor of Rome and
the senate gives him the title “Augustus” which
means “Exalted One” and also declared him First
Citizen.
Rome’s first emperor
• Octavian is Rome’s first
emperor.
• He took the name
Augustus Caesar.
• Under his rule, Rome
expanded and enjoyed a
period of peace.
ROME UNDER AUGUSTUS
(OCTAVIAN)
 Under the leadership of Augustus, Rome experienced a
“Golden Age”
 His reign marked the beginning of the “Pax Romana”
which lasted 200 years
 He supported the growth of new business
 He established a sound money system
 New roads were built
 Police and fire departments were organized
 He was the first in the line of emperors worshipped as
Gods and allowed to choose their own successors
Other Emperors of Rome
 Later emperors enlarged the Roman Empire and
brought about important changes
 Tiberius did away with the Assembly
 Claudius made Britain a Roman territory and helped
unify the empire by letting people from the provinces
sit in the Senate
 Vespasian built the Colosseum and destroyed the city
of Jerusalem
 The empire reached its largest size under Trajan
 Hadrian reinforced the northern border to defend
against invasion
 Marcus Aurelius was the last emperor during the “Pax
Romana”
PAX ROMANA/ROMAN PEACE
• After the death of Marcus Aurelius political
and economic chaos rocked the Roman
empire
• Emperors were overthrown- in one 50 year
period 26 emperors reigned.
• Economic issues also created problems
 Taxes placed a burden on business people and
farmers
Julius Caesar
rose to
power and
was assassinated
Political Turmoil
In Rome
Corruption
flourished
New wealth
in Rome
The Republic
Declined
War with
Carthage
Augustus
established
empire
Slaves and
Allies
Revolted
Assassination
led
to
Gracchus
brothers
Killed
The Greatest Extent of the
Roman Empire – 14 CE
Rome Engineering
• Rome built great roads to travel on and
aqueducts to bring water into the city.
• Rome also built great stadiums and
amphitheaters for the entertainment of the
people.
• Romans also developed the use of the arch.
Roman Art
• Mosaics were popular in Rome. A mosaic is a
picture made out of small, colored tiles or pieces
of glass.
• The Romans also made great statues that
looked like the real thing, even though they were
made from stone.
Virgil
• The Aeneid - tried to show that Rome’s
past was as heroic as that of Greece.
• Linked his epic to Homer’s work by
telling how Aeneas escaped from Troy
to found Rome.
• The Aeneid - produced patriotism and
help unite Rome after years of civil
wars.
Pax Romana
• Rome lived in peace for 200 years.
• It was called the Pax Romana, the Peace of
Rome.
Games and Spectacles
• Circus Maximus: site of
public games and
festivals influenced by
the Greeks for mass
entertainment
• Chariot races, gladiator
combats in front of 250
thousand spectators
Chariot Races
Games and Spectacles:
Gladiators
• Mostly criminals and slaves
trained to fight
• System dealt with “criminals,”
political enemies
• Some free men volunteered
• Dressed as Roman enemies
who fought to the death
• Most popular events in the
amphitheater
Roman Empire
Pax Romana Ends
• The Pax Romana “Period of Peace” ended
with the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180
A.D.
• The Roman Empire was thrust back in Civil
Wars over succession to the throne
• 180-284 A.D. political assassinations, and
instability defined the Roman Empire
The Empire Spilts
• In 284 A.D. Diocletian wanted to reform the Empire.
• Diocletian spilt the Empire into two parts: East and West
• In theory splitting the land and dividing power would
protect Rome
• To address economic problems he fixed prices for goods
and services and passed laws which forced farmers to
remain on the land.
• In cities, sons were required to follow their father’s
occupation
• These were efforts to ensure a steady production of food
and other goods.
Eastern & Western Empire
Diocletian Splits the Empire
in Two: 294 CE
Constantine: 312 - 337
Constantine
• Constantine took the throne in 313 A.D. and issued the
Edict of Milan
• Established a new capitol city of Rome in Byzantium
called Constantinople “New Rome”
• eastern portion of the empire the center of power.
• Diocletian and Constantine’s reforms serve as a band aid
and help the Empire survive in the short-term
• The western half of the empire was in decline but the
eastern half would continue to prosper for about 1000
years until being conquered by the Turks.
Decline of Rome
• Rome grew weak because it had grown too large,
in population and land mass.
• Inflation Rapid rise in prices, combined with
high taxes sunk the middle class
• Slave labor was also a problem in the empire.
With so many slaves, the people did not need to
work.
• Political instability
The Fall of the Roman
Empire
Military
German invasions
Army lacked discipline
and training
Relied on mercenaries
Political
More authoritarian
government
Frequent Civil Wars
Declining popular vote
Empire divided in half
Economic
Heavy taxation
Reliance on slave labor
People became poor
Population declined
Agricultural output fell
Social
Declining patriotism
Discipline, devotion
to duty
Barbarians attack Rome
• Romans called the people who destroyed Rome
Barbarians.
• Mercenaries- Foreign soldiers who fight in the military
for pay=Decline in Patriotism
FOREIGN INVASIONS
• As the Huns moved into Europe, the
Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and other Germanic
people crossed into Roman territory seeking
safety.
• The Roman army was no longer strong
enough to stop the invaders.
• Finally in 476, a Germanic leader Odoacer
ousted the Roman emperor.
Atilla the Hun
Rome Falls
• The Huns forced other tribes out of their
traditional homeland and closer to Roman
borders
• With Rome spread thin and with the most power
resting in Constantinople Rome is an easy target
• The Roman Empire fell in 476 AD.
• The eastern part of the empire survives.
Roman Legacy
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•
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•
•
•
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Republic Government
Roman Law
Latin Language
Roman Catholic Church
City Planning
Romanesque Architectural Style
Roman Engineering
• Aqueducts
• Sewage systems
• Dams
• Cement
• Arch