500 B.C. – A.D. 500
 509 B.C. – Roman nobility
or patricians overthrewof
the last Etruscan king and
replaced the monarchy
with an aristocratic
republic.
 Roman forum – heart of
the city
 Political and civic center
filled with temples and
public buildings where
leading citizens tended to
government business
 In the beginning, the patrician-dominated government
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consisted of 2 elected executives (consuls), the
Centuriate Assembly, and the Senate
Patricians owned most of the land and controlled the army
Annually elected consuls where the executive heads of
government. They came from nobility, commanded the
army, served as judges, and initiated legislation
Centuriate Assembly – controlled by nobility
Senate advised the Assembly and controlled public
finances and foreign policy
Senate was principal organ of patrician power
 At this time, there was an absence of a written code of
laws
 Plebeians were unhappy with their lack of political
representation
 Plebeians had one decisive weapon: Their threat to
seceded from Rome, that is, not to pay taxes, work, or
serve in army.
 Patricians realize they needed Plebeian help. Thus,
plebeians slowly gained legal equality.
 Early 5th century – Plebeians won right to
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form their own assembly (the Plebeian
Assembly, which was later enlarged and
called the Tribal Assembly)
This assembly could elect Tribunes – officials
who were empowered to protect Plebeian
rights!
Plebeian pressure resulted in the first written
Roman code of laws – Twelve Tables
This gave Plebeians some degree of
protection against unfair and oppressive
patrician officials.
Although Plebeians gained legal equality,
Rome was still ruled by an upper class.
 Rome extends power over the Italian peninsula
 146 B.C. – Rome is dominant power in the
Mediterranean world
 Roman expansion occurred in 3 main stages:
 Uniting of the Italian peninsula, which gave Rome
manpower that transformed it from a city state into a
great power
 The Collision with Carthage, from which Rome emerged
as ruler of the Western Mediterranean
 Subjugation of the Hellenistic states, which brought
Romans in close contact with Greek civilization
 First Punic War (264-241 b.c.)
 Carthage, founded by the Phoenicians, was a
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prosperous commercial center
Carthaginian empire comprised North Africa and
coastal regions of southern Spain, Sardinia, Corsica,
and Western Sicily
Rome prevailed over Carthage, which had to surrender
Sicily to Rome
Rome then seized the island of Corsica and Sardinia
Rome had the beginnings of an EMPIRE.
 Carthaginian army was commanded by Hannibal – military genius!
 Coming from Spain, Hannibal led a seasoned army, complete with war
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elephants for charging enemy lines, across mountain passes so steep
and icy that men and animals sometimes lost their footing and fell to
their deaths.
26,000 men survived the crossing into Italy
Battle of Cannae (216) Hannibal’s army completely destroyed a
Roman army of 60,000 soldiers
Defeated, Rome invaded North Africa, threatening Carthage and
forcing Hannibal to withdraw his troops from Italy in order to defend
his homeland.
Hannibal, who had won every battle in Italy, was defeated by Scipio at
the battle of Zama in North Africa
Carthage surrendered Spain
Left Rome as the sole great power in the Western Mediterranean
 Unnecessary
 Carthage was a second-rate power and no longer a
threat to Rome’s security
 Rome sold Carthaginian survivors into slavery
 Obliterated the city
 Turned the territory into the Roman province of Africa
 Agricultural crisis
 Long wars left farms devastated
 Roman soldier-farmers who served in the army left their
fields neglected
 Returning veterans were forced to sell their farms to
wealthy landowners at low prices
 Tiberius Gracchus, came from
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one of Rome’s most honored
families was elected tribune
Sought to help Rome’s poor
Proposed reforms such as limiting
the size of estates and giving land
to the poor
Rome’s leading families viewed
Tiberius as a revolutionary who
threatened their property and
political authority
Senatorial extremists killed
Tiberius and some 300 of his
followers, dumping their bodies
into the Tiber River
 Gaius Gracchus, younger brother of Tiberius – elected
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tribune
Aided the poor by reintroducing his brother’s plan for
land distribution
Aroused anger of the senatorial class
Civil war rage in Rome – Gaius and 3,000 of his
followers perish
By killing the Gracchi brothers, the Senate had
substituted violence for reason and made murder a
means of coping with troublesome opposition.
 Marius – consul in 107 b.c. adopted a military policy that
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eventually contributed to the wrecking of the Republic
As the republic grew most unstable, generals began seizing
great power for themselves
Recruited soldiers from the landless poor by promising
them land
These soldiers fought for pay and owed allegiance only to
their commander
Replaced citizen-soldiers whose loyalty had been to the
republic
Now possible for a military leader supported by his own
troops to take over by force.
Eventually, one would do just that…
 60 b.c., a TRIUMVIRATE (ruling group of three)
consisting of:
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Julius Caesar – politician
Pompey – general
Crassus – wealthy banker
These men conspired to take over Rome
•Recognized importance of military command
•Gained command of the legions in Gaul (France) in 59
b.c.
•Following year, began conquest of part of Gaul outside
of Roman control
•Successful Gallic campaign and invasion of Britain
revealed Caesar’s exceptional talent for generalship
•Caesar’s victories alarmed Senate!!!
•Triumvirate falls apart – Crassus perished and Pompey
(jealous of Caesar’s success sides with the Senate)
 Senate orders Caesar to relinquish his
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command
Caesar decides to march on Rome
Crosses Rubicon River into Italy, civil
war ravaged the Republic
Pompey cannot defeat Caesar
Senate acknowledges Caesar’s victory
and appointed him to be dictator – a
legal office – 10 years!!!!
 Governed as an absolute ruler – total power
 Started a number of reforms
 Granted Roman citizenship to many people in the provinces
 Expanded the senate
 Helped the poor by creating jobs, especially through the construction of new
public buildings
 February 44 b.c. – Rome’s ruling class, jealous of Caesar’s success and power
and afraid of his ambition, became alarmed when his temporary dictatorship
was converted into a lifelong office
 Aristocracy saw this event as the end of senatorial government and rule
 March 15th – a group of aristocrats, assassinated Caesar
 After Caesar’s death – civil war broke out and destroyed what was left of
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the Roman Republic.
Octavian – Caesar’s 18 year old adopted son
Mark Antony – experienced general
Lepidus – powerful politician
All 3 join forces to crush the assassins – defeat the armies of Brutus
and Cassius, conspirators in the plot against Caesar
 Lepidus was forced by Octavian into political obscurity
 Antony and Octavian fight each other – prize is
ROME.
 Battle of Actium – Western Greece
 Octavian crushed the forces of Mark Antony and his
wife Egypt’s Queen Cleopatra
 Octavian emerges as master of Rome and 4 years later
he becomes THE FIRST ROMAN EMPEROR!!!
 Born in Alexandria during the reign of the Ptolemy
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family
Cleopatra and her family were not Egyptian,
Macedonian – descended through a general of
Alexander the Great
Married her 12 year old brother
Rules Egypt for 3 years then exiled, along with her sister
Cleopatra’s brother, Ptolemy, became involved in a
bitter war with Julius Caesar
She was smuggled into Egypt in a rug – begins affair
with Julius Caesar (they have a child) joins Caesar in
Rome.
After his death – she marries Mark Antony
Her reign marks the end of the Hellenistic Era in Egypt
and the beginning of the Roman era in the eastern
Mediterranean
 Reign of Augustus signified the end of
the Roman Republic and the beginning
of the Roman Empire – termination of
aristocratic politics and the emergence
of one-man rule
 Not a tyrant, considered a “creative
statesman”
 Regarded his power as a public trust,
delegated to him by the Roman people
 Rome’s greatest age
 During this time, Roman empire included more than 3
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million square miles
Population numbered between 60 and 80 million
people
1 million lived in Rome itself
Time of Happiness
One of the finest periods in ancient history
 Held empire together through efficient government
and able rulers
 Augustus was Rome’s ablest emperor
 Stabilized the frontier
 Glorified Rome with splendid public buildings
 Created a system of government that survived for
centuries
 After Augustus died in A. D. 14 – system of government
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he established maintained the empire’s stability
2nd century AD – empire stretched from Spain to
Mesopotamia, North Africa to Britain
Agriculture was MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRY
90% of people engaged in farming
Vast trading network – traded with China and India
Complex network of roads linked the Roman empire to
Persia and Southern Russia
 Most people lived in the countryside and worked on
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farms
Slavery was a significant part of Roman life
Widespread and important to economy
Made more use of slaves than any previous civilization
Most slaves were conquered people brought back by
victorious Roman armies
Many treated cruelly, children were slaves
Some strong, healthy males – forced to become
gladiators (professional fighters) who fought to death
in public
 Born as a movement within Judaism
 Emphasized a more personal relationship between
God and people (attracted many Romans)
 Roman power spread to Judea, (home of the Jews)
 God promised a savior known as the Messiah
 Born in Bethlehem in Judea
 Raised in Nazareth (northern Palestine)
 Baptized by John the Baptist
 Main source of information about Jesus’ teaching are
the Gospels (1st four books of the New Testament)
 Gospels are thought to have been written by one or
more of Jesus’ disciples (pupils) – these 12 men became
the APOSTLES
 1o commandments (Hebrew law)
 Jesus ignored wealth and status – attracted poor
 Growing popularity concerned Jewish and Roman
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leaders
Crowds called him Messiah (king)
Jewish priests denied this, said his teachings were
blasphemy
PONTIUS PILATE accused Jesus of defying the
authority of Rome
Arrested Jesus and sentenced him to be crucified
According to the Gospels, 3 days after Jesus was buried,
his body was gone
Apostles convinced he was the Messiah!!!
 Apostle Paul (huge influence on Christianity’s
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development). Paul was a Jew, never met Jesus, at first
an enemy of Christianity.
Pax Romana made travel and the exchange of ideas
fairly safe, provided the ideal conditions for
Christianity to spread
Paul wrote letter (EPISTLES) to groups of believers
In his teaching, Paul stressed that Jesus was the son of
God who died for people’s sins
Universality that enable Christianity to become more
than just a local religion
 Christians posed a problem for Roman rulers
 Main reason – refused to worship Roman gods (seen as
opposition to Roman rule)
 When Pax Romana began to crumble, persecution of
the Christians intensified
 Romans exiled, imprisoned, or executed Christians for
refusing to worship Roman deities
 Thousands were crucified, and burned
 A.D. 312 Roman emperor Constantine announced an
end to the persecution of Christians
 Edict of Milan – declared Christianity to be one of
religions approved by the emperor
 380 – Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the
empire’s official religion
 Local level – priest led each small group of Christians
 Bishop (also a priest) supervised several local churches
 Apostle Peter became 1st bishop of Rome
 Every major city had its own bishop
 Later bishops of Rome claimed that Peter was the first
pope – father or head of the Christian Church
 Since Rome was the capital of the empire, logical
choice for it to be center of Church
 Church leaders tried to set a single, official standard of
belief – THE NEW TESTAMEST
 Contained the four Gospels
 Epistles of Paul
 Other documents
 New Testament was added to the Hebrew Bible (Old
Testament)
 Constantine called Church leaders to Nicaea where they
wrote the Nicene Creed – defined the basic beliefs of the
Church
 End of the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-
180) marked the end of the Pax Romana
 Economy Weakens
 Inflation – drop in the value of money coupled with the
rise in prices
 Government raised taxes
 Overworked soil led to weakened agriculture
 Years of war had destroyed farmland
 Soldiers became less disciplined and loyal
 Government began to recruit mercenaries (foreign
soldiers who fought for money).
 Overall there was a decrease in patriotism
 1. Economic Weakness
 2. Political Instability
 3. Citizen’s indifference
 Strong-willed army leader that became emperor.
 Restored power to the empire and increased its
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strength
Doubled size of army and controlled inflation by
setting fixed prices for goods.
Believed Empire had grown too large and too
complex for one ruler.
HE DIVIDED THE EMPIRE INTO GREEKSPEAKING EAST (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and
Egypt) AND THE LATIN-SPEAKING WEST (Italy,
Gaul, Britain, and Spain)
He took the Eastern half for himself
His half included much of the empire’s great cities
and trade centers – far wealthier than the West
 Diocletian retires in A.D. 305
 Constantine gains control of the western
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part of the empire in A.D. 312
A.D. 324 secured control of the East, concept
of a single ruler
A.D. 330 – MOVED CAPITAL FROM ROME
TO THE GREEK CITY OF BYZANTIUM
(now Turkey). New capital located on the
Bosporus strait.
With Byzantium the capital, center of power
of the empire shifted from Rome to the East.
City eventually became CONSTANTINOPLE
After Constantine’s death, the empire would
again be divided
The East would survive and the West would
fall
 Decline of Western Roman Empire took many years
 Eastern Empire was wealthier
 Outside Invasions
 Germanic Invasions
 Huns (Mongol nomads from Central Asia) move in
 Germanic peoples, fleeing the Huns, moved through
Roman provinces of Gaul, Spain, and North Africa
 Unite for the first time under Attila, a powerful chieftain
 100,000 soldiers, terrorized both halves of the empire
 Last Roman Emperor – 14 year old boy named
Romulus Augustulus, ousted by German forces in 476.
 Roman power in the western half of the empire
disappeared
 Eastern half became called the BYZANTINE EMPIRE –
flourishes!!!
 Preserved Greek heritage and Roman culture for 1,000
years
 Byzantine emperors ruled Constantinople until 1453 –
fell to Ottoman Turks
 Roman’s admired Greek culture
 Mixing of elements of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman
culture - Greco-Roman Culture
 Roman sculptors created realistic portraits
 Latin (language of Romans) Official language of
Catholic Church into 20th century
 Developed into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian,
and Romanian (Romance Languages)
 More than ½ the words in English have a basis in Latin
 Supported by arches
 Designed to bring water into cities
 Thomas Jefferson began a Roman revival in the US
 All persons had the right to equal treatment under the
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law
A person was considered innocent until proven guilty
Person should be punished only for actions, not
thoughts
Principles of Roman law endured to form the basis of
legal systems in the US
Most lasting and widespread contribution was law