
The Land and Peoples of Italy
Rome’s central location and geographic features made it a desirable location
from which to expand

The location of Rome was ideal for settlement, and
provided a central position in Italy from which to
expand
An Indo-European people known as the Latins were
living in the hills of Rome from about 1500 to 1000
B.C.
o They were herders and farmers
o Spoke Latin
o The Greeks and the Etruscans heavily influenced
the development of Rome
Greeks came to Italy in large numbers during the age
of Greek colonization
o The Greeks occupied Sicily and influenced Rome’s
cultural and artistic systems
 It was the Etruscans who influenced the Rome the
most
o By 650 B.C., they controlled the city and most of
Latium


The Roman Republic
The Romans were practical and skillful in politics and military matters
A new era in Roman history occurred in 509 B.C.
when the last Etruscan king was overthrown and a
republic was established
 By 264 B.C., Rome had conquered virtually all of
Italy
 The Roman historian Livy provided stories that
glorified the virtues of past Romans


Rome was a successful empire because:
o Romans were good diplomats
o They were smart about extending citizenship
rights
o Gave conquered states the autonomy to run their
own affairs
o Romans were excellent at military operations
• They were brilliant strategists
• Built roads throughout the empire to move
armies and supplies
o Romans created practical legal and political
institutions
Roman Senate
Roman Road

Patricians and plebeians made up Roman society
o Men in both groups were citizens and could vote
• However only patricians could be elected to public office
o Patricians and plebeians struggled over social and political
equality

The Roman Senate was made up of 300 patricians
who were elected for life
o The Roman Senate selected the consuls and
praetors and passed laws
o Two consuls, chosen every year, ran the
government and led the army into war
o A praetor was in charge of civil law
By 287 B.C., a law making all Roman males equal
citizens was passed
 Rome’s first attempt at a legal system was the
Twelve Tables adopted in 450 B.C.
o This code of laws proved to be inadequate for the
needs of the Roman society
o Romans then established standards of justice that
applied to all Roman citizens
o The principles of this legal system provide the
basis of our current legal system


Roman Expansion
After their conquest of Italy, the Romans faced the state of Carthage

In 264 B.C., the First Punic War began between Rome
and Carthage
o A Phoenician colony in North Africa that had
grown wealthy from trade
o Rome was victorious and claimed the island of
Sicily
In 216 B.C., the Carthaginian general Hannibal
crossed the Alps with his army of 46,000 men and 37
battle elephants to attack Rome
o This was the beginning of the Second Punic War
o In 206 B.C., the Romans pushed the Carthaginian
forces out of Spain
o At the Battle of Zama in 202 B.C., Rome defeated
Hannibal, and Spain became a Roman province
 In 146 B.C., the Third Punic War was fought.
o The Romans destroyed Carthage and became the
dominant power in the Mediterranean world.


The End of the Roman Republic
Political and social unrest led to civil wars, ending the Republic
By the second century B.C., The Senate was in
control of foreign and domestic policy of Rome,
including financial affairs
 A small group of landed aristocrats began to gain
more power and soon brought instability to the
Roman Republic
o Small farmers were forced off their lands
o They moved to the city where they created a large
class of poor
o Large landed estates, latifundia, were created by
the rich

o Tiberius Gracchus tried to institute land reforms
but were murdered by a group of rich senators

A change in the recruitment of soldiers also created
problems
o Soldiers seeking land swore allegiance to the
general, not the state
• Giving military generals great power
• Generals commanded legions of soldiers
 A legion consisted of 5,000 troops

In 60 B.C., the First Triumvirate was formed to run
the government
o Triumvirate is a government by three people with
equal power
o The leaders of the triumvirate were Crassus,
Pompey, and Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar illegally crossed the Rubicon River
with his army
o causing a civil war in which he defeated Pompey
o He went into Rome because he felt Rome needed
to be saved from the instability

In 45 B.C., Julius Caesar was made dictator and
controlled Rome
o Dictator is an absolute ruler
o Caesar’s land reform policies were unpopular with
the rich
o Members of the senate thought he wanted to be a
king
o He was assassinated by a group of senators in 44
B.C.
o Rome plunged into civil war again


The Second
Triumvirate was
composed of Octavian,
Antony, and Lepidus
o Octavian and Antony
soon came into
conflict
• Antony joined
forces with
Cleopatra of Egypt
• After defeat, they
committed suicide
Octavian soon
became the sole ruler
of the Roman Empire

The Beginning of the Roman Empire
Octavian, titled Caesar Augustus, created a new order that began the Roman
Empire
In 27 B.C., Octavian gave the Senate some power but
became the first emperor of Rome
 The Senate gave the Octavian the title of Augustus,
meaning the revered one
 The Senate also gave Augustus the title of imperator
o Imperator means commander in chief


Augustus’ new political system allowed the emperor
to select his successor
o The next four emperors came from his family
o They became more powerful and corrupt

Nero was a ruthless ruler
o He blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians
o He killed his own mother and also committed
suicide
o His death in 69 B.C. caused a civil war to break out

Following the civil war, emperors were more
tolerant
o The time period known as the Pax Romana began
• Period of peace and prosperity
o The building of roads and public works was
undertaken to help the empire
o The Roman Empire expanded to include Dacia,
Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula
o Trajan, one of the good emperors, strengthened his
defenses along the Rhine and Danube Rivers in
Europe
o Hadrian built a wall in England to defend against
the Scots
Hadrian’s
Wall
The empire at its height was one of the greatest the
world has ever known
 Latin was the language of the western empire,
whereas Greek was spoken in the east
 Roman culture spread through the empire and
mixed with the existing Greek culture resulting in a
Greco-Roman civilization


Roman Arts and Literature
The Romans spread Greco-Roman arts and culture throughout the empire
Art and Architecture
 The Romans borrowed heavily from Greek styles of
art and architecture
o Greek art and sculptures were highly prized by
Romans
o Unlike Greeks, Roman art depicted realistic forms

The Romans constructed roads, bridges, and
aqueducts throughout the empire
 They used curved forms: arches, vaults, and domes
 They used a new and better concrete on a massive
scale
 Built 50,000 miles of roads
 Built dozens of aqueducts that brought water to the
city of over one million people

The Pantheon
Roman
Aqueduct
The Coliseum
The Age of Augustus is known as the golden age of
Latin Literature
 Virgil wrote of the splendor of Rome
o His masterpiece was the Aeneid
• Aeneas was the ideal Roman whose virtues are
duty, piety and faithfulness
• Rome’s gift was the art of ruling

Horace wrote Satires about the Roman people
o Laughs at the weakness of humans
 Livy wrote about the history of Rome, although his
accuracy is often questioned
o The Early History of Rome
• 142 books that told stories about people and their
character


Life in Ancient Rome
City life in ancient Rome had problems similar to life today

Family Life
o Roman households were headed by the
paterfamilias—the dominant male
o Could sell his children into slavery or have them
put to death
o Absolute authority over wife
o Over time this authority over the family declined
o Boys and girls were educated in Roman society
o Greek slaves were often teachers for rich Romans
o Upper-class girls were often sent to primary
schools for their education
o At the age of 12 to 14 boys entered secondary school
while girls entered into marriage
o Women had considerable freedom and
independence
• They could not enter politics
• They could own and sell property, attend theatre
and races, and socialize
• Women were not segregated from males
• Marriage meant for life but divorce was possible
for both male and

Slaves
o Slavery was common in the ancient world, and the
Romans depended heavily on slave labor for
household duties and the building of public works
o Most people owned slaves and many were looked
upon as part of the family household
o Roman conquest brought about a change in the use
of slaves
• Greek slaves were used as tutors, musicians,
doctors, and artists
o Some slaves were used for hard labor on farms
and construction projects like roads and buildings
o These slaves were treated harshly
o
Spartacus was a gladiator who led a slave revolt in
73 B.C.
• Involved 70,000 slaves
• Defeated several Roman armies
• When finally captured, Spartacus and 6,000
followers were nailed to crosses lining the streets
entering Rome

Living Conditions
o Rome was the cultural center of the Roman Empire
o The large public buildings and magnificent
architecture of the city was unequaled anywhere
else in the empire
• The place to be if you wanted to become
somebody
o Very noisy and busy
• No carts or wagons allowed in streets during the
day because of congestion
o A gap existed between the rich and the poor.
• The wealthy lived in comfortable villas
• the poor lived in apartment complexes called
insulae
 Fire was very much a threat in the insulae
 Rooms often very crowded because of so many
people living in them due to the high cost of
rent
 People often spent much of the time, even at
night, outside
 Conditions were not so great for the poor
Starting with Augustus, emperors provided the poor
with grain for bread
 The emperor provided the entertainment for the city
o Horse and chariot races, theater performances,
and gladiator fights
o This was done to keep many poor preoccupied
and their minds off of their terrible living
conditions


Religion in the Roman Empire
Prior to Christianity, Roman religion involved the worship of a number of gods
and goddesses and the belief that Rome had earned the favor of
the gods

Although tolerant of other religions, the official
religion of the Romans involved the worship of
numerous gods and goddesses
o They were not tolerant if other religions threatened
public order or morals
o Rituals guaranteed peace and prosperity
Rome controlled the Jewish state of Judaea under the
direction of an official called a procurator
o The head Roman official of a province
 There was unrest in Judea among the Jews

Four different groups of Jews had varying opinions
on how to deal with Roman rule
o The Sadducees favored cooperation with the Rome
o The Pharisees believed observance of their
religious laws would protect them from Roman
influence
o The Essenes waited for God to save Israel from
oppression
o The Zealots called for the violent overthrow of
Roman Control
 A Jewish revolt was ended in A.D.70, and the Jewish
temple in Jerusalem was destroyed



The Rise of Christianity
Although Christians were initially persecuted, Christianity grew in importance and spread
throughout the Roman Empire

Jesus was a Jewish teacher who traveled and taught
in Judaea and Galilee
 Despite his adherence to the Law, Jesus’ primary
emphasis was on the transformation of the inner
person
 Jesus taught ethical concepts such as humility,
charity, and love towards one another
 Jesus’ preaching led some to believe he would lead
a revolt against Rome
After Jesus’ death, apostles such as Simon Peter and
Paul spread the message of Jesus to Jews and
Gentiles
o Paul founded Christian communities all along the
shores of the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor
 The teachings of Jesus were passed on orally and,
eventually, written down by his followers
o These writings would become the core of the New
Testament


Even though the Romans tolerated other religions,
Christianity was seen as dangerous to the state
o Christians refused to worship the state gods
• This was seen as an act of treason punishable by
death
• Christians saw this as worshipping false gods
and endangering their own salvation
Persecutions of the Christians started under the
reign of Nero
 Roman persecution of Christians strengthened
Christianity
o Fear of persecution meant only the most
committed would choose to follow the faith
o The structure of Christianity became more
organized
• Bishops emerged to control church communities
• Clergy, church leaders, had distinct functions
separate from the laity, or church members


Why was Christianity able to attract so many
followers?
o It was a personal religion and offered salvation to
all. Doing so gave life meaning to many
o The state-based religion was impersonal and
existed for the good of Rome
o It was similar to existing religions offering
immortality
o Christianity fulfilled the human need to belong
o Christianity proved attractive to all classes,
especially the poor and powerless
The last great persecution of the Christians was
under Emperor Diocletian
o Even he recognized the strength of the Christian
religion
 In the fourth century A.D., the Roman emperor
Constantine became the first Christian emperor
o He issued the Edict of Milan which proclaimed
official tolerance of Christianity
 Theodosius the Great adopted Christianity as the
official religion of the Roman Empire


The Decline
Political upheavals, the plague, and the division of the empire led to its decline
After the last of the five “good emperors” died in 180
A.D., a period of conflict, confusion, and civil wars
followed
 Roman rulers relied on military strength to control
the large empire
 From A.D. 235 to 284, the Roman throne was
controlled by the person with the most military
power
 The throne was occupied by 22 different rulers
during this 50 year period
o Most met a violent death


In the third century A.D., invasions, civil wars, and
plague nearly caused an economic collapse of the
empire
o Plague created a shortage of labor and soldiers
o Trade and farm production declined
o Armies were needed more and more but cost a
great deal of money
o Sassanid Persians moved into Roman territory in
the east
o German tribes poured into Gaul, Spain and the
Balkans
Two emperors—Diocletian and Constantine—
attempted to save the empire
o they changed the government structure, economic
and social systems, and implemented Christianity
as the new state religion
 Diocletian ruled from 284 to 305 and split the empire
into four regions
o Enlarged the army
o Created more civil service jobs
o Created price and job freezes


Constantine ruled from 306 to 337 and created a new
capital city in the east
o Constantinople was built on the site of the former
Greek city of Byzantium on the shores of the
Bosporus
o Continued policies of Diocletian

Spending large amounts of money to save the
empire hurt the Roman economy and inflation
appeared

The Fall
The migration of Germanic tribes helped bring an end to the Roman Empire
To survive hard times, the Roman Empire was
divided into the Western Roman Empire and the
Eastern Roman Empire
o Western capital remained Rome
o Eastern capital was Constantinople
 The Huns moved into Eastern Europe and pushed
the Germanic Visigoths west across the Danube
River
o The Visigoths were initially Roman allies but
revolted
o They sacked the Roman capital in A.D. 410
 The Vandals poured into Spain and North Africa
o They captured Rome in A.D. 455

In A.D. 476, the western emperor Romulus
Augustulus was deposed by the Germanic army
o This marks the end of the Western Roman Empire
o The Eastern Roman Empire remained
• It became known as the Byzantine Empire
 A.D. 476 is considered the end of the Roman Empire


There are many theories to propose the fall of the
Roman Empire
o The rise of Christianity weakened Roman military
virtues
o Italian values decreased as the non-Italian
population increased
o Lead poisoning through lead cups and pipes
caused a decline in the population
o Plague weakened the Roman population
o Slavery led to a decline to technology
o Rome could not create a workable political system