Ancient
Rome
Early Rome
What
advantages
did Rome’s
location
give it?
Rome was
founded in
753BC
on the Tiber River.
In 616, the Etruscans conquered central Italy.
Influenced Roman development
System of writing – alphabet
Architecture – the arch
The Etruscans ruled Rome for 100 years.
Around 509 BC, the Romans drove out the
Etruscans and set up a republican
government.
Republican means
A political unit that is not ruled by a monarch and in which citizens with
the right to vote choose their leaders.
Is the United States a republic?
Consul
The Republic was headed by 2 consuls.
A consul means
Directed the government and the military
(like the US President), head of the
executive branch of the government
Consuls served for
One year
Could not be elected again for 10 years
Could veto each other’s decisions
Veto
A veto is
To block a decision or vote
Who has the power in US government to veto?
The President
Senate
•The consuls were advised by the Senate.
How many Senators were there?
•How long did Senators serve?
300
For Life
How many Senators does the US have? 100/ 2 per state
How long do US Senators serve?
6 years
All Senators were Patricians.
A patrician is?
The noble class or aristocracy
Plebeians were?
The common man
Plebeians had few rights and Could not vote. They
were allowed to become members of the Roman
assembly which had no real power. Senators could
veto the assembly.
Plebeians later forced Patricians to give
them more power. They refused to
serve in the army until patricians
agreed to reforms.
Enslavement for debt was ended.
Marriage between patricians and
plebeians was allowed
Roman Values
• Gravitas – discipline, strength, and loyalty
honored strength more than beauty, power more
than grace, usefulness more than elegance
• Slavery – mostly conquered people, gladiators
• Religion – myths, same as Greeks (but gave gods
different names)
Worship of emperor became part of the
official religion
Twelve Tables
In 451BC,
Roman law
was carved on
12 great
tablets known
as the Twelve
Tables
Roman Law
• All persons had the right to equal treatment under the law.
• A person was considered innocent until proven guilty.
• No person could be judged guilty of a crime until after the
facts of the case were examined.
• The burden of proof rested with the accuser rather than the
accused.
• All persons accused of crimes had a right to face their
accusers and defend themselves before a judge.
• If there was any doubt about a person’s guilt, he or she should
be judged innocent.
• Any law that seemed unreasonable or grossly unfair could be
set aside.
What legal systems did Roman law influence?
The Forum
Forum
All free citizens had a
right to the protection
of the law.
The Twelve Tablets
were hung in the
Forum, the public
meeting area in the
center of Rome.
In 509 BC, Rome was only 19 square miles.
All male citizens were required to serve
in the army.
Romans could not hold public office
until they had first served for 10 years
as a soldier.
So what type of society did Rome have?
The Roman army was made up of legions.
Roman Legion
A legion was A unit of the Roman army made up of 4000-6000 men
Cavalry
Each legion had a unit of cavalry. What is cavalry?
Roman legions were superior to Greek
phalanxes because they were more
flexible.
A consul led the army.
In times of emergency, a dictator
was appointed by the Senate.
A dictator in Rome is
A political leader elected for a limited time and given
absolute power to make laws and command the army
How long could a dictator serve?
6 months
Why did the Romans limit a dictator’s term?
What is the definition of a dictator today?
Any political leader who takes on absolute power and
command of the army usually without legal basis
Can you name any modern dictators?
The
Roman
army had
catapults
which
could
throw
stones or
flaming
missiles.
The
Roman
army also
had Siege
Towers
Rome is located on the Italian Peninsula.
From 509 – 265 BC, Rome conquered the
Italian Peninsula
Define peninsula:
A peninsula is
Land surrounded on 3 sides by water
Can you name another peninsula?
In 390 BC,
Rome was
sacked by the
Gauls.
What does
“sack” mean?
Destroy
Romans were forced to pay a bribe to
make the Guals leave.
What is a Bribe?
To pay money to make some one do something. It is
usually considered illegal.
Citizenship rights
•Latin neighbors on the Tiber River had full citizenship rights
– could marry other Romans, vote in Assemblies, and appeal
for justice in Roman courts.
•Other people on the Italian peninsula were given the status of
half-citizens – enjoyed all privileges except voting
•Allies, conquered people, had to contribute troops to the
Roman army, forbidden to make treaties but were free to
govern its own people without interference from Rome
This was different than in Greece. People outside of Rome
shared in the power of government.
Jews
Under citizenship rights, Jews qualified as allies.
•Allies, conquered people, had to contribute troops to the
Roman army, forbidden to make treaties but were free to
govern its own people without interference from Rome
However Jews refused to worship or respect Roman
gods. Romans were polytheistic. Jews were
monotheistic. The First Commandment said “I am the
Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before
Me.” This difference caused problems and made the
Romans single out the Jews for punishment.
Punic Wars
The 3 Punic Wars were
fought between Rome
and Carthage. Carthage
was located on the
continent of Africa, on
the coast in the middle of
the Mediterranean. It was
a rival for control of trade
on the Mediterranean
Sea.
The First Punic War started in 246 BC
Carthage was founded by Phoenicians and
controlled colonies in Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily,
. Spain,
and North Africa.
.
Rome and Carthage fought for control over
the colonies and for control of the trade on
the Mediterranean Sea.
Carthage was 3 times as large as Rome and
had a navy of 500 ships.
It collected in tribute of 1 million pounds of
gold a year.
What is a tribute?
Carthage used the money to employ
mercenaries.
What is a mercenary?
A soldier who fights for money, not loyalty
Roman Disadvantage: Rome had no navy.
Roman Advantages
1. Rome could draw on more than 500,000 troops through its conquered
territory.
2.
Citizen troops were more loyal and reliable than mercenaries.
3. Warfare was a Roman specialty while Carthage was more interested
in trying to collect more wealth.
The First Punic War lasted 23 years, It
ended when Rome defeated Carthage’s
navy.
This ended Carthage’s sea power.
Rome took over Sicily.
The Second
Punic War
Began in 218 BC
when Hannibal, a
general from Carthage
planned an invasion.
Hannibal assembled an invasion force of
50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 60
elephants. His army occupied parts of Italy
for 13 years. Why did his invasion fail?
Battle of Zama
The Roman
general, Scipio
sailed to
Carthage to
attack and
forced
Hannibal to
return to
defend the city.
Third Punic War: Carthage was destroyed
in 146BC
What did Rome gain by defeating Carthage?
What 2 civilizations combined to form
“classical civilization”?
Greece and Rome
What was Roman language called?
Latin
What modern languages developed from Latin?
Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian
Collesium
Gladiator
Arch
Pantheon
q
u
e
d
Aqueduct
Circus
Maximus
Myrtar
Roman Roads
all roads lead to Rome continues to invoke the
picture of Roman cultural and military
dominance.
Appian Way
Rubicon River
Julius Caesar
Assassination