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Roman Empire. The Early Empire Life in Ancient Rome The Fall of Rome. What did Augustus achieve?. For centuries the Mediterranean region had been filled with conflict – he began to get it under the control of one empire How did he do that? 150,000 professional soldiers
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Roman Empire The Early Empire Life in Ancient Rome The Fall of Rome
What did Augustus achieve? • For centuries the Mediterranean region had been filled with conflict – he began to get it under the control of one empire • How did he do that? • 150,000 professional soldiers • 9,000 Praetorian Guard (notice the root word, I wonder why it is praetor?)
What else? • His legions conquered many new territories (Spain, Gaul (France), Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria – map text p. 292 A.D. 14) • Rebuilt Rome • Stately palaces, fountains, splendid public buildings (“I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble”) see picture text p. 287 • Arts flourished as never before
There’s more he did? • Imported grain to feed population (less likely to cause trouble) • Improved Rome’s government • Proconsul (governor) for each Roman province (they replaced politicians who had been chosen by the Senate) • Traveled to provinces to see how things are going
Changes made by Augustus (causes and effects) • C: builds professional army - E: adds conquered territories to empire • C: imported grain – E: reduced hunger • C: new professional governors – E: improved local government • C: tax collectors were made government workers - E: increased amount of money controlled by government
EQ #1 How did Augustus begin Pax Romana? • Permanent professional army • Restored Rome’s splendor • Imported grain to feed the hungry poor • Appointed a proconsul for each province • Reformed tax system • His armies conquered new territories
Who follows Augustus and how does that work out? • A mixed bag of rulers – some good and others were very bad • Caligula – mental illness caused him to act strangely and treat people cruelly (text p. 288) • Nero – another vicious man, “fiddled while Rome burned” (text p. 288)
OK, so Nero’s dead and the “good emperors” are coming – what happens in between? • Mt Vesuvius/Pompeii • Time Traveler text p. 290 • Linking Past and Present text p. 290 • Google images of Pompeii/Mt. Vesuvius
What made the “good emperors” good? • Agriculture flourished • Trade increased • Standard of living rose • Though they overshadowed the Senate more than ever, they did not abuse their power • Named trained officials to carry out their orders • S rank these in order of importance – 4 corners for most important – defend why
Give me some details of what they did to help the people • Trajan gave money to help poor parents raise and educate their children • Hadrian made Roman law easier to understand and apply • Antoninus Pius passed laws to help orphans • All of the emperors supported public building projects (arches, monuments, bridges, road, harbors, aqueducts)
How does it work for most people? • Most people were farmers who grew olives, grapes, and grain (both small estates and latifundia) • Others were artisans who traded with others inside and outside the Roman Empire • A gap existed between rich merchants, shopkeepers, and skilled workers – and poor farmers and city dwellers
The empire becomes its largest • Under the “good rulers” (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius) the empire flourished • Under Trajan it becomes its largest - spreading well beyond the Mediterranean including Britain in the north and part of Mesopotamia in the east – (see map p. 293) • Hadrian realizes it is too big to manage and pulls troops back from most of Mesopotamia, in Europe he sets the empire’s northern borders at the Rhine and Danube Rivers – (see map p. 293, also built Hadrian’s wall - Exploring Hadrian’s Wall p. 292, google Hadrian’s Wall)
What keeps it all together? • The empire was unified by: • Roman law • Roman rule • Shared identity as Romans • Roman culture had been carried into every province by soldiers who protected the empire and by officials who were sent to govern. • Romans were generous in granting citizenship • 5 min Draw each & describe drawing to partner
EQ #2 What made the empire rich and prosperous? • system of roads – 50,000 miles long (oh of how they were made; reasons roads were important) • seas – naval protection and ports allowed trade to flourish • aqueducts • common currency allows trade to be easy all throughout the empire • standard system of weights and measures • Rank in importance – 4 corners – defend why