Rome

1. Rome

2. 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 expandAn Indo-European people known as the Latins were living in the hills of Rome from about 1500 to 1000 B.C. • They were herders and farmers • Spoke Latin • The Greeks and the Etruscans heavily influenced the development of Rome

4. Greeks came to Italy in large numbers during the age of Greek colonization • The Greeks occupied Sicily and influenced Rome’s cultural and artistic systems • It was the Etruscans who influenced the Rome the most • By 650 B.C., they controlled the city and most of Latium

5. 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

6. Rome was a successful empire because: • Romans were good diplomats • They were smart about extending citizenship rights • Gave conquered states the autonomy to run their own affairs • Romans were excellent at military operations • They were brilliant strategists • Built roads throughout the empire to move armies and supplies • Romans created practical legal and political institutions

7. RomanSenate Roman Road

8. Patricians and plebeians made up Roman society • Men in both groups were citizens and could vote • However only patricians could be elected to public office • Patricians and plebeians struggled over social and political equality

9. The Roman Senate was made up of 300 patricians who were elected for life • The Roman Senate selected the consuls and praetors and passed laws • Two consuls, chosen every year, ran the government and led the army into war • A praetor was in charge of civil law

10. 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. • This code of laws proved to be inadequate for the needs of the Roman society • Romans then established standards of justice that applied to all Roman citizens • The principles of this legal system provide the basis of our current legal system

11. 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 • A Phoenician colony in North Africa that had grown wealthy from trade • Rome was victorious and claimed the island of Sicily

12. 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 • This was the beginning of the Second Punic War • In 206 B.C., the Romans pushed the Carthaginian forces out of Spain • 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. • The Romans destroyed Carthage and became the dominant power in the Mediterranean world.

14. 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 • Small farmers were forced off their lands • They moved to the city where they created a large class of poor • Large landed estates, latifundia, were created by the rich

15. Tiberius Gracchus tried to institute land reforms but were murdered by a group of rich senators

16. A change in the recruitment of soldiers also created problems • 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

17. In 60 B.C., the First Triumvirate was formed to run the government • Triumvirate is a government by three people with equal power • The leaders of the triumvirate were Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar • Julius Caesar illegally crossed the Rubicon River with his army • causing a civil war in which he defeated Pompey • He went into Rome because he felt Rome needed to be saved from the instability

18. In 45 B.C., Julius Caesar was made dictator and controlled Rome • Dictator is an absolute ruler • Caesar’s land reform policies were unpopular with the rich • Members of the senate thought he wanted to be a king • He was assassinated by a group of senators in 44 B.C. • Rome plunged into civil war again

20. The Second Triumvirate was composed of Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus • 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

21. 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 • Imperator means commander in chief

22. Augustus’ new political system allowed the emperor to select his successor • The next four emperors came from his family • They became more powerful and corrupt • Nero was a ruthless ruler • He blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians • He killed his own mother and also committed suicide • His death in 69 B.C. caused a civil war to break out

23. Following the civil war, emperors were more tolerant • The time period known as the PaxRomana began • Period of peace and prosperity • The building of roads and public works was undertaken to help the empire • The Roman Empire expanded to include Dacia, Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula • Trajan, one of the good emperors, strengthened his defenses along the Rhine and Danube Rivers in Europe • Hadrian built a wall in England to defend against the Scots

24. Hadrian’s Wall

25. 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

27. 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 • Greek art and sculptures were highly prized by Romans • Unlike Greeks, Roman art depicted realistic forms

28. 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

29. The Pantheon

30. Roman Aqueduct

31. The Coliseum

32. The Age of Augustus is known as the golden age of Latin Literature • Virgil wrote of the splendor of Rome • 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

33. Horace wrote Satires about the Roman people • Laughs at the weakness of humans • Livy wrote about the history of Rome, although his accuracy is often questioned • The Early History of Rome • 142 books that told stories about people and their character

34. Life in Ancient Rome City life in ancient Rome had problems similar to life today • Family Life • Roman households were headed by the paterfamilias—the dominant male • Could sell his children into slavery or have them put to death • Absolute authority over wife • Over time this authority over the family declined

35. Boys and girls were educated in Roman society • Greek slaves were often teachers for rich Romans • Upper-class girls were often sent to primary schools for their education • At the age of 12 to 14 boys entered secondary school while girls entered into marriage

36. 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

37. Slaves • Slavery was common in the ancient world, and the Romans depended heavily on slave labor for household duties and the building of public works • Most people owned slaves and many were looked upon as part of the family household • Roman conquest brought about a change in the use of slaves • Greek slaves were used as tutors, musicians, doctors, and artists • Some slaves were used for hard labor on farms and construction projects like roads and buildings • These slaves were treated harshly

39. 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

40. Living Conditions • Rome was the cultural center of the Roman Empire • 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

41. Very noisy and busy • No carts or wagons allowed in streets during the day because of congestion • 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

45. Starting with Augustus, emperors provided the poor with grain for bread • The emperor provided the entertainment for the city • Horse and chariot races, theater performances, and gladiator fights • This was done to keep many poor preoccupied and their minds off of their terrible living conditions

50. 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 • They were not tolerant if other religions threatened public order or morals • Rituals guaranteed peace and prosperity