THE ROMAN REPUBLIC and THE ROMAN EMPIRE

1. THE ROMAN REPUBLICand THE ROMAN EMPIRE

2. Essential Question: What were the lasting characteristics of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire?

3. In addition to Greece, another significant classical civilization was ancient Rome

4. Impact of Geography on RomeIdentify one GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE and propose how it might impact the culture of Rome

5. The Geography of Rome Rome was located on the Italianpeninsula along the Mediterranean Sea The Romans were influenced by the Greeks and a neighboring tribe called the Etruscans

6. The Culture of Ancient Rome Roman religion was polytheistic and based on the Greek gods (usually only the names changed)

7. The Culture of Ancient Rome Roman writing was called Latin; it was based on Greek writing

8. The Culture of Ancient Rome Roman architecture borrowed heavily from Greek styles

9. The Culture of Ancient Rome Like Greek agoras, Roman cities had a forum for markets and public gatherings

10. Ancient Roman Society Roman society was divided into three major groups At the top were the nobles (called patricians); they controlled most of the land and held key military and government positions

11. Ancient Roman Society Roman society was divided into three major groups Patricians made up 5% of all Roman citizens

12. The Life of the Patricians

13. Ancient Roman Society Most Roman people were commoners (called plebeians); they were farmers, shopkeepers, or peasants

14. Ancient Roman Society Plebeians paid the majority of taxes collected in the Roman Republic; they made up 95% of Roman citizens

15. The Life of the Plebeians

16. Ancient Roman Society At the bottom of society were slaves and residents of the Roman Republic who were not Roman

17. Quick Class Discussion: Based upon this image, what was Roman government like?

18. The Government of Ancient Rome When Rome was first founded, it was ruled by kings; but in 509 BCE, the Romans created a republic

19. The Government of Ancient Rome A republic is a form of government in which citizens have the power to elect their leaders

20. The most important feature of the republic was the Senate, whose 300 members were elected by citizens to make laws and taxes

21. The Government of Ancient Rome In 451 BCE, government officials wrote down Rome’s laws onto the Twelve Tables, which were hung in the forum for all citizens to see The Twelve Tables were based on the idea that all citizens of Rome had a right to the protection of the law

22. The Government of Ancient Rome The Twelve Tables made clear how the law would be applied to Roman citizens

24. The United States also has a republican government, very similar to the one of Ancient Rome

25. The Roman Military Rome was protected by an advanced army of professional soldiers (not part-time soldiers who were farmers or merchants by trade)

26. The Roman Military Rome had the largest army in the Mediterranean at the time; it was also highly organized The Roman soldiers were divided into groups of 5000 men called legions

27. Each legion was divided into smaller groups of 80 men (called centuries) commanded by elitesoldiers called centurions

28. The highly organized command structure ensured that legions could be rapidly deployed against the enemy

29. Advances in military technology (such as catapults) enabled the professional Roman soldiers to not only defend the Romans’ territory, but to expand it

31. THE PUNIC WARS The Romans went to war with a neighboring kingdom, Carthage (based in northern Africa)

33. THE PUNIC WARS The Carthaginians engaged the Romans in three long wars over the course of about a hundred years

34. THE PUNIC WARS Led by the great general Hannibal, the Carthaginians nearly defeated the Romans in the second war; they invaded the Italian peninsula and almost captured Rome

35. THE PUNIC WARS The Romans held the Carthaginians off, then completely destroyed Carthage in their third war

36. THE PUNIC WARS With Carthage’s defeat, the Romans were then the most dominant power in the Mediterranean, carving out an enormous empire

37. Controlling this massive territory, though, would present new problems for the Romans ROMAN TERRITORY

38. PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues: The new lands brought more slaves, which created a job shortage for Roman citizens Generals who controlled the army became more powerful than Senators

39. PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues: People flocked to the big cities from farms, which created food supply shortages Struggles for power led to a series of civil wars between Romans

40. JULIUS CAESAR From the turmoil within the Roman Republic, a new political leader emerged: a general named Julius Caesar

41. Julius Caesar partnered with two other Roman politicians to take control of Rome (they formed a triumvirate) Julius was extremely popular with the Roman people, due to his great military victories

42. Julius Caesar gathered more power to himself, while looking to solve the Roman Republic’s problems by initiating reforms Caesar named himself dictator-for-life in 46 BCE, which weakened the Senators’ power a great deal

43. Fearing that he was becoming too powerful, members of the Roman Senate conspired to assassinate Caesar

44. Caesar was cornered and stabbed to death in the Roman Senate building, which began the end of the Roman Republic

45. The assassination led to another civil war led by Caesar’s adopted son Octavian andhis best general, Marc Antony

46. FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate to rule the Roman Republic

47. FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Octavian exacted revenge on the Senators who assassinated Julius Octavian soon became undisputed ruler of Rome, renaming himself Augustus Caesar “Augustus” means “exalted one”; Julius Caesar’s last name became the title for “emperor”

48. FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Augustus did away with the Senators’ power, eventually ending the representative government of Rome and becoming emperor The Senate still met, but the emperor had all of the real power

50. THE PAX ROMANA Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE The Empire was over 3 million square miles in size and contained about 80 million people Pax Romana