Ancient Rome 509 BC – 476 AD

Chapter 6

Western Civilizations I - G

Chapter 6, Section 1

The Roman World

Takes Shape

Geography of Italy

• Boot-shaped peninsula in

the central Mediterranean

• Rome is located in the

center of Italy, which

helped with trade and

expansion

• Few barriers made

unification easier

• Good farmland

Early People of Italy

• Latins, Greeks, and Etruscans all settled in Italy

and eventually the Latins took control

• Early Romans adapted the Latin

language from the Etruscan and

Greek language

• The Romans borrowed many

new building techniques and

religious ideas

The Roman Republic

• Republic – a government where officials are

chosen by the people

• Two types of citizens:

• Patricians – wealthy, landholding upper class,

very involved in the government

• Plebeians – poor/middle class, small

landholders, majority of the population but

less of a government role

Parts of the Government

• The Senate – 300 patricians who made the laws

• Consuls – 2 elected leaders who ran the

government and led the military

• Dictator – led Rome only during times of crisis for

a 6 month term

• Tribunes –officials who worked to protect rights of

plebeians

• Over time, plebeians gained a larger role in the

government

• Twelve Tables – laws of Rome that applied to all

Roman Society

• The head male had absolute power over his family

• Women played more of a role in society than in

Greece

• Most women ran the

home, though some ran

businesses

• Overtime, women

gained more rights

Education & Religion

• All boys and girls learned to read and write

• Tutors were hired to teach upper class children

• Roman gods were based on the Greeks

• Many feast days and

celebrations honored the

gods and brought people

together

• Temples were built to

honor the gods

Expansion in Italy

• Romans controlled all of Italy by 270 BC

• Military was divided into 5000 man units called

Legions – very well trained, unpaid soldiers

• Conquered people

were usually well

treated if they paid

taxes and provided

soldiers

Chapter 6, Section 2

From Republic to

Empire

The Punic Wars

• Rome and Carthage went to war to see who would

control trade in the Mediterranean

• Three wars fought between 264 – 146 BC

• Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy and

caused much destruction before being defeated

• Rome won all three wars and gained land

throughout the region

• The city of Carthage was completely destroyed by

the Romans to prevent more wars

The Punic Wars

Roman Expansion

• Lands gained from the Punic Wars:

• Islands: Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia

• Spain

• Northern Africa

• Other lands conquered

by the Romans:

• Macedonia

• Greece

• Asia Minor

• Egypt

Social & Economic

Effects

• Rome become very rich with new trade routes

• The wealthy built large estates (farms) called

Latifundia, where slaves did the work

• Overuse of slaves made it hard for lower class

people to find work

• The cities become overcrowded with poor,

homeless, unemployed people who began to riot

• The wealthy people became corrupt and greedy

Gracchus Brothers

• Patricians who tried to help the lower classes

• Wanted to give land and grain to the poor

• Their changes upset the

Senate and they were

killed

Decline of the Republic

• Differences between the rich and poor led to civil

wars

• The government argued over who should be in

charge – the Senate or individual leaders

• Slave revolts and uprisings became common

• Soldiers were loyal to their commanders instead of

to Rome and armies fought one another

Julius Caesar

• Military leader who conquered Gaul (France)

• Became popular among the plebeians – the Senate was fearful of his power and ordered him to disband his army – he refused

• After civil war, he won and became Dictator of Rome in 49 BC

Caesar’s reforms

• Made many changes to Rome:

• Public works/building projects to give work

to the unemployed

• Gave public land to the poor

• Reorganized the government

• Gave citizenship to more people

• Created a new calendar – added the month of

July, basis for our calendar today

Caesar’s assassination

• Senators were scared of his power and killed him

on March 15, 44 BC

• Rome fell into Civil War again

– Assassins were killed

– Caesar’s friend Mark

Antony and nephew

Octavian fought for

control of Rome

Beginning of the Empire

• Octavian defeated Mark Antony

and was named Augustus

(meaning “Exalted One”)

• He had absolute power and got

to choose his heir

• The Roman Republic was over

and leaders would no longer be

elected

Reign of Augustus

• Gave government jobs to qualified people of all

social classes

• Gave provinces some self-government

• Ordered a census to fix the

tax system

• Made a postal system, new

money, and had new roads

and temples built

Later Emperors

• Emperors after Augustus were both good and bad

• Bad Emperors:

• Caligula – made his horse a consul

• Nero – blamed Christians for destroying Rome in a

fire

• Good Emperors:

• Hadrian – fixed Roman law and built a defensive

wall in Britain

• Marcus Aurelius – philosopher-king who was very

committed to duty

Pax Romana

• The 200 year period between 27 BC – 180 AD

(Augustus to Marcus Aurelius)

• Generally a peaceful, prosperous time for Rome

• Extended territory from Spain to Iraq

• Trade flourished with Africa and Asia

• People spread many new ideas around the empire

Roman Growth

Entertainment

• Chariot Racing at the Circus Maximus

• Gladiator contests

• Emperors and politicians provided the

entertainment for free to keep the people happy

Chapter 6, Section 3

The Roman

Achievement

Greco-Roman

Civilization

• Romans borrowed many ideas from the Greeks

• Art

• Literature

• Philosophy

• Science

• Greco-Roman = the blending together of Greek,

Hellenistic, and Roman traditions

• Trade, travel, and war helped spread these ideas

Writings

• Poetry – epic poems explained the origins of the

Romans, other poems made fun of Roman society

• History – they honored Roman successes and

described cultures the Romans were in contact

with

• Philosophy – stressed the importance of duty and

accepting your fate, concerned with the well-being

of all people

Art

• Based on Greek and Etruscan designs

• Realistic looking sculptures that showed emotions

• Nice homes were decorated with fresco paintings

and mosaic floors

Architecture

• Buildings were meant to be large and imposing to

symbolize the power of Rome

• Used the arch to make buildings taller

• Concrete was cheaper and stronger

Technology

• Engineers designed roads, walls, bridges, and

aqueducts that lasted for centuries

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Science

• Most advances were made by Greek scientists in

Alexandria, Egypt

• Ptolemy – taught the Earth was the center of the

universe (believed until the 1500s)

• Galen – studied medicine using experimentation

• Pliny the Elder – wrote a scientific

encyclopedia on a wide range of

topics

Roman Law

• Rule of Law allowed for Rome to stay united and

stable

• Civil Law – laws that applied to citizens

• Law of Nations – laws that applied to all people

living under Roman rule

• Basic Ideas:

• Innocent until proven guilty

• Accused can face accuser and offer a defense

• Guilt had to be proven using evidence

• Judges could expand and interpret laws

Chapter 6, Section 4

The Rise of

Christianity

Religious Differences

• In the early part of the Roman Empire, some

people:

• Believed in the Roman gods

• Were involved in secret cults and mystery

religions

• The Roman government allowed people to practice

whatever religion they wanted as long as they also

honored the Roman gods and emperor.

Problems in Judea

• Judea = modern-day Israel

• Where most of the Jews lived

• Romans didn’t force Jews to worship Roman gods

and emperor since they believed in only one god

• Some Jews believed the Messiah was about to

return to lead Jews to freedom

• After a Jewish revolt in 66 AD, the Temple was

destroyed and many Jews left Judea

Life of Jesus

• Jesus was a Jew in Palestine born in 4 BC

• Began to preach to followers at age 30, many

wanted to hear his

messages and witness

apparent miracles

Teachings of Jesus

• Based on Jewish teachings:

• Believe in one god

• Follow the Ten Commandments

• Some New Ideas:

• Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah

who was going to bring salvation and eternal

life in heaven to any who believed in him

Death of Jesus

• Some people viewed him as dangerous because he

caused people to challenge leadership and

question their beliefs

• He was arrested by the Romans and

sentenced to death by crucifixion

• After his death, some believed they

saw him rise from the dead

• From there, Christianity began to

spread

Spread of Christianity

• Followers began to teach Jesus’ message to other

Jews

• Paul began to teach Christian ideas to non-Jews

• This gave him a much bigger group of people

to convert

• He traveled all over the Roman world and

converted many people

Persecution

• The Roman government was not tolerant of early

Christians and were suspicious of their secret

gatherings

• When bad things happened in Rome, the

Christians were often blamed

and killed

• Many Christians were willing to

die for their beliefs (martyrs)

Reasons Christianity

Spread

• Both rich and poor liked the teachings that stressed

equality and love for all

• The idea of Heaven was comforting

• Combined ideas of Greek philosophy

• Missionaries were good at converting people

• Some people respected martyrs

End of Persecution

• In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine ended Christian

persecution with the Edict of Milan

• It gave Romans the right to legally practice

any religion they wanted

• Christianity soon

became the official

religion of Rome

Early church Structure

• Only men had a role in the early Church

• Each community had a church with a priest

• Bishops oversaw several communities

• Certain bishops gained more power – the most

powerful was the bishop of Rome, eventually he

became the Pope (head of the Church)

Chapter 6, Section 5

The Long Decline

The End of Pax Romana

• Struggles for Power

• Leaders fought with each other for power

• Assassinations of emperors was common

• Economic and Social Problems

• Very high taxes to run the government and military

• Farmland had been overused and now wasn’t very productive

• Poor farmers left their land and began to work for rich landowners in return for protection

Emperor Diocletian

• Divided empire in half to make it easier to rule

• He led the Eastern half – wealthier, more

resources, better trade

• A co-emperor ruled the Western half but had to

report to Diocletian

• He set prices for goods to keep them

from rising too high

• He required sons to do the same job

as their fathers

Emperor Constantine

• Continued Diocletian’s reforms

• Granted religious freedom to Christians, which

allowed for it to spread quickly

• Built new capital city – Constantinople

• Put Rome’s power in the eastern half

• Diocletian and Constantine’s reforms

had mixed results – they slowed down

the decline of Rome but did not stop it

Foreign Invasions

• Many barbarian groups lived near the Roman

borders

• They lived peacefully together for a long time until

the Huns - a nomadic, warlike group from Asia -

moved into Europe

• The barbarian groups fled into Rome to escape the

Huns

• Rome was unable to stop the invasions

Rome Defeated

• Constant pressure from different barbarian groups

was too much for the Romans to handle

• Different groups spread all around the empire

• In 476 AD, the city of Rome was sacked and the

Roman Empire was over

Causes for the Fall of

Rome

• Military Reasons

• Army wasn’t well trained or disciplined

• Government hired foreign soldiers

(mercenaries) to fight – they weren’t loyal

• Political Reasons

• Government was very controlling and corrupt

• Frequent civil wars and leadership changes

• Eastern half didn’t help the West

Causes for the Fall of

Rome

• Economic Reasons

• Very high taxes

• Relied too much on slave labor

• Lower class grew and became more poor

• Social Reasons

• Less focus on duty and loyalty to Rome

• Lack of patriotic feelings

• Upper class more focused on wasting money