Roman History

• Rome was founded in 753 BC– By a river, close to the sea, middle of Italian peninsula

• By 500 BC, they formed a Republic– Citizens (free-born males) could vote

• Later, their government was a balance between the Senate (wealthy) and Consuls (elected)

• Roman Army was very important to Rome– All citizens needed to serve for at least a year– Organized into Legions and Centuries, supported by

mounted cavalry

Review Question

• What unique form of government did Rome create?

Punic Wars and Dominance

• Rome fought three wars against Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC– In the second war, Hannibal of Carthage crossed the Alps

on elephants to invade Italy for ten years– Rome won them all eventually, with a few setbacks

• After these Punic Wars, Rome dominated the Mediterranean Region– However, there were civil wars from 146 BC until 60 BC

Review Question

• Who did Rome fight in the Punic Wars?

Review Question

• Who won the Punic Wars?

Roman Empire

• Julius Caesar rose up and took over– Became absolute ruler until 44 BC

• His adopted son Octavian became the “Augustus”, or “exalted one”– Ruled from 27 BC until 14 AD and set Rome up as

a powerful, lasting empire• Pax Romana lasted from 27 BC to 180 AD– Empire grew in peace, and all was well

Review Questions

• What Roman technological innovation most contributed to the smooth running of an empire?

Review Question

• What does “caesar” mean?

• After 180 AD, there were weak emperors who could not hold the empire together– Constantine moved the capital to Turkey in the East

• Several problems caused the fall of the Empire:1. Inflation – prices rose as precious metals became

scarce2. Decreasing population – food shortages and disease3. Attacks from barbarian tribes – many different groups

attacked the borders until Rome couldn’t handle it

Fall of Rome

Legacies of Rome and Greece

• These two civilizations gave three main contributions to the world1. Democracy2. Philosophy and Art3. Engineering