Download - ROME:
ROME:
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
Geography
Ancient Italy: 750 BC
Romulus and Remus
ROMAN REPUBLIC509 B.C.E- 29 B.C.E.
Republican Government 2 Consuls
Rulers of Rome Served one year term
Senate Representative body composed of patricians
Patricians- Noble families Tribal Assembly
Representative body for plebeians Plebeians- lower class
The Twelve Tables Provided political and social rights for the
plebeians
Roman Engineering Extensive Road system Aqueducts Forum Coliseum
Rome’s Early Road System
Roman Aquaducts
Roman Forum
The Colosseum
Colosseum Interior
Carthaginian Empire
Carthaginian War
Roman Reforms Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Gave the poor grain and small plots of free land
Gauis Marius Recruited an army from the poor and
homeless Gave them land for their service Professional standing army
Problems Class tensions Gracchus brothers reforms did not
work Civil War Breaks out 88-82 B.C.E New generals emerge
Sulla vs. Marius Sulla named Dictator
Tries to Reform Rome Reforms ultimately fail
Sulla relinquishes his power back to the Senate
The First Triumvirate Group of three rulers 60 BC – Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey dominate Rome for 10 years Breakdown of Triumvirate:
Julius Caesar governing Gaul Crassus sent to Persia Pompei stays in Rome
Caesar marches on Rome 49 B.C.E. Reforms as an Absolute Ruler Death- Ides of March 44 B.C.E.
Beware the Ides of March!
Et tu, Brute?
Octavion Augustus vs. Marc Antoni
The Second Triumvirate Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus
ended in violence Octavian defeated Antony &
Cleopatra in battle of Actium 31 BC Begins the Roman Empire
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
27 BCE - 476 CE
Caesar Augustus Octavian claimed to restore Republic
Augustus – exalted one Imperator – supreme military commander
(emperor) Had right to select his own heir
Very simple and frugal
Pax Romana27 B.C.E- 180 C.E.
207 years of peace Roman Empire spanned more than 3
million square miles Population: 60 - 80 million
Greatest Extent of the Roman Empire 14 C.E.
Roman Empire Ecomony
90% engaged in agriculture Luxury items obtained through trade Denarius – common coinage Roman Roads
Government Soldiers of Roman Army left in the provinces
to govern Often intermarried with locals
Locals allowed to keep customs and religious practices
Roman Road Network
Roman Weaknesses Roman empire was an empire with long,
exposed landward frontiers. African Coastal provinces flanked by deserts
False sense of security Europe never satisfactorily defended
Even after 100 years of conquest/expansion Most crucial mistake Caesar made was not
expanding beyond the Rhine river and accepting those cultures Would be bitter about not being included in the
Roman Empire
Rome in Crisis: 3 C.E.
Problems of the Western Empire
Sprawling Size Long, vulnerable land frontier
Civil Wars Uneasy relations with Persia Christianity
Subversive- challenged worship of Emperor as divine
Germanic peoples coveted Roman Wealth
Diocletian Splits the Empire in two: 294 C.E.
Barbarian Invasions: 4c-5c
Attila the Hun:“The Scourge of God”
Constantine: 312 - 337
Constantinople: “The 2nd Rome” (Founded in 330)
Spread of Christianity
The Byzantine EmpireDuring the Reign of Justinian
Legacy of the Roman Empire:
Republic Government Roman Law Latin Language Roman Catholic Church Romanesque Architectural Style Roman Engineering
Aqueducts Sewage systems Dams Cement Arch