The Roman Empire

● After the fall of the Roman republic, Rome was ruled by emperors. They helped bring about two centuries of peace.

● (How long is two centuries?)

● Remember: In 30 BCE, Octavian took control of the Roman world. He was called Augustus, the first and often considered the best Roman emperor.

● After Augustus won the civil wars, he brought peace to the Roman world. He had nearly total power over the empire, although there was still a senate.

● Augustus made the empire more stable by…○ Shrinking the army and

raising soldiers’ pay○ Improving the economy○ Fighting corruption

Because Augustus was considered an ideal emperor, he was deified, or officially declared a god, after his death.

Most later emperors were also deified, some while they were still alive!

● When Augustus, his stepson

Tiberius became emperor. Rome

was now clearly a monarchy.

● A law was passed stating that the

emperor had nearly total power.

● Rome had no formal law of

succession. Imperial family

members plotted and sometimes

killed. Sometimes the army made

the final decision.

● Some emperors were successful,

others were considered failures.

Despite some bad emperors, Augustus’ rule began a long period of peace and prosperity called the Pax Romana, or the “Roman Peace.” It lasted from 30 BCE to around 180 CE. During that time as many as 65 million people were able to go about their lives in relative peace; no major wars threatened the people of the empire, even as the empire continued to expand.

Rome’s Practical

Achievements

● More than 50,000 miles of paved

roads crossed the Roman empire,

linking cities and forts.

● Roman roads were built mainly so

that soldiers could march quickly

from place to place.

● Roads also helped speed up

communication, made government

and trade more efficient, and helped

move food from ports to inland cities.

● Military engineers, architects,

stonemasons, and surveyors traveled

with the army. Soldiers often worked

on the roads when not fighting.

● Roman architects devised new

building methods and materials:○ Concrete was made by mixing small

stones and sand with limestone, clay, and water. It was lighter and easier to work with than stone. Workers needed less skill to use concrete than to carve stone.

○ With the concrete, Romans were

able to build domes.○ Roman engineers and soldiers also

built large, sturdy bridges supported by rounded semi-circular arches. Arches allowed for longer bridge spans.

● The rounded arch is the most typical feature of Roman architecture.

● Roman architecture influences modern building styles, making it an important part of Rome’s legacy.

● Roman engineers designed water

systems to supply towns with

clean water.

● They built hundreds of miles of

aqueducts, or channels that move

water over land.

● Aqueducts were usually made of

stone or concrete that flowed

mostly underground.

● In the city, water flowed into

public fountains, public baths, and

some private homes.

● Sewers carried waste away from

the cities

The Roman

Economy

● The Roman empire built a navy, and cleared the Mediterranean Sea of most pirates. This made trade by sea safer, and it was also faster and cheaper than trade by land.

● Farming was the base of the Roman economy, and the most important crops were grains like wheat.

● Economic growth in the empire was helped by a stable currency (a system of money that does not change much in value over time).

● Rome’s stable currency made it easier to conduct long-distance trading.

Greco-Roman Culture

The Romans borrowed from Greek civilization. They adopted Greek cultural practices, and spread their own as well. A combined Greco-Roman culture emerged that included Greek and Roman elements. Many people in the empire combined Greco-Roman culture with other local traditions.

● Some actions of the Roman

government helped spread

Greco-Roman culture:○ Building roads and founding cities

called colonies in the provinces. ○ Allowing more people to become

Roman citizens. By 212 CE, almost every free person in the empire was a citizen.

○ Sending soldiers throughout the

empire. They often married local women and settled where they had served. Military outposts grew into towns and cities which introduced the locals to Greco-Roman culture.

Roman Culture and its legacy

The Roman Empire may be ancient history, but Roman culture is still with us in many ways: art,

language, entertainment, and law.

● The Romans developed oratory, the art of giving speeches.

● Romans filled public buildings with works of art such as mosaics and statues.

Art

Roman soldiers, colonists, and merchants spread their language to many parts of Europe. The Roman language, Latin, became the spoken language across much of the western part of the empire. Over centuries, local ways of speaking Latin changed into new languages, including Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese. These are called Romance Languages, or languages that developed from Latin.

Language

English is not a Romance language, but as many as half of all English words may come directly or indirectly from Latin.

Scientists still use Latin to name plants and animals.

Latin also served as the language of the Roman Catholic Church. All Catholic services were held in Latin until the 1900s.

Latin PhrasesCarpe diem Seize the day

Circa About, around

De facto In reality

Et cetera (etc.) And other things

Quid pro quo Something for something

The Greeks staged public entertainments, including plays and athletic events. But the Romans developed a taste for public entertainment on a massive scale. They inveted the round amphitheater, and built stadiums across the empire.

The Colosseum in Rome could seat as many as 50,000 Romans.

Entertainment

The Romans enjoyed fights between gladiators, or men who fought one another as part of a public entertainment. They often fought to the death. Fights were held in arenas such as the Colosseum in Rome.

Gladiatorial matches originated in southern Italy before Rome existed.

The word gladiator means swordsman in Latin, though gladiators used a variety of weapons. They were usually slaves, criminals, or prisoners of war who were trained both to fight and to entertain a crowd. Skilled or lucky gladiators who survived many matches could win their freedom. They could even become celebrities.

Sometimes, huge battles between teams of gladiators were staged. Special arenas were flooded so that gladiators could fight on boats, recreating famous naval battles from history. Exotic animals like lions and elephants were brought to Rome for the gladiators to fight.

Emperors and wealthy aristocrats paid for these extravagant games, showing off the wealth and power of the sponsor.

One of the most popular events was chariot racing, which was held far more often than gladiatorial games. Chariot races took place in the Circus Maximus, a racecourse that could seat up to 270,000 people. Horses pulled charioteers around the course sevent imes.

In the early years of the Roman republic, there were no written laws. Judges decided what was the law in each case, based on custom and tradition.

In the 400s BCE, the Romans wrote down a law code called the Twelve Tables. It included laws about family relations, property, inheritance, and more.

Law

The Roman law code developed into a system called “civil law” over time. Today, civil law is used in several countries that were once Roman provinces, such as France, Spain, and Portugal.