The Roman Empire

Review

How did the Roman Republic expand and gain territory?

What were some of the major problems facing the Roman Republic?

Review, continued

How did Caesar gain power? Why did people support him or not support him?

Why was he assassinated?

What did Augustus have to do to gain power after the death of Caesar?

How did Augustus govern?

Augustus, the first emperor

By the time Augustus died after 45 years of rule, a tradition of rule by

emperors was established which would last for the next 400 years (the next

1,400 years in the East)

Augustus set the borders of the empire (only Britain and Romania would be

conquered by later emperors

The Roman Empire was incredibly large, both in terms of geography and

population

Challenge of governing vastly different cultures across the empire

Hadrian’s Wall

Timgad, Algeria

Jerash, Jordan

Pont du Gard, France

Emperors after Augustus

The Julio-Claudian Dynasty—14 to 69 A.D.

Chosen from the extended family of Augustus

Some were capable rulers, like Tiberius and Claudius

Others were unstable

Caligula

Nero

After the Army rose up against Nero, the general Vespasian

became emperor, followed by his sons

The “Five Good Emperors” (96 to 180

A.D.)

Domitian was an arrogant ruler—assassinated by a group of nobles and officers

An elderly senator named Nerva was chosen as emperor

No heir—chose a capable man named Trajan as successor

Started trend—these competent rulers chose and adopted their successors, so

they could know that the empire would be in good hands

Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius

Remembered as wise rulers—viewed good administration and benefitting

subjects as their duty

Philosophy of Stoicism

The Meditations Activity

The Oregonian is struggling. They have reached out to you, a

high school freshman, to write for them a new advice

column for their readers. However, there’s a catch. An old

philosophy is sweeping through self-help circles: Stoicism.

First outlined by Marcus Aurelius then later adapted by guys

like Tony Robbins, Stoicism is the hot new self-help

philosophy. After reading through an excerpt from The

Meditations, write a one page self-help column for the

paper. If you do not finish today in class, it will be due

tomorrow.

The Pax Romana

Under the “Good Emperors,” Roman Empire prospered economically and was

free of major wars

Roman roads and shipping linked many regions

Cities, aqueducts

Roman culture appealed to many of the conquered peoples of the empire

Roman Empire was still an unequal and violent place—life difficult for

ordinary people