Download Civilizations Become Empires

Rome Redefines the Mediterranean Area
A. Rome’s geographic location helped its rise to power (explain):
1. the city was founded by three groups of people who each added a
unique aspect to the formation of the culture
a. Latins –
b. Greeks –
c. Etruscans –
2. the early Roman government was a republic
a. republic (define):
B. The early Roman government began with people vying for power
1. Patricians –
2. Plebeians –
3. one of the problems in the early Roman republic was that laws
were not written down
a. the laws, and their interpretation, were left to the patricians
to decide
b. eventually government officials from both sides agreed that
written laws must be created
c. The Twelve Tablets (explain):
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C. Eventually the Roman government became more organized
Position
Responsibility
Consul
Senate
Assembly
D. Along with Rome’s stable government, Rome also created a strong
military
1. all citizens who owned land were required to serve in the military
2. requirement of all those seeking public office (explain):
3. with the help of their powerful military, Rome began to expand
4. their policy towards conquered people allowed Rome to grow
(explain):
E. Eventually Rome’s expansion brought them into direct contact with
Carthage
1. the two groups battled in what became known as the Punic Wars
2. location of Cartage (explain):
3. the first Punic War ended with a Roman victory – Rome gained
Sicily
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F. The Second Punic War saw the rise of one of the greatest military minds
in history
1. Carthage’s leader was Hannibal
a. he wanted revenge against Rome for Carthage’s defeat in the
First Punic War
2. Hannibal’s plan for attack (explain):
3. what Hannibal took with him on his invasion (explain):
4. for years, Hannibal wreaked havoc on the Italian peninsula
5. finally the Italian commander, Scipio, devised a plan (explain):
6. Rome won the Second Punic War and in the Third Punic War laid
siege to Carthage
a. they sold 50,000 inhabitants into slavery and took full
control of the city
7. Rome expanded to include all of the western Mediterranean Sea
G. The Roman Republic experienced problems with the growing size
1. there was a growing gap between the rich and poor
2. small farmers could not compete with the larger and wealthier
farmers
3. what was happening with the military (explain):
H. Out of this chaos emerged Julius Caesar
1. how he rose to power (explain):
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2. he was a member of what became known as the First Triumvirate
a. Julius Caesar, Pompey (a general), and Crassus (wealthy
Roman)
3. as Caesar was building his power in Gaul (France), the other
members, especially Pompey, become jealous
4. what happened next (explain):
5. in 44 B.C., Caesar was named “dictator for life”
I. Caesar realized that if he was going to retain power, he needed the help of
the “common people”. He made sweeping reforms in the Empire
Reform
Grant citizenship to
conquered people
Increase the number
of Senators
Create new public
buildings
Increased pay for
soldiers
Desired outcome
J. The one group that remained hesitant of Caesar’s growing power was the
Senate
1. they feared losing their own power
2. “The Ides of March” (explain):
K. After Caesar’s assassination, Rome fell into Civil War
1. eventually it was Caesar’s grandnephew – Octavian – who
emerged as ruler
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a. he defeated his main rival Marc Antony at the Battle of
Actium
2. the significance of Octavian’s victory (explain):
L. The stability that Octavian began continued for the next 207 years in
what became known as the “Pax Romana” – Roman Peace
1. signs of their impressive size and power (explain):
2. in order to have such long lasting prosperity, there had to be a
stable government system
a. what was created (explain):
3. the empire created an elaborate road system and traded with people
throughout the world
a. which “C” and why (explain):
M. The prosperity of the Pax Romana brought significant changes to Roman
society
1. there was a vast different in classes
a. what the wealthy would enjoy (explain):
b. the poor crowded the cities and countryside
c. what the government provided the poor (explain):
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2. aside from food, the government also provided entertainment
a. at the height of the Pax Romana, there were 150 holidays a
year
3. on many of these holidays the people would pack the Colosseum
a. what they saw (explain):
N. A new religion soon emerged during the Pax Romana – Christianity
1. the faith grew from followers of Jesus who believed he was the
“Messiah” or “Savior”
2. who Jesus appealed to (explain):
3. because Christians refused to worship Roman gods they were often
persecuted
4. one reason the Christian faith grew so powerful at this time was the
belief that as the Roman Empire began to crumble, the “powerless”
would be saved
O. After two centuries of peace and prosperity in the Pax Romana – the
power of the Roman Empire began to decline
Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire (beginning in 180)
1. Rome’s economy struggles (explain):
a. the problem of inflation (explain):
2. military crumbles (explain):
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P. Two leaders made sweeping changes that helped keep the Empire
“afloat” for another 200 years
1. Diocletian was a powerful ruler during Rome’s decline
2. he ruled with an “iron fist” and made a bold move (explain):
3. Constantine followed Diocletian by emerging from a group vying
for power
a. Constantine was the ruler of the “western” part of the empire
(the less powerful and wealthy of the two sides)
b. his move that signaled the end of the “Western Roman
Empire” (explain):
Q. The Western Roman Empire finally fell as a result of invasions by
various groups
1. to the north had always existed Germanic invaders
2. eventually a group from Asia, named the Huns, entered Northern
Europe and began a chain-reaction (explain):
3. in 410, the city of Rome was sacked by Germanic invaders
4. the last Roman Emperor was removed in 476 and the “Empire was
no more”
R. The Roman Empire had far reaching effects that are still felt today
1. their language, Latin, became the basis for the Romanic languages
a. Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese
2. they were excellent builders
a. aqueducts (explain):
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b. some of the roads they built are still in use today
3. perhaps one of the greatest achievements is the Roman law
a. their law was based on the premise that everyone was equal
under the law, so there were certain characteristics that laws
must obey
1. everyone was equal under the law
2. you were innocent until proven guilty (significance):
As the Roman Empire fell in the west, the east transformed and continued as
the powerful -
Byzantine Empire
S. in the 500’s Justinian emerged as a Byzantine emperor
1. how he bolstered his power (explain):
2. now that he had reunited the “west” and the “east” a new system of
laws was needed (why):
3. The Justinian Code
a. these laws decided everything in life – marriage, property,
inheritance
b. it showed again that religion and government were the same
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T. Justinian also went about physically rebuilding the empire
1. he had a 14 mile wall built around Constantinople
2. Hagia Sophia (explain):
3. Hippodrome (explain):
3. Justinian also realized that the best empire was a “literate” empire
a. what Byzantine schools focused on (explain):
4. historians point to the work of Byzantine scholars in helping to
preserve much of the accomplishments made during the time of the
Greeks and Romans
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