Download The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire
Brief History (625 BCE - 23 BCE)


Rome (as a city) founded
circa 625BCE
The Roman Republic (510
BCE - 23 BCE) lasted for
over 500 years
 Citizens elected Senators
 Senate chose a consul
(who ruled like a King) for
1 year.
 No Tyrants, deferred to
the Senate.
Way of Life - The Roman
Republic
• 4 Classes of
people in Roman
society.
1. Slaves - lowest
class, no rights,
owned by other
people.
2. Plebeians - free
people, but had
little input.
Way of Life - The Roman Republic
3. Equestrians (a.k.a.
'knights'). Their
name means the
'riders', as they
were given a horse
to ride if they were
called to fight for
Rome; had to be
rich.
4. Patricians - nobles,
very wealthy, held
all the power,
members of the
senate.
I make it
rain!!!!!
Pax Romana (27 BCE - 180 CE)
• The Roman Peace
– Considered to be the
“height” of the Roman
Empire.
– Ruled by Caesars or
emperors.
• Senate exists but its
power is limited.
• Period of great
territorial expansion;
architectural
innovation in Rome;
and wealth.
The Movie - Gladiator
• Begins with the
death of Marcus
Aurelius (180 CE)
who had wanted the
reign of the
emperors to end and
the Senate to rule
Rome as it had been
during the Roman
Republic.
Themes:
– “Absolute power corrupts
absolutely” (as with all
tyrants and eventually
with corrupt politicians)
– The Masses (plebeians)
needed to be appeased gladiator blood sport
where they decided
gladiator’s life or death
often served as
diversion/appeasement
away from political
discontent.
– All roads led to Rome
and all roads in Rome led
to the Coliseum.
• Punic Wars three This won
the Romans
wars fought between
the war! •
Rome & Carthage
264 BC to 146 BC
• Control over the
Mediterranean and
Sicily was the dispute
• Carthage was a
maritime empire,
Rome was the rapidly
ascending power, but
lacked the naval
power of Carthage
PUNIC WARS
The 1st Punic
War was fought partly
on land in Sicily &
Africa but was mostly
a naval war. It began
as a local conflict in
Sicily. Romans added
the corvus, an assault
bridge, to Roman
ships. The hinged
bridge would swing
onto enemy vessels
with a sharp spike
and stop them
Second Punic War
• Remembered for the Carthaginian
Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps.
• Rome took countermeasures against
Hannibal's home base in Africa by
march
sea command & stoppedWethe
flow of
to Rome!!
supplies. Hannibal quickly turned
back & rushed home but was
defeated in battle.
• (149–146 BC)
involved an
extended siege
of Carthage
• three-year siege
before he
breached the
walls, sacked
the city, and
systematically
burned
Carthage to the
ground in 146
BC
3RD Punic War
Essential Question:
Before the Movie

Imagine our freeways and highways, when
exiting, what do you generally see no matter
what exit you take?

What, in your opinion, does this say about our
society?
Essential Question:
After the Movie

You learned last week that terrorism is 100%
ineffective - terrorists always end up strengthening the
very “thing” they are targeting.

Oppression, corruption, terror, and enslavement
were characteristic of the ancient great empires
(Greek and Roman) and modern
imperialist/colonial periods (1600s-1900s) of the
European Monarchies/Democracies.

Describe how did Maximus’s character
exemplified/symbolizes the outcome - that
terror, enslavement, and oppression is 100%
ineffective (over the long term).