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The Land and People of Italy
Has large fertile land for farming
The Impact of Geography
Their farming allowed for them to support a large population, Rome was far enough inland to
protect from invasion and was built on hills to also help in protection, Governing the
Mediterranean was easy as Italy was located in the middle
People of Italy
Greeks had huge influence on Rome, they adopted the Greek alphabet/ culture/ art- sculpture/
architecture/ literature
The Roman Republic
The Romans overthrew the Etruscan kings and established a republic- form of government in
which the leader is not a king & certain citizens have the right to vote
War & Conquest
For two hundred years the city was in continuous warfare, eventually they conquered all of Italy,
they made conquered people their allies requiring them to be loyal & provide soldiers
Why Rome was Successful
They were good diplomats & firm, Excelled in military matters, built their government to
respond to problems not prevent them
The Roman Government
Early Rome had two social classes Patricians & Plebeians, all men could vote, two consuls ran
the government & army, the Roman senate was a group of 300 elected officials only patricians,
the Centuriate Assembly elected officials & passed laws
The Struggle of the Orders
Patricians were forbidden from marrying Plebeians, the council of the Plebs was created to calm
the Plebeians
Roman Law
Twelve Tables was a system of law that was eventually expanded to control the laws of the land,
innocent until proven guilty is an example of one of their laws
Rome Conquers the Mediterranean
Rome went to war with Carthage because they were emerging as a major power, eventually they
defeated them and took all of their territory
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Growing Inequality & Unrest
By the second century BC the senate controlled Rome & the senate was being controlled by the
wealthy, with this power wealthy land owners started forcing small farmers into bankruptcy and
consuming all of the land, to fix this problem two aristocrats Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus tried to
implement land reform that would redistribute the land but they were killed
A new role for the army
A roman general Marius began recruiting the landless poor with land, this made his soldiers loyal
to him instead of loyal to Rome, Sulla was given control of the army and this angered the Plebs
they wanted Marius, This led to a civil war that Sulla won and he ruled Rome with a reign of
terror to ensure the senate would regain power in 82 BC
Collapse of the Republic
For 50 years (82-31bc) Rome was at civil war with Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar
emerging as victors
First Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a form of government with three leaders with equal power, Pompey in Spain &
Crassus in Syria & Caesar in Gaul, in 53 BC Crassus was killed in battle so the senate tried to
elect Pompey but Caesar refused to give up power, Caesar went to war against Pompey & gained
control of Rome becoming dictator in 45BC, Caesar gave land to the poor/ increased the senate
to 900/ planned many building projects/ planned military adventures but he was assassinated by a
group of leading senators
Second Triumvirate
Three men emerged after Caesar’s death Octavian- Caesar’s heir & Antony- Caesar’s ally/
assistant & Lepidus- a commander of Caesar’s, Lepidus was forgotten shortly, Octavian was
given control of the west and Antony the east, both men wanted to be in control by themselves,
Octavian won control of Rome even though Antony allied himself with Cleopatra, in 31 bc at 32
years old Octavian became the leader
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Age of Augustus
Augustus gave some power to the Senate as he knew they would not allow him to be a supreme
dictator but kept control of the army, Augustus kept a standing army of 289000 men but learned
that Roman power was not unlimited
Emperors of the Early Empire
Augustus’s new political system allowed the emperor to select his successor from his family,
The four emperors following Augustus were from his family Tiberius/ Caligula/ Claudius/ Nero
and they began to take power back from the senate making them more corrupt, this reign of
corruption ended with Nero stabbing himself in the neck, the next five emperors Nerva/ Trajan/
Adrian/ Antonius Pius/ Marcus Auerilius created the Pax Romana- ‘Roman Peace’, the first four
men adopted capable leaders as their sons to control the succession problem, emperors during
this time also took powers away from the senate by appointing men to run parts of the
government, Trajan provided state funds to help poor parents, Trajan & Hadrian built aqueducts/
bridges/ roads/ harbor facilities in the Roman provinces
Extent of the Empire
Hadrian realized the empire was too large to be governed so he withdrew forces from
Mesopotamia to strengthen the Rhine & Danube river area, Also built a wall for protection in
Britain, Latin was the language of Western Rome with Greek the language of Eastern Rome
Economic & Social conditions
The early empire saw a lot of trade due to the peace, China brought Silk/ Egypt brought grain/
Luxury items were brought for the rich, farming remained the chief occupation of most people &
was the main reason for Roman prosperity, farming was mostly done by slave labor, the gap
between rich and poor was very large, the emperor had to give out grain for many people to
survive
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Roman Art & Architecture
Romans began to copy Greek sculpture because they liked it & originals were running low, the
Romans were the first people to use concrete on a massive scale, Romans also were big in
constructing roads/ bridges/ aqueducts
Roman Literature
Virgil was the most distinguished poet in Rome writing the Aeneid which portrays an ideal
Roman, Horace wrote to point out the problems of Rome
Roman Family
The Roman family was run by a male, teachers were usually Greek as Romans had to learn
Greek and Latin to prosper in the empire, Initially Roman women had few rights like in Greece,
Marriages were prearranged, by 100AD women in Rome began to gain rights like own/ sell/
inherit property
Slavery
Romans relied on slave labor, captured people were the main source of slavery. Greek slaves
were high in demand as they could be tutors/ musicians/ doctors/ artist/ shop assistants/
craftspeople, slaves had bad conditions and would sometimes kill their owners, the most famous
slave revolt was lead by Spartacus a gladiator, 70000 slaves revolted and they were eventually
killed or captured 6000 of them being executed on a cross
Daily Life
Rome had a population of 1 million by the time of Augustus, poor roman families were forced to
live in one room apartment due to high rent, the Roman government had to feed 200000 people,
the emperor also provided public spectacles as a part of religious festivals like circus maximus/
drama/ gladiatorial shows
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Background
Augustus brought back traditional festivals & ceremonies to revive the Roman state, Romans
believed they had to earn the favor of the gods to be successful, Romans were also very
accepting of other religions
Jewish Background
Jews were given great independence by the Roman empire but as a group of people they could
not figure out what type of relationship they wanted to have with the Romans and they
eventually revolted and were destroyed
Rise of Christianity
Jesus believed it was his job to complete the salvation God had promised, Jesus voiced the
ethical concepts- humility, charity, & love towards others- that would later shape the values of
Western civilization, as Jesus began to gain fame he was executed by the Romans & Jewish
leaders fearing he might lead another revolt
Spread of Christianity
After his death Jesus’ disciples spread his word throughout the Roman empire
Roman Persecution
Christians were given the religious freedom of other religions, they began to attack GrecoRoman beliefs in the open and they were outlawed and executed
Triumph of Christianity
Persecution only made Christianity stronger & larger, Christianity was successful because it (1)
gave meaning to life (2) familiar (3) allowed people to belong, it really appealed to the poor as it
gave them some form of hope in the grim world they were living in, in 313 AD Constantine
officially accepted Christianity & under Theodosius Christianity became the official religion of
Rome
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The Decline
After the last of the five good emperors-Marcus Aurelius- Rome fell into conflict and confusion,
Rome fell into control of military leaders who only cared about giving the army money, a lot of
invasions occurred during this time as well
Economic & Military Problems
Due to the violence & plague trade began to decline, army enlistment declined as well due to
economic restraints forcing Romans to hire German Soldiers but the Germans were not loyal or
intelligent
Diocletian & Constantine
Diocletian understanding the empire had gotten too large divided it into 4 regions with a ruler for
each, Both emperors put a focus on the army & civil service& this drained the countries money,
the economic & social policies of these rulers could not solve the problems of Rome,
Constantine moves the Capital of Rome to Constantinople
The Fall
After Constantine the empire remained east & west, the western empire was eventually
conquered due to a group of Germanic invasions by the Huns/ Visigoths/ Vandals in 476 the
Western Roman Empire fell, the Eastern empire continued to thrive
Possible Reasons for Decline
(1) Christianity’s emphasis on a spiritual kingdom weakened Roman military virtues (2) Roman
values declined as non-Italians gained prominence (3) lead poisoning through the water pipes
caused mental decline (4) plague killed 10% of population (5) lack of advancement in
technology due to slavery (6) lack of workable political system