Download Chp. 7 Notes

Chapter 7: Ancient Rome Notes
1. Roman Republic and Beginnings:
- founded by twin brothers Romulus and Remus
- settled on 7 hills, along banks of Tiber river, on Med. Sea, in the middle of the
“known” world (easy to defend, fertile soil, easy for them to conquer)
- Republic-never wanted to be ruled by kings again
- most powerful part was the senate, made up of patricians, led by 2 consuls (each
had power of veto
- Plebians (ordinary citizens, wanted respect and equal treatment)
- End of the republic because of fighting between patricians and plebians, Julius
Caesar came to power as dictator
- Too much power, and he was murdered by senators (March 15, 44 B.C.- Ides of
March), civil war followed Caesar’s death, Octavian takes over (Augustus)- 1st
emperor of Rome
2. The Roman Empire
- After Caesar- Augustus came to power, avoids acting like a King- Rome’s empire
stretched from Britain to Mesopotamia
- Created provinces in their empire, each ruled by a governor, conquered people
remained free
- After Augustus died, good and bad rulers (worst- Caligula, Nero)
- Age of 5 Good Rulers- Hadrian was the best, Marcus Aurelius the last
- Influence of the Greeks: adopted religion (polytheistic), used Greek knowledge to
build things
3. Daily Life of the Romans
- rich- lived in country estates called villas, known for their feasts
- too many people living in Rome, most jobless
- poor- lived in apartment houses, no running water, lots of fires in Rome, very
dirty, poor begged for food,
- all enjoyed the games at the Colosseum (circuses- fighting people, gladiators,
animals)- used to keep poor people from rioting (keep them happy with free bread
and games)
- family life- strong family values, gov’t rewarded parents who had many children,
father had absolute power, womens’ role depended on wealth (more money more
freedom)
- slaves- slaves almost no rights, some part of homes, farms, army
4. Roman Architecture and Technology:
- Ideas from Greece, used arches (Pantheon), invented concrete
- Built Colosseum (50,000 people used for fighting and ship battles)
- Circus Maximus (hold 250,000 for chariot racing)
- Built aqueducts- early form of plumbing
- Roman roads
5. Achievements of the Romans:
- language of Romans was Latin (basis for English, Spanish, Italian, French),
- Roman Numerals (I-1, V-5, X-10, L-50, C-100, D-500, M-1000),
- Roman Calendar
- Roman Law- Justinian’s Code- early form of Bill of Rights, idea of facing your
accusers, “Beyond a Shadow of a doubt”
6. Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii
- Mt. Vesuvius erupted 79AD- buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum
- Warning signs came for years before
- People thought this was a result of the gods anger
- Pompeii discovered March 23rd, 1748- still continues today
- Pliny the Younger was a live witness, wrote down what he saw
7. Christianity
- Romans conquered the Jewish homeland of Judea, allowed them to practice their
own religion, Romans became fearful and struck back with harsh punishment
- Jesus’s teachings alarmed many people, Romans thought Christians were teaching
that God was greater than the Emperor, Roman ruler condemned Jesus to death
- Christianity spread all over, Christians refused to worship Roman gods, began to be
seen as enemies of the empire
- Nero began the first persecution of Christians (sent them to their death- Colosseum),
also blamed them for the great fire of Rome
- Many Romans began to admire the Christians liked the message of Christianity
(idea of forgiveness and life after death appealed to many)
8. Fall of Rome
- trouble began with Commodus, savage ruler, very bad
- Reason 1- after Commodus, rulers were weak and corrupt (stole money, economy
fell, gov’t crumbled)
- Reason 2- used a mercenary army- soldiers fought for pay not for any cause, army
was not loyal
- Reason 3- size of the empire was too big, could not rule from one place
- Reason 4- stopped conquering, no new money or resources coming in, heavy taxes
and food was scarce- gov’t produced more money but it was of less value (inflation)
- Constantine took over and proclaimed Christianity the religion, moved capital to
Byzantium, after he died Rome fell apart
- In 400’s AD Rome was overwhelmed by barbarians