Download Evaluating the Plan

Name: ______________
Class: ______________
Date: _______________
Objective
By the end of class you will know who Julius Caesar and Augustus were, and you will
have evaluated the effectiveness of their plans for the expansion and maintenance of
the Roman Empire.
Warm Up
Write your hypothesis for how the Roman Republic (the top map) expanded into the
Roman Empire (the bottom map).
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Launch
Use the T-Chart below to take notes as you learn about two Roman rulers. Instead of
copying directly from the slides, re-write important facts in your own words so that you
can better understand your notes when you look back at them.
Julius Caesar
Augustus
Explore
Step 1: Julius Caesar and Augustus need you to advice them about how to rule the
Roman Empire. They have to make a difficult decision about how to expand the
empire, and more importantly, they need to decide how to maintain all of their
conquered lands. Read your assigned plan while annotating the pros with a + sign and
the cons with a – sign.
Military Action (Whole Class)
Military action requires a strong
army. An elite army will let the Romans
expand their empire by conquering
neighbors. Not only this, but it will also
help maintain the empire because
people will be afraid of the strong
Roman army and will not attack it.
The army will be kept large by
using men from conquered lands as
soldiers. Of course, this will mean that
many citizens will die and families will
be torn apart.
In order to protect the emperor, a
private army called the Praetorian
(pray – tor – E – an) Guard will be
created. The men in the Praetorian
Guard may be tempted to kill the
emperor though, so they’ll have to be
watched.
Public Projects (B)
Building public projects, things that
citizens can use for free, is one way to
make people very happy. Happy
people want to stay in an empire and
won’t plan any revolutions.
There are many public projects that
Rome can pay for. By building roads
throughout the empire, Rome will allow
its citizens to travel more easily. This
will give people better access to food
and luxuries. Another public project is
free gladiator events to entertain the
people of Rome.
Of course, all of these projects will
cost a lot of money. The Romans
might go in to debt paying for all of
them, and then what will happen to the
Empire?
Demand Tribute (A)
Demanding tribute means requiring
all people to give the Roman Empire
money and men to show their loyalty.
When the Roman Empire receives
tribute, they can use the money and
men to expand the army and conquer
more people and lands.
Additionally, people will see Rome
as a large and wealthy empire and will
want to join it. They’ll see the
protection against potential enemies
that a large empire can give. This
means there’ll be no need to fight wars.
Of course, some people may not
want to give up family members and
money to the Roman Empire. They
may feel like they’re being robbed by
the government and try to revolt.
Practice Peace (C)
By remaining at peace with other
countries, Rome can help maintain its
empire.
During war, people are unhappy for
many reasons. Families are torn apart
when men are forced to fight in the
army. Food is hard to find when
farmers have to go and fight. By
remaining at peace, Rome can
increase the happiness of its citizens. If
Rome creates the Pax Romana (the
Roman Peace), then people will want
to be part of the empire.
Of course, people may think that
Rome is an easy target when it’s
peaceful. There could be attacks from
other countries and rebellions from
within.
Step 2: As a group, graph the number of pros (+) and cons (–) for each strategy.
Military
Public Projects
Tribute
Peace
Step 3: As a team, come up with three criteria for success that a plan for expanding
and maintaining an empire should include. An example of a criterion for success is:
Make people happy by…
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2. ___________________________________________________________________
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3. ___________________________________________________________________
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Step 4: Which of the four strategies does your team think that Caesar and Augustus
should choose in order to best expand and maintain the Roman Empire? Why?
Support your answer with evidence.
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Bonus Work: Would the type of plan that you selected work today? Why or why not?
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Summary
Use the space in the third column to take notes during the “Think” part of the Think-PairShare activity.
Facts About Roman
Strategy
Discussion Questions
Romans demanded tribute
from conquered people.
They then used the money
and men that they took to
build a stronger army and
create public works that
benefitted all Roman
citizens.
Is demanding tribute
morally acceptable? How
would you feel if you had to
give up tribute?
Many people benefitted
from Roman public works
that were paid for with
tribute. Does this justify
demanding tribute?
The Roman Empire
expanded rapidly because
of the army. Rome was
constantly acquiring more
land, money, and citizens,
making it stronger than
ever. However, many
people died in the wars,
and farms were destroyed
by fighting.
What is more important:
expanding the empire, or
maintaining it? Why?
When the Roman Empire
reached its peak in size, it
began a period of peace
called the Pax Romana (the
Roman Peace). During this
time, there were no wars
with other countries.
However, there were some
rebellions within the empire.
Should the Romans have
cared more about
conquering peoples or
taking care of their own?
What does a country or
empire need to do in order
to be peaceful? How can
an empire keep others from
attacking it in order to
maintain peace?
Your Notes