Download Rome and the Rise of Christianity (600 BC – 500 AD) Section 1

Rome and the Rise of Christianity
(600 BC – 500 AD)
Section 1 - The Rise of Rome
The Land and Peoples of Italy
Geographic Setting
• Italy is about 750 miles long and 120 miles wide.
Peninsula is located in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Location allowed them access to the lands of the
Mediterranean. They carried on trade and built an
empire
• Mountains - Apennines. They are low mountains, so
they did not divide Italy as Greece was divided.
• Fertile plains supported a growing population.
• Rome is near the center of Italy on the Tiber River.
The Roman Republic
• Rome was founded in 509 BC when the Romans
drove out the Etruscans who had ruled them
• By 264 BC the Romans had defeated many enemies
and had gained control of most of Italy
What characteristics made Rome successful?
• Romans were good diplomats – they extended
citizenship and allowed conquered states to run
their own internal affairs.
• Romans were great militarily – they were good
soldiers, they were persistent, they did not quit, but
would build new armies or navies, they were great
strategists.
• Romans built colonies as they conquered, they built
roads to connect new towns with the Republic, so
troops could move quickly for protection.
The Twelve Tablets of Roman Law
• Adopted in 450 BC
• written laws to protect the plebeians – they were
publically displayed in Rome.
• Eventually, Roman law developed into a system of
civil law known as the Law of Nations based on
natural law or universal law based on reason.
• Roman standards of justice included the following:
a person was innocent until proved otherwise,
people accused of wrongdoing were allowed to
defend themselves before a judge, a judge was
expected to make a decision based on evidence.
*What other code systems have we previously
studied this year?
The Punic Wars:
• Between the Roman Republic and Carthage
• Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians around
800 BC
• Carthage had a huge trading empire from Spain to
Sicily
• Carthage was the largest and richest state in the
area
The First Punic War
• Began in 264 BC
• The Romans sent an army to Sicily where Carthage
had a colony.
• Up to this point Rome had been a land power
without a Navy. They built a navy so they could
engage Carthage on water.
• The Roman fleet defeated Carthage’s fleet and in
241 BC Carthage gave up all rights to Sicily and paid
a fine to Rome
The Second Punic War
• Hannibal, the greatest Carthage general
traveled from Spain, across the Alps to attack
Rome.
• His army had about 46,000 men, many
horses and 37 battle elephants
• In 216 BC the Romans were defeated at the
battle of Cannae
• The Romans sent troops to Spain and
Carthage. Carthage was defeated in 202 BC
The Third Punic War
• In 149 BC the Romans wanted to completely
destroy Carthage.
• Carthage lived under siege until146 BC.
• Roman soldiers burned and demolished the
city.
• The people of Carthage who survived were
sold into slavery.
• The land where Carthage had been and the
surrounding area became a vital source of
grain for the growing Roman population.