Download The Roman Empire?

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What were the achievements & legacy of the Roman Empire?
Achievements:
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Romulus & Remus
Currency system (money)
Built coliseum
Augustus was the 1st emperor
12 tables law system
Long era of peace called Pax Romana
July was named after Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar created the calendar
Borrowed the Greek Gods and renamed them
Extensive trade system & many trade goods.
Extensive road system throughout the empire
Built aqueducts to move H2O
Legacy:
Legacy= something left behind…an idea, an action, $,
way of life, etc.
 Ideas about laws…all people are equal under the
law and innocent until proven guilty
 Ideas about government…citizens participate in
decisions by voting & doing
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 Christianity spread b/c of the Romans
 English words come from Latin roots & several
other languages are Latin based
 Roman architecture-use domes & columns &
concrete which they invented & arches
 Alphabet
 Many ancient stories are still studied-literature
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What caused the fall of The Roman Empire?
(graphic organizer-boxes & arrows- taped in)
Pg145-146
BOX#1-gov’t issues:
 Corrupt officials took bribes
 ++time fighting revolts/uprising rather than
solving
 Poor leadership for 100’s of yrs (22+emperors!) &
they fought e@ other constantly
BOX#2-social issues:
 Inflation=costs rise ++++
 Law & order broke down
 Roads left unrepaired slowed down trade,
communication & protection
 Stopped paying taxes
 Wide-spread famine/starvation
BOX#3-invasions:
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Soldiers unable to keep out invaders
Bad roads=more invasions
Soldiers not loyal to Roman Empire
Barbarian tribes wanted Rome’s land
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BOX#4-capital change
 Constantine changed the capital city
 Capital moved from city of Rome to city of
Byzantium which was renamed Constantinople,
known as Istanbul today
 Moved the center of power from the W (Latin) to
the E (Greek)…weakened the W 1/2
BOX#5-split
 Theodosius split the empire in two b/c it was too
big to rule by himself
 Split into E & W
 W capital city=ROME; E capital city
=CONSTANTINOPLE
BOX#6-the END
 CE 470’s Ostrogoths sacked Rome for the last time
 Never again another Roman emperor
BOX#7-results in the W
 Latin, Roman laws & Christianity were adopted by
barbarians in Europe
 Split into +++ different Germanic kingdoms who
fought e@ other
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 DARK AGES begin= 100’s of yrs of war &
civilization sort of stopped for a while
BOX#8-results in the E
 Became the Byzantine Empire which lasted 1000
yrs
 Strong central gov’t ruled by one leader
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What did I learn from the video, “The Roman
Empire?”
 At one point in its time, the Roman Empire lost all
importance and became Hx
 Wealth is Rome’s undoing b/c it made the empire
tempting to invaders
 Some of Rome’s permanent check points became
cities we know today…Paris, France!
 Nero burned the city of Rome so he could blame the
Christians
 Rome ended Egyptian Empire Hx when it
conquered it
 Barbarians wanted trade w/the Romans
 Romans took Egyptian art to Rome to show their
power over Egypt
 All roads are straight lines!
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Who was Constantine the Great?
 First Christian Roman Emperor
 Christianity spread under his reign b/c passed laws
that gave more power to Bishops in the gov’t
 Stopped the persecution of Christians
 Became a Christian b/c saw a flaming cross in the
sky before a battle that said, “By this sign thou shall
conquer”…he had soldiers put the sign on their
shields…he won! Which convinced him to believe in
the Christian God.