Download Ancient Rome 509 BC – 476 AD

Ancient Rome
509 BC – 476 AD
Chapter 6
Western Civilizations I - G
The Roman World
Takes Shape
Chapter 6, Section 1
Geography of Italy
• Boot-shaped peninsula in
the central Mediterranean
• Rome is located in the
center of Italy, which
helped with trade and
expansion
• Few barriers made
unification easier
• Good farmland
Early People of Italy
• Latins, Greeks, and Etruscans all settled in Italy
and eventually the Latins took control
• Early Romans adapted the Latin
language from the Etruscan and
Greek language
• The Romans borrowed many
new building techniques and
religious ideas
The Roman Republic
• Republic – a government where officials are
chosen by the people
• Two types of citizens:
• Patricians – wealthy, landholding upper class,
very involved in the government
• Plebeians – poor/middle class, small
landholders, majority of the population but
less of a government role
Parts of the Government
• The Senate – 300 patricians who made the laws
• Consuls – 2 elected leaders who ran the
government and led the military
• Dictator – led Rome only during times of crisis for
a 6 month term
• Tribunes –officials who worked to protect rights of
plebeians
• Over time, plebeians gained a larger role in the
government
• Twelve Tables – laws of Rome that applied to all
Roman Society
• The head male had absolute power over his family
• Women played more of a role in society than in
Greece
• Most women ran the
home, though some ran
businesses
• Overtime, women
gained more rights
Education & Religion
•
•
•
•
All boys and girls learned to read and write
Tutors were hired to teach upper class children
Roman gods were based on the Greeks
Many feast days and
celebrations honored the
gods and brought people
together
• Temples were built to
honor the gods
Expansion in Italy
• Romans controlled all of Italy by 270 BC
• Military was divided into 5000 man units called
Legions – very well trained, unpaid soldiers
• Conquered people
were usually well
treated if they paid
taxes and provided
soldiers
From Republic to
Empire
Chapter 6, Section 2
The Punic Wars
• Rome and Carthage went to war to see who would
control trade in the Mediterranean
• Three wars fought between 264 – 146 BC
• Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy and
caused much destruction before being defeated
• Rome won all three wars and gained land
throughout the region
• The city of Carthage was completely destroyed by
the Romans to prevent more wars
The Punic Wars
Roman Expansion
• Lands gained from the Punic Wars:
• Islands: Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia
• Spain
• Northern Africa
• Other lands conquered
by the Romans:
• Macedonia
• Greece
• Asia Minor
• Egypt
Social & Economic
Effects
• Rome become very rich with new trade routes
• The wealthy built large estates (farms) called
Latifundia, where slaves did the work
• Overuse of slaves made it hard for lower class
people to find work
• The cities become overcrowded with poor,
homeless, unemployed people who began to riot
• The wealthy people became corrupt and greedy
Gracchus Brothers
• Patricians who tried to help the lower classes
• Wanted to give land and grain to the poor
• Their changes upset the
Senate and they were
killed
Decline of the Republic
• Differences between the rich and poor led to civil
wars
• The government argued over who should be in
charge – the Senate or individual leaders
• Slave revolts and uprisings became common
• Soldiers were loyal to their commanders instead of
to Rome and armies fought one another
Julius Caesar
• Military leader who conquered
Gaul (France)
• Became popular among the
plebeians – the Senate was
fearful of his power and ordered
him to disband his army – he
refused
• After civil war, he won and
became Dictator of Rome in 49
BC
Caesar’s reforms
• Made many changes to Rome:
• Public works/building projects to give work
to the unemployed
• Gave public land to the poor
• Reorganized the government
• Gave citizenship to more people
• Created a new calendar – added the month of
July, basis for our calendar today
Caesar’s assassination
• Senators were scared of his power and killed him
on March 15, 44 BC
• Rome fell into Civil War again
– Assassins were killed
– Caesar’s friend Mark
Antony and nephew
Octavian fought for
control of Rome
Beginning of the Empire
• Octavian defeated Mark Antony
and was named Augustus
(meaning “Exalted One”)
• He had absolute power and got
to choose his heir
• The Roman Republic was over
and leaders would no longer be
elected
Reign of Augustus
• Gave government jobs to qualified people of all
social classes
• Gave provinces some self-government
• Ordered a census to fix the
tax system
• Made a postal system, new
money, and had new roads
and temples built
Later Emperors
• Emperors after Augustus were both good and bad
• Bad Emperors:
• Caligula – made his horse a consul
• Nero – blamed Christians for destroying Rome in a
fire
• Good Emperors:
• Hadrian – fixed Roman law and built a defensive
wall in Britain
• Marcus Aurelius – philosopher-king who was very
committed to duty
Pax Romana
• The 200 year period between 27 BC – 180 AD
(Augustus to Marcus Aurelius)
• Generally a peaceful, prosperous time for Rome
• Extended territory from Spain to Iraq
• Trade flourished with Africa and Asia
• People spread many new ideas around the empire
Roman Growth
Entertainment
• Chariot Racing at the Circus Maximus
• Gladiator contests
• Emperors and politicians provided the
entertainment for free to keep the people happy
The Roman
Achievement
Chapter 6, Section 3
Greco-Roman
Civilization
• Romans borrowed many ideas from the Greeks
• Art
• Literature
• Philosophy
• Science
• Greco-Roman = the blending together of Greek,
Hellenistic, and Roman traditions
• Trade, travel, and war helped spread these ideas
Writings
• Poetry – epic poems explained the origins of the
Romans, other poems made fun of Roman society
• History – they honored Roman successes and
described cultures the Romans were in contact
with
• Philosophy – stressed the importance of duty and
accepting your fate, concerned with the well-being
of all people
Art
• Based on Greek and Etruscan designs
• Realistic looking sculptures that showed emotions
• Nice homes were decorated with fresco paintings
and mosaic floors
Architecture
• Buildings were meant to be large and imposing to
symbolize the power of Rome
• Used the arch to make buildings taller
• Concrete was cheaper and stronger
Technology
• Engineers designed roads, walls, bridges, and
aqueducts that lasted for centuries
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Science
• Most advances were made by Greek scientists in
Alexandria, Egypt
• Ptolemy – taught the Earth was the center of the
universe (believed until the 1500s)
• Galen – studied medicine using experimentation
• Pliny the Elder – wrote a scientific
encyclopedia on a wide range of
topics
Roman Law
• Rule of Law allowed for Rome to stay united and
stable
• Civil Law – laws that applied to citizens
• Law of Nations – laws that applied to all people
living under Roman rule
• Basic Ideas:
• Innocent until proven guilty
• Accused can face accuser and offer a defense
• Guilt had to be proven using evidence
• Judges could expand and interpret laws
The Rise of
Christianity
Chapter 6, Section 4
Religious Differences
• In the early part of the Roman Empire, some
people:
• Believed in the Roman gods
• Were involved in secret cults and mystery
religions
• The Roman government allowed people to practice
whatever religion they wanted as long as they also
honored the Roman gods and emperor.
Problems in Judea
• Judea = modern-day Israel
• Where most of the Jews lived
• Romans didn’t force Jews to worship Roman gods
and emperor since they believed in only one god
• Some Jews believed the Messiah was about to
return to lead Jews to freedom
• After a Jewish revolt in 66 AD, the Temple was
destroyed and many Jews left Judea
Life of Jesus
• Jesus was a Jew in Palestine born in 4 BC
• Began to preach to followers at age 30, many
wanted to hear his
messages and witness
apparent miracles
Teachings of Jesus
• Based on Jewish teachings:
• Believe in one god
• Follow the Ten Commandments
• Some New Ideas:
• Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah
who was going to bring salvation and eternal
life in heaven to any who believed in him
Death of Jesus
• Some people viewed him as dangerous because he
caused people to challenge leadership and
question their beliefs
• He was arrested by the Romans and
sentenced to death by crucifixion
• After his death, some believed they
saw him rise from the dead
• From there, Christianity began to
spread
Spread of Christianity
• Followers began to teach Jesus’ message to other
Jews
• Paul began to teach Christian ideas to non-Jews
• This gave him a much bigger group of people
to convert
• He traveled all over the Roman world and
converted many people
Persecution
• The Roman government was not tolerant of early
Christians and were suspicious of their secret
gatherings
• When bad things happened in Rome, the
Christians were often blamed
and killed
• Many Christians were willing to
die for their beliefs (martyrs)
Reasons Christianity
Spread
• Both rich and poor liked the teachings that stressed
equality and love for all
• The idea of Heaven was comforting
• Combined ideas of Greek philosophy
• Missionaries were good at converting people
• Some people respected martyrs
End of Persecution
• In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine ended Christian
persecution with the Edict of Milan
• It gave Romans the right to legally practice
any religion they wanted
• Christianity soon
became the official
religion of Rome
Early church Structure
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•
•
•
Only men had a role in the early Church
Each community had a church with a priest
Bishops oversaw several communities
Certain bishops gained more power – the most
powerful was the bishop of Rome, eventually he
became the Pope (head of the Church)
The Long Decline
Chapter 6, Section 5
The End of Pax Romana
• Struggles for Power
• Leaders fought with each other for power
• Assassinations of emperors was common
• Economic and Social Problems
• Very high taxes to run the government and
military
• Farmland had been overused and now wasn’t
very productive
• Poor farmers left their land and began to work for
rich landowners in return for protection
Emperor Diocletian
• Divided empire in half to make it easier to rule
• He led the Eastern half – wealthier, more
resources, better trade
• A co-emperor ruled the Western half but had to
report to Diocletian
• He set prices for goods to keep them
from rising too high
• He required sons to do the same job
as their fathers
Emperor Constantine
• Continued Diocletian’s reforms
• Granted religious freedom to Christians, which
allowed for it to spread quickly
• Built new capital city – Constantinople
• Put Rome’s power in the eastern half
• Diocletian and Constantine’s reforms
had mixed results – they slowed down
the decline of Rome but did not stop it
Foreign Invasions
• Many barbarian groups lived near the Roman
borders
• They lived peacefully together for a long time until
the Huns - a nomadic, warlike group from Asia moved into Europe
• The barbarian groups fled into Rome to escape the
Huns
• Rome was unable to stop the invasions
Rome Defeated
• Constant pressure from different barbarian groups
was too much for the Romans to handle
• Different groups spread all around the empire
• In 476 AD, the city of Rome was sacked and the
Roman Empire was over
Causes for the Fall of
Rome
• Military Reasons
• Army wasn’t well trained or disciplined
• Government hired foreign soldiers
(mercenaries) to fight – they weren’t loyal
• Political Reasons
• Government was very controlling and corrupt
• Frequent civil wars and leadership changes
• Eastern half didn’t help the West
Causes for the Fall of
Rome
• Economic Reasons
• Very high taxes
• Relied too much on slave labor
• Lower class grew and became more poor
• Social Reasons
• Less focus on duty and loyalty to Rome
• Lack of patriotic feelings
• Upper class more focused on wasting money