Download Pax Romana – Roman Peace Imagine you are

Pax Romana – Roman Peace
Imagine you are Julius Caesar, a great military general and the new emperor of the Roman Empire. You control an empire of 50 million
people. Your territories stretch across Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia. Now you must run this empire, maintain peace, and make
sure you remain in power. What should you do?
Read the following suggestions given to you by your advisors. Decide whether you agree or disagree with the suggestions. Hail
Caesar!
Agree
Disagree
Suggestion
Citizenship
You should grant citizenship to all conquered people. This will give them equal rights as Romans, keep
them happy, and prevent rebellions.
Slavery
You should make all conquered people into slaves. They will be able to work for you building roads,
homes, or other things you need. The best part is – they’re free!
Land
You should take land from owners and control it yourself. Any money earned from crops should be taxed
and given to you. You decide how to use the tax money.
Laws
All territories must change their laws and obey Roman laws instead. This prevents rebellion and makes
sure the people are loyal to Rome.
Courts
Every court case must be decided in Rome because Rome is the capital city of the entire empire.
Religion
Everyone must change their religion to Christianity because the emperor is Christian. Those refusing to
become Christian must be executed.
Public Projects
If a town wants to build new roads or buildings, they must raise money and pay for it themselves.
Entertainment
Parades, gladiator tournaments, and carnivals are only for the wealthy social classes to attend. Wealthy
Romans do not want to socialize with the poor.
Art & Literature
All art and literature should be about the emperor and about Rome’s greatness. Artists and writers should
not create anything else.
Pax Romana – Roman Peace
How did Rome maintain a peaceful empire?
After Julius Caesar took power over the Roman Empire, there was a time of peace called Pax Romana,
or Roman Peace. This was an amazing 200 years for Rome considering the large population of 50 million
people, the numerous languages spoken in the empire, and the different religions practiced across Asia,
Europe, and North Africa. There were several reasons Caesar and other emperors maintained this time of
peace.
Laws
Even before Rome became a large empire, it had laws called the Twelve Tablets. The Twelve Tablets
listed the rights of Roman citizens and were posted in the Roman Forum for everyone to see and understand.
Later, all conquered territories became subject to Roman law. Roman laws were strict and physical
punishment was common. However, Romans attempted to make their laws fair and just. All citizens, both rich
and poor, followed the same laws. Any Roman could accuse another of a crime and go to court where a jury,
or group, of citizens decided the outcome. Though people were supposed to be equal under the law, the poor
were often treated harshly compared to the wealthy. Even so, many of today’s governments, including the
United States, are based on Roman laws and legal procedures.
Citizenship
Emperors granted citizenship to most free individuals in its conquered territories. As citizens, the
people had the same rights, obeyed Roman law, and owed allegiance, or loyalty, to the emperor of Rome.
Those who were not Roman citizens were considered barbarians, or foreigners, and were considered inferior
to citizens. Last in the social class were slaves who were often enemy soldiers captured in battle or debtors
who owed money. Keeping peace and order across the Roman Empire remained expensive and challenging.
Wealth
Conquering a vast area of land in Europe, Asia, and North Africa increased Rome’s ability to trade.
Rome introduced a single form of currency, or money, to make trade easier and faster. Trade made the
empire wealthy but the emperor also collected taxes from its people. This helped fund the Roman army which
was a huge expense. The Roman army was the strongest of its time and soldiers were stationed across the
empire to maintain order and ensure loyalty to the emperor.
Religion
People practiced various religions across the Roman Empire. Christianity was popular in Italy while
Judaism was popular in Eastern Europe. Others worshipped different local gods and many of the Romans
adopted Greek gods as their own. In time, even the emperor was worshipped as a god. Roman leaders
tolerated, or accepted, different religious beliefs as long as people remained loyal to the emperor.
Public Works Projects
“All roads lead to Rome.” This popular saying comes from the amazing Roman achievements in
building hundreds of miles of roads, bridges, canals, aqueducts, and much more. Caesar and other emperors
invested large amounts of money and energy into public works projects. Improvements in these projects made
it faster and easier to travel, trade, and communicate. In addition, temples, libraries and other important
buildings were restored for the public. And Rome had its first force of police and firefighters. As the emperor
Augustus said, “I found Rome brick and left it marble.”
Entertainment
One of Caesar’s goals was to keep poor Roman citizens happy enough to prevent rebellion. One way
he accomplished this was through gladiator tournaments, carnivals, chariot races, and parades. These were
all intended to entertain the people. All citizens, whether poor or rich, attended these festivals, and these also
made Caesar more popular among the people. One famous location for these tournaments was the Coliseum
in Rome.
PAX ROMANA
DIRECTIONS: Read the handout and describe what Romans did in their Empire. Then explain how it helped
maintain peace.
Topic
Laws
2 Key Facts: What did the Romans do?
Describe. How were conquered
territories treated? (use reading)
-
How did this help maintain peace in the
empire? (THINK!…not in the reading)
-
Citizenship
-
-
Wealth
-
-
Religion
-
-
Religion
-
-
Public Works
Projects
-
-
Entertainment -
-