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The Rise of Rome
Chapter 8 Objectives
 Explain how
Rome became a republic
 Describe how
Rome gained control of the
Mediterranean region.
 Explain how
the failure of the republic lead
to the creation of the Roman Empire.
 Relate how
military and political reforms
made Rome rich and prosperous.
Test Preview - Vocabulary
First Punic
Latifundia
War
Cicero
Aqueduct
Sicily
Etruscans
Puteoli
First Triumvirate
Plebeians
praetors
Test Preview – Things to know
Who founded
the city of Rome?
By
when did Romans take over
most of Italy?
What important
political reform
occurred in 287 B.C.
What were
the Twelve Tables?
Test Preview – Things to know
What took
War?
When
place in the Second Punic
was Caesar killed?
What was
Octavian’s title?
What was
Hadrian’s Wall?
What helped
power?
Rome become a trading
Test Preview – Essays
How did
the geography affect
where Rome was located?
What reforms did
Julius Caesar
introduce to Rome? What
effect did they have?
Section 1 – Rome’s Beginnings
This section describes the
beginnings of Rome, the
founding of the republic, and
early conquests.
Rome’s Beginnings
 Italy
is in an important location in the middle
of the Mediterranean. It is located on a long,
narrow peninsula with a distinctive shape; it
looks like a high-heeled boot jutting into the
sea.
 The
island a the “toe” of Italy is Sicily.
 Across
the northern border of Italy is the
mountains region of the Alps.
 Another
mountain ranch runs down the length
of the “boot” called the Apennines.
Rome’s Beginnings

The landscape of Italy is similar to Greece. However, it is
not as mountains and communities were able to
communicate easily with each other. The land also had
areas that were excellent for growing crops.

The earliest people to inhabit Italy probably came across
the northern mountains. These were a Latin-speaking
people who built the city of Rome on the plain of Latium
in central Italy.

The site of Rome was about 15 mile up the Tiber River
from the Mediterranean Sea. The Tiber River gave the
early people of Rome a supply of fresh water.

Rome was built on seven steep hills. This made it easier
to defend Rome from attack.
Rome’s Beginnings
 There
are two different legends about the
beginnings of Rome.
 The
traditional story is that of twin brothers named
Romulus and Remus. As babies they had been
abandoned near the Tiber River. There they were
rescued by a wolf and raised by a shepherd.
 In 753
B.C. they decided to build a city. They twins
got in a fight and when Remus made fun of the wall
he was building, Romulus lashed out and killed him.
 Romulus
went on to become the first king of Rome
and named the city after himself.
Rome’s Beginnings

The second story are traced back to the epic story
Aeneid, that was written by a Roman poet named Virgil.

The Aeneid is the story of the Trojan here Aeneas. After
Troy had been captured by the Greeks, Aeneas led a
group of Trojans to the mouth of the Tiber river.

Through wars and then the marriage of Aeneas to a local
leaders daughter, Aeneas united the Trojans and the
Latins. The Latins were the local people.

Historians are not really sure exactly how Rome began.
The do know that there were tribes of Latins living in the
hills in the area of Rome as early as 1000 B.C. These tribes
probably banded together and created the community
for protection. This later became the city of Rome.
Rome’s Beginnings

In about 800 B.C. other groups joined the Romans in Italy.
The Greeks visited the area and taught the Romans how
to grow olives and grapes. The Romans also adopted the
Greek alphabet.

The Etruscans were a group of people that lived north or
Rome in Etruria. Around 650 B.C. they moved south and
took over Rome. The Etruscans changed Rome from a
straw-roofed city to one with wood and brick buildings.

They also introduced streets, temples, and public
buildings around as central city square. A new style of
dress featuring short cloaks, togas, and sandals was also
introduced.

The Etruscan army were serve as the model for the
powerful armies that the Romans would assemble.
Rome’s Beginnings
 The
Etruscans ruled Rome for more that 100
years. Under them, Rome became wealthy and
powerful.
 In
509 B.C., the Romans rebelled against the
ruling family called the Tarquins. They
overthrow this ruling family and formed a
republic. What is a republic?
A form of government in which the leader is not a
king or queen but someone put in office by citizens
with the right to vote.
 Over
the next 100 years the Romans would fight
wars with their neighbors and become masters
of almost all of Italy.
Rome’s Beginnings
 The
Romans were able to conquer Italy because
of their excellent soldiers. In the early days of
the republic every male citizen who owned land
had to serve in the army.
 Discipline
was hash and deserters were
punished by death.
 Roman
armies at first fought like the Greeks
did. Later, Roman general organized their
armies into smaller groups called legions.
 Each
legion had about 6,000 men and was
further divided into groups of 60 to 120 soldiers.
Rome’s Beginnings

Roman soldiers used a short sword called a gladius and a
spear called a pilum. Each unit also carried a flag atop a
long pole so that it was easy to identify on the
battlefield.

The Romans were also good planners. As they expanded
throughout Italy, they built permanent settlements.
They build roads between the towns that allowed their
troops to quickly move from place to place.

They also created a Roman Confederation. Under this
system, Romans gave full citizenship to the people that
they conquered.

Under the confederation, everyone paid taxes to the
republic but could run their own local affairs. This
method of government encourage conquered people to
be loyal to the Roman Republic.
Section 2 – the Roman republic
This section describes the
Roman Republic’s political
development and the defeat
of Carthage.
the Roman republic
 Early
Romans were divided into two classes:
Patricians – Wealthy landowners who made up
Rome’s ruling class.
Plebeians – This group of citizens included artisans,
shopkeepers, and owners of small farms.
 The
men in both groups were Roman citizens
and had the right to vote, the responsibility to
pay taxes, and serve in the army.
 Plebeians
had a lower social status and could
not old public office.
 Marriage
classes.
was not allowed between the two
the Roman republic
 In the
Roman Republic, the top government officials
were the consuls. How many consuls were there?
Two – Chosen from the patrician class each year.
 They
headed the army and ran the government.
 The
two consuls had veto power over each other.
What is veto power?
The ability to reject the other’s decision. The word veto
is Latin for “I forbid”.
 Roman
had other officials called praetors. These
men did all the other important government jobs.
Things like keeping tax records, supervising public
festivals, and acting as judges.
the Roman republic

Rome’s lawmaking body was called the Senate. This was a select
group of 300 patrician men who served for life. The Senate
proposed laws, debated important issues, and approved
government projects.

The last part of the Roman government was the Assembly of
Centuries. It elected important officials such as the consuls and
praetors. They also passed the laws proposed by the Senate.

Over time the plebeians began to complain about having no
power in the Roman Republic. In 494 B.C. they went on strike
and refused to server in the army and pay taxes. In 471 B.C. they
were allowed to set up their own body of representatives called
the Council of the Plebs.

The Council of Plebs elected tribunes who took concerns to the
government and had the right to veto government decisions.

They also changed the laws so that plebeians and patricians could
now marry. Eventually they made all laws for Rome.
the Roman republic

The Roman Republic also had a position called a dictator.
Roman dictators were men who were given complete
control on a temporary basis during emergencies. The
Senate would appoint the dictator. As soon as the danger
had passed, the dictator would give up his power.

The best-known early Roman dictator was Cincinnatus.
In 460 B.C. Rome was attacked by a powerful enemy. The
Senate promoted Cincinnatus to dictator. He lead the
army and defeated the enemy. Only 15 days after
becoming dictator, he gave up the power and returned to
his farm.

Cincinnatus’s example of giving up power inspired
George Washington to do the same thing at the end of
the American Revolution.
the Roman republic

The Roman system of laws is one of its greatest gifts to
the world. The legal system of the United States is based
largely upon the Roman system.

Rome’s first code of laws was called what?
The Twelve Tables – These were public laws that were carved
on bronze tablets and keep in Rome’s marketplace for
everyone to see.

The Twelve Tables only applied to Roman citizens. As
they took over more lands they needed laws go govern
those areas. They came up with the Law of Nations.

The Law of Nations state principles of justice that
applied to all people everywhere. Some of these
principles we still use today. Things like innocent until
proven guilty, defending yourself before a judge, and
judges using evidence carefully before making a decision.
the Roman republic

After Rome and completed its conquest of all of Italy,
they found that they faced a powerful enemy across the
Mediterranean Sea on the Northern coast of Africa. This
was the empire of Carthage.

Carthage had been founded in 800 B.C. by the
Phoenicians. Carthage’s empire extended all the way to
present day Spain. They also controlled the islands of
Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily off the coast of Italy.

Both Rome and Carthage wanted control of the island of
Sicily. In 264 B.C. they fought against each other in the
First Punic War. Both empires built strong navies. They
fought for more than 20 years. Finally Rome destroyed
Carthage’s navy off the coast of Sicily and force Carthage
to leave the island.
the Roman republic

To make up for the loss of Sicily, Carthage expanded into
the area of southern Spain. The Romans helped the
people of Spain in their fight against Carthage.

To punish Rome, Carthage sent its greatest general,
Hannibal to attack Rome. This was the start of the
Second Punic War.

Hannibal gathered a huge army in Spain. It contained
46,,000 men, many horses and 37 elephants. He marched
east from Spain to attack.

Before he reached Rome, Hannibal’s army suffered heavy
losses trying to cross the Alps across northern Italy.
Although he lost almost half his soldiers and all of the
elephants, he still had a powerful army.

In 216 B.C., Hannibal defeated the Romans at the Battle of
Cannae in southern Italy.
the Roman republic

Despite their defeat, the Romans were about raise another army.
Under a general named, Scipio, the Romans invaded Carthage.
Hannibal was force to leave Italy in order to defend Carthage.

At the Battle of Zama, Scipio’s army defeated the Carthaginians.
Carthage was forced to give up Spain to Rome. Rome now ruled
all of the western Mediterranean.

In 146 B.C. Rome fought Carthage one last time in the Third
Punic War. This time they burned Carthage and took more than
50,000 men, women, and children as slaves. Legend has it that
the Rome spread salt upon the ground were Carthage had stood
so that nothing would ever grow there again.

After defeating Carthage, Rome continued to conquer other
lands. They conquered Macedonia and Greece. Soon they
controlled every land around the Mediterranean and began
calling it “our sea”.
Section 3 – the Fall of the Republic
This section describes the
events that led to the end of
the Roman Republic.
the Fall of the Republic
 Rome’s
army were victorious wherever they went.
However, trouble was beginning back in Rome.
 Dishonest
officials stole tax money and the gap
between rich and poor was growing.
 Many
poor farms were struggling to make a living.
Many had fought in the Punic Wars and their farms
had been destroyed during Hannibal’s invasion of
Italy.
 Wealthy
Romans were buying up land to create large
farming estates called latifundia. They used the
large number of slaves taken in war as labor. This
was forcing the small farmers out of business.
the Fall of the Republic
 Faced with
debts they could not pay off, many sold
their farms and went looking for work in the cities.
There the also found very little work. This soon lead
to widespread anger.
 To
keep riots from breaking out, the politicians
started providing the poor with cheap food and
entertainment.
 Not
all wealthy people ignored the problems of the
republic. Two brothers worked for reforms. There
names were Tierious and Gaius Gracchus.
 The
brothers wanted the wealthy to break up their
large estates and give back small farms to the people.
the Fall of the Republic

A band of senators killed Tiberius in 133 B.C. and 12 years
later killed his brother. These actions outraged the
common people.

Things got worse when the Roman army took over the
government. A military leader named Marius became
consul in 107 B.C. He began to recruit soldiers from the
poor by offering them wages and land.

The Roman arm went from being citizen volunteers to
paid professional soldiers. This made the soldiers more
loyal to their generals than to the Roman Republic.

This lead to power struggles between generals. In 82 B.C.
a general named Sulla drove Marius from power and made
himself dictator of Rome. While in power, he weakened
the Council of Plebs and strengthened the Senate.
the Fall of the Republic
 After
Sulla left office different Roman leaders
battled for power. Each supported by their loyal
armies.
 In 60
B.C. three men rose to the top: Crassus, Pompey,
and Julius Caesar. All three were successful military
leaders.
 Together
the formed the First Triumvirate to rule
Rome. What is a Triumvirate?
A triumvirate is a political alliance of three people.
 Each
had a military command in a remote area of the
republic. Pompey was in Spain, Crassus in Syria, and
Caesar in Gaul (modern day France).
the Fall of the Republic

Caesar became popular with Romans because he battled
foreign tribes and invaded Britain.

After Crassus was killed in Battle, the Senate decided that
Pompey should return to Italy to rule alone. The Senate
also ordered Caesar to give up his army and return home.

Caesar did not want to give up power and instead
marched on Rome with his army. In doing so he had to
cross a small river at the southern boundary of his
command area called the Rubicon.

In doing so he started a civil war. Pompey tried to stop
Caesar, but Caesar was able to defeat him and become
dictator of Rome. Rather than step down after a short
time, Caesar instead filled the Senate with new members
who were loyal to him.
the Fall of the Republic
 Caesar also
knew that some governmental
reforms were needed. While in power he:
Granted citizenship to people living in Rome’s
territories outside Italy
Started new colonies to provide land for the
landless
Created work for Rome’s jobless people
Ordered landowners using slave labor to hire
more free workers.
the Fall of the Republic

Caesar also created a new calendar with 12 months, 365
days, and a leap year. This Julian calendar was used
throughout Europe until 1582. Then it was modified
slightly and became the Gregorian calendar that we still
used today.

While many Romans support Caesar, others did not.
Among his opponents were two senators Brutus and
Cassius. On March 15, 44 B.C. the surrounded him in the
Senate chambers and stabbed him to death.

Caesar’s death plunged Rome into another civil war. One
side had the men that killed Caesar and on the other side
was Caesar’s grandnephew Octavian and his top two
generals, Antony and Lepidus. After defeating Caesar’s
killers they formed the Second Triumvirate in 43 B.C.
the Fall of the Republic

The members of the Second Triumvirate began
disagreeing almost as soon as they gained power. Lepidus
was forced into retirement and Octavian and Antony
divided the Roman world between them. Octavian took
the west and Antony took the east.

Antony fell in love with and formed an alliance with the
Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII.

In 31 B.C. Octavian and Antony fought at the Battle of
Actium. Octavian crushed the army and navy Antony &
Cleopatra. He later hunted them down and they killed
themselves rather than be captured.

Octavian was now the sole ruler of Rome and lay the
foundation for a new system of government – The Roman
Empire.
the Fall of the Republic

Octavian could have made himself dictator for life as
Caesar had done. But he wanted to restore a republican
form of government.

Octavian was advised by Cicero, a political leader, writer,
and Rome’s greatest public speaker. Cicero’s ideas on
republican forms of government would be used later in
history by the writers of the United States Constitution.

Octavian restored the Senate but made sure he would
remain in control. He gave himself the title of imperator,
which translated to “commander in chief”. It later come
to mean emperor.

He also took the title of Augustus which means “the
revered or majestic one”. From this point on Octavian
was know as Augustus.
Section 4 – The Early empire
This section describes the
expansion and contributions
of the Roman Republic.
The Early empire
 Under the
rule of Augustus and his
successors the Roman Empire reached its
peak.
 The region
of the Mediterranean enjoyed
several years of peace that lasted until A.D.
180. This era was called Pax Romana or
“Roman Peace”.
 The entire
area was under the control of the
Roman Empire.
The Early empire
 Augustus
did several things to improve the Roman
Empire.
He built a permanent professional army of 150,000 men.
He created a special unit to guard the emperor called the
Praetorian Guard.
He conquered all of Spain, Gaul, and the Balkans.
He filled Rome with stately palaces, fountains, and
splendid buildings.
He created a government system using governors to rule
each of Rome’s provinces.
He reformed the tax system by making tax collectors
work for the government.
He changed the legal system so that the people living in
the provinces would be treated fairly and could become
citizens.
The Early empire
 After
ruling for almost 40 years, Augustus died
in A.D. 14.
 There
was no law that determine who was to be
the next emperor. However, Augustus had
trained a relative, Tiberius to follow him.
 The
next three emperors, Caligula, Claudius,
and Nero also came from Augustus’s family.
 Tiberius
and Claudius were good rules. Caligula
and Nero turned out to be cruel leaders.
The Early empire

Mental illness caused Caligula to act strangely and to
treat people cruelly. He had many people murdered,
wasted a lot of money, and even gave his favorite horse
the position of consul. Eventually the Praetorian Guard
killed him and put Claudius on the throne.

Nero was also a vicious and mentally ill man. Among
those he had killed were his mother and two wives. It is
thought he was responsible for much of Rome burning.
He later committed suicide.

After Nero committed suicide, Rome passed through a
period of disorder until a general under Nero took the
throne. His name was Vespasian.

Vespasian put down several rebellions in the empire,
including a Jewish rebellion in Palestine. During this
rebellion the Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in
A.D. 70.
The Early empire

During his reign, Vespasian began construction of the
Colosseum in central Rome. His son Titus, then his other
son Domitian, ruled Rome after he died. Both sons
oversaw an era of growth and prosperity in Rome.

It was during Titus’s reign that Mount Vesuvius erupted
and destroyed the city of Pompeii.

In the A.D. 100’s as series of rulers who were not related
to Augustus or Vespasian came to power. These five
emperors – Nerva, Trajan, Hadriand, Antoninus Pius, and
Marcus Aurelius – are known as the “good emperors”.

Under these rulers Rome’s prosperity increased. These
emperors created programs to help the common people.
The gave money for helping the poor, education,
constructing public buildings, and built aqueducts to
bring water to the cities.
The Early empire

Under these rulers the empire continued to grow and
reached its largest size under Trajan. It spread from
Britain in the north, to part of Mesopotamia in the east.

When Hadrian came to power, he realized that the empire
had become too large to govern. He began to pull troops
back from some areas.

He set the northern boundary at the Rhine and Danube
Rivers and also built a wall across northern Britain to
keep out the Picts and Scots.

During this time everyone living under the Roman
Empire became Roman citizens. The economy of Roman
flourished. People were well fed and traders from all over
the empire – and beyond – came to ports in Italy. These
included silk from China and spices from India.
The Early empire

During the Pax Romana era, more roads were built to
help with trade. Rome’s system of roads reached a total
length of 50,000 miles.

On the sea, the Roman navy helped rid the
Mediterranean of pirates.

Roman trade was helped by the use of a common system
of currency. Roman coins were accepted throughout the
Mediterranean region. The Romans also created a system
of weights and measures the made it easier for people to
trade with each other.

While shopkeepers, merchants, and skilled workers
benefitted and grew rich from the empire’s trade, others
remained poor and enslaved.
The Rise of Rome
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