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EARLY HISTORY OF ROME
According to a Roman story a princess name Rhea Sylvia had 2 twin boys by Mars, the god of
war. A jealous uncle who had stolen the throne from her father
ordered her twins to be drowned in the river. But a servant took
pity on the boys, put them in a basket and let them float down the
river. Hopefully someone would find and care for them. Down the
river they floated until they came
to rest at the foot of a hill. There
a wolf found the crying orphans
and cared for them. Later, a
shepherd found the children and
took them home to raise as his
own.
He named them Romulus
and Remus.
Years later, the two brothers decided to build a city. This would
be a city where others who were homeless, as they once were,
could come to live. But the brothers argued over where to build the
city. One night Romulus and Remus agreed to watch for an omen, a
sign from the gods, to settle their argument.
At dawn, Remus saw six vultures flying overhead. However, as the
sun rose higher in the sky, Romulus saw 12 vultures. The brothers
quarreled and began fighting over the meaning of the vultures in
the sky, and in a rage, Romulus killed Remus.
Romulus then began
to build his city on the spot he had chosen-the hill where the tiny
basket containing the two babies had come to rest years before.
He named his new city after himself- Rome. According to this legend, the date was 753 B.C. and
Romulus was the first of seven kings. He was believed to be a great warrior-king and started
Rome’s first army and its first government.
Rome’s Early Kings
Rome’s 2nd king was Numa Pompilius. He brought peace to Rome and began the Roman religion.
The early kings got advice from a group of men known as the
Senate (from the Latin word for “old men”) .
They came from Rome’s wealthiest and most important
families.
At the time of the early kings, government and religion
went together. The king was also the Chief Priest. He chose
other priests from members of the Senate, and they all
performed religious duties and interpreted omens.
( Imagine today in America if there was only 1 religion, one
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church and the President of the United States was also the President of that American Church
!!)
The Etruscans
During the rule of the early Roman kings, Rome had powerful
neighbors to the north called Etruscans. They wanted the Roman's
land. The Etruscans were good at trading and had many wealthy
cities . About 575 B.C., the Etruscans moved into the city of Rome
and ruled Rome for the next 60 years.
The Etruscans came from an older, more advanced civilization.
Rome learned quickly from them. The Etruscans taught Romans the
alphabet and new building techniques, such as the arch. The
Etruscan kings helped Rome grow from a village of straw-roofed
huts into a walled city with paved streets. They also built a sewer
that is still in use today.
The Romans learned so well, they became the teachers.The Romans built the Circus Maximus, an
arena that seated thousands. Romans drained a
marshy valley and built a beautiful town center
known as the Forum.
Rome continued to grow under the
Etruscans, until Tarquin the Proud came to
power. He was the seventh and last Roman king. He was a cruel ruler who ignored the Senate and
terrorized the people. In 509 B. C., the people rebelled against him and finally sent him into
exile (which means he had to live somewhere outside of Roman territory). The Roman people
decided that they would never again be ruled by a king. Rome becomes a Republic.
ROME BECOMES POWERFUL
Rome became powerful because its location offered 3 advantages. First, Rome was built on
seven hills, so it was difficult for enemies to attack. Second, the Tiber River allowed food and
goods from inland to be brought to Rome.
The Rise of the Republic
The common people of Rome were very angry over harsh treatment by the rich and powerful
people of Rome, so they moved out of the city. A Roman historian named Livy wrote about this
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terrible time in the city of Rome in 494 B.C. "There was
great panic in the city, and everyone was afraid. Many of the
common people were leaving the city. The rich and powerful
people wondered how long the crowds who stayed in Rome
would remain peaceful? And what would happen if an army
was needed to fight foreign invaders?" The leaders knew
that their city was in serious danger unless the common
people returned. So they agreed to give the people more
rights. This struggle between the Roman leaders and the common people continued for 200
years as the common people of Rome tried to gain equal rights.
Patricians and Plebeians – Classes of People in Early Rome
When the last Etruscan king was thrown out of Rome in 509 B.C., Roman leaders decided to
begin a very new form of government - a republic. In a republic, citizens elect leaders to run
their government. In Rome, the leaders chosen to replace the king were called consuls. These
consuls were elected by ordinary citizens known as an assembly, and given advice by a group of
rich people known as the Senate. Citizens were divided into two classes, patricians and
plebeians.
Romans were born into their class. Patricians were members of the small amount of wealthy
Roman families. They had most of the rights and only they could be senators, and hold high
office. Plebeians were the majority of the
population –workers, shopkeepers, and
peasants.
Then there were
slaves. They had no rights whatsoever and
were only considered property of their
masters.
Plebeians believed that was unfair.
When a poor plebeian had to borrow money
from the rich to survive, he and his family
were forced into "debt bondage", which
means he became a servant of the man to
whom he owed the money. He was treated
almost like a slave, and, without getting
paid, he could never get the money he
needed to buy his freedom. The
government did nothing to end this cruel
practice. Although the plebeians had fewer
rights than the patricians they still had to
serve in the army and pay taxes to the
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very people that were hurting them.
By 494 B.C., the plebeians had suffered long enough. They formed their own assembly, known as
the Council of Plebeians. They also elected their own leaders, called tribunes to protect their
rights. Now the plebeians could vote against any bad law passed by the Senate. Next, the
plebeians demanded that the laws be changed. Since Rome’s laws had never been written down,
patrician judges often ruled unfairly against plebeians.
THE TWELVE TABLES
Finally in 450 B.C.E., the laws were engraved on 12 bronze tablets called the Twelve Tables.
The tablets were then displayed in the Forum, Rome's marketplace, so all citizens could see the
rights given to them. But few people could actually read them.
Plebeians gained more and more rights. Eventually plebeians could even become members of
the Senate. But the plebeians and patricians still held their meetings in different places.
(America too has two groups of lawmakers who meet in two different places in one building)
The laws passed by the patrician senate applied to everyone. However, the laws passed by
the plebian assembly applied only to plebeians.
Roman Government
As the plebeians gained power, Rome became more democratic. The government was ruled by
two consuls, and one of those consuls had to be a plebeian. The consuls were like kings, but they
could serve only one year, and each consul could veto the other's decisions. Our word veto is
from the Latin word "I forbid". So, one consul could forbid the decision of the other !
The consuls took care of the daily business of the government and of the army. They got
advice from a senate made up of 300 citizens.
Though the consuls changed each year, Senators were chosen for life. The senate
controlled the treasury and Roman laws. Most of the senators were members of wealthy Roman
families. The Senate was the most powerful group in the government of the Roman Republic.
When the Senate wanted laws passed, it had to get the citizen assemblies to agree. Consuls
were also elected by these assemblies. In this was the government of the Republic spread its
power among different groups. This is called "Checks and Balances" because it balances power
between many people.
ROMAN WARS OF EXPANSION
As Rome became more powerful, they needed resources and man power to help them to grow.
How did they get them? Rome declared war on many of their neighbors. Many conquered people
became slaves. As Rome grew more and more, slaves outnumbered the citizens. By 275 BC, Rome
ruled all of Italy !
Rome had more citizens and well-trained soldiers than any other people in the
Mediterranean area. During the next 100 years, Rome used those soldiers to conquer the
Mediterranean world.
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On the opposite side of the Mediterranean was another military power and trade rival,
Carthage. It was a wealthy city located on the coast of North Africa trading with cities all
around the Mediterranean. Carthage and Rome became fierce enemies and fought three long and
bloody wars (called the Punic Wars) over which power would control the Mediterranean.
THE FIRST PUNIC WAR
Carthage controlled some towns on Sicily (the large island at the toe of Italy). Carthage
controlled much of the trade routes going in and out of Rome. Rome was afraid Carthage would
eventually try to control Italy and Rome itself. In 246 B.C., they declared war. This war
became known as the first Punic war. "Punici" was the Roman word for "people of Carthage".
They fought on land and sea. Rome had a stronger army, but Carthage had a stronger navy.
At the beginning of the war, Rome
did not have many ships or
experience at sea. The Romans found
a clever answer to their problem.
They invented a device called a
"crow" which was a kind of wooden
walkway with a sharp spike at the
end. The crow was held upright until
the Romans pulled their ship up next
to an enemy ship. Then they quickly
lowered the crow so the spike stuck
on the enemy ship's deck. The crow
served as a bridge for the Roman
soldiers to get on to the enemy ship easily. This invention helped Rome win the war against
Carthage.
The first Punic war lasted 23 years. Carthage had a hard time, but Rome could
handle the heavy losses of men because of it's huge army and
loyal allies.
Eventually Carthage surrendered. Rome began to take over the
Mediterranean world. At the end of the 1st Punic War an
important event occurs.
The time is 238 BC., Carthage has just been defeated by Rome.
The place is Carthage. The Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca,
is preparing to leave for Spain. He is hoping to raise a new army to
fight another war against Rome. He is angry and humiliated that
Carthage lost the war with Rome. The historian Livy describes the
event: "Hannibal, then about 9 years old, was teasing his father.
"Take me with you, take me with you to Spain!" His father, still
angry, led Hannibal to the altar and made him swear to be the
enemy of Rome as soon as he grew up."
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Hamilcar took his son Hannibal to Spain with him and taught him to be a soldier. Twenty years
later, Hannibal honored his promise to his father. He became a brilliant general and became one
of Rome's greatest enemies!
THE 2nd PUNIC WAR
Carthage may have been beaten by Rome, but it was still an important power. General
Hamilcar took an army to Spain and began to conquer it. But In 229 B.C. Hamilcar was killed in
battle. Hannibal was only 26 years old when he took his father’s place, but it was time for him
to fulfill the oath he had made as a child. Rome was nervous as Hannibal continued to conquer
Spain, including one of Rome's allies in Spain.
Rome declared war on Carthage, called the Second Punic War, and it would last 18 years !
The Romans sent soldiers
to Spain, but Hannibal
wasn't there.
He was heading for
Italy, through the Alps!
He gathered an army of
about 70,000 soldiers,
12,000 horses, and 37
elephants. They marched
across the Pyrenees
Mountains in Spain and
through southern Gaul
(modern France), crossed the Rhone River (the elephants on rafts) and reached the Alps five
months later, in winter. Only one half of the army was left, and they still had to cross the rocky,
wind-whipped Alps to reach Italy.
Imagine the scene as it was described
by the historian Polybius: "After nine
days' climb Hannibal's army reached
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the snow covered summit of the pass over the Alps--all the time being attacked by mountain
tribes. However, when the enemy
attacked the army, the elephants
were of great use to the
Carthaginians. The enemy was so
terrified of the animals' strange
appearance that they dared not come
anywhere near them." Finally,
Hannibal and his army entered Italy
and began fighting the Romans.
Although all of Hannibal's elephants
died except one, Hannibal continually
defeated the Romans in battle after
battle. One battle known as the
Battle of Cannae, Hannibal
surrounded the Romans and
destroyed their entire army, killing 70,000 Romans and selling the rest as slaves.
Roman armies did not give up. They knew that this was a real danger to the civilization that they
had built. They continued fighting until a general came who could defeat Hannibal. That was the
Roman general Scipio Africanus. First, Scipio made a secret agreement with one of Carthage's
allies in North Africa. Then, while Hannibal was still in Italy, Scipio attacked Carthage.
Since most of its army was in Italy, Carthage was in trouble. But just as it was ready to
surrender to the Romans, Hannibal returned from Italy. Scipio fought Hannibal at Zama, a town
near Carthage and won. Scipio was given the name "Africanus" in honor of his victory over
Carthage. Hannibal survived the Battle of Zama but had to run away. Finally in 183 B.C. Romans
found him in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and forced him to surrender. As they guarded him,
he secretly took poison and ended his life.
Carthage's empire was over. Carthage was forced to give up 3 things: its territories, its
ships, and to pay Rome huge amounts of
money.
In 149 B.C., Carthage got tired of paying the
Romans and being ruled by them. They rebelled
against Rome, and began the Third Punic War!
Rome once again defeated Carthage. This time,
as punishment, Rome sold all of the surviving
Carthaginians into slavery and completely
destroyed the city. The army salted the earth
which made it impossible for anything to be
planted and grown in that area.
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With Carthage out of the way, Rome became the most important power in the western
Mediterranean. So, Rome turned to the east. They conquered Greece as well as the country to
the north of Greece called Macedonia. By 50 B.C., Rome controlled all the land around the
Mediterranean Sea.
The highest honor for a general was a "triumph," a grand parade through the streets of Rome.
The victorious general, dressed up to look like the supreme god Jupiter (Zeus), rode in a chariot.
Behind him marched the soldiers, carrying the many valuables taken from the enemy and leading
the prisoners of war.
POWER CHANGES HANDS AGAIN
The Second Punic War had destroyed many Roman
farms. Farmers who served as soldiers did not have the
money needed to begin farming again. Wealthy Romans
bought up the land, and created LATIFUNDAS or huge
company farms run by slave labor. Many farmers moved
to the city, but there weren't many jobs. Slaves
captured in Rome's many wars provided cheap labor (like
immigrant labor does today). There were more and
more unemployed, and they were hungry and angry. Roman
leaders were afraid the violent mobs would take over power. Some Roman leaders tried to help
the poor, but they were stopped by wealthy senators who didn't want to spend money to help
them. Two tribunes (elected by the plebeians) who tried to help the poor were murdered by the
rich who had spread false rumors about them!
Rome's large population of slaves caused other problems. Most slaves were treated terribly
by their Roman masters. Desperate for freedom, the slaves rebelled. In 73 B.C E., a slave
named Spartacus, who was being trained to be a gladiator, gathered an army of more than
100,000 escaped slaves. They fought and defeated the Roman army for two years. In 71 B.C.,
the Romans surrounded the slave army, killed Spartacus, and crucified 6,000 slaves. The bodies
of men, women, and children hung along the roadways as an example of punishment to those that
opposed Rome.
So ends this part of our story….
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