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Unit VI:
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Do Now!
Glorious Emperor Caligula! The Roman people are rioting in the streets because you are such
a terrible ruler! You have tried to turn a horse
into a senator and you have said
that you wish to destroy the Roman people! You need to create a new, fantastic show in the
Coliseum in order to distract the people! If you do not distract the people with a truly dazzling
show, they will turn against you and overthrow you. Describe your show in detail. Then,
sketch your ideas on the picture of the Coliseum below!
Mr. Woodward, History
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During Reading Directions: Read the following primary source interactively (write notes in the
margin, underline key words, etc.) with your partner. Answer the questions at the end of each section.
Primary Source
Marcus Aurelius Thinks
Aurelius, c. 170 CE
Injustice is a sin. People are meant to help each other so that all may benefit. It is unwise to
hurt people. To harm another human is to offend the gods the selves. Dishonesty is also a sin that
angers the gods.
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A lie is a sin because to mislead people is an act of injustice. An accidental lie is also a sin
because it brings disorder to the world. One must never let himself be put in a position where he is
forced to lie.
It is also a sin to see fun as the greatest good in the world. Fearing pain is a sin. If a man is
afraid of pain, he is afraid of a basic fact of life, and this is a sin. One must not fear pain at all. If a
person does something unjust in order to have fun, this as well is a great sin.
A person must pay no attention to pain, and not be distracted by fun. There is no time for
either. It is sinful to fear pain and to seek fun as the most important goal in life.
Despise not death; smile, rather, at its coming. It is natural to accept death. Death is simply a
part of life that everyone goes through. A smart person does not become angry with death. A smart
person accepts death.
Work hard, but do not work hard so that others will admire you. Do not brag about your hard
work. Work hard because you want to show how outstanding a citizen you are.
All of your problems come from the fact that you have not let reason, or intelligence, guide your
actions.
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Critical Questions
1. What were the accomplishments of the "Five Good Emperors?" Write at least four sentences and support
your answer with a fully-explained quotation from the text.
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2. What were the problems with the Pax Romana? Write at least four sentences and support your answer with
a fully-explained quotation from the text.
3. How were the "Five Good Emperors" different from the Julio-Claudian Dynasty? Write at least four
sentences and support your answer with a fully-explained quotation from the text.
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Emperors of Rome
Pre-Reading: Vocabulary
Write a synonym or short definition above each underlined word.
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exalted – praised, worshipped like a god
emperor – the person who rules an empire, has total power
Pax Romana – a period of 100 years of peace in the Roman Empire
empire – a large territory controlled by one ruler
reliable – can count on
regent – person who rules for a child
dressing gown – night gown, robe
persecuting – punishing, targeting
unified – brought together or kept together
Emperors of Rome
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Post Reading Questions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1.
What was the Pax Romana? Which emperor was in charge at the start of this period?
2.
List three accomplishments of Augustus’ that you would consider to have been positive for the
Roman Empire.
3.
What was the Great Fire? Which emperor was in charge at this time? How did he respond to
the fire?
4.
What positive things did Nero accomplish for Rome? List at least one.
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According to the reading, Trajan wanted to “improve the quality of life” for Romans. What do
you think that means? How did he go about doing this?
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Why did Hadrian build walls?
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Emperors of Rome:
Augustus 27 bce – 14 ce
Emperor Augustus (ruled 27 BCE – 14 AD)
Emperor Augustus was not always called Augustus. He was given the name Gaius Octavian when
he was born on September 23, 63 BCE. Gaius Octavian was the nephew of Julius Caesar. Caesar’s
murder by senators in 44 BCE upset Augustus greatly.
At the time of Caesar's assassination, Octavian had no real power in Rome. He was not a military
general or a senator. However, after the death of Caesar, his anger at the senators caused him to
march into Rome and force the senate to name him the new consul. He held the role of consul until
27 B.C. In that year, the Roman Senate granted Octavian the name Augustus, meaning "the exalted."
They also gave him the power to make all decisions about laws, religion, and wars in Rome. The
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Senate would no longer make any major laws or decisions, they would only give advice to Augustus.
This decision by the senate officially made Augustus emperor of all of Rome.
Rome achieved great glory under Octavian/Augustus. Most importantly, Augustus’s rule began
the Pax Romana. He brought peace to Rome by ending more than 100 years of civil war. He also
extended the highway system, connecting the city of Rome with the many cities in its empire. In fact,
during this time, more than 50, 000 miles of roads were built throughout the empire. He also ordered
that bridges, aqueducts and buildings were built, and each building and bridge was beautifully
decorated. Augustus emphasized the importance of the arts, including sculpture, painting and
writing. Many well-known Roman writers such as Virgil, Horace and Livy gained their fame during the
rule of Augustus. Finally, Augustus contributed to Rome’s development by developing a reliable
postal service and system of money.
The empire expanded under Augustus with his generals gaining territory in Spain, Gaul (now
France), Panonia and Dalmatia (now parts of Hungary and Croatia). He also expanded further into
Egypt and into most of southwestern Europe up to the Danube River. Unfortunately, his focus on
these more southern areas of the empire failed to keep the more northern parts secure. The northern
parts of the empire were frequently attacked during the rule of Augustus. In addition, not all Romans
agreed with Augustus that art and literature were important, and some Romans protested against his
spending money on such things.
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Emperors of Rome:
Nero 54 ce – 68 ce
AD 54 the current emperor, Claudius, died. Most historians believe that his second wife, Agrippina,
most likely poisoned him to death. With Claudius dead, Agrippina’s son Nero was named emperor.
However, since Nero was not yet seventeen years old, Agrippina was appointed to act as regent
Nero did not want to share power with anyone. He quickly acted and had his mother removed
from the palace and sent to live far from Rome. (For a few years, anyway. Eventually, he had her
killed.) Soon after Agrippina was sent away, Nero’s younger brother, Britannicus, died mysteriously
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at a dinner party given by Nero. With the two of them out of the way, Nero became the full ruling
emperor of Rome.
Nero was described as having weak blue eyes, a fat neck, a pot belly and a body which
smelled badly and was covered with spots. He usually appeared in public in a sort of dressing gown
without a belt, a scarf around his neck and no shoes. Even though he had an odd appearance, Nero
did accomplish quite a bit during his early years as emperor. Nero treated the Senate respectfully
and gave them more freedom. He reduced taxes throughout the Roman Empire. He also ended the
practice of capital punishment in Rome and banned all sports that involved bloodshed, such as
gladiator competitions. Nero had a passion for art and encouraged the development of many kinds
of art.
Nero’s love for the arts, however, also led him to spend a lot of his time painting, writing and
acting, rather than spending his time running the government of Rome. His love for himself also led
him to build himself an enormous new palace and gardens that were so expensive that the building of
them emptied almost the entire Roman treasury. It did not help his reputation that he began his
building project just after the “Great Fire” in July AD 64. The fire raged for six days and over half of
the city burned to the ground. During the fire, many Romans reported seeing Nero standing on the
rooftop of his palace singing, rather than helping to figure out how to fight the fires. Lastly, in order to
try to protect himself from blame for the terrible fire, Nero tried to distract the Roman people by
persecuting Christians who lived in the Roman empire.
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Emperors of Rome:
Traian 98 bce – 117 ce
Trajan became the emperor in Rome when Nerva, his father through adoption, passed away.
Trajan was a soldier, and continued to fight with the Roman army in a war against Germania for
several months before returning to begin ruling as emperor.
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Once he began ruling, Trajan began many programs aimed at trying to improve the quality of
life for Romans. He reduced taxes, increased free food programs for plebeians, and helped to
increase the amount of grain available throughout the empire. Trajan also started a building program
in Rome, to increase the amount of housing available for people living in the city of Rome. Trajan,
unlike Nero, encouraged “bloodsports” and other events that did not show much respect for human
life.
Trajan, an experienced soldier, led Rome to victories in three separate wars. In these wars,
Trajan helped the Roman Empire defend itself against Germania. He also helped to keep the empire
unified.
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Emperors of Rome:
Hadrian 117 ce – 136 ce
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Emperor Hadrian (ruled 117 AD - 136)
Hadrian’s parents died when he was young and he was cared for by Trajan and his wife. As a
result, when Trajan died of a sudden illness in AD 117, Hadrian was chosen as the next emperor.
Hadrian, like Trajan, had proven himself to be a successful soldier. However, as emperor,
Hadrian did his best to avoid war. Hadrian encouraged the building of walls between the Roman
Empire and its neighboring countries. By building walls, Hadrian successfully avoided war and
continued to strengthen the empire. Hadrian was the first of the emperors to actually visit almost
every part of the empire. While visiting the many parts of the empire, Hadrian worked to keep the
areas far from the city of Rome loyal to Rome. While his visits worked in many places, it actually
caused a serious Jewish rebellion in the area of the empire called Judea.
As emperor, Hadrian improved the Roman legal system. He helped to update the laws and
create new courts. Hadrian got many of his ideas for improvements from his study of Greece. He
encouraged the spread of Greek culture and philosophy throughout the Roman Empire.
Hadrian did many good things for Rome. However, he did have several personal flaws. For
example, Hadrian had a reputation for being unable to tolerate any type of criticism. In fact, he was
known for murdering people who disagreed with him, especially political rivals.
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Augustus
Positive Accomplishments
Negative Accomplishments
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Nero
Positive Accomplishments
Negative Accomplishments
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Traian
Positive Accomplishments
Negative Accomplishments
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Hadrian
Positive Accomplishments
Negative Accomplishments
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