Download Roman Historical Periods

A Breakdown of Roman History
Monarchy (753 – 509 BC)
Republic (509 BC – 52 BC?)
Empire (27 BC – 476 AD)
Rome at the Time of Constantine
(306-337 AD)
The Legend of the Founding of
Rome
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According to legend, the ancestor of the Romans
was Aeneas, a Trojan.
Aeneas fled Troy during the closing hours of the
Trojan War and sailed to Italy, where he was
destined to be the founding father of a race of people
who in the future would rule the world.
This legend is the basis of the Roman epic the
Aeneid, written by Vergil.
Romulus and Remus
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Rhea Silvia was a
descendant of Aeneas, and a
Vestal Virgin
Her sons were Romulus and
Remus, who established the
city of Rome
Romulus killed Remus and
built a city on the banks of
the Tiber River, naming the
city Roma after himself.
The Monarchy (753-509 BC)
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The Romans were ruled by a group of people
called the “Etruscans.”
Very little is known about these people
because we have never deciphered their
language.
They gave to the Romans the rounded arch
technology, the toga, chariot racing,
engineering skills, and art styles.
The Republic (509-52? BC)
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The Romans overthrew their Etruscan rulers in 509
BC.
They established a Republic, with two rulers, called
co-consuls.
Beneath the two co-rulers was the Roman Senate,
made up of patricians (upper class) and plebeians
(lower class).
The Republican period of Rome was dominated by a
class struggle between the patricians and plebeians.
The Culture of Republican Rome
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With no one person having total power in
Rome, great orators such as Cicero could
make a name for themselves by speaking
out against the politics of their day without
fear of reprisal.
Sculpture, such as the
bust of Cicero shown to
the right, showed great
realism. While the Greeks
were content to idealize
their images, the Romans
often preferred depictions
in stone and bronze that
emphasized the reality of
the person being
portrayed.
The End of the Republic and
the Death of Julius Caesar
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In 52 BC, the Senate grudgingly gave Julius
Caesar dictatorial powers, which basically
brought the Republic to an end.
On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was
assassinated in the Roman Senate.
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Octavian, and Marc Antony, joined forces to
conquer their common enemies.
Marc Antony joined forces with Cleopatra of
Egypt.
Octavian turned on Marc Antony, and in the
famous naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC he
defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra.
They both committed suicide a year later.
Augustus Caesar (63 BC – 14 AD)
and the Roman Empire
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Octavian took the title
“Augustus Caesar” in 27
BC.
He restored peace and
order in Rome (pax
romana), and this peace
lasted for 200 years.
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During his reign, Augustus glorified and
beautified Rome with many public buildings,
amphitheaters, roads, bridges, and
aqueducts, and he greatly expanded the
Empire.
Nero, and others, began to govern poorly or
to lose the use of power to control. Rome
stayed stong but drifted from the unity.
Virgil’s Aeneid
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Virgil was commissioned by Augustus to
write an epic that would rival the great Greek
epics of Homer, and that would glorify
Rome’s past and link it to Rome’s future.
That epic was the Aeneid.
The Culture of Imperial Rome
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Because the emperors were very powerful
and ruthless when it came to critics, no
longer could orators speak out against
Rome’s rulers, as Cicero had.
Authors, artists, and architects were
employed by the emperors to create
literature and monuments that
would serve Rome in some way.
Visual Art of the Imperial Period
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Statues like the one to the right,
Augustus of Prima Porta, were
idealized and served
propagandistic purposes. Notice
the cupid figure near Augustus’
right foot. Cupid was the child of
Venus, who was also the mother
of Aeneas. Augustus was seen
as a direct descendent of
Aeneas, so the cupid figure is a
symbol of the continuity of Rome.
Later Rulers
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In 313 Constantine allowed freedom of religion
and in 318 he converted to Christianity.
Subsequent emperors were either Christian,
pagan or non-committal.
The Empire ended in 476 AD when barbarians
sent the last Roman emperor, Romulus
Augustus, into exile.