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Ancient Rome
David Wood
Western Civilizations
Rome: Importance

Rome was essentially the “successor” to Greece and the
“carrier” of Greek civilization

It would later serve as a political model for later Europe

Held up as a standard of success for nations.
Importance, con’t

model for later monarchies

model for later, mixed constitutions

Great Britain, U.S., etc.

model for most European legal systems

model for the concept of citizenship
Roman History

The Regal Age: ca. 779-509 B.C.

The Republic: 509-27 B.C.

The Empire: 27 B.C.-1453 A.D.

Early Empire: 27 B.C.-325 A.D.

Later Empire: 325 A.D.-1453 A.D.

Modern scholars
believe that in the 8th
century B.C., the
inhabitants of some
small Latin settlements
on hills in the TIBER
VALLEY united and
established a common
meeting place, the
FORUM, around which
the city of Rome grew.
FORUM
THE ROMAN MONARCHY to 509 B.C.
According to tradition, early Rome was ruled by KINGS
elected by the people.
 The king's executive power was conferred by a POPULAR
ASSEMBLY made up of all arms-bearing citizens.
 The king turned for advice to a council of nobles, called
the SENATE.
 Each senator had lifelong tenure and the members of this
group and their families constituted the PATRICIAN class.
 The other class of Romans, the PLEBEIANS (commoners)
included small farmers, artisans, and many clients
(dependents of patrician landowners). In return for a
livelihood, the clients gave their patrician patrons political
support in the ASSEMBLY
ROMAN SENATE
EARLY REPUBLIC
509-133 B.C.



In 509 B.C., according to
tradition, the PATRICIANS
expelled the last Etruscan
king and established a
REPUBLIC.
The power to rule was
transferred to two new
officials called CONSULS.
Elected annually from the
patrician class, the consul
exercised their power in the
interests of that class.



Although the PATRICIANS
controlled the government,
they found themselves unable
to exist without the plebeians.
The PLEBEIANS produced the
FOOD and supplied the LABOR
that kept the Roman economy
going.
They also supplied the soldiers
for the Roman MILITARY –
especially important since
Rome was in continual military
conflict during the age of the
Republic.


In the beginning
most of the
people elected to
the Senate were
patricians.
Patricians
controlled the law
since they were
the only citizens
allowed to be
judges.

Plebeians had the
right to vote, but
could not hold
public office until
287 B.C, when
they gained
equality with
patricians.
PLEBEIAN STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

For more than two centuries following the establishment of the Republic, the
plebeians struggled for political and social equality.

Outright civil war was averted by the willingness of the patricians to
compromise.

Much of the plebeians’ success in this struggle was also due to their tactics
of collective action and to their having organized a corporate group within
the state.
 The unofficial body was known
as the PLEBEIAN COUNCIL.
 It was presided over by plebeian
officials called TRIBUNES,
whose job was to safeguard the
interests of the plebeians and to
negotiate with the consuls and
the Senate.

The advancement of the PLEBEIANS during the early
Republic took two main lines: the safeguarding of their
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS and the progressive enlargement of
their share of POLITICAL POWER.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Because the consuls often interpreted
Rome's unwritten customary law to suit
PATRICIAN INTERESTS, the plebeians
demanded that it be written down.
 As a result, about 450 B.C., the law
was inscribed on twelve tablets of
bronze and set up publicly in the
Forum.
 The LAW OF THE TWELVE TABLETS
was the first landmark in the long
history of Roman law.

The plebeians in time acquired
other fundamental rights and
safeguards:

They secured the right to
APPEAL A DEATH SENTENCE
imposed by a consul and to be
retried before the popular
assembly.

The tribunes gained a VETO
POWER over any legislation or
executive act that threatened
the rights of the plebeians.

MARRIAGE between patricians
and plebeians, prohibited by
the Law of the Twelve Tablets,
was legalized.

The enslavement of citizens for
DEBT was abolished
POLITICAL POWER

Little by little, the plebeian class acquired
more power in the functioning of
government.

In 367 B.C., ONE CONSULSHIP was
reserved for the plebeians.

Before the end of the century, they were
eligible to hold other important
positions: PRAETOR (in charge of the
law courts), QUAESTOR (treasurer),
CENSOR (supervisor of public morals and
state contracts).

Some plebeians succeeded in gaining entry to the
SENATE.

The long struggle for equality ended in 287 B.C. when
the PLEBEIAN COUNCIL was recognized as a
constitutional body, henceforth known as the TRIBAL
ASSEMBLY, with the right to PASS LAWS that were
binding on all citizens.

The Roman Republic was now technically a democracy,
although in actual practice a senatorial aristocracy of
patricians and rich plebeians continued to control the
state.

Ancient Rome had an
AGRICULTURAL, SLAVE-BASED
ECONOMY whose main purpose was
to feed the vast number of citizens
and legionaries who populated the
Mediterranean region.

Agriculture and TRADE, were
supplemented by small scale
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION

When the Romans conquered the
Mediterranean, they took millions of
SLAVES to Italy, where they worked on
the large plantations or in the houses
and workplaces of wealthy citizens.

The Italian economy depended on
abundant slave labor, with slaves
constituting 40 PERCENT OF THE
POPULATION. Slaves served as singers,
scribes, jewelers, bartenders, and even
doctors. One slave trained in medicine
was worth the price of 50 agricultural
slaves.
SLAVERY IN ANCIENT ROME

The staple crops of Roman farmers in
Italy were various GRAINS, OLIVES,
and GRAPES. OLIVE OIL and WINE
were among the most important
products in the ancient civilized world
and led Italy's exports.

Farmers could give surplus crops
to the government in lieu of a
monetary tax. This system
allowed rulers to gain popularity
with the masses through FREE
GRAIN DISTRIBUTION.

Unfortunately it also left
farmers with little incentive to
increase productivity or output,
since more crop translated into
more taxes (and more free grain
distributions).

The need to secure GRAINPRODUCING PROVINCES was
one important factor that led to
expansion and conquest.

Improved farming methods learned from the Greeks and
Carthaginians encouraged RICH ARISTOCRATS to buy more
and more land and, abandoning the cultivation of grain,
introduce LARGE-SCALE SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION of olive oil
and wine, or of sheep and cattle.

This trend was especially profitable because an abundance of
cheap SLAVES from the conquered areas was available to
work on the estates. These large slave plantations, called
LATIFUNDIA, were now common in Italy, while small farms
were the exception.

The land problem was further complicated by the
government's earlier practice of LEASING part of the territory
acquired in the conquest of the Italian peninsula to anyone
willing to pay a percentage of the crop or animals raised on
it.

Only the patricians or wealthy plebeians could afford to lease
large tracts of this PUBLIC LAND and in time they treated it
as their own property. Plebeian protests had led to an
attempt to limit the holdings of a single individual to 320
acres, but the law was never enforced.

As a result of expansion,
important social and economic
problems faced Rome by the
middle of the second century
B.C. One of the most pressing
problems was the
DISAPPEARANCE OF THE
SMALL LANDOWNER.

Burdened by frequent military
service, his farm buildings
destroyed by war, and unable
to compete with the cheap
grain imported from the new
Roman province of Sicily, the
SMALL FARMER SOLD OUT
and moved to Rome.

Here he joined the
unemployed, discontented
PROLETARIAT.




Religion played a very important
role in the daily life of Ancient
Rome. The Romans believed that
GODS CONTROLLED THEIR LIVES
and, as a result, spent a great
deal of their time worshipping
them.
The most important god was
JUPITER. He was the king of gods
who ruled with his wife JUNO,
the goddess of the sky.
Other gods includes MARS,
MERCURY, NEPTUNE, JANIS,
DIANA, VESTA, MINERVA, VENUS.
After the reign of the EMPEROR
AUGUSTUS (27 BC to AD 14), the
emperor was also considered to
be a god and he was worshipped
on special occasions.

TEMPLES to worship the gods
were built throughout the
Roman Empire.

Each family home would also
have a small altar and shrine.
The Romans had PERSONAL
HOUSEHOLD GODS or spirits
which were worshipped every
day at home. The shrine
contained statues of the spirits
and the head of the household
led family prayers around the
shrine each day.

In terms of the arts, Roman
citizens were practical people
who spent less time on art,
literature, and philosophy and
more time on ENGINEERING,
CONSTRUCTION, and MILITARY
OPERATIONS.
ENGINEERING
PRACTICES

In designing their bridges and
aqueducts, the Romans placed
a series of STONE ARCHES
next to one another to
provide mutual support.

Fourteen AQUEDUCTS,
stretching a total of 265
miles, supplied some 50
gallons of water daily for each
inhabitant of Rome.

The practical nature of the
Romans and their skill and
initiative in engineering were
demonstrated in the many
DAMS, RESERVOIRS, and
HARBORS they built.

The BARREL VAULT, basically
a series of adjoining arches
forming a structure
resembling a tunnel, was a
new method of enclosing
space. In the barrel vault the
supports of the arches
became heavy masonry walls
to bear the weight of the
vaulted roof.

The Romans next developed
the CROSS VALUT by
intersection two barrel vaults
at right angles.

Another important advance
in architecture was the
Roman's success in
constructing CONCRETE
DOMES on a large scale.

The largest of the dome
structures was the
PANTHEON (temple of all
the gods).

The standard type of Roman public building was the BASCILICA, a
colonnaded structure that became a model for early Christian
churches.

The Romans developed a distinctive
SCULPTURE which was realistic,
secular, and individualistic.
EQUESTRIAN STATUES sculpted
coffins (SARCOPHAGI), and the
RELIEFS found on imperial
monuments were exceptionally fine
works of art. The Romans were
particularly skilled in producing floor
MOSAICS and in painting FRESCOES.
Roman epic, dramatic, and lyric
POETRY forms were usually written in
conscious imitation of Greek
masterpieces.

The Romans were attracted to two Hellenistic ethical
philosophies:

EPICURIANSIM taught that the wise man could achieve
happiness simply by freeing his body from pain and his mind
from fear -- particularly the fear of death. To reach this goal,
men must AVOID BODILY EXCESSES, including those of
pleasure, and accept the scientific teaching of Democritus that
both body and soul are composed of atoms which fall apart at
death. Thus, BEYOND DEATH THERE IS NO EXISTENCE and
nothing to fear.

STOICISM argued that THE UNIVERSE IS CONTROLLED by some
power -- variously called Reason, World Soul, Fortune, and God
-- which determines everything that happens. The wise man
conforms his will to the World Will and “STOICALLY" ACCEPTS
whatever part fortune allots him in the drama of life.
 Stoicism
had a humanizing effect on Roman law by
introducing such concepts as the LAW OF NATURE, the
LAW OF BROTHERHOOD OF MEN (including slaves), and
the view that a man is INNOCENT UNTIL PROVED GUILTY.
POLITICAL THEORY AND
LEGAL PRINCIPLES

Roman political thinkers
contributed many governmental
theories:

The SOCIAL CONTRACT
theory (that government
originated as a voluntary
agreement among citizens).

The idea of POPULAR
SOVEREIGNTY (that all
power ultimately resides
with the people).

The concept that LAW must
be the basis for
government.

Originally, the wars which the
Republic fought were largely
DEFENSIVE WARS. Soon,
however, the Romans were
moving to gain control over
neighboring territory in order
to NEUTRALIZE THE THREAT
OF ATTACK. Their logic was
that control over these
territories would PREVENT
POTENTIAL ATTACK from the
people occupying those
territories and at the same
time provide a buffer region
between themselves and
potential attackers.

Rome gradually expanded for
centuries.
Expansion, con’t

Rome conquered many neighboring nations, but it’s
most important to note that they conquered Greece and
gained hold of the massive Greek empire created by
Alexander the Great.
The Empire

Unification of the Mediterranean basin and western
Europe

Extended citizenship

Empire wide commerce

Roman law

Tolerance for local autonomy
Rome 117 A.D.
The End of the Roman
Republic



A successful Roman general and
famous speaker, Julius Caesar, was a
governor of the territory of Gaul and
managed to take control of many
nearby territories.
Fearing him the Roman Senate ordered
him to resign…but he had other ideas.
Caesar fought for control and won,
becoming the dictator of the Roman
world, ending the Roman Republic.
The Roman Empire

Less than a year after gaining power a group of angered
Senators stabbed Caesar to death on the floor of the
Roman Senate. (March 15, 44 B.C.)

This caused a civil war that lasted several years.

In 27 B.C., Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian was named
the first emperor of Rome.
The Roman Empire

An empire is a nation or group
of territories ruled by a single powerful leader, or
emperor.

As emperor Octavian took the name Augustus.

Augustus ruled the Roman Empire for more than 40
years, known as the Augustan Age.
The Augustan Age

During the rule of Augustus the Roman empire continued
to expand.

Augustus kept soldiers along all the borders to keep
peace in the Roman world.

During this time architects and engineers built many
new public buildings.
The Augustan Age

During this time trade increased with olive oil, wine,
pottery, marble, and grain being shipped all across the
Mediterranean.

Lighthouses were constructed to guide ships into port.

This was also a time of great Roman literature.

Weakened by civil war, the Roman
Republic gave way to the ROMAN
EMPIRE, with its AUTOCRATIC form of
government and LARGE TERRITORIAL
HOLDINGS in Europe and around the
Mediterranean.

Several events marked the transition
from Republic to Empire, including
JULIUS CAESAR’s appointment as
perpetual DICTATOR (44 BC), the
victory of OCTAVIAN at the Battle of
Actium (31 BC), and the Roman
Senate's granting to Octavian of the
title AUGUSTUS. (27 BC).
The Rise of Christianity

After the death of Augustus in 14 A.D. a new religion
begin to spread: Christianity.

At first it took hold in the eastern half of the Roman
Empire.

By 200 A.D. this religion had spread throughout the
empire.
The Rise of Christianity

Christians were viewed with suspicion and suffered
persecution and many were punished or killed for their
beliefs.

Things changed when Constantine became emperor of
Rome in 306 A.D. During his reign Christianity became
the official religion of the Roman Empire.
The Rise of Christianity


Jesus of Nazareth

teacher, prophet, revolutionary

the Jesus Movement
Paul of Tarsus

cultural mixture: Jewish and Greek

founder of Christianity
The Fall of the Roman Empire



Rome had quite a
run…First a monarchy,
then a republic, then
an empire – all roads
led to Rome for over
1200 years.
In the Mediterranean,
Rome was in charge.
Rome had some
wonderful emperors.
Rome also suffered
from a series of bad,
corrupt and just plain
crazy emperors.
The Fall of the Roman Empire

The empire was too
large to govern
effectively.

The army was not
what it used to be.
There was corruption
in the military dishonest generals
and non-Roman
soldiers.

Civil wars broke out
between different
political groups.

The rich became lazy
and showed little
interest in trying to
solve Rome problems.

The poor were
overtaxed and
overworked. They were
very unhappy.

Prices increased, trade
decreased.

Emperors were often
selected by violence,
or by birth, so the
head of government
was not always a
capable leader.

The population was
shrinking due to
starvation and disease.
That made it difficult to
manage farms and
government effectively.

The increased use of
slaves put many
Romans out of work

The Empire starting
shrinking. The Huns,
Visigoths, Franks,
Vandals, Saxons and
other barbarian tribes
overran the empire.
The Fall of the Roman Empire


The ancient Romans tried to solve some of their
problems by splitting the Roman Empire in half,
hoping that would make the empire easier to
manage.
Each side had an emperor, but the emperor in
charge was the emperor of the western half, the
half that included the city of Rome.
The Fall of the Roman Empire


The Western Roman Empire did not do well.
Instead of getting stronger, they became weaker.
By 400 AD, it was pretty much over. The Huns,
Franks, Vandals, Saxons, Visigoths – any of these
barbarian tribes might have been the group that
finally brought Rome down.
They were all attacking various pieces of the
Western Roman Empire. In 476 AD, the Visigoths
sacked Rome. Europe entered the Dark Ages. The
eastern half of the Roman Empire received a new
name – the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine
Empire did fine. It lasted for another 1000 years!
Fun Facts About Rome
The Romans were
the first to build
aqueducts.
 The running water,
indoor plumbing
and sewer system
carrying away
disease from the
population within
the Empire wasn't
surpassed in
capability until very
modern times.

Fun Facts About Rome




In the times of Ancient
Rome very few people
had baths in their homes.
Adults enjoyed going to
the public bathhouse.
The bathhouse cost very
little to get in, so people
used them often.
The men and the women
both used the bathhouse,
but at different times
during the day.
Each group had a
scheduled time, although
the women's scheduled
time was shorter.



Bath houses were huge
and housed much more
than pools.
Exercise grounds,
gymnastic apparatus,
courts for games,
libraries, rooms for
reading and conversation-all these things could be
found in the Roman bath
house.
The people made a point
of going to the bath to
meet their friends and
associates.
Fun Facts About Rome


One of the things the
Romans are most famous
for is their architecture.
The Romans brought a lot
of new ideas to
architecture, of which
the three most important
are the arch, the baked
brick, and the use of
cement and concrete.
Fun Facts About Rome

The Romans built thousands of miles
of road to connect the entire
empire.

These roads were used up until
about 100 years ago when
technology advanced!
Fun Facts About Rome

Ancient Rome had as many as 900 public
baths. Small baths held about 300 people.
The largest bath held 1500 people.
Bathhouses were built all over the Roman
Empire. The most impressive ones were
found in the city of Rome. They were
decorated with marble and statues.
Fun Facts About Rome