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ROME
Where in the world is Rome?
The Mythical Founding of Rome:
Romulus & Remus
• Romulus and Remus were twin brothers. They
were abandoned by their parents as babies
and put into a basket that was then placed
into the River Tiber. The basket ran aground
and the twins were discovered by a female
wolf. The wolf nursed the babies for a short
time before they were found by a shepherd.
The shepherd then brought up the twins.
• When Romulus and Remus became adults,
they decided to found a city where the wolf
had found them. The brothers quarrelled over
where the site should be and Remus was
killed by his brother. This left Romulus the sole
founder of the new city and he gave his name
to it– Rome. The date given for the founding
of Rome is 753 BC.
How Rome was formed
• The city of Rome grew out of a number of
settlements that existed around seven hills
that were near the River Tiber. The
settlements were near the river for the
obvious reasons of a water supply. The Tiber
was also narrow enough at this point to be
bridged. However, the area also suffered
because of the nearness of the river. Each
settlement was separated from the other by
marshland.
• Each individual settlement was vulnerable to
attack as a single settlement. By joining
together they were stronger. To join together,
the marshland had to be drained. This was
something that took years to do. The legend
of Romulus and Remus gives the impression
that Rome was created very quickly; the truth
was very different.
• Early Romans were successful farmers and
traders and they became rich and successful.
Therefore, Rome from its early days was a rich
city. This eventually created jealousy and
brought the city of Rome into conflict with
surrounding areas.
• For this reason, the leaders of Rome invested
in an army. This skilled force both protected
the city and expanded its power. By 300 BC,
the Romans controlled most of the Italian
peninsula.
• Can you remember what a peninsula is?
(Greece)
Rise of Rome Video Clip
The Roman Army
• The Roman Army was extremely important in
explaining the success of the Romans and the
expansion of the Roman Empire. The Roman
Army, at the peak of its power, conquered
what we now call England/Wales, Spain,
France, most of Germany, the northern coast
of Africa, the Middle East and Greece.
• The Roman Army is recognised by historians
as an extremely effective fighting machine.
The lowest level of soldier in the Roman Army
was the legionnaire. Between 5000 and 6000
legionaries made up a legion that was
commanded by a legatus. A whole legion
could be punished for failing to fight well in
battle - even if the Romans did win the battle
itself! Training was brutal and tough but it
paid huge dividends for the Romans.
LEGIONNAIRE
• A 'tortoise‘- when the soldiers lifted the
shields flat above their heads so that they
effectively interlocked and protected them
from anything thrown at them from on high.
• A legionnaire went into battle
equipped with three main
weapons:
• A Pilum
Similar to a javelin.
It could do serious damage as the
thinner top section would
crumple into you on impact and
removing it would be very
painful. The wooden stock of the
pilum was also re-useable as the
Romans only had to add another
spear head to it.
• The Gladius
• The gladius was the main
weapon for the Roman
soldier when he got into
close quarter fighting.
This was a sword which
was kept razor sharp.
Anyone on the receiving
end of a blow from a
gladius would suffer
severe injuries.
• A Pugio
• The Pugio was a small
dagger used in combat
if all else had been lost.
Youtube Video of Legionnaire
Roman Republic
• Before the Roman Republic there were Roman
monarchs. However, the romans overthrew
the last remaining monarch in 509 BCE,
establishing a REPUBLIC. In a Republic, there is
an elected council voted on by Roman citizens.
Social Structure
• Early Rome was divided into two groups or
orders – The patricians and the plebeians.
• Patricians- Wealthy landowners who became
Rome’s ruling class.
• Plebeians- Less wealthy landowners, farmers,
artisans, and merchants.
• Men in both orders were citizens who paid
taxes, owed military service, and could vote.
• Only patricians could be elected to office.
War and Conquest
• At the beginning of the Republic, Rome was
engaged in almost continuous warfare.
However, due to their enormous strength,
they were consistently victorious in battle,
even over the Greeks who lived in the
southern part of Italy
• Forming a Roman Military Confederation eventually
allowed for Rome to take over all of Italy because it
allowed some peoples of Italy to have full Roman
citizenship, while most of the remaining communities
were made allies. The people of Italy were allowed to
run their own affairs but were required to provide
soldiers for Rome.
• The Romans made it very clear that loyal allies could
improve their status at becoming a Roman citizen.
The Privilege of being a Roman
• The right to vote in the Roman assemblies
• The right to stand for civil or public office
• The right to make legal contracts and to hold
property as a Roman citizen
• The right to have a lawful marriage with a
Roman citizen
• The right to preserve one's level of citizenship
upon relocation to a polis
• The right of immunity from some taxes and other legal
obligations
• The right to sue in the courts and the right to be sued.
• The right to have a legal trial (to appear before a
proper court and to defend oneself).
• The right to appeal from the decisions of magistrates
and to appeal the lower court decisions.
• A Roman citizen could not be tortured or whipped, nor
could he receive the death penalty, unless he was
found guilty of treason.
• If accused of treason, a Roman citizen had the right to
be tried in Rome, and even if sentenced to death, no
Roman citizen could be sentenced to die on the cross.
Roman Expansion
The Punic Wars
• Carthage- Major rival of Rome which had a
large commercial empire. They controlled
trade in most of the Western Mediterranean
– Phoenician colony founded in the 8th century BCE
– Punic is Latin for Phoenician
How many Punic wars were there?
1st
• 264-241 BCE
• Fought over Sicily
• Rome won
2nd
• 218-201 BCE
• Rome challenged Carthaginian expansion in Iberia (Spain)
• Rome won
3rd
• 149-146 BCE
• Rome feared Carthage was again becoming a threat
• Rome attacked Carthage and obliterated the threat for good
Results of the Punic Wars:
During and After
Rome and Carthage had Roman control of
been what you might
Macedonia
call the “superpowers”
• Hannibal had made an
of the Mediterranean at
alliance with the
Macedonian king
the time
• Rome’s defeat of Carthage
left Rome as the only
remaining “superpower”
• It was much easier for Rome
to conquer the rest of the
Mediterranean once
Carthage was out of the way
• Rome attacked and defeated
Macedonia in 197 BCE
Rome went on to
conquer the remnants of
Alexander the Great’s
empire in Eurasia
• Fighting among the Greek
city-states
• Rome took over, ending
Greek independence (146
BCE)
• Kingdom of Pergamum
• In modern-day Turkey
• Under Roman rule in 133
BCE
The Roman Empire
From Republic to Empire
• As Rome grew, the aristocracy became more
powerful, and the ideals of the Republic
changed. By 129 BCE, Rome stood supreme
over the Mediterranean Sea, but problems
arose in Rome itself.
• Greed
Growing Unrest
• The Senate and political offices were increasingly
controlled by a small circle of wealthy and
powerful families.
• These small groups of wealthy were able to
gradually extend their wealth by acquiring land
from farmers who lost their lands.
• The rich were getting richer while the poor were
growing in numbers
• insecurity was taking place in Rome due to
political instability.
A new Role for the Army
• Farmers were promised land by high level
officials for loyalty and military service. These
new armies were swearing allegiance to
generals, not to Rome. A fracture was forming in
the way Rome was being run
• Armies were forming, but not all under
government control.
• The senate was losing control of Rome
Julius CAesar
“I came, I saw, I conquered!”
Julius Caesar
• Caesar managed to become a General who
made a strong name for himself through his
successful conquests and political
advancements.
• Forming an alliance with two other men
(Crassus and Pompey), they managed to
become very influential because of their military
strength, wealth, and political power. This
partnership became known as a TRIUMVIRATE
(A government ruled by three people under the
guidance of the senate).
• Crassus was known as the richest man in Rome,
Pompey was a military hero, and Julius Caesar
was also a military commander and a very
ambitious politician.
• When Crassus was killed in battle, only two
powerful men were left. Fearing Caesar's
popularity and bullying tactics, leading senators
decided that Pompey should be the sole ruler and
instructed Caesar to lay down his command.
• Caesar refused to obey the Senate and chose
to enter Italy illegally.
• Caesar's march on Rome started a civil war
between his forces and Pompey’s.
• Pompey’s defeat left Caesar in complete
control of the Roman government.
• He was officially made dictator, or absolute
ruler, in 45 BCE
“I came, I saw I conquered!”
A 365 day Calendar
Dictator
• Julius Caesar - YouTube
“The Die has been cast!”
The month of July
Augustus
The first Roman Emperor
• As Julius Caesar’s grand nephew, Octavian –
who was later called Augustus started life with
more advantages than his uncle. Caesar made
Octavian his heir, but only 18 at the time of
Caesar’s death he lacked political and military
experience necessary to be ruler. He spent the
next 15 years eliminating his opponents.
• The military and political experience he gained
helped him to consolidate his power and become
the first Roman emperor.
• Under his rule he instituted civil service. His
political and economic reforms brought peace
and stability to the empire.
• He made it possible to select his successor from
his natural or adoptive family.
• Eventually, future emperors grew more powerful
and many became more corrupt.
• At the beginning of the second century, a
series of five so-called good emperors came to
power. They were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian,
Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius (gosh, where
did we hear that name before?)
The five were responsible
For their period of peace and
Prosperity, known as
PAX ROMANA (Roman Peace)
Hardrian's Wall
• The emperor Hadrian had built a wall to
protect the northern border of Romancontrolled Britain. This wall is still standing
today.
Family Life and Women’s Roles
• All Roman upper-class children, boys and girls,
were expected to learn to read. The father was
the chief figure in providing for the education of
his children. He decided to teach his children
himself, acquire a teacher for them, or send them
to school.
• At age 16, childhood ended for Roman males. At
a special ceremony, a young Roman exchanged
his purple-edged toga for a plain white toga. The
toga of manhood.
• Women were thought of as being weak,
therefore, needed to have male guardians. The
dominant male was in charge of taking care of
any females in the household. When the
dominant male died the responsibility was
passed on to either the next male in the family or
a relative.
• Fathers also arranged the marriage of their
daughters. The legal minimum age for marriage
was 12, although 14 was a more common age.
Games of Death
• Gladiatorial combat began as funerary rites and
evolved into spectacles sponsored by the wealthy
to gain prestige. The fights were widely popular,
and so were taken over by the government and
later by the emperor himself.
• The Roman view of gladiatorial combat was
complex. Men who ran training schools for
gladiators were wealthy, but were looked down
upon by socially.
• Gladiators were admired as kind of heroes, but
most of them were slaves, prisoners of war, or
criminals.
The Colosseum
The Development of Christianity
• Christian views on God, human beings, and
the world were quite different from those of
the Greeks and Romans. For example,
Christian beliefs held that one would be taken
care of and his or her needs met by seeking
righteousness from one God.
• In contrast, Romans believed in many gods,
even accepting foreign gods and philosophical
practices into their culture. The rise of
Christianity marked an important break with
the dominant values of the Greek and Roman
world.
Jesus
• Jesus, a Jewish teacher, travelled and preached
throughout Judaea and neighboring Galilee.
These teachings began a new movement within
Judaism. After reports spread that Jesus had
overcome death, the movement gained
additional support throughout Judaea and Galilee
and led to the development of a new faith that
became known as Christianity.
• Unfortunately, Christianity was not always
welcomed in Rome. It was regarded as being
harmful to the Roman state, because Christians
refused to worship the state gods and emperors.
• The conversion of the Emperor Constantine aided
in the spread of Christianity. Although he did not
make it the official religion of the empire, he took
an active role in protecting Christians and in
shaping the religion.
• He made it a “permitted” religion and gave
Christians back confiscated property.
• He ordered the construction of churches.
• In 380 AD Emperor Theodosius I made
Christianity the official religion of the empire.
Decline and Fall
• Political upheavals, the plague, and the
division of the empire led to its decline.
• After the death of Marcus Aurelius (the last of
the five good emperors) in 180 AD, A period of
conflict, confusion, and civil wars followed.
• Between 235-284, the Roman throne was
occupied by whoever had military strength to
seize it. During this time there were 22
emperors, most of whom died violently.
Diocletian and Constantine
• Two emperors, Diocletian and Constantine
helped to give Rome a new lease on life by
implementing a new governmental structure,
a rigid economic and social system, and a new
state religion.
• Diocletian (204-305) divided the empire into
four units, each with its own ruler, because he
was able to recognize that the empire was
much too large for one ruler.
• Constantine (306-337) continued, and even
expanded the policies of Diocletian. He
constructed a new capital city in the east
(Constantinople- now Istanbul, Turkey)
• Constantinople was developed for defensive
reasons. Its strategic location provided
protection of the eastern frontier. It became
the centre of the Eastern Roman Empire and
one of the great cities of the world.
• Unfortunately, with the reforms of Diocletian
and Constantine came a hefty price to keep
the army and civil service going. This drained
public funds.
• The population was not growing and taxes
could not pay for everything. Roman currency
began to lose value.
Germanic Tribes
• With Rome in a weakened state it made it much
easier for takeovers.
• The German Visigoths eventually settled into
Roman territory as allies. However, after a while
they revolted and sacked Rome.
• Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of
Germanic tribe takeovers but it marked the end
of the Roman Empire.
• The Roman Empire - Ancient Superpower YouTube