Download CN Birth of Roman Empire File

I. Weakening Republic
the republic was facing many problems
leaders were trying to reform the republic but the
days were numbered for the Republic
brothers Tiberius and Gaius saw that thru Republic
need to be reformed, the two brothers were known
as the Gracchi
A. Social War
during this period the relationship with its allies
throughout the Italian Peninsula entered a crisis
the citizens endured hardship defending Rome
during the Punic wars
the cities wanted to benefit from Rome's power
above all they wanted to hold policies offices in
Roman government and want Roman citizenship
in 91 BC the people rebelled the war was called the
Social War
Gaius Marius was elected consul in 107 BC
he brought major changes to Roman political scene
in 88BC Lucius Cornelius Sulla was elected consul
Lucius promised to gain him great fame and fortune
his enemies tried to stop him and this lead to civil war
B. Caesar Power
60 BC Caesar joined two other popular generals
to make a alliance
Gnaeus Pompey and Licinius Crassus
the alliance was called Triumvirate which means
rule of three
Caesar needed a loyal army and got a special
command in Gaul
Gaul was under rule of Rome under Caesar
Caesar put Cleopatra on the throne as a Roman ally
in 46 BC senate declared Caesar the dictator for life
II. Roman Empire
A. Second Triumvirate
Marc Anthony, Octavian and Lepidus
allied together after Caesar’s death
Anthony and Octavian divided the Roman world into
Two parts.
B. First Augustus
Octavian was appointed by the Senate to be consul
Augustus never called himself empower but
historian call him the first emperor
Augustus period was know as Pax Romana or
Roman Peace
this period lasted 200 years, the peace came with a
price
the political system the Augusta created greatly
reduced the traditional powers of the Senate,
assemblies and magistrates
C. Pax Romana Emperors
when Augustus died in 14 AD, for the next 54 yrs
relatives of Julius Caesar ruled and called
themselves Julio-Claudian Emperors
starting in 96 AD the Five Good Emperors started to
rule Rome
Nerva was the first and Marcus Aurelius is the last
one
III. Roman Society
A. Government and Law
the Roman government the strongest unifying
force in the empire
the government helped keep order and enforce the
laws
1st the gov’t passed laws as needed
2nd judges interpreted the old laws to fit new
circumstances
B. Trade and Transportation
the widespread trade the empire of farm goods and
other products helped unify the empire
Roman gov’t developed policies that were designed
to encourage trade and commerce
the Roman army built roads and bridges
with these roads they can move supplies and
reinforcements quickly
C. Roman Army
the army helped keep peace
citizens solders served 16 to 20 years
IV. Life in the Empire
A. Daily life
rich citizens had a city home and a country home
rich had much time for recreation and leisure time
many of the Rome's residents lived in crowed
multistory apartments houses made of wood
B. Slaves and Slavery
there were several million slaves in Italy which
was the large fraction of the population
slave labor was not important source of the Roman
economy because there was a lot poor workers available
C. Role of man, women and children
the family was the heart of Roman society
father held the most power in the family
he made important decisions and controlled family
property and conducted religious ceremonies
the mother managed the household, did the buying of
food and household needs, and helped her husband
entertain guests
early education took place at home
study for the children were reading, writing, arithmetic,
and music
the people that had money sent their boy to secondary
school
the girls did not receive as lengthy and education as
did boys
D. Religion
Romans sought harmony with their gods
two of the major gods were Lares, who were
ancestral spirits
family worship focused on Vesta, the spirit who
guarded fire and hearth
most of their religion was influenced by Greek
thought
E. Fun and games
Romans enjoyed many types of amusements
and entertain public entertainment
theater, mimes, jiggers, dancers, acrobats, and
clowns
Romans brutal sports , chariot racing , closseum
combat between gladiators of criminals
public executions
V. Science and Arts
A. Science , engineering and architecture
Galen wrote volumes about medical knowledge
Romans got most of their ideas from the Greeks
B. Literature
some of the authors were Virgil, Horace, Ovid,
Tacitus, and Plutarch
C. Language
Romans learned the alphabet from the Etruscans
who adapted the Greeks alphabet
Latin language is used today and was used in
Europe
VI. Fall of the Western Empire
A. Troubled Times
to collect more taxes the gov’t had granted
citizenship to all free people of the empire in 212
AD
there was a shortage of silver for coins which was the
main form of official currency
Inflation- a decrease in the value of money
there was insecurity in the economic crisis and small
famers ended up having to sell their farms to large
landowners
B. Emperors attempted to reform
Diocletian and Constantine
for Diocletian the empire was too big and he named
a co-leader of the empire he lead the East and the
other guy lead the West
the first prior was defense and security of the empire
second came individual freedom
he tried to control prices and wages to try and help
the economy
Constantine is remember for many things including
the support of Christianity throughout the empire
C. Invasions
the Goths flooded into the empire in the 300’s AD
trying to escape invaders from the east
the Goths were treated badly by the Romans
the Goths revolted in 378AD , the Goths crushed the
Roman army
other groups that invaded the empire are Vandals,
and Huns
D. Cause of decline
political and military weakness
the age of slow transportation the Roman Empire
grew too fast and too large
people wanted power and the gov’t officials were
corrupt and made things very competitive
Economic decline- the strain of the economy was
more damaging than anything
heavy taxes hit the people hard and when the
empire quit expanded it didn’t have more gold
and goods coming in
social change – the wealthy people was a very small
portion of the population
the division between poor and rich made a social
decay and at the end of the empire people took very
little interest government and political honesty