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Ancient Rome
Timeline
• 1000 BC - Etruscan tribes move into Italy.
• 753 BC - Traditional Founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus.
• 700 BC - Etruscan civilization dominates the region.
• 600 BC The Forum in Rome is built. (Coincides with a more historical foundation of the city of Rome)
• 509 BC - Overthrow of Etruscan kings and destruction of the monarchy.
• 509 BC - Establishment of the Roman Republic
Physical Characteristics of Rome
Ancient Rome was….
• Next to the Mediterranean Sea
• It covered parts of Europe, Asia and Africa
• A peninsula where Italy is today.
• Rocky and mountainous
• Built on hills
• Next to the Tiber River
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Ancient Romans adapted to their mountainous land by:
• Growing olives and grapes
• Having small farms on terraced hillsides
• Trading on the Mediterranean Sea.
• The Romans were road, bridge, and aqueduct builders. Aqueducts were structures that carried fresh
water from rivers to the communities and cities.
Italy is mostly mountainous with ranges covering a third of the country.
The best known ranges are the Alps, the Dolomites and the Apennines.
• The Apennines form the backbone of the country running down the full length of the Italian peninsula,
continuing onto the island of Sicily.
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Sardinia
Sicily
Adriatic Sea
Ionian Sea
The Alps
Mediterranean Sea
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Ligurian
Aegean Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
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An Introduction to Ancient Rome
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The civilization of ancient Rome was at one time the mightiest on the planet. Yet it, too, like any other
civilization, began as one small settlement.
It began in the city of Rome in 753 BC and lasted for well over 1000 years.
Legend of Rome
Legend has it that the twin sons of Mars, the god of war, named Romulus and Remus founded the city.
Romulus and Remus were raised by wolves. Romulus killed Remus and became ruler of Rome and named
the city after himself. Rome was ruled by kings for the next 240 years.
The Etruscans
First, Rome was a Kingdom
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Rome was simply a small village called Ruma on the banks of the River Tiber. A number of the first
kings of Rome, were in fact Etruscans and much of the existing Etruscan culture and knowledge
formed the foundations of Roman learning in engineering and religion.
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The Etruscans built cities with stone walls. They built big stone temples and they put big statues in
them. They dug canals and ditches to irrigate (bring water to) their fields. They had organized
governments with kings. Soon some of the other people in Italy began to copy the Etruscan ways of
doing things.
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However, after four centuries of power and control the Etruscan cities could not withstand the force
and (re) organization of the Romans.
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Around 500 BC, just as democracy was getting started in Athens, the Roman aristocrats (the rich
people) decided they didn't want to be ruled by Etruscan kings anymore.
Changing Times
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Rome had changed. The people of Rome had changed. They were tired of being ruled by
others. They wanted to rule themselves. So after years of fighting against the last king of Rome, the
people of Rome created a new form of government.
Republic of Rome
509 BC - In a republic, there is a constitution with laws and a complex republican government.
The Romans voted to choose leaders, who decided for them, the way the United States President and
Congress do today. But the only people who could be elected to the Roman Senate were the rich
people!
Twelve Tables
An early struggle developed between patricians (wealthy people) and plebeians (common people) over laws.
The result was the Twelve Tables, a set of laws carved into rock so everyone would know what the laws were
and to whom they applied.
• The new Roman Republic wanted everyone to know what the laws were. They also wanted to make
sure that the law applied to everyone rich and poor alike. So they engraved the law on tablets of metal
and put them in the forum for everyone to read.
• They remained there, on display, throughout the time period that Rome was a republic. These laws
were called the Twelve Tables because there were twelve different sections. These laws were about
crime and property and family matters like marriage and inheritance
• It didn't matter if you were rich or poor; the law applied to every citizen.
Who were the leaders of the Roman Republic?
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The Roman Republic had a number of leaders and groups that helped to govern. Elected officials were
called magistrates and there were different levels and titles of magistrates. The Roman Government
was very complicated and had lots of leaders and councils.
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Consuls - At the top of the Roman Republic was the consul. The consul was a very powerful position.
In order to keep the consul from becoming a king or dictator, there were always two consuls elected
and they only served for one year.
Also, the consuls could veto each other if they didn't agree on something. The consuls had a wide
range of powers; they decided when to go to war, how much taxes to collect, and what the laws were.
Senators -The Senate was a group of prestigious leaders who advised the consuls. The consuls usually
did what the Senate recommended. Senators were selected for life.
Tribunes - Tribunes were the representatives of the Plebeian Council. They could veto laws made by
the Senate.
The Assembly - The Plebeian Council was also called the Peoples Assembly. This was how the
common people, plebeians, could elect their own leaders, magistrates, pass laws, and hold court.
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Governors - As Rome conquered new lands, they needed someone to be the local ruler. The Senate
would appoint a governor to rule the land or province. The governor would be in charge of the local
Roman army and would also be responsible to collect taxes. Governors were also called proconsuls.
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In the Roman republic every citizen could vote for their leaders, but who were the citizens? Only
adult free men could be citizens. That meant women, children and slaves were not citizens, and could
not vote.
War as a Way of Life
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Rome's neighbors both had things the Romans wanted and wanted things the Romans had. This
resulted in many wars.
Some of the most famous of these early wars were between Rome and Carthage. They were three in all,
and they were called the Punic Wars.
The wars between Rome and Carthage are called the Punic Wars.
The First Punic war lasted for 20 years. Neither side won.
Carthage could not beat Rome's army, but Rome could not beat Carthage's Navy.
The war causes many deaths and lots of destruction.
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The First Punic war ended when Carthage decided to end the fighting by giving Rome one of the three
islands.
The Romans still wanted the other two islands, and Carthage wanted Rome to stop expanding towards
Africa, so everyone knew that there would soon be a second war.
There soon would be.
Trouble at Home
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The wars with Carthage produced about 75,000 slaves.
The economy changed.
Many plebeians lost their farms.
Two brothers, who were tribunes, pushed for land reforms.
But there was trouble at home. First, two brothers named Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus tried to get
some of the Italian land given back to the poor people. But the rich aristocrats in the Senate didn't want to give
the land back
In 133 and 123 BC the Senators themselves, with a lot of their followers, rushed up to the brothers and killed
them (on two different occasions)! What is worse, nothing at all happened to those murdering Senators
Caesar, Crassus and Pompey and The First Triumvirate
Triumvirate means three men and refers to a type of coalition government.
To get power, these three men joined forces: Pompey; Crassus (a very rich man), and Julius Caesar
Caesar continued to rise in the rankings of government, being elected pontifex maximus (chief priest) and
then praetor. He also continued his military successes and was elected consul, in 60 B.C.
With Caesar making a name for himself with his great victories in Gaul and his attempts at subjugating
Britain, Crassus and Pompey grew jealous (and, many historians argue, rightfully so).
Civil War
The epic struggle took place with Pompey sporting 46,000 men to Caesar's 21,000. Both men were brilliant
generals with many victories under their belts by this time.
On that day, however, Caesar was the more brilliant, defeating Pompey's forces (although the death toll on
both sides was steep). Pompey escaped and fled to Egypt, where he was later betrayed and killed.
But when Caesar declared himself dictator for life, this was too much for the Senators, and they murdered him
in 44 BC.
44 BC - Julius Caesar is assassinated on the Ides of March by Marcus Brutus. They hope to bring back the
republic, but civil war continues to destroy the Republic.
The Beginning of the Roman Empire
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The Roman Empire was very different from the Roman Republic.
In the Roman Republic, all citizens had political equality.
In the Empire, the emperor was above all citizens and the state was more powerful than the individual.
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27 BC - The Roman Empire begins as Caesar Augustus becomes the first Roman Emperor.
After being elected as consul for life, Octavian changed his name to Augustus, which means
‘Respected One.’ Caesar Augustus ruled Rome from 27 B.C. until his death in A.D. 14.
Pax Romana
From 30 B.C. until A.D. 180 Rome enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity. This time period is referred to
by historians as the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace.
Pax Romana (Latin for "Roman peace") was the long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by
military force experienced by the Roman Empire. Since it was established by Augustus, it is sometimes called
Pax Augusta.
Nero
Nero is one of the more famous Roman Emperors, but not because he was a great leader. Just the opposite.
He became famous because he was insane.
The Forum
At the center of most Roman cities was a big open space called the Forum.
The Forum was one of the important centers of Roman social life.
• The Public Baths were extremely popular. Roman women and men tried to visit the baths at least
once every day.
• The baths were packed. The people loved them. At one time, there were as many as 900 public baths
in ancient Rome.
• Some Roman hospitals even had their own bathhouses. A trip to the bath was a very important part
of ancient Roman daily life.
This was the center of religious and political life in Ancient Rome.
Roman Gods
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They renamed the Greek gods, just about all of them except for Apollo, kept the myths the same, and
adopted them all.
Roman and Greek gods were basically the same except for what major difference?
They had different names
Technology: The ancient Romans were great builders. No one is arguing about that! Their advances in
technology include roman roads, roman arches, and aqueducts.
• Concrete was created by the Romans and was used in the building of the Colosseum.
• Literature, Theatre, Art: Satire, which was a loud and rude sort of sarcastic approach to comic
theatre, works of literature, realistic statues, ornate jewelry, masks, mosaics.
Customs, including the use of rings to denote friendship, engagements, and weddings, and the use greenery
to decorate during winter holidays, and other holiday customs
• Clothing: Socks (called soccus by the ancient Romans) worn by both women and men.
• Shoes, all kinds of shoes, including the hobnailed shoe that made such a scary racket when worn by
the common soldier - along with shoe construction that adjusted for left foot, right foot variance in
shape, which made wearing any shoes a lot more comfortable.
• And a bunch of neat hats.
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Roman Gladiator
Many Roman people went to big amphitheaters (like our football stadiums today) to see professionals
fight (like boxers today).
First men in armor came out and fought against wild animals, like bears or bulls or alligators or
ostriches or lions or tigers.
They captured the animals in faraway places and brought them to the stadiums.
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Then the Romans treated the animals badly to make them hungry and mean so they would fight.
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Usually the men killed the animals, but sometimes the animals killed the men, which everyone thought
was very exciting.
The Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium
The Roman army has invaded Gallia. The Romans want to make it part of their growing empire, but first they
must defeat troublemakers. The Gauls, the people of Gallia, live in many different tribes. Some tribes are
happy for the Romans to be their rulers but others fight them.
They call you ‘barbarians’, meaning that you are different to them. The Romans believe they are much better
than you
What is Religion?
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Religion is faith, a belief, something to aid with the problems of life. In most cases a religion involves
gods/goddesses or spirits.
Religion was in the hands of state official's not individual people. In ancient Rome there were many
religious posts. Each post served a different purpose in Roman religion and each one played a very
important role in the organization.
Religion in ancient Rome was municipal and not personal. Unlike Christianity and other monotheistic
religions where God is worshiped out of love and trust the Romans worshiped their god out of fear.
Rome and Christianity
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Around the time of the beginning of the Roman Empire, a new religion began among the Jews living
in Israel: Christianity.
Around 30 A.D., a new religious movement began among the Jews in the distant borders of the Roman
Empire. A group of Jews began following the teachings of a new leader by the name of Jesus Christ.
Christianity tapped into a lot of ideas that people were starting to think about more at this time, like the
idea of the afterlife, the separation of church and state, and the separation of the soul from the body.
Slowly this movement expanded beyond the Jews to many other peoples in the surrounding areas, and
a new religion was born. This new religion would be known as Christianity.
After the death of Jesus, his followers continued to teach those things that he had taught them. They
taught that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for.
Many people throughout the Mediterranean accepted these teachings, and became known as Christians.
For the next 300 years, Christianity was practiced by many city dwellers in private.
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Roman officials viewed Christians as a threat and often had them killed. Christians continued to establish
churches and to spread their religion, but they did so discreetly.
• The dangers faced by the Christians in Rome meant that they had to meet in secret. They usually used
underground tombs as these were literally out of sight.
• The first converts were usually the poor and slaves as they had a great deal to gain from the Christians
being successful. If they were caught, they faced death for failing to worship the emperor.
Rome had a large number of poor people within its population and Christianity continued to grow.
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Rome Divided
The Empire had become too large to rule effectively. The outer provinces were pretty much doing
whatever they wanted.
Emperor Diocletian was looking for a way to fix this and other problems. He decided that the only
thing to do was to actually break the empire into two pieces.
One piece would be the western empire, based in Rome.
The other would be the eastern empire, based in Byzantium.
There would be two emperors, one in charge of each piece, working together against outside enemies,
but each ruling their half separately.
This turned out to be a very good plan at least for the Eastern half of the empire. When the Western
Roman empire collapsed, the Eastern Empire continued for another thousand years.
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Emperor Constantine
Constantine became the first Christian emperor of Rome. In 313 A.D., he passed the Edict of Milan, which
said Christianity should be allowed by the state.
Constantine fought in the Roman army for several years. He also witnessed persecution and murder of the
Christians. This had a lasting impact on him.
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Constantine and Maxentius were engaged in open hostility with one another, although they were
brothers-in-law through Constantine's marriage to Fausta.
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The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and
Maxentius on 28 October 312.
s Vision of Constantine
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Constantine had a vision which led him to fight under the protection of the Christian God. The details
of that vision, however, differ between the sources reporting it.
Constantine had a vision which led him to fight under the protection of the Christian God.
The next day he had his soldiers paint crosses on their shields. They dominated the battle, defeating
Maxentius and taking control of Rome.
After taking Rome, Constantine forged an alliance with Licinius in the east.
Constantine would be Emperor of the West and Licinius in the East.
Edict of Milan
Constantine proclaimed the Edict of Milan, in 313, granting religious freedom to all. This was a departure
from previous emperor's persecutions of the Christians.
Emperor of All of Rome
Seven years later, Licinius decided to renew the persecution of Christians. Constantine wouldn't stand for this
and marched against Licinius. After several battles Constantine defeated Licinius and became ruler of a united
Rome in 324.
Constantine ruled the Roman Empire until his death in 337. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles
in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey).
Gradual Decline
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The Fall of Rome didn't happen in a day, it happened over a long period of time.
Causes of the Fall of the Western Roman
Empire:
• Political
• military too involved
• civil war
Social
• lack of patriotism
• big difference between rich and poor
• citizens not happy with empire
Economic
• bad harvests
• inflation
• gap between rich and poor
Military
• threats from invaders
• low funds for defense
• problems recruiting soldiers
• lack of patriotism and loyalty in soldiers
The Fall of Rome
Rome - Kingdom, Republic and Empire together - lasted about 1200 years. Rome ruled all around the
Mediterranean and large sections of Europe and Southwest Asia. Yet in the end, the problems grew too great
and the Western Roman Empire fell.
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The Roman empire was out of money when Valens became emperor. So much had been wasted by
previous emperors. There was nothing left to pay Roman soldiers or even construction crews.
The Romans tried to solve this by hiring barbarians to fight for them. Civil wars broke out in Rome.
The rich grew disinterested in helping Rome and only wanted more for themselves and their families.
The population of Rome shrank.
Trade decreased while taxes and prices increased.
The poor were overtaxed.
The use of slaves put people out of work.
The Barbarians
In Europe there were five major barbarian tribes - the Huns, Franks, Vandals, Saxons, and Visigoths
(Goths) - and all of them hated Rome.
The Barbarians were destroying Roman towns and cities in the outer regions of the empire.
The only reason that they had not destroyed Rome yet was they spent almost as much time fighting
each other as they did Rome.
Emperor Valens had a brilliant idea. He would ally with one of the Barbarian tribes against the
others. He promised the Visigoth (Goths) land, slaves and other payment if they would attack the
other barbarians and keep order along the Danube River.
This might have worked. It had worked in other parts of the Roman empire. But there was a big
problem with the idea. Rome was broke. There was nothing to pay the Visigoths with.
The Visigoths felt betrayed by the Romans and rebelled. This led to the end or fall of the Roman
empire. Most scholars consider that the Roman empire ended in the year 476 CE.
Roman Numerals
Roman numerals were used by the Ancient Romans as their numbering system.
You see them in the Super Bowl numbering.
Roman numerals are base 10 or decimal, like the numbers we use today. They are not entirely positional,
however, and there is no number zero.
Roman numerals use letters instead of numbers. There are seven letters you need to know:
• I=1
• V=5
• X = 10
• L = 50
• C = 100
• D = 500
• M = 1000
You put the letters together to make numbers. Here are a few simple examples:
1) III = 3
three I's together is three 1's and 1 + 1 + 1 equals 3
2) XVI = 16
10 + 5 + 1 = 16
History of the Roman (Julian) Calendar
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The Romans were superstitious that even numbers were unlucky, so their months were 29 or 31 days
long.
When Rome emerged as a world power, the difficulties of making a calendar were well known, but the
Romans complicated their lives because of their superstition that even numbers were unlucky.
Hence their months were 29 or 31 days long, with the exception of February, which had 28 days.
However, four months of 31 days, seven months of 29 days, and one month of 28 days added up to
only 355 days.
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Roman Calendar
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Ianuarius (January)
Februarius (February)
Martius (March)
Aprilis (April)
Maius (May)
Iunius (June)
Iulius or Quinctilis (July) Iulius was the new name in Imperial times. Use Quinctilis to be authentic to
the Republic.
Augustus or Sextilis (August) Augustus was the new name in Imperial times. Use Sextilis to be
authentic to the Republic.
September (September)
October (October)
November (November)
December (December)