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ROMAN LAW
27 BCE – 180 CE
“PAX ROMANA”
PAX ROMAN
ROMAN PEACE
• The Pax Romana will last for approximately 200 years.
• This is the period of the reign of Augustus to the death
of Marcus Aurelius.
• The empire is held together by factors such as:
– Law,
• military organization, and
• widespread trade and transportation*
*nearly 180,000 miles of paved highways joined military outposts
with cities in the interior, and highways linked all provincial cities
to Rome….”All roads lead to Rome”
● It still took a Roman messenger at least 10 weeks to cross the
empire!!
GOVERNMENT
• The Roman government ruled nearly 100
million people
• The government maintained:
– Order
– Enforced laws
– Defended the frontiers
– Provided relief when fires or earthquakes
damaged areas
Emperor
• Made all policy decisions
• Appointed officials who controlled the
provinces
• Ran the entire government
• NOTE: EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT DEPENDED
ON THE STRENGTH OF THE OTHER
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
AQUEDUCT
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AQUEDUCTS
bridge like structures that carried water from
the mountains
Romans constructed many new cities in the
western provinces
A senate building, theaters, and public baths
were built in the provinces.
Most cities had paved streets and sewer
systems
Wealthy citizens donated large sums of money
for public buildings, streets, schools, and
entertainment
Roman Senate
ROMAN LAW
• Twelve Tables – a code of laws
• The government passed new laws as they were
needed.
• Judges interpreted the old laws to fit new
circumstances
• The idea was that Roman law could adapt to fit
the customs of all peoples throughout the
provinces
• Roman judges helped develop the belief that:
Certain basic legal principles apply to all
humans.
• For example, the idea that we believe in
today:
• That an accused person is considered
innocent unless proven guilty.
• IN LATER YEARS THE ROMAN SYSTEM OF LAW
BECAME THE FOUNDATION FOR THE LAWS
OF ALL THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES THAT
HAD BEEN PART OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
• ROMAN LAW ALSO HAD A STRONG
INFLUENCE ON THE LAWS OF THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH
TRADE THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE
• People throughout the empire used Roman
currency
• From the provinces Italy imported grain and
raw materials such as meat, wool, and hides.
• From Asia – silks, linens, glassware, jewelry,
and furniture
• From India – spices, cotton
• Italy, Gaul, and Hispania – pottery and textiles
Roman Market
ROMAN LIFE
• Wealthy citizens generally had a home in the
city and a home in the country or beach.
• Running water and baths were enjoyed by
most citizens.
• The wealthy enjoyed luxuries such as rest,
exercise, public baths, and banquets.
• Romans ate and drank enormous quantities at
banquets.
Roman banquet
The average Roman
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Most Romans ate three simple meals each day.
Bread, cheese, and fruit.
Had simple furnishes
In Rome, most of the 1 million residents lived in
crowded three or four story concrete apartment
houses.
• Fire posed a constant threat because of the
candles and torches used for light.
• The massive wood beams used in construction
made the fires more intense.
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Most Romans were poor and hardworking.
Some were artisans and farmers.
Very little job security.
Landlords in Rome charged high rents.
The government provided free grain to the
residents of the capital.
• During the Pax Romana the number of slaves
declined greatly.
• So, the price of slaves rose dramatically.
• Most people could not afford to feed, clothe,
and care for a slave.
Amusements
• Romans enjoyed the theater.
• Mimes, jugglers, dancers, clowns, acrobats
were very popular forms of entertainment.
• Circus Maximus – 250,000 spectators watched
chariot racing. “Fan clubs” for the popular
chariot racers were formed.
• Gladiators – trained fighters who were usually
slaves
SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND
ARCHITECTURE
• Romans were not so much interested in science to
increase knowledge.. RATHER,
• Romans collected and gathered information.
• The practical Romans applied the scientific knowledge
they gained from the Greeks in planning cities, building
water and sewage systems, and improving farming and
livestock breeding.
• Roman engineers surpassed all other ancient people
in their ability to construct roads, bridges, aqueducts,
amphitheaters, and public buildings.
EDUCATION
• Romans trained their children to be loyal citizens and
to be obedient to their elders and superiors.
• Mom “home schooled” the 3r’s.
• Children had to memorize the Twelve Tables.
• Most Roman women did not receive formal
educations.
• BUT, many upper class Roman women were well
educated.
• Language: Latin. Long after the end of the Roman
Empire, the Latin language continued to be used.
Roman School
Mother and daughter
• Elementary, secondary, and higher level of
schools.
• A boy or girl of the free classes entered
elementary at the age of 7.
• They studied, reading, writing, arithmetic, and
music.
• At 13 years of age, boys entered a secondary
school, where they studied grammar, Greek
literature, composition, and expressive speech.
(Former Greek slaves often taught these courses.)
• At 16, students entered a school of rhetoric.
• Wealthy students often continued their
education in specialized schools.
Literature
• Cicero – important writer who is known for his
political works.
• Virgil – Roman poet. He wrote Aeneid, a tells the
story of Aeneas, a prince of Troy and a supposed
ancestor of the Latins.
• His descendants Romulus and Remus founded
Rome.
• Horace – a poet wrote of human emotions in
odes, satires, and letters.
Ovid – wrote love lyrics and the Metamorphoses
Cicero
Tacitus
• Tacitus – Roman historian wrote Annals, a history
of Rome under the Julian Emperors.
• He also wrote, Germania, which provides the best
account of the Germanic tribes along the borders.
• Plutarch, a Greek, wrote Parallel Lives. This work
includes a series of biographical sketches, one of
a famous Greek followed by one of a Roman
whose life in some way resembled the Greek’s
life.