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ROME
Rise and Fall
the grandeur that was…
Rome Brought GrecoRoman culture to North
and West Europe
• Rome can be considered as the ancient
“superpower”
• Rome unified Europe, and was
responsible for the spread of GrecoRoman culture in Europe
• Rome laid the foundation for the Middle
Age European culture which will be the
shared culture/history of Europe
• Rome became the model for future
imperialistic ambitions
Chapter 13: New Wars and New
Warriors
• What is the main story of this chapter?
• According to the author, what were the
Romans like?
• How did Rome begin its territorial
expansion?
• Who are the Carthaginians? Who is
Hannibal? What happened between these
people and the Romans?
Rise of the republic
• The Romans subjugated the Etruscans
(the Myth of Lucretia and Tarquin)
• The Romans led a militaristic life
– “expand and exploit”
• The Romans established a republic
– A “king-less” government system
• But the Republic was still a system ruled
by the elite.
Early Republic
• The plebeians demanded reforms
• Rome felt threatened by Carthage
– Punic Wars (246-146 BCE)
– Hannibal
– Eventually led to the conquest of North Africa and
Spain
• Greece was annexed
• Carthaginians and Greeks were enslaved
Chapter 15: Rulers of the
Western World
• How did the Romans rule their empire?
• Why did the Romans develop “blind
devotion” to their generals and soldiers?
• Who is Marius and Sulla?
• Who is Julius Caesar? Why was he
assassinated?
Post-Punic Wars
• A period of chaos, political
struggles/violence, and slave
insurrections
• Spartacus led a slave rebellion
(73-71 BCE)
• Gracchi brothers’ attempts at reforms
failed
• First Triumvirate: Gaius Julius Caesar,
Marcus Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompey
tried to make political reforms
Julius Caesar
• “Veni, Vidi, Vici” – I came, I
saw, I conquered
• Conquered Gaul (France) and
Asia Minor
– Transformed North-West Europe
into a Roman province
• Revised the calendar into 12
months and 365 days, adding 1
day every 4 years
• Assassinated in the Senate
Octavian
• Formed the Second Triumvirate (with
Mark Anthony and Lepidus) to
avenge Julius’s death
• Became the first Roman “emperor”
• Established the Roman Principate
• called himself “Augustus” meaning
“honored and majestic”
• He also adopted the name “Caesar”
which from then on became a title of
leadership
Chapter 17: Life in the Empire
and at its frontiers
• What were the benefits of living in the
Roman empire?
• Who became the biggest threat to the
Roman reign by 100 CE?
• How did Christianity become Rome’s
official religion?
Pax Romana
• A period of peace
(or political stability)
lasting for 200 years
• Caused by a series of good leaders
– Nerva started a practice of picking the “most
promising” young man instead of choosing a son or a
relative as successor
• Ended when Marcus Aurelius chose his son
Commodus as successor
Decline of Rome
1.
Internal political instability
-
Lack of law of succession
Lack of constitutional means of reform
2. Indifference of larger population
-
Many were alienated and were not made part of the political life
3. The Slave System did not contribute to a stable economy
4. Constant barbaric threat
- Visigoths (Germanic tribes)
- Huns
- constant warfare led to migration of people and the
failure of economy
5. Lack of unifying “civic ideals”
Towards the Middle Ages
• Diocletian divided Rome into two
• Constantine converted to Christianity
• Eastern Roman
Empire became the
Byzantine Empire
• In 400 AD, West
Rome fell under the
Germans