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ANCIENT ROME
Rome
• Started out as a single city in the western middle side of the Italian peninsula.
Settled in a valley located near the Tiber River.
• Many different communities established in the Peninsula. Example: Greeks,
Etruscans, Latin and others.
• Around 600 BC, the Etruscan had come the most powerful federated society in
the Italian peninsula.
• They dominated many towns including Rome and tried to conquer the Greek
cities but couldn’t.
• During this time Rome too advantage and grew much stronger.
• They built the city among the hills and slowly increased its power and riches until
it dominated all the Mediterranean.
The Times of the King
• Roman monarchy = First period of Roman history.
• During the time of the kings curiae or an assembly of families gather together
to make decisions. They also elected the Kings.
• They created Senate which was an assembly of aristocrat elders.
• They served as advisors of the King and held lifelong positions in the Senate.
• The Senators and their descendants were called Patricians.
• The Patricians increased their political and religious priviledges in order to
obtain land and riches.
• Patricians expelled the King and established a republic.
The Republic 509-27 BC
• In the Republic the most powerful officials were two consuls.
- One in charge of the army - One in charge of the court
• The division of power was made to prevent another monarchy from
forming.
• Most people in Rome (Plebeians) did not have political power during this time.
• The Plebeians organized and established a parallel government in Rome and
presented several demands to the Patricians.
• Demands: End debt slavery, participation in the Senate, written laws,
distribution of public land and the power of Veto laws that affected them.
• The Patricians agree to their demands, fearing the plebeians would abandon the
army and rebel.
PUNIC WARS (264-146 BC) Rome vs. Carthage
• Stared when Rome took over Sicily, which was dominated
by Carthage.
Sicily was important because:
• Riches
• Good center of trade
• Strategic location (between Carthage and Rome)
• The wars continued for more than a century until Rome destroyed
Carthage.
• Rome kept expanding until they became the masters of the
Mediterranean.
The Triumvirates (3 men)
• During the last years of the Republic civil war broke. This situation demonstrated
the incompetence of the Roman government.
• The first triumvirate was an agreement among 3 well known people who tried to
take control of political power in Rome and end civil wars.
• Members: Crassus, Pompey and Julius Cesar
• Crassus and Pompey eventually died and Cesar gained the title of dictator for life.
• He made several reforms such as punishment of government corruption and
giving land to soldiers.
• These reforms angered some people, who organized and assassinated him in 44
BC.
• Civil war broke out again until 43 BC when Octavian Lepidus and Mark
Anthony created a Second Triumvirate.
Formation of the Roman Empire
• The Second Triumvirate also ended in conflict.
• Lepidus was exile accused of betrayal and Octavian and Mark Anthony started
a civil war.
• Octavian declared war on Mark Anthony because he fear that now that Anthony
was in love with Cleopatra they will start a separate government and betray him.
• Octavian defeated Mark Anthony after 20 year of civil war.
• In 27 BC, the senate renamed Octavian, Augustus, which means “holy” or
“sacred”. Octavian = Augustus
• Now Augustus had supreme power and became the first emperor of Rome.
Augustus = first emperor of Rome.
• This was how the Roman Empire began.
Emperor Constantine
• Was a powerful leader in the empire since 306 AD.
• Moved the Capital from Rome to Constantinople.
• Was the first emperor to convert to Christianity.
• Created the edict of Milan in 313 AD, in which he ordered Christianity to be
tolerated in the empire.
Western Empire and Eastern Empire
• Theodosius I
• Emperor from 379 to 395. He was the last emperor to rule over the entire empire.
• Adopted Christianity as the official religion of Rome and prohibited the worship of
pagan gods.
• After Theodosius death his sons divided the empire in 2.
• Western empire – Capital in Rome
• Eastern empire – Capital in Byzantium, Constantinople.
• The Western Roman Empire started to be attack by Germanic tribes an in
410 they destroy the capital, Rome.
• The Western Roman Empire lost power and break into many kingdoms and the
Middle Ages started.
• The Eastern Roman Empire lasted another ten centuries until 1453.