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Rome
Foundation to Ruin
The beginning
• First contact between Italy and Greece
was around 900 B.C. for trade
Government- Republic
• Patricians (wealthy class of Rome) declare
Rome a republic
– a community in which people elect leaders
• Most Romans were Plebeians (wealthy, nonaristocratic townspeople and landowners,
merchants, shopkeepers, small farmers, and
laborers)
• Plebeians and Patricians could vote, pay taxes,
serve in the military, but, Plebeians could not
hold public office
Government- Republic
• Roman government was divided into the
executive and legislative branches and
controlled by the Patricians
• Plebeians want more power in Republic
– Plebeians eventually are allowed to serve in some
public offices and are allowed to make some laws
• Allowed to marry patricians
• Failure to pay debts was no longer punishable by slavery
– All of these things moved Rome closer to a
democracy
Expansion of Rome
• Rome faced many rivals within Italy- they
became allies or Rome conquered them
• Connected with a chain of roads- later some
become major trade routes
Punic Wars
•
Rome vs. Carthage (other major power in Mediterranean)
– 1st Punic War
• Carthage threatens the Strait of Messina (between Sicily and Italy). Rome
defeats Carthage on the Sea and makes Carthage pay for damages
– 2nd Punic War
• Hannibal (general of Carthaginian army in Spain) takes one of Rome's
Spanish allies
• Uses elephants and men – men afraid to cross the Alps (mountains in
Northern Italy). They faced cold weather, snow, hunger, sickness, and
attacks from mountain people. These kill ½ of his soldiers and most of the
elephants.
• Still, Hannibal is able to defeat the Romans, Romans eventually defeat
Carthage making them give up lands in Spain, most of their war ships, and
more money to pay for damages
– 3rd Punic War
• 50 years later
• Carthage gains some more power, but is no threat to Rome
• Romans burn down the city, sold the surviving population into slavery, and
sowed salt in the soil so no crops would grow
• Rome now has complete control over the western Mediterranean.
From Republic to Empire
• Wealth and expanding borders lead to
many problems
– Unhappy lower classes
– Breakdown of military order
– Unstable government
• Rome fell into a civil war
Julius Caesar
• Julius Caesar
– Military leader
– Joined Crassus and Pompey to rule Rome as
a triumvirate (group of 3 rulers)
– Began increasing his power
– Fights with Pompey and Crassus for power,
people love him
– 44 B.C. declared dictator for life
Julius Caesar
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Absolute leader- total control
Started many reforms
Many senators fear/resent his power
On March 15, 44 B.C. he is stabbed to
death in the senate chamber
Rome post Caesar
• Civil war breaks out again- destroyed last
pieces of the republic
• Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus
become rulers in the 2nd triumvirate
– Octavian forces Lepidus to retire, Mark
Antony and Octavian become rivals
– Mark Antony met Cleopatra and left for Egypt
• Later they are defeated and commit suicide
Octavian
• Julius Caesar’s grandnephew and adopted
son
• Restored some aspects of the republic but
becomes the unchallenged ruler of Rome
• Accepts title of Augustus, meaning
“exalted one”
• Becomes the 1st Emperor of Rome, also
was the best emperor
The Roman Empire
• Peak of power from 27 B.C.- 180
• Time of peace and prosperity, known as
the Pax Romana (Roman Peace)
• Size: 3 million square miles, population of
60-80 million people
• Very efficient government and able rulers
The Roman Empire
• Agriculture was the most important
industry
– 90% of people were engaged in this trade
• Vast trade network around Mediterranean,
as well as China and India
• Rome had a network of roads connecting
the Empire- all roads led to Rome
Life in Rome
• Valued discipline, strength, and loyalty
• Most live in the countryside
• Slavery was a significant part of life
– May have been 1/3 of total population
– Most were conquered people
– Many treated cruelly and worked long hours
– Strong men were forced to become
gladiators- trained fighters
Life in Rome
• Religion
– Polytheistic- based of Ancient Greeks
– Main god was Jupiter and his wife Juno
– Emperor was worshipped as part of the
official religion
• Rich lived extravagantly, huge class
disparities
• Bath houses- important centers for
hygiene and social life
Social Classes
• Most Romans were unemployed
• Given daily rations by government
• Distraction by government- “bread and
circuses”
– Free games, races, mock battles, gladiator
contests, and food
– By 250 Rome celebrated 150 holidays a year
Christianity
• Became part of the later Roman Empire
• Early Christians were killed or treated
poorly
• In 313, emperor Constantine announced
the end to persecution of Christians
– Christianity spreads throughout the Empire
• Later, it becomes the main religion
End of the Roman Empire
• Problems within the Empire (reasons for
the end)
• Political instability
• Economic decline
• Invasions from outsiders
Slowing the decline of the Empire (trying to stop
the end)
• Emperors- Diocletian, Constantine,
Theodosius
• Reforms
• Splitting of the Empire
Political Instability
• Confusion and violence with each new emperor
• Commodus inherits empire from his father
Marcus Aureluis
– Bad emperor- spends state money on own pleasures
• From A.D. 192-A.D. 284 Legions installed 28
different emperors
– Many they ended up killing off
• Armies were busier fighting each other than
worrying about invaders
Invasions from the outside
• Germanic tribes enter Rome for many reasons
– Sought a warmer climate and better grazing land
– Share of Rome’s wealth
– Fleeing from the Huns (a fighting force from Asia)
• Germanic warriors made a living by farming and
raising cattle
• They had little surplus for trade and were poor
• There were many groups led by individual
chiefs- only unifying factor was their language
Invasions from the outside
• Visigoths
– One of the Germanic groups
– Rebelled against Roman rule and defeated a large Roman army in the
east
– Aleric, a Visigoth chief, goes into Italy capturing and sacking Rome
– After Aleric’s death, the Visigoths retreat
• Huns
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Nomadic group from central Asia
Chief was Attila- raided eastern empire
Romans and Visigoths combine forces to defeat Huns
Attila goes into Italy, plunders larger cities and terrifies people
Famine and plague take their toll on the Huns
Attila dies- Huns retreat
• With Huns gone, other vandals continue to raid and sack Rome
• Eventually, empire fades away by the late A.D. 400’s
Economic Decline
• Warfare disrupted production and trade
• Profits declined sharply, forcing many out of business
• Warfare destroyed farmland, causing food shortages that sent food
prices soaring
• Inflation- a rise in prices corresponding to a decrease in the value of
money
– To deal with lower incomes and rising prices, government makes more
money
– New coins were worth less money
– To get same money, merchants raise prices
– Causes inflation
• Roman government kept increasing soldier pay
• Landowners increased taxes, farming becomes less profitable,
many farmers leave land = worsening the food shortages
Emperors/Reforms/Split of Roman
Empire
• Struggle to halt complete decline of the
empire
• Manage to preserve the Eastern part for
more than 1,000 years
• In West, slow the invasions of Germanic
tribes
Emperors/Reforms/Split of Roman
Empire
• Diocletian (A.D. 284)
– Raised the number of legions and traveled throughout
the empire
– Realized the empire was too large for one person to
control- split empire into 2 different units- East and
West
– Tried to slow inflation- froze wages and set maximum
prices for goods (called Edict of Prices)- this effort
failed due to illegal trade
• Tried to stop farmers from leaving their lands by
requiring farmers who rented land to never leave
their property and all workers had to remain at
the same job throughout their lifetime
Emperors/Reforms/Split of Roman
Empire
• Constantine (A.D. 312)
– Made it legal for landowners to chain their workers to
keep them on the farm
– Declared most jobs hereditary- sons do fathers job
– Moved the capital of eastern empire to Greek town of
Byzantium later renamed Constantinople
• Theodosius
– West suffers more than East
– Declares West and East two separate empires
– East known as Byzantine Empire and West is Roman
Empire