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THE ROMANS
Building the west
RISE of Rome: Geography
Italy is a Peninsula of land that extends about 750
miles in length from North to South, and is not
very wide with an average width of about 120
miles across.
The Peninsula has a central “spine” of Mountains
that run from North to South along the entirety
of the nation.
The “spine” of Italy, has long served as a haven for
Italians, and Romans during times of attack and
as a hindrance to commerce at times.
RISE of Rome: Geography
Italy is divided into 3 regions:
I.) The Po River Valley in the North
II.) The Plain of Latium – the site of the city of Rome.
III.) The region of the Campania, which makes up
the southern portion of the peninsula.
As we have observed in the other civilizations that we have
studied, geography played a crucial role in the history and
development of the Roman civilization.
The Italian landscape possessed more farmland than did the
Greek city states, and therein could support a LARGER
population. The Apennines
were not as rugged as the mountains of Greece and therefore
did NOT separate the cities of Italy, and the Roman world
into separate self sufficient city centers.
City of Rome
The city of Rome is located in an especially favorable
location. It is 18 miles inland, upstream along the
Tiber river. This location means that it was safe from
PIRATES during its early days, and because it was
located along the banks of the Tiber river it was in an
excellent position to trade. Rome’s location is the
ONLY place the Tiber river can be easily crossed in
central Italy.
Rome was built on 7 hills, and at first was actually seven
cities. During this time the Romans or Latin's were
ruled by the Etruscans.
According to legend…
The People of Italy
The people of Italy were descended from Indo-Europeans much like earlier
civilizations that we have studied. These Indo Europeans moved into Italy
beginning about 1000 BC.
The earliest group that we know of that lived in the Italian Peninsula was the Latin’s
who spoke Latin and lived on the Plain of Latium in central Italy.
After 800 BC several other groups moved into Italy, the most prominent being the
Etruscans, who conquered the city of Rome in 650 BC, and built the city of
Rome, gave the Romans the Toga, and organized the first Roman military units.
By 500 BC there were 3 Primary cultural groups in Italy. They were the:
a.) Etruscans
b.) Greeks
c.) Latins
The Etruscans dominated most of the peninsula from the ALPS to Campania in the
South. The Latins, occupied the small area around Rome in the Plain of Latium.
The Greeks, occupied the extreme South of Italy and half of the Island of Sicily.
The Roman Republic
Early Rome was under the control of 7 Kings
throughout the period 753-509 BC.
In 509 BC, the Romans (latins) overthrew the
last of the Etruscan kings and established a
Republic or a form of government that
establishes a vote for its citizens through
elected leadership.
The Romans established their government
around the first elected ruling body in
western history – the SENATE.
The Roman Republic
Immediately following their revolt, and the creation of the Roman
Republic, the Romans began a series of wars designed to grant
control of the entirety of Italy to the Latins alone.
By 340 BC – Rome had conquered ALL the Latin states around the
city of Rome.
For the next 50 years the Romans waged a series of wars against the
people of central Italy and the Apennines. The Etruscans were
conquered during this fifty year period. By 267 BC, the Romans
had conquered the Greeks and therein controlled the entire
Italian Peninsula.
To keep control of Italy the Romans developed a system of
confederation. Meaning that they taught the ethnic groups that
they conquered Roman language, mathematics, dress, religion
and could become a Roman citizen over time. This gave the
conquered peoples a stake in Rome, because they could be more
successful if they worked with the Romans.
Why were the Romans so
successful???
1st – The Romans were good diplomats – meaning that
they were capable of reasoning with enemies, and
talking a problem out before going to war.
2nd – The Roman military was the strongest in the
region. The Roman Army was relentless, they were
accomplished soldiers, and they did NOT give up
until they were victorious.
3rd – The Romans created a political system that was
flexible in its response to the needs of its citizens,
and was also capable of changing as Rome grew and
incorporated new people into the Republic.
The Roman State
Early Rome was divided into 2 Groups based on
social class or standing. Your social class in early
Rome was affected by how much money your
family had acquired. Patricians
were more wealthy;
Plebeians less so.
Patricians ruled;
Plebeians were:
farmers, merchants,
and crafts people.
Roman Government
The Ruling portion of government in ancient Rome was the
Senate. The Senate was composed of Patricians, or
wealthy land owners.
Both Patricians and Plebeians could vote, however ONLY
patricians could hold office.
Within the Senate, there were 2 Consuls who were elected
from among the senate every years. The consuls would
lead the government jointly, and lead the Armies of Rome
into battle if necessary.
The second type of Chief executive was the Praetor. The
Praetor was responsible for civil law, and the Treasury of
Rome.
Once elected as a Senator, you held the position for life our
until you decided that you would retire.
The Roman State: Social
Structures
There was often conflict between the Plebeian and Patrician
social classes.
Plebeians had the right to vote but didn’t have the right to:
Marry a Patrician
Excuse themselves from service in the
Army
(pay their way out like a patrician)
Ultimately the situation would be resolved when Rome
founded a second legislature body known as the “Council of
Plebes” in 287 BC. This body was in affect the “lower
house” of the Roman Republic and therein very much like
our bicameral legislature – ie Congress.
This gave the plebeians a voice, and therein an ability to draft
laws that would affect ALL Roman citizens, wherein before
287 – only the Patricians could do so.
Roman Law
Roman Law was based upon a code of law known as the “Twelve Tables”.
This code of was not adequate however so the Romans developed a
system of civil law based on an idea known as the “Law of Nations”
The Law of Nations proposed that ALL men had certain rights including:
Being presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Having the right to a trial by a jury of your peers.
Mandating that you have a judge who was to be impartial
and guarantee a fair trial.
Being able to defend yourself by confronting your accusers.
Decisions in a court room should be made on Reason and
Precedent
All of these principals of law lived on beyond the Roman Republic and
ultimately have served as the basis for most of western law including the
Laws of the United States.
The Punic Wars
After the conquest of Italy, the Romans found
themselves face to face with another strong
power in the Mediterranean basin. This other
power was focused around the City of Carthage.
Carthage was founded by the earlier studied
Phoenicians as a trading colony in 800 BC. In its
extensive history before the founding of Rome;
Carthage became the dominant economic power
in the Southern and Western Mediterranean.
Let’s examine the causes of the Punic Wars…
The First Punic War
Rome’s first War with Carthage began in
approximately 264, BC. It is from this war
that we get the term “Punic” wars, because
Punicus, is the Roman term for Carthage.
The 1st Punic War was over the nation of Sicily.
REENANCTMENT TIME
Why was the 1st Punic War
Fought?
Rome was having a problem with grain supplies and Sicily was
known as the “bread basket” of the Mediterranean.
The Romans invaded Sicily, and that was the initial spark of the
Punic War, because the Carthaginians considered Sicily to be
there property.
The Romans, once they started the war, realized that since they
were a LAND power and the Carthaginians were a SEA power,
then they could NOT hope to win if they did not make a bigger
better navy. After 15 years of fighting the Romans Created a
powerful Navy.
By 241 BC, the Romans had defeated the Carthaginians and their
leader Hamilcar Barca. The Carthaginians had a pay a fine.
Sicily became the 1st Roman province outside of the Italian
Penninsula.
The Second Punic War
After their defeat in the 1st Punic War, the
Carthaginians annexed Spain.
Hamilcar’s son, Hannibal Barca, vowed revenge for the
embarrassment that his father had endured during
the 1st Punic War.
This embarrassment came from the fact that Hamilcar
blamed for the loss of the war as he was the
commanding general, even though Hamilcar won
more often than he lost.
Hannibal Barca vowed revenge and 217 launched
attacks on Roman Territory.
By 216 BC Hannibal brought a large Army across the
Alps into Northern Italy.
The Second Punic War
Hannibal's army included:
40,000 infantry and archers
6,000 horses and Calvary
And many elephants
The Second Punic War
In the Spring of 216 BC the Romans decided to meet Hannibal’s army as it
marched southward across the Italian Peninsula. This turned out to be a
mistake. Rome lost armies of 40,000 men on two occasions. Hannibal
was a gifted tactician and many times won when outnumbered 2 to1.
The Romans received a break, due to the fact that Hannibal did not bring
the siege craft necessary to take Roman cities. The Romans did however
possess this technology and by 206 BC they had used it to take over ALL
of Spain and cut Hannibal’s line of supply from Carthage.
At the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, the Romans besieged the city of Carthage,
and Hannibal had to sneak his army out of Roman territory to go home
and protect his people.
After this defeat, the Carthaginians surrendered; they were ordered to pay
heavy Roman taxes, to give up territory in Spain, to destroy their Navy,
and to limit the size of their Army. This made Rome the dominant
economic, and military power across the Mediterranean.
The 3rd Punic War
The 3rd Punic war occurred 50 years after the 2nd Punic War ceased.
The third Punic War was fought over the fact that the Carthaginians
over time had stopped paying retributions for their previous
wars, and had begun to rebuild their commercial Navy.
Many powerful Romans had no desire to see Carthage emerge again
as an economic or social competitor, so in 147, BC the Romans
set out to destroy Carthage.
In 146 BC – The Romans arrived at Carthage with a force of nearly
100,000 men. They attacked Carthage to 10 days. At the end of
the 10 days the Romans tore the city of Carthage down brick by
brick, sold the 5o,ooo women and children of the city into slavery
and executed every male over the age of 12.
This would conclude the Punic Wars.