Download The Roman civilization From Republic to Empire

The Roman civilization
From Republic to Empire
Mr. Dawson
Fall 2016
Roman Republic: 509 BC – 27 BC
Roman territory on the eve of Julius Caesar's assassination 44 BC
Roman Empire: 27
BC – AD 476
o Luke 2:1 “And it came to
pass in those days, that
there went out a decree
from Caesar Augustus, that
all the world should be
registered.”
o Caesar Augustus
27 BC – 14 AD was the first
of 170 Emperors!
o The last Emperor was 14
year old Romulus Agustulus
475 AD – 476 AD
Christianity
Question: The Romans were a religious people, in fact they had many gods.
What reasons can you think of as to why they initially despised the Christians?
The bad emperors
• Caligula – 37 AD – 41 AD made his favorite
horse a consul and declared himself a god
(assassinated)
• Nero – 54 AD – 68 AD Had wife and mother
murdered, reacted poorly to the great fire in
68 AD (committed suicide after being declared
an enemy of the state by the Senate)
• Commodus – 180 AD – 192 AD Lazy,
encouraged gladiator battles (assassinated)
The good emperors 96-180
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Nerva 96 AD – 98 AD (natural causes)
Trajan 98 AD – 117 AD (natural causes)
Hadrian 117AD - 138 AD (natural causes)
Antoninus Pius 138 AD – 161 AD (natural causes)
Marcus Aurelius 161 AD – 180 AD (natural causes)
Why are they considered good?
• The five good emperors were known for their
moderate policies. By contrast their
successors were more ruthless and
oppressive. This period was particularly
notable for its peaceful method of succession.
Each emperor chose his successor by adopting
an heir. This prevented the civil wars that
occurred when other emperors did not chose
a successor in advance. This time period came
to be known as…
Pax Romana (Roman peace)
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Great estates grew
Trade flourished
Provinces were well governed
Peasants prospered
The Empire reached its
greatest extent, or “height”…
The Empire at its height 96 AD -180 AD
Diocletian divides the empire in 285 AD into four
smaller (and more manageable) parts, however he still
had absolute control over the whole empire
Constantine the great
• Best known for being the first
Christian Roman emperor.
Constantine reversed the
persecutions and encouraged
religious tolerance of Christians
throughout the empire.
• He also is known for moving his
capital to the city known at the
time as Byzantium. Later, the city
would be named Constantinople
in his honor. The city is known
today as Istanbul, Turkey.
Constantine did away with the four parts, leaving an
empire permanently divided into two parts (East and West)
The Western Roman empire eventually falls
to Germanic tribes (like the Goths) in 476 AD
How have the Romans “contributed”
to cultures of today? Any ideas?
Master architects
The Arch!
Concrete
ROMAN Catholic
Stadiums
Buildings
Paved roads
Using gravity to get water where needed
Latin phrases (language) and Roman numerals
The Fall of Rome in the West
• No law of succession for the Emperor (power
vacuum)
• Weak and corrupt leaders
• Maintained a large, expensive army
• Empire became too large to control ( a few
Emperors tried to save the Empire by dividing
it in two)
• Taxes became too high
The end of the Roman Empire in the West
The map below (AD 476) shows how the Western Roman Empire lost much of its’ territory
while the Eastern part (The Byzantine Empire) didn’t lose any territory
A few highlights from the Roman civilization
(Republic – Empire)
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509 BC - Founding of Rome
146 BC – Rome conquers Greece
44 BC – Julius Caesar is assassinated (end of Republic)
27 BC – Caesar Augustus becomes first Roman Emperor
65 AD – Great fire in Rome (Nero is Emperor)
285 AD – Diocletian divides the Empire
313 AD - Constantine declares freedom of religion
476 AD – the last Roman Emperor (Western part) is
driven from the throne