Download Chapter 9: Roman Civilization

Chapter 9: Roman Civilization
Mr. Flynn
Section 1: Life in Ancient Rome
Roman Culture
• The Romans admired and studied Greek statues, buildings,
and ideas
• They copied the Greeks in many ways, but changed what
they borrowed to suit their own needs
• Romans admired Greek art and architecture
• Greek statues were perfect, but Roman statues were more
realistic and included the imperfections
• They also used much of Greek architecture, but added
arches and domes
• They were also the first to use concrete in their buildings.
Concrete made buildings sturdier and allowed them to
build taller
Roman Literature
• Roman writers based most of their writing on the writing of Greek
authors
• Virgil drew some of his ideas from Homer’s Odyssey, the Aenid
describes Aeneas’ travels and the “story of Rome”
• The poet Horace wrote satires-these works poked fun at human
weakness, he also composed odes- or poems that express strong
emotions about life
• Like the Greeks, the Romans had historians that recorded the
events of their civilization- Livy- wrote his “History of Rome” in 10
BC, Livy greatly admired early Romans and he believed people
should know their history
• The most lasting of the things from Roman culture may be their
language, Latin, which shaped the languages of many civilizations,
including our English words today
Daily Life in Rome
• By the time of Augustus, a million people lived in Rome and the city
was planned out carefully into roads that crossed at right angles
• At the center of Rome was the Forum, this served as a marketplace
and public square
• Wealthy Romans lived in large, comfy houses
• The city of Rome was crowded, noisy, and dirty. Most people were
poor and lived in apartments made of stone and wood
• To keep the people happy, the Roman government would have
“bread and circuses” or free grain and entertainment
• The biggest attractions were chariot races and gladiator contests.
Gladiators fought animals or each other and were admired like our
sports heroes today
Roman Science and Engineering
• The Romans also learned from Greek science.
• A Greek doctor named Galen brought many medical ideas
to Rome; including anatomy, the study of body structure
• Another important scientist of the Roman Empire was
Ptolemy. He studied the sky and mapped over 1000
different stars
• Roman engineers built an impressive system of roads and
bridges to connect the empire
• They also used advanced engineering to supply their cities
with freshwater. Engineers built aqueducts, or long troughs
supported by arches that brought water from the hills to
the cities
What was family life like?
• Family life was important to the Romans, their families were large,
they included not only parents and children, but also married
children and their families, other relatives, and enslaved servants
• The father was the head of the household. He was called
paterfamilias or “father of the family”- had complete control over
family members
• Wealthy families hired tutors to teach their younger children at
home, some older boys did go to schools where they learned
reading, writing, and rhetoric, or public speaking.
• Girls did not go to school, they learned reading and writing at
home, they also learned household duties
• Between ages 14 and 16 , a Roman boy celebrated becoming a
man. He would burn his toys as offerings to the household gods.
• He would put on a toga, join his family business, became a soldier
or begin a career in government
Women in Rome
• Roman women did not become adults until they were
married
• Women in early Rome had some rights, but they were
not full citizens
• The freedoms that a woman enjoyed depended on her
husband’s wealth and standing
• Wealthy women had a great deal of independence.
They could own land, run businesses, and sell property.
• Women with less money, had less freedom. They spent
most of their time working in their houses or helping
their husbands in family-run shops
How did Romans Treat Enslaved
People?
• Slavery was a part of Roman life from early times
• Thousands of prisoners from conquered lands were brought to Italy.
Most spent their lives performing slave labor. By 100BC, about 40
percent of the people in Italy were enslaved.
• For most enslaved people life was miserable. They were punished
severely for poor work or for running away. To escape their
hardships, enslaved people often rebelled
• The most famous slave revolt was led by a gladiator named
Spartacus.
• Under Spartacus a force of 70,000 enslaved people defeated several
Roman armies.
• The revolt was crushed two years later. Spartacus and 6,000 of his
followers were crucified, or put to death by nailing on a cross.
Section 2- The Fall of Rome
• In AD 180 Marcus Aurelius died. His son
Commodus took over
• Commodus was cruel and wasted money. Instead
of ruling Rome, Commodus spent much of his
time fighting as a gladiator
• In AD 192, his bodyguard killed him, this set off a
century of fighting and confusion
• After Commodus, emperors called Severans ruled
Rome. Much of their time was spent putting
down revolts and protecting Rome’s borders
Political and Social Problems
• When the last Severan ruler died in AD 235, Rome’s
government became very weak
• For almost 50 years after, army leaders fought each other
for the throne. During the time, Rome had 22 different
emperors
• Fewer Romans honored the old ideals of duty, courage, and
honesty
• Many government officials took bribes
• Many wealthy citizens even stopped paying taxes
• Fewer people went to schools and a large number of the
empire’s people were enslaved.
• Wealthy Romans supported slavery- cheap work
Economic and Military Problems
• During the AD 200s, Rome’s economy began to fall apart
• Government weakened-law and order broke down
• Soldiers and invaders seized crops, farmers grew less food, hunger
spread
• Less goods are made, less jobs
• A plague, or a disease that spreads widely also did much damagekilled 1 in 10 people
• Inflation-or rapidly increasing prices, was the next problem
• Prices went up, and many people began using no money at all
• They began to barter, or exchange goods without using money
• Invaders swept in and Rome could not pay an army, so they brought
in soldiers who were not loyal to Rome
What were Diocletian’s Reforms?
• In AD 284, a general named Diocletian became
emperor
• To stop the decline, he installed reforms, or political
changes to make things better
• Empire was too big for one person to rule, divided it
into 4 parts, named officials to rule these parts, but
had authority
• To slow inflation, set the price of goods and wages
• To make sure there were enough products, he ordered
workers to stay at the same job until they died
• People ignored the rules and Diocletian did not have
enough power to make them obey
Who was Constantine?
• In AD 305, Diocletian retired from office and after a
period of fighting, Constantine became emperor in AD
312
• To aid the economy Constantine issued several orders
• Sons of workers had to follow their fathers’ trades,
sons of farmers had to work same land as their fathers,
sons of soldiers had to serve in the army
• Constantine could not halt the decline in the west,
named new capital in the east, Constantinople
• Today: called Istanbul, Turkey
Rome Falls
• Both Diocletian and Constantine failed to save
the Roman Empire
• When Constantine died in AD 337, fighting
broke out again
• In AD 395, the Roman Empire split into two
separate empires. Western Roman EmpireRome and the Eastern Roman EmpireConstantinople
Rome Falls Cont.
• As Rome declined, it was no longer able to hold back
the Germanic tribes on its borders
• In AD 410, Visigoth leader Alaric and his soldiers
captured Rome itself.
• It was the first time Rome had been conquered in 800
years, the people were shocked
• Another Germanic tribe known as the Vandals overran
Spain and Northern Africa
• A Germanic general named Odoacer took control
overthrowing the 14 year old emperor, Romulus
Augustulus, the last Roman emperor, marking the end
of the Roman empire
The Legacy of Rome
• Roman ideas of law are still with us today as
written in the Twelve Tables
• People are equal under law, we expect judges
to decide cases fairly, and consider people
innocent until proven guilty
• The alphabet of the Latin language has shaped
the world and many languages (English,
Italian, Spanish) just to name a few
Section 3- The Byzantine Empire
• Although the Western Roman Empire fell to
Germanic invaders, the Eastern Roman Empire
prospered becoming known as the Byzantine
Empire
• The Byzantine Empire reached its peak around
the AD 500s stretching west to Italy, south to
Egypt, and east to the border with Arabia
• Greeks made up the empire’s largest group, but
Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, Armenians, Jews
Persians, Slavs, and Turks could be found in the
empire
Why is Constantinople important?
• Constantine moved the Roman capital to
Constantinople, during the Byzantine Empire, it was
thriving and had become one of the world’s great cities
• One reason: location, it was located on the waterways
between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea
• Harbors offered safe shelter for fishing boats, trading
ships, and warships
• It was also at the crossroads of trade routes between
Europe and Asia
• Laying on a peninsula, it was protected by the Seas on
three sides, on the fourth side a huge wall
Greek Influence
• The Byzantines first followed Roman ways, in fact Constantinople
was known as the “New Rome”
• The city even had an arena for chariot races and events called the
Hippodrome
• Political and social life was also based on Roman, emperors spoke
Latin, and enforced Roman laws
• As time passed, the Byzantine Empire became less Roman and
more Greek
• Most Byzantines spoke Greek and honored their Greek past
• Emperors and officials began to speak Greek as well
• The culture was influenced by Egyptians, Slavs, and Persians
• The cultures blended together and from AD 500-AD 1200, the
Byzantines had one of the world’s richest and most advanced
empires
Emperor Justinian
• Justinian became the emperor of the Byzantine Empire in
AD 527 and ruled until AD 565
• Justinian was a strong leader who controlled the military,
made laws, and was supreme judge. His order could not be
questioned
• Justinian’s wife Theodora helped him run the empire. She
was a former actress who was strong willed and helped
make decisions.
• She convinced Justinian to give women more rights,
Byzantine women for the first time could own land
• In AD 532 she helped save the throne. Angry taxpayers
attacked but Theodora advised that Justinian stand his
ground, he did and crushed the uprising
Justinian’s Conquests
• Justinian wanted to reunite the Roman Empire
and bring back Rome’s glory
• To do this he had to conquer Western Europe and
northern Africa, so he hired a general named
Belisarius to strengthen and lead the Byzantine
army
• During Justinian’s reign, the Byzantine military
conquered most of Italy and northern Africa and
defeated the Persians in the east.
• After he died, the empire did not have enough
money to hold the territory in the west.
Justinian’s Law Code
• Justinian decided that the empire’s laws were
disorganized and too difficult to understand
• He put together a group to analyze and reform
the law code
• The group’s new simplified code became known
as the Justinian Code.
• Officials, businesspeople, and individuals could
now more easily understand the law.
• Over the years, the Justinian Code has had a great
influence on the laws of almost every country in
Europe.
Byzantine Civilization
• The Byzantine Empire lasted approximately 1,000 years
• The city of Constantinople was one of the great cities of the
world during its time due to the trade because of its
location
• Art was supported by the emperors. Most art was about
religious figures.
• Mosaics- or pictures made from many bits of colored glass
or stone were very common.
• Women’s roles were expanded by Theodora, but they were
encouraged to do the house work and take care of the
family. They could be regents though.
• A regent is a person who stands in for a ruler who is too
young or too ill to govern.