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Rome:
The Beginning
c. 750 BCE: Latins (tribe) settle what becomes Rome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=fa02Me27sYw&feature=share&
list=PL94166D8B8C3BB66D
Rome went from
• A small farming village by the Tiber River
To an empire!
Romulus and Remus
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA1D9wd29jI
First, some geography (of course)
• Rome developed on seven rolling hills at a
curve on the Tiber River, 24 kms upstream
from the Tyrrhenian Sea on the Italian
peninsula
• Mountainous terrain, but still large pockets
of rich farmland
• Easy to attack, except the North because it
was divided by Alps (mountains)
The Geography of Rome
Rome was located on the Italian
peninsula along the Mediterranean Sea
The Romans were influenced by the
Greeks & neighboring Etruscans
• 1200 BCE - Europeans who spoke early Latin
arrived on the Italian peninsula.
• Small villages around the Tiber.
• By 800 BCE – villages became « Rome »
• Meanwhile, Greeks established colonies in
South.
• Etruscans were developing in North.
The early Romans were mostly…
…farmers
c. 600 BCE:
Etruscans
Conquer Rome…
…Romans adopt
Etruscan alphabet,
art, gods, building
techniques (including
the arch)
• The Etruscans took territory all the way to
Rome.
• Roman Army – no match for the
Etruscans (As they had mandatory
military participation).
• Ruled over Romans for 100 years!
Etruscan Military
Bronze Warrior
6c BCE Chariot
Etruscan Military
Bronze Warrior
6c BCE Chariot
Etruscan Military
6c BCE Chariot
• Etruscan ruling family: The TARQUINS.
• Last foreign king of Rome: Tarquin the Proud.
• Cruel, oppressive, against their religion
In 509 BCE, Romans finally revolted, kicked him
out, declared their independence, and vowed
never again to be ruled by foreigners.
Etruscan Influence in Rome
1. First city walls
2. Archways
3. Alphabet
4. Gladiator Games
5. Chariot Race
6. Aqueducts
7. Roads
Also, Romans kept mandatory military
service.
Do you think this would be a good idea for
Canada?
Roman Military Organization
Legions - groups of 4000 to 6000 men
Supported by light cavalry
Originally used Greek phalanx, but it didn’t
work in rough terrain.
Centuries - 100 armed men
*Later they invented:
Maniples - 60 to 120 men (?)
Could move quickly through difficult terrain (better than phalanx)
Discipline
Death for individual insubordination
Decimation for cowardice
First line (hasti): youngest soldiers, armed
with a small sword and a spear
Second line (principes): middle-aged, armed
with small sword and a spear
Triarii: The veterans (most experienced)
were in the rear, armed with a sword and
javelin.
The Roman Republic
Two Main Social Classes
The Culture of Ancient Rome
• At the top were the nobles, called patricians
– Controlled most of the land
– Held key military & government positions
– Made up 5% of Roman citizens
The Life of the Patricians
• Life of a young wealthy girl in Rome
– http://ed.ted.com/lessons/four-sisters-inancient-rome-ray-laurence
The Culture of Ancient Rome - 2
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•
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Most people were commoners, called plebeians.
Farmers, traders, artisans, shopkeepers, or peasants
Plebeians paid the majority of taxes (made up 95% of
Roman citizens)
Could vote, but not hold office (in the senate)
They were considered citizens… always wanting more
rights
The Life of the Plebeians
• Life of a young man in Rome:
– http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-glimpse-of-teenagelife-in-ancient-rome-ray-laurence
The Culture of Ancient Rome
At the bottom of society were
slaves (mostly prisoners of war)
& other non-Roman citizens
– no rights –
Unlike the Athenians, who had a direct or participatory
democracy, the Romans established a representative
democracy or a REPUBLIC…
…like the U.S. has today
The Republic
The Roman republic
was established to
make sure that the
Romans would never
have another leader
like TARQUIN
again!!!
The Government of Ancient Rome
Rome was originally ruled by kings, but in 509
B.C. the Romans created a republic.
A republic is a form
of government in which citizens have the
power to elect their leaders –
no king by birth right
Aspects of the Republic
• Government led by 2 consuls, originally both from the
richest class (patricians).
–
–
–
–
–
Like a king – commanded the army and directed the government
Term was only a year
Not allowed to be elected for another 10 years
One consul could overrule the other
They also had to seek the advice and the approval of the Senate on
all matters.
• In times of emergency, one consul was allowed to be
dictator for 6 months.
– A dictator is a leader with absolute power to make laws and
command the army.
More Aspects of the Republic
• The senate had 300 members of the wealthy
class and had the final say on all laws and
taxation. They had VETO power (the right
to overrule a decision).
– Originally made up of the patricians (Wealthy
upper-class)
– Eventually, plebeians were allowed into the
senate….
– Membership was for life
Even More Aspects of the Republic
• The Assembly was the more democratic side of
the government.
– Assembly of Centuries (looked after the concerns of the
army)
– Assembly of Tribes (comprised of plebeians that
represented the 35 tribes to which Roman citizens
belonged)
• Always in search of more power… two
advantages:
– Sheer numbers
– Increasingly important presence in the military.
Justice
• The magistrates (judges/courts) were also
controlled by the patrician class.
• The plebeians didn’t like this either.
• Plebeians eventually won more
representation in government and the laws
were codified…
The Laws of Rome
The laws of Rome were
called the Twelve Tables
which were hung in the
forum for all citizens to see.
The Twelve Tables were
based on the idea that all
citizens had a right to the
protection of the law.
THE TWELVE TABLES
451 BCE: First
Roman Law Code
Why was
this
important?