Download Advantages of Roman Geography

Advantages of Roman
Geography
• Rome’s Location
• Rome is located on the center
of the Latium plain in the Middle
of the Italian peninsula which is
also in the middle of the
Mediterranean Sea
Latium Plain
• Summer is hot and dry
• Winter is wet and mild
• Etruscans city-states were
located in the north
• Greek colonies were located in
the South
Advantages of the
Latium
• Rome was built on seven hills
which made it hard to attack
•
•
•
It was located on the Tiber river which
gave it easy access to trade
It was located in the center of Italy,
which gave it protection from naval
attack
It was located in the center of the
Mediterranean Sea which allowed it to
become a trading center
• Also, it was located on rich
farmland
The Rise of the Republic
• Republic
Consuls
•
Rome’s form of
government was a
republic
• In a republic
citizens elect
their leaders to
run their
government
citizens elected
consuls and they
were advised by
the Senate
Roman Social Classes
•
•
•
•
Roman culture was divided into two
classes
Patricians were the wealthy land owning
families
Plebeians were the artisans,
shopkeepers, and peasants
Classes were determined by birth
Struggle for Rights
•
•
•
•
Plebeians had fewer rights but still
served in the military and paid
taxes
In 494 B.C. the plebeians withdrew
from Rome and formed their own
assembly
Patricians allowed the plebeians to
keep their tribunes who protected
their rights
Plebeians demanded that the
Roman laws needed to be written
down
Twelve Tables
• This wrote down the Roman
laws
• Plebeians were allowed to be
in the priesthood
• Debt bondage was outlawed
• Plebeian assembly laws only
applied to the Plebeians
• Laws passed by the patrician
senate applied to everybody
Equality for Plebeians
1. In 287 B.C. the Plebeians protested
and now laws passed by the
assembly applied to everybody
2. Roman Government
• Plebeians gained
more power
• Rome became
more democratic
Consuls
•
•
•
•
•
There were 2 consuls
One consuls was a patrician and
the other consul was a plebian
They were elected for a 1 year term
Each consul could veto the other
consul’s decisions
They carried out the daily business
of the government
Senate
The Senate had 300 members
They controlled the treasury and
Roman foreign policy
They were chosen for life
They were mostly patricians
Citizen Assemblies
• Citizen Assemblies could approve or
veto any laws made
The Roman Genius
1.
Romans mastered the skills for building
and governing the empire
Military Organization
1.
2.
3.
Rome won by the determination and
discipline of its army
Rome had a full time army
The army was very organized with a
strict chain of command
4. The army was good at adapting
Engineering Skill
•
•
•
•
The Romans built 50,000 miles of roads
to unified the empire
Romans perfected the arch
They invented concrete
They built aqueducts to carry water to
the cities
Legal Administration
1.
2.
Rome started a legal system with courts, judges
and lawyers
The Roman legal system is a starting point for
the modern day legal system
Overseas Expansion
• Reasons for Rome
being able to
conquer a large
amount land so
quickly
1. Rome took great
pride in their
Republic and
fiercely defended
it
2. They treated the
conquer people as
allies
3. The army was
highly disciplined
4. Romans greatly
value military
success
5. Wars were a great
source of wealth
for Rome
Trouble at Home and the
Fall of the Roman Republic
Changes in Warfare
1. Now wars are fought farther
away from Rome and for longer
periods of time
2. Rome developed a professional
army with fulltime soldiers
3. Soldiers fought for money not
for Rome
4. Soldiers are more loyal to their
generals than to Rome
Changes in the society
1. Wealthy Romans bought up all of the
land and made large farming
plantations run by slaves
2. Conflicts broke out between the rich
and poor
3. The gap between the rich and the poor
increased
4. The slave population dramatically increased
5. The slaves rebelled against their
Roman masters
• Spartacus started a slave rebellion in 73BC
Changes in the
Economy
1. After the wars farmers did not
have the money needed to begin
farming again
2. Slaves captured in Rome’s many
wars, provided cheap labor
putting many poor Romans out of
work
3. Many poor Romans moved to the
cities to find work; however,
they often stayed unemployed
Changes in the
Government
1. Roman leaders feared that the
mobs would demand solutions
for their troubles
2. Wealth from the wars made
Roman leaders greedy
3. The poor felt no loyalty to the
government
4. Conflicts broke out between
the rich and poor
Causes for the Fall
of
the
Roman
Republic
1. Rapid expansion in the size of Rome brought
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
great changes in Rome
The gap between the Rich and Poor grew
The slave population greatly increased
Wealth had made Roman leaders greedy
The poor felt no loyalty to government
Conflicts broke out between the rich and poor
Soldiers fought for money not for Rome
Soldiers were loyal to their generals not to
Rome
Generals were fighting each other for the
control of the government
• Causes for the Fall
1. Generals were fighting each other for
control of the government
2. The slave population greatly increased
and they fought a rebellion against the
republic
3. Rapid expansion of the republic brought
great changes in Rome
4. The gap between the Rich and the Poor
increased
5. Wealth made the Roman leaders greedy
6. The poor felt no loyalty to the government
7. Conflicts broke out between the rich and
poor in Rome
8. Soldiers now fought for money rather than
for Rome
9. Soldiers were loyal to generals not Rome
•Empire of Augustus
• Octavian brought peace and
was given the title Augustus
• Augustus claimed to be
restoring the Republic
• Augustus controlled the military
and appointed most of the
important officials
• Was considered the 1st
emperor; however, he referred
to himself as the 1st tribune
Order in the City
•
•
•
•
3 reforms of Augustus
1. Established a police force
2. Established a fire brigade
3. Established a department to
supply food in Rome
The Pax Romana
200 year period of peace in the
Roman empire
Ruling the empire
• Tiberius became the emperor
when Augustus died
• The Emperor chose his
successor from his family or
adopted someone he thought
would make a good emperor
• Each dynasty ended with the
overthrow of the unpopular or
unfit emperor
The Dynasties
• Nero
• Domitian
•
Nero ended Augustus’ line with
disgrace
•
The second dynasty ended with the
assassination of Domitian who was
ruthless ruler
Trajan
•
Hadrian
Trajan was a great ruler from Spain
who expanded Rome to its largest
size
•
Hadrian gave Rome fixed
borders and started cities
like London and Paris
Marcus Aurelius
• He protected the borders
and his death ended the
Pax Romana
Policies for the
Provinces
3 Ways Rome united the empire
1. Built cities modeled after Rome
2. Gradually granted citizenship
to people in the provinces
3 Allowed officials to govern
themselves
Political Unrest
1 After the rule of Severus Alexander there were 25
rulers in 50 years and all but one leader was killed
in office
2 When the emperors died there were problems with
succession
Economic Problems
1. Prices were rising out of control
2. The price of wheat went from 20 drachmas to
120,000 in 80 years
Military Problems
1. Borders were under constant attack
2. The Romans raised taxes to protect the empire and
the government
Consequences of these problems
1. Trade was disrupted because of the attacks
2. There was not enough food to go around
3. Poverty and unemployment increased
4. Romans started to believe that the empire was too
big
Fact or Fiction
•“The remedy is
worse than the
disease."
•— Francis Bacon
Edict on Prices
Positive Result: It told farmers and
merchants what they could charge
for their goods
Negative Result: The edict failed to
control prices. Prices continued to
increase and the price controls
actually caused them to rise faster
Conclusion:
Increase the size of the military
Positive Result: Size of the military
and government grew
Negative Result: The government
became very costly
Conclusion:
Created a new tax system
Positive Result: The Government could now
collect more money to pay for the large
government.
Negative Result: The people were now
forced to work and could not leave or
change their jobs. It required them to do
the same job as their parents.
Conclusion:
Diocletian reestablished order
Positive Result: Diocletian established order
in the empire again.
Negative Result: Rome is now ruled by a
harsher form of rule.
Conclusion:
Fact or Fiction
•“The remedy is
worse than the
disease."
•— Francis Bacon
American Debt
• The federal budget is on an
unsustainable path — meaning that
federal debt will continue to grow
much faster than the economy over
the long run. . . . Rising costs for
health care and the aging of the U.S.
population will cause federal
spending to increase rapidly. . . .
• Congressional Budget Office
Test Outline
• Test Sections
• Multiple Choice
24 points
• Short Answer
questions with
pictures 25
points
• What to study
• Rome Notes pages 3-14,
& the History frames
• The short answer
questions are open notes;
however, be sure to
understand the material
from the Ancient Rome
note pages.