Download 6.2 – The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire: Learning
Goals
• Analyze problems facing the Republic
• Summarize problems leading to the creation
of the Roman Empire
• Describe the Empire’s economy and
government
The Republic Collapses
• Gap between rich and poor widening. Rich landowners
bought slaves to work their land, and small farmers could
not compete. Many had to sell homes and farms and
ended up homeless. Many people were unemployed.
• Tiberius and Gaius Gracchis are murdered for speaking
out for the poor.
•
• Rome lapses into a period of civil war – fighting between
groups within the same country.
Julius Caesar Takes Control
•
• First established a triumvirate
(group of three rulers) with
Cassius, a wealthy Roman, and
Pompey, a general.
• Caesar served as consul for
one year, then appointed
himself governor of Gaul
(France).
• He then went on a great
military conquest, expanding
Rome’s boundaries and
bringing more people under
Rome’s control.
http://questgarden.com/62/15/1/080310122438/index.htm
Julius Caesar Takes Control Continued
• The fact that Caesar participated in
battle and shared hardship with his
men, he became wildly popular
with the military.
•
http://www.squidoo.com/julius-caesar
• When he and his army returned to
Rome in 46 B.C., the Romans
made him dictator. In 44 B.C., he
was made dictator for life.
Caesar’s Reforms
• Caesar governed as an absolute ruler, and while
some thought he was a tyrant, he did some
beneficial things for Rome:
• Oddly enough, this did not sit well with the nobles
and senators…
Beware the Ides of March…
• Upset and fearful about Caesar’s popularity
and use of power, a group of senators and
nobles plotted Caesar’s assassination.
• After giving a rousing speech, Caesar’s friend
Marcus Brutus went to give him a hug of
congratulations, but instead stabbed him,
coining the phrase “backstabber”
http://homepage.mac.com/silasshotwell/blog/MyBlog.html
The Aftermath
• In the wake of Caesar’s death,
Rome again slips into civil war,
and any remnants of the Republic
is destroyed.
•
http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0087-augustus-caesar.php
• Needless to say, Lepidus and
Mark Antony were soon out of
the picture….Octavian changed
his name to Augustus (meaning
exalted one) and became the first
emperor of Rome.
The Pax Romana
• The beginning of Augustus’s rule ushers in the
peak of Roman power.
• During this time, the empire encompassed over 3
million square miles, with a population of over 80
million people.
http://www.roman-empire-map.askricktoday.com/
Roman Government Under
Augustus
• Augustus turned out to be Rome’s most able emperor.
• He stabilized Rome’s borders, and built buildings that
beautified Rome.
•
• It was this paid civil service system that kept the empire
going after Augustus’s death in 14 A.D.
Life in Rome
•
• Trade was pretty big too…the Roman empire had grown
to encompass a large area, and goods from one area were
hot items in another part of the empire. Grains, olive oils,
slaves, metals, textiles, animals, and wine were all bigticket items.
• Through the establishment of roads, Romans could trade
within the empire or outside to places like Persia, Russia,
China and India. Many of these roads are still in use
today!
Gravitas
• Romans valued discipline, strength, and
loyalty.
• Strength was more important than beauty,
power more than grace, and usefulness
more than elegance.
• A person who embodied these principles
was said to have the virtue of gravitas
More Roman Culture
•
• Religion – The Romans were polytheistic, and like the
Greeks, had gods and goddesses for just about
everything. Religion was closely linked to politics, and
the gods and goddesses were seen as symbols of the state.
• Society – The Roman elite lived extravagantly and the
poor lived miserably. The Roman elite squandered their
money on homes, gardens, luxuries, and threw lavish
parties with expensive and exotic foods.
Still More Roman Culture
• To keep the Roman
poor distracted, the
government would have
many holidays featuring
games, races, mock
battles, and gladiator
contests.
• All of these events
exalted glory, honor,
cruelty and violence,
and were all free to the
public.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1369