Download PowerPoint - Day 11 - Doral Academy Preparatory

Growth and Crisis in the Roman
Republic
Struggle with Carthage
 Punic Wars
 Conflict between Rome and Carthage for control over the
Mediterranean Sea
 Carthage was a city in North Africa
 Carthage’s most successful general was Hannibal. He defeated Rome
in several occasions, but was finally defeated by Rome.
 Rome attacked Carthage and other Greek city-states.
 Rome defeated Carthage & obtained control over North Africa
 Governors were sent to control new territories
Crisis in the Republic
 Corruption in the Government
 Wealthy officials broke rules
 Magistrates stole from people
 Used violence to win elections and were
disliked by poor people
 The republic was not working in favor of the
people
Crisis in the Republic
 Economic Struggle
 Gap between rich and poor widens as
Roman Republic grows.
 Farmers lost their homes and moved to an
overcrowded city.
 Politicians gave grain to the people, but the
people wanted land and jobs.
 Tiberius Gracchus and his brother Gaius
tried to help the poor, but were murdered.
Crisis in the Republic
 The Power of the Army
 Military became less disciplined and disloyal.
 Only citizens who could afford it worked in
the army.
 Consul Gaius Marius provided equipment
and paid poor people to join army
 Soldiers recruited from the poor; showed
loyalty to their generals.
From Republic to Empire
 Civil War in Rome
 War between two groups in the same nation
 Army Commanders vs. the rest of Government
 Julius Ceasar marched his army into Rome and defeated his
rivals (Senate and Pompey)
 Julius Ceasar took control of Rome and declared himself
dictator for life
 Helped the poor and the army, which angered the upper classes
 It was the end of the Republic.
 Senators wanted to keep Republic the way it was.
 Group of Senators killed Caesar on a day called Ides of March,
or March 15, 44 B.C.
The Republic Collapses
 Beginning of the Empire
 Caesar’s supporters take control
 Caesar made Octavian his heir.
 Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s forces are defeated
by Octavian
 Octavian accepts title of Augustus, “greatly
honored one,” and rules Rome.
 He becomes first emperor of Rome.
Augustus
 Rome’s 1st emperor
 Held total power over the empire
 Augustus, Rome’s ablest ruler,
creates lasting system of
government
 Increased soldier’s pay.
 Improved life for ordinary people
 Fought corruption in government
 Deified after death: declared a god
and worshipped
Pax Romana (Roman Peace)
 Under Augustus, Rome
moves from a republic to
an empire.
 Rome enjoys 200 years of
peace and prosperity
known as Pax Romana
 Around 65 million people
are able to enjoy a time
without major wars.
Roman Economy
 Romans built a navy and took down pirates in Mediterranean
Sea
 Trade was cheaper by sea
 Farming was the base of the Roman economy
 Grain was shipped to Rome to feed its enormous population
 In exchange for grain, farmers in provinces received money
Rome's Achievements
 Roman Roads
 Architecture and
 Paved roads connected the
Aqueducts
 Concrete was used to build
structures because it was
lighter and easier to use
 Soldiers could march from
 Pantheon is an example of
 Government was made more
 Built aqueducts to carry clean
cities and forts of the Roman
Empire
city to city defend them
efficient and communication
was faster.
these structures
water to the cities
 Public Baths
 Sewers carried waste away
from cities.
Popular Entertainment
 Entertainment on massive
scale
 Gladiators
 Chariot Races
 At the Circus Maximus
 Men who fought each other for
public entertainment
 Fights were held in arenas such
as the Colosseum
 Gladiators were usually slave or
criminals
 Race course for more than
250,000 people
The Arts
 Mosaics were a design
formed with small tiles of
glass, stone or pottery
 Public building had colorful
painted murals
 Statues of gods, heroes and
important people
The Influence of Latin
 Latin was the spoken
language of the empire
 Romance languages are the
ones developed from Latin
 Spanish, Italian, French
 Latin is still used today by
the Catholic Church
Literature
 Oratory
 The art of giving speeches
 Most famous was Cicero
 Taught to politicians
 Poetry
 Virgil, Horace, Ovid
 Satire
 Works of literature that made
fun of subjects
 Juvenal mocked Roman life.
Pompeii
 A.D. 79
 City of Pompeii was
destroyed by volcano
Vesuvius
 Ash preserved many of the
buildings
The Fall of Rome
The Fall of Rome
A Slow decline
Internal Forces
External Forces
- Political
- Invaders
- Economic
- Social
Political
 Empire too large to control
 Troops could not be moved
fast enough to defeat
enemies.
 Civil wars
 Emperors plotted against
each other for control instead
of uniting
 Army deteriorates
 Soldiers followed different
leaders
 No Unity
Economic
 Wars were too expensive
 Taxes were raised to
support the armies.
 Unemployment was high
 Decrease in trade
 Wars did not allow for
people to travel fast.
Social
 Loss of citizen’s
confidence and loyalty
 Population declines
 Hierarchical classes
 Plague
External Forces
 Invaders, also called barbarians, began to invade in the 3rd
century.
 Germanic tribes from northern Europe crossed the Roman
frontier and invaded Greece, Italy, Spain, and coastal areas of
Asia Minor.
 Rich farmlands, and wealth of the Roman lands attracted the
Germanic tribes. By the 5th century, the Roman Empire was
overrun by barbarians.