Download Rome: From Kings to Republic

From Republic to Empire
Around 800 B.C. a Latin
princess gave birth to
twins fathered by the god
Mars. Her sons Romulus
and Remus, were taken
from her and left to die
on the banks of the Tiber
River. They were found
by a she-wolf which fed
and cared for them.
 One day a shepherd
killed the she-wolf and
took the babies home to
his wife. They raised the
boys as their own sons.
When they got older the
brothers decided to build
a city on the Tiber, but
the brothers couldn’t
agree on who should rule
the city.
 The brothers decided to
let the gods choose
between them. Each
brother climbed to the
top of a hill to watch for a
sign. When the sign
came, Romulus claimed
to be king. He and
Remus fought, Romulus
won and became king.
He named the city Rome.
 What does this story tell you about Rome or the
Roman people?
 The city of Rome was
lucky enough to be
located near a major river
(Tiber), had good farm
land, had access to the
Mediterranean Sea, and
was surrounded by
mountains that kept it
safe from foreign
invasion.
 The ancient people of
Rome were ruled by a
series of Kings from
around 800b.c. to 510b.c.
Most of these kings were
Etruscans - an advanced
group of ancient Italians.
Many of Rome’s
traditions came from the
Etruscans.
 The last king to rule
was a man named
Tarquin the Proud.
He was a very harsh
king. The people of
Rome, sick of his
cruelty, kicked him
out and decided to
make a new type of
government.
 509 B.C. This new
government was
based on the will of
the people, and was
known as a republic.
All free-born men
could vote for who
they wanted to
represent them in the
government.
 Most importantly, the
Romans created laws that
protected basic liberties
and freedoms. They also
put limits on how long
people could serve in the
government and had two
people in charge
(consuls) so that no one
person had total control.
The senate also checked
the power of the two.
 The Romans also
took a lot of pride in
their military - which
they used to expand
their territory
throughout the
Mediterranean.
However, this
expansion also made
the republic harder to
govern.
Expansion of the Roman Republic
 As Rome expanded and conquered surrounding areas,
they came into contact with a powerful and wealthy
culture from the northern coast of Africa called
Carthage. Carthage controlled parts of Sicily and
Spain. Rome felt threatened by Carthage…plus they
wanted granaries in Sicily that were controlled by the
Carthaginians. The two powers would begin to fight
each other over Sicily, and eventually became involved
in the Punic Wars – which lasted about 120 years. The
Punic Wars would determine which culture would rule
the Mediterranean world.
Hannibal
 A young Carthaginian general
named Hannibal Barca,
attacked Rome by coming
over the Alps – something
nobody thought could be
done. He actually was at the
outer walls of the city, but
couldn’t get all the way in to
defeat the Romans. He
stayed on the Italian
peninsula for 15 years waiting
for the perfect time to end the
war. Unfortunately for him,
the Romans attacked his city
instead and he was forced to
defend it.
The Battle of Zama – 202 B.C.
 As the republic grew
larger, keeping order
became more difficult.
Also, disagreements
between the rich and
poor, and fights
between the powerful
sent Rome into a civil
war.
 Julius Caesar, a great
Roman general, had
conquered Gaul (France),
and invaded Britain. He
was told to disband his
troops, but instead he
crossed the Rubicon
River, eventually defeated
and killed his rivals, and
named himself dictator
of Rome.
 Senators, who had
enjoyed having the
power in Rome,
decided to kill Caesar.
Upon his death, a
power struggle began
and a man named
Octavian won. He
named himself
Augustus – which
means “divine one”.
What happened as the republic grew larger?
How did the Romans make sure that no one person had too
much power? Did it work – why or why not?
Why did the republic turn into an empire?
Would you have tried to save the republic? What would you
have done?