Download Roman Civilizations

Roman Civilizations
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Geography
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Italy is centrally located in the Mediterranean
Sea
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Rome is in the center of Italy
More open land
Mountains are less rugged
Broad, fertile plains
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Early settlers
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Latins migrated to Italy around 800 B.C.
Twin Brother Romulus and Remus founded
the city
Son of a Latin woman and the war god Mars
 Gave Rome a divine origin
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Shared their land with Greeks and the
Etruscans
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Romans soon drove out the Etruscan leader
and formed their own republic around 509
B.C.
New form of Government, res publica, or
republic
Government that belongs to the people
 Prevent one person from gaining too much power
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New political structure
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Senate
300 members
 All patricians, or landholding upper class
 Served for life
 Strongly influenced the republic’s laws
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Consuls
Each year two consuls were nominated by the
senate
 Ran the business of the government and
commanded the army
 Could only serve one term
 Had to have approval of the other consul
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Dictator
 Only needed in a time of war
 Could only rule for 6 months, then had to give up power
Plebeians
 Farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders
 Made up bulk of population
 Fought for their right to influence government
 Gained the right to elect their own officials
Tribunes
 Could veto any law that they felt harmed the plebeians
 Eventually they were able to be consuls and senators
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Roman Society
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Family
Male was head of household
 Enforced strict discipline and demanded respect for
his authority
 Wives were not allowed to administer their own
affairs
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Supposed to be loving, dutiful, dignified, and strong
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Women
Roles changed over time
 Could own property and run businesses
 Some even had strong political influence
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Children
All children were educated
 Some hired tutors
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Religion
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Believed in many Gods and Goddesses
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Adapted from the Greek religion
Zeus=Jupiter
Calendar was full of feasts that honored gods and
goddesses to ensure divine favor for the city
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Army
As the political and social systems grew, the
armies grew as well
 Rome conquered many Greek and Etruscan city
states and soon controlled most of Italy
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Loyal, well-trained army
Legions had 5,000 citizen-soldiers
 Volunteers who provided their own weapons
 Soldiers were rewarded with the spoils of victory
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Enemies
Once Rome conquered new land, they treated
their enemies fairly
 Gave them rights and let them keep their own
culture
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Roads
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Built all-weather roads to link territories
Roads connected trade and Roman ideals all
throughout Italy
United Italy under Roman rule