ROMAN EMPIRE

GROUP 11De Gula, Sheila Marie

Jimenez, Bernadette ClaudineSacdalan, MichelleTorres, Joana Marie

BSN208

BACKGROUND• The founding of Rome goes back to the

very early days of civilization.• Today known as ‘The Eternal City'.• The Romans believed that their city

was founded in the year 753 BC. • Modern historians though believe it

was the year 625 BC.

BACKGROUND• Early Rome was governed by kings,

but after only seven of them had ruled, the Romans took power over their own city and ruled themselves.

• They then instead had a council known as the 'senate' which ruled over them. From this point on one speaks of the 'Roman Republic'.

BACKGROUND

FOUR CLASSES OF PEOPLE:

1. SLAVES:• Lowest class• Owned by other

people• Had no rights at all

BACKGROUND

2. PLEBEIANS:• Free people• Had little say at all

BACKGROUND

3. EQUESTRIANS/KNIGHTS:• Second highest class• Their name means “RIDERS”• The lowest class were the slaves. They

were owned by other people. They had no rights at all.

BACKGROUND• To be an equestrian you had to be rich.

BACKGROUND

4. NOBLES of ROME• Highest class• They were called

“PATRICIANS”• All the real power in

Rome lay with them.

BACKGROUND

The greatest challenge the Roman Republic faced was that of the Carthaginians. Carthage was a very powerful city in North Africa which, much like Rome, controlled its own empire. The fight between the two sides was a long one and took place on land and on sea.

BACKGROUNDThe most famous incident came when the great Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the mountain chain of the Alps to the north of Italy with all his troops, including his war-elephants !, and invaded Italy. Though Rome in the end won and Carthage was completely destroyed in the year 146 BC.

BACKGROUNDJULIUS CEASAR• Rome ‘s most famous citizen• A Roman politician and

general who, without having any orders to do so, conquered the vast territory of the Gauls to the north of his province in France.

BACKGROUND• In the year 49 BC Caesar crossed the small

river between his province and Italy, called the river Rubicon, and conquered Rome itself which he then ruled as a dictator.

• His military campaigns also took him to Egypt where he met the famous Cleopatra.

• His life though was ended as he was infamously murdered in the senate in Rome.

BACKGROUND• So famous and respected was Caesar that a

month of the year is still named after him and his heirs today, July (after Julius Caesar).

• Also the great English poet Shakespeare wrote a famous play called Julius Caesar about his famous murder.

GREAT BUILDERS

1. Bridges over the Danube and Rhine

•In order to easily resupply their troops they built enormous bridges across.

• Hence the barbarians soon learnt to see the bridges themselves as further Roman weapons.

• Julius Caesar famously constructed a bridge across the Rhine in only 10 days.

• Trajan built a huge bridge across the Danube into Dacia.

• These were fetes of incredible engineering skill, performed with only the most basic tools.

GREAT BUILDERS

2. Colosseum

• Under the emperor Titus the Colosseum, which his father Vespasian had begun, was completed. It was indeed the most magnificent amphitheatre in the world. Often it is confused with the Circus Maximus (which was used for the chariot races). The Colosseum was the venue for gladiatorial and animal fights, rather than races. One thinks, the arena could even be flooded for purpose-built ships to enact naval battles.

GREAT BUILDERS

3. Roads

• Roman roads ran to every corner of the Roman empire. Well built, stone-covered roads laid on proper foundations. The Romans learnt early on that to control their territories they needed easy access to them. Also trade prospered (and brought in taxes) wherever there was reliable roads. Sooner or later all towns and cities of the empire were connected by an elaborate road system, which meant that from any place within the empire you could travel to Rome by road - leading to the famous phrase; 'All roads lead to Rome'

GREAT BUILDERS

4. Aquaeducts

• When the Romans required more water for a large town or city, but couldn't find it where it was needed, they simply built a channel to carry water from elsewhere to where it was required. Emperor Claudius even had a tunnel built through the hills to carry water from a lake into Rome. Sometimes though a valley could lie in between the place from where the water came and where it needed to go. Here the Romans simply constructed bridges for the channel to cross the valley. Mostly we refer to these as aquaeducts. Though really, the whole channel, be it such a spectacular bridge or just a pipe in the ground, is an aquaeduct.

GREAT BUILDERS

5. Hagia Sophia

• Under the emperor Justinian the greatest church of its day, the Santa Sophia, was built in Constantinople. It was by far the largest and most lavish church of its time. Huge domes form its roof, and intricate carvings adorn the walls. Wherever you look, there is sheer beauty. So fantastic was and is the Santa Sophia that when the Turks conquered Constantinople in AD 1453, they didn't destroy, nor damage it at all, - despite it being a temple of their Christian enemy. Far more, they converted it into a mosque for themselves. The church still stands today in Istanbul (Constantinople's modern day name) and it is called Aya Sophia by the Turks.

GREAT BUILDERS

6. Hadrian's Wall

• Hadrian's Wall is a landmark in northern England known all over the world. Emperor Hadrian is famous for having stated that the empire should expand no further (although emperor Augustus said it before him!), and his wall is a powerful symbol of his intention to defend the empire from its enemies, rather than to further attack them. It is eighty Roman miles long, with turrets, small castles and forts at regular intervals. Though most of its remains are not actually built under Hadrian's reign at all. For his wall was mainly built of earth and wood. But under Septimius Severus it was reconstructed in stone. But it was Hadrian who first built defences there, and hence it has always kept his name.

ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• Roman empireNaturally the most obvious achievement of

the Romans was their vast empire, which spread over three continents. It lasted for a long, long time. From 625 BC to AD 476 = 1101 years ! - And if one includes the eastern Roman empire which lasted until AD 1453 it would even be 2078 years ! In comparison the United States of America only exists since 1776 - less than 250 years.

ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• The Roman ArmyThe Romans achieved world fame with their

incredible army. It defeated pretty much everybody. The Roman Legion was perhaps the most powerful army ever. Sure, they didn't have airplanes, tanks and battleships like today. But they were capable of defeating armies far larger than themselves, despite being equipped with the same basic weapons: shields, spears and swords.

ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• Latin, the eternal LanguageAs the Romans conquered their empire so

did they bring with them their language. The language of their army was Latin, so too was it the language of the governors and office workers in the provinces of the empire. Lasting witness to this language which was once spoken all over the ancient empire, are the many languages which in time developed from it.

French, Italian, Portuguese, Rhaeto-Romantsch (spoken in the Canton Grison in Switzerland), Rumanian, Spanish... All these languages have developed out of Latin.The Catholic church still speaks and prays in Latin today. Its head, the Pope, is still today called thePontifex Maximus (the greatest high-priest).

ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• AlphabetThe Roman alphabet is what most of us still

use today in the western world. We have added a few letters to it, like W, but it is much still the same alphabet used by the Romans.Their numerals are not any longer in every day use. It is Arabic numbers we use today. But for inscriptions on public buildings and some other things Roman numerals are still sometimes used.

ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• The Twelve Tables and the Justinian CodeRoman law was indeed a great institution.

They developed many of the ideas of justice which we today take for granted.Already in 451 BC they created basic laws which governed them all, laying down what one could and could not do. They wrote them down on twelve plates made of bronze, which became known as the Twelve Tables. These were the first examples of written law.

Much later a great Roman emperor of Constantinople, Justinian, refined many of the laws of the day and collected them all into one work. This is known as the Justinian Code and it was completed in AD 529. These laws form the basis of all today's justice systems in the western world.

ROMAN ARTS• Laocoön and his Sons

-Trojan priest Laocoön and his two sons are attacked at an altar by giant serpents. Pliny said it was the work of three sculptors from Rhodes, Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athenodoros. The date of the Laocoön is controversial, some scholars arguing for the late second century BCE, others for c. 50 BCE.

ROMAN ARTS• Bust of Sextus Pompeius

-State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

ROMAN ARTS• Augustus of Primaporta,

-Early 1st century CE after a bronze of the 1st century BCE

ROMAN ARTS• Statue of the Emperor Octavian Augustus

-The emperor is represented here as Jupiter, the supreme God of the Roman pantheon, and this statue is a typical example of Roman sculpture from the time of the Empire. The composition was adapted from the celebrated sculpture of Zeus by Phidias, which allowed the placing of the appropriate attributes in Augustus's hands: a Nike and a sceptre. The sculptor preserved the emperor's portrait features, but idealized them to create a formal cult statue.

ROMAN ARTS• Head of Caligula Worked for Insertion

into Togatus Statue-The Roman emperor

Gaius, more commonly known by his nickname Caligula, ruled from A.D. 37 to 41 and was extremely unpopular. In fact, after he was murdered, almost all portraits of him were destroyed.

ROMAN ARTS• Landscape

-fresco "end of Third Style", scene: 66.2-66.6 x 52.3-52.8 cm, white border: 2-7 mm, red wall: 7.7-15.5 cm, George Ortiz collection. Allegedly from Stabiae. The Third Style is also called the "ornate" and the "ornamental" style of Roman fresco painting.

ROMAN ARTS• Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down)

-Gérôme studied the architecture of the Colosseum, along with other historical evidence in producing this history painting. To the right of the imperial throne, the vestal virgins indicate their desire for the death of a defeated combatant. Light streaming between sections of canopy streaks across the floor and lower walls. Ridley Scott (American, contemporary) has said that this picture inspired his production of the movie Gladiator in 2000, starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix.

ROMAN ARTS• Statue of the Lansdowne Herakles

(Hercules)

- J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA.

ROMAN ARTS• Denarius, Septimius Severus

-In the center is a bust in profile of Emperor Septimius Severus. He wears a laurel wreath. His hair is curly, his beard ending in pin-curls. The text: "SEVERVS . . . PIVSAVG" -- Severus Pius Augustus -- his name and the titles bestowed on him as emperor.

Reverse: In the center is Roma, the goddess of the city of Rome. In her left arm, she holds a spear. A shield stands beside her, leaning against her seat. The text is probably: "NOB . . VRBIS" -- noblissimus urbis meaning noblest city. Michael Delahunt Collection.

ROMAN ARTS• Bust of Emperor Philip the Arab

-State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

ROMAN GODS• The Romans believed in many different

gods and goddesses, demigods (half-humans and half god), and spirits. They believed that each god had specific powers and controlled parts of the world. They believed the gods showed their unhappiness by sending earthquakes, hailstorms, and other natural disasters.

ROMAN GODS• Jupiter

-He was the master of the gods and the main god of the Romans. In his hand he held thunderbolts which he could hurl from the sky.

ROMAN GODS• Juno

-She was the wife of Jupiter, the goddess of women and fertility. Her symbols were a pomegranate and a peacock.

ROMAN GODS• Mars

-He was the god of war, the strongest and most fearsome god, except for Jupiter.

ROMAN GODS• Venus

-She was the goddess of love and beauty.

ROMAN GODS• Minerva

-She was the goddess of wisdom, learning, art crafts and industry. Her symbol was the owl.

ROMAN GODS• Neptune

-He was the powerful god of the sea. His symbol was the trident.

ROMAN GODS• Ceres

-She was the goddess of the harvest, always depicted carrying a bundle of grain.

ROMAN GODS• Vulcan

-He was the blacksmith of the gods and a god of the underworld. If he stoked his furness too hard volcanos might erupt. He was the god of blacksmiths and volcanos.

ROMAN GODS• Pluto

-Pluto was the god of the Dead. Romans were afraid to say Pluto's real name because they were afraid he might notice them and they would die.

ROMAN GODS

• Apollo-He was the god of

the sun.

ROMAN GODS

• Diana-She was the

goddess of hunting and a goddess of the moon.

ROMAN GODS

• Bacchus-He was the god of

wine and partying. Naturally, he was one of Rome's most popular gods.

ROMAN GODS• Mercury

-He was the messenger of the gods. the wings on his helmet and sandals allowed him to travel very quickly to wherever a god might send him. He was the god of travellers and tradesmen.

ROMAN GODS

• Vesta-She was the goddess

of the hearth and home. She was very important to Romans. In her temple a flame was always kept burning as in the 'hearth of Rome' the flame should never go out.

ROMAN GODS

• Cupid-Cupid was the

mischievous little god of love. His weapon was a bow, and anyone hit by one of his arrows fell madly in love.

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