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The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•Myth of Rome– Founded by Romulus and
Remus•Twins abandoned and raised by she-wolf
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•After being taken over and ruled by a number of Etruscan kings, the people of Rome wanted new government– Republic: power rests with the
citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•Social classes– Patricians:
wealthy landowners with most power
– Plebeians: commoners who made up majority of population
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
Patricians• Inherited status• Make laws• Forced to write
the Twelve Tables– All free citizens
have right to protection of law
Plebeians• Right to vote• Couldn’t hold
government positions
• Tribunes: assemblies of plebeian representatives
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•Two consuls– Like kings– Ran military– One-year term– Can veto each other
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•Senate– Originally
only had patricians
– Made foreign and domestic policies
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•Tribunes & Assemblies– Mostly
plebeians– Made laws
for the common people
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•Roman army– Responsible for much of
Rome’s success•All landowners must serve•Highly organized:
– Legions: largest military unit
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•Page 157– With a partner, answer
questions #1 and 2 that go with the chart “Comparing Republican Governments”
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic
•By 265 B.C. Rome had conquered most of Italy– Latins became full citizens– Conquered people had all rights of
citizens except the vote
•Why do you think the Romans gave full citizens to conquered people living close to Rome?
The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic• Rome’s only enemy
was Carthage (pg. 159)– Punic Wars (264-146
B.C.):• Rome vs. Carthage• Hannibal: famous
general of Carthage led a massive attack through Spain to Italian peninsula
• Finally defeated Carthage under General Scipio
• Rome becomes the power in the Mediterranean!
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
• What are the benefits of having a What are the benefits of having a single ruler in power?single ruler in power?
• What are the drawbacks?What are the drawbacks?
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
• Problems in Roman Republic:Problems in Roman Republic:1. Rich/poor gap widened
– Poor totaled over half of population
2. Murders of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus– As tribunes, attempted to give more land to
the poor– Civil war began
3. Power-hungry military leaders– Recruited the poor by promising land
» Soldiers now felt allegiance to generals, not the republic
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
• One military leader One military leader takes controltakes control
– Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey• Triumvirate: group of three
rulers• Won men’s loyalty because
he also fought in war• Served one year as consul,
then governor of Gaul
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
• Becoming dictatorBecoming dictator– Success in Gaul gains Success in Gaul gains
popular supportpopular support• Pompey feared Caesar was
power-hungry, ordered him to disband his army
• Marched to Rome and the senate declared him “dictator for life”
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
• Good absolutism?Good absolutism?– Had total power, but used it
to make reforms• Citizenship granted to
provinces• Expanded senate• Created jobs• Increased soldiers’ pay• Created regions where poor
could own property
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
• Many feared Caesar’s Many feared Caesar’s power and popularitypower and popularity
– Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius plotted to kill him at the Senate
– Assassinated on March 15, 44 BC
– The irony of his murder? The senators killed Julius Caesar in order to preserve the republic. Instead, it led to the demise of the republic!
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
• Second Triumvirate:Second Triumvirate:– Lepidus, Octavian, Marc
Antony• Octavian forced Lepidus to
retire and defeated Marc Antony/Cleopatra’s forces– Declared “Augustus”: exalted
one
• Augustus Caesar become Rome’s first emperor!
• Pax Romana: 200-year period of peace1. Stable government
• Paid civil service
2. Stable economy• Agriculture- 90% of ppl worked in farming• Denarius- same coin throughout empire• Extensive network of roads
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
Augustus as emperor begins the Pax Romana from
25 BC – AD 180.
• “Roman Peace.” Rome had become the Mediterranean and European superpower. It used this power to create peace and prosperity throughout the region.
• There was no one to seriously challenge it and Rome could keep people in line or put down rebellions.
• Also protected trade.
• No civil wars.
• There were still wars, mind you, but most of them were to expand Rome’s boundaries or preserve them. Most action was on the borders while the interior stayed safe.
• Agriculture was the most important industry in the empire, with farming employing 90% of the people.
Entertainment and Bread and Circuses
• Wealth and Social Status made huge differences in how people lived. RICH VS. POOR
• Much of Rome’s populace was poor and many unemployed.
• This is a recipe for disaster if they’re not kept occupied.
• Emperor’s, at state expense, would put on massive entertainment events.
• Chariot races at the Circus Maximus.
• Gladiator battles at the Colosseum.
• Everybody also got grain rations- Rome becomes a welfare state.
• Roman values• Gravitas: Strength, loyalty, usefulness, power,
and discipline
The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire
Assignment• Read Section 6.3 The Rise of
Christianity
• Complete the Ch.6.3 Study Guide (vocab and questions)
Rise of Christianity
• This religion grew out of Jewish traditions.– Jewish prophets predicted that a messiah, or
one anointed by Yahweh, would be sent to deliver the Jews from foreign rule
• Jesus, founder of Christianity
Rise of Christianity
• Roman officials worried about Jesus’ popularity– They considered him to be a rebel
• Jesus was sentenced to die by crucifixion
Teachings of Jesus
• Monotheism– Believed in the Jewish God and the Ten
Commandments
• Placed less emphasis on law– More emphasis on compassion, forgiveness,
and equality of all people
• Taught with parables: short stories with simple moral lessons
Teachings of Jesus
• Bible: the holy book of Christianity– Includes all prophets of Torah and most
books of the Torah– Adds the New Testament, which includes the
Gospels and other books by Jesus’ followers
• Compared with Judaism, Christianity spread over far distances in a very short time
• This was due to a few factors:– Judaism is mostly an ethnic religion– Missionaries and martyrs– Appeal of Christianity
Spread of Christianity
Spread of Christianity
• Followers of Jesus were called “Christians”– Christ= Savior= messiah
• Missionaries were able to spread Jesus’ teachings by taking advantage of a peaceful time in the Roman empire, and also good roads were available
• Eventually, enough people were involved in Christianity that the Roman empire began to respond
• Christians were persecuted for not believing in the Roman gods
• Many Christians became martyrs: people who suffer or die for their beliefs
Spread of Christianity
• Widespread persecution continued until 313 AD– Emperor Constantine ended persecution of
Christians with an Edict of
tolerance– He converted on his deathbed
Spread of Christianity
• How have people responded to difficult economic times and political uncertainty?
• Panic• Pessimism• Anxiety• Anger/blame
Fall of the Roman EmpireFall of the Roman Empire
Contributing Factors to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire
• Economic Reasons
• Military Reasons
• Political Reasons
• Social Reasons
• 180 AD is the end to Pax Romana1. Reached limit of expansion, lacked new
resources
2. Crushing taxes
3. Inflation: drop in value of money and rise in prices
4. Poor harvests• Overworked soil• Warfare destroyed land
Economic reasonsEconomic reasons
Military reasons Military reasons (One of the bigger reasons for the split)
• Long bordersLong borders• As the empire expanded, so did its borders.
• Maintaining those borders against enemies became a massive and expensive endeavor.
• Military spending took a significant chunk of the treasury and took money away from many public projects.
• Use of MercenariesUse of Mercenaries• Rome also began hiring mercenaries. These guys
worked for cash, not loyalty, and could be highly unreliable. They were also loyal to their general, and not to the idea of “Rome”.
Political Reasons Political Reasons
• Political office seen as a burden, not a reward
• Military interference in politics
• Civil war and unrest (at one point, there were 50 emperors in the space of 25 yrs!)
• Division of the empire between East and West
• Moving of the capital to Byzantium
Social ReasonsSocial Reasons
• Decline in interest in public affairs
• Low confidence in the empire
• Disloyalty, lack of patriotism, corruption
• Contrast between rich and poor
• Decline in population due to disease and food shortage
• Immorality
• Severely limited personal freedoms
• Doubled size of Roman army
• Set fixed prices on goods to control inflation
• Claimed descent from Roman gods
• Split the empire in two– Greek East– Latin West
Attempts to fix the empireAttempts to fix the empire
Emperor Diocletian’s reforms:
The empire is eventually and officially divided into two halves: the western and eastern Roman empires.
This leads to an economic and cultural divide
• Emperor Constantine’s Reforms– Re-united East and West– Moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium
• Why this city? (pg. 175)• Renamed Constantinople• Shifted power of empire to East
More attempts to fix the More attempts to fix the empireempire
• Fall of the West– Germanic invasions
• Attila the Hun• “barbarians” sacked Rome in 410 and 476 AD
– Romulus Augustulus was the last emperor of Rome
Fall of the Roman EmpireFall of the Roman Empire
• East becomes the Byzantine Empire and thrives for another 1000 years!
Fall of the Roman EmpireFall of the Roman Empire
Objectives
• Know and understand the contributions Rome made to Western culture.
• Artistic
• Legal
• Architectural
• Language
• Technology/engineering
• Write these down! You can count on an essay regarding these points!!!
Classical civilization
• Greco-Roman culture or the mix of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman influences.
• Bear in mind that the Roman Empire spanned a wide expanse of territory and incorporated a number of cultures. Just as Roman culture influences them, they influence Rome and a whole new mix comes out.
• Your understanding of the term “classical” is key to your understanding the Renaissance!
Fine arts• Greek sculpture emphasized the ideal human form.
Roman sculpture presented more realistic representations of people. The Romans were practically-minded, after all.From This…
To This
• Bas-relief
• Type of sculpture with figures that project from a flat background. Often used to tell stories.
Trajan’s Column
Bas-relief of a play
What Rome gave us… (continued)
• Language
• Latin became the basis for the Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, and French languages – the Romance languages.• Started off as just bad Latin, but then
established themselves as separate languages.
• Architecture• Many important buildings, like government
buildings, use neo-Classical architecture. Like say, the U.S. Capitol Building.
The columns, the dome, the arches.
The Romans were also big on the arch.
• It’s an extremely efficient weight-bearing structure.
• You see them a lot in their aqueducts, for example.
AqueductsThe aqueducts were used to supply Rome with
water and were engineering marvels.
• They supplied Rome with nearly 300 million gallons of water a day. That’s for a population of just 1 million. That makes for about 300 gallons of water per day per person.
• The Pantheon- dedicated to all the gods of the empire (not to confused with the Parthenon of Athens)
• Law
• Big contribution, mainly the rights of individuals.
• Rights under the law.
• Innocent until proven guilty.
• Burden of proof on accuser.
• Punishment for actions.
• The legal system also became basis of most Western countries’ legal systems.