THE RISE OF ROMEChapter 5Section 1

The Land and Peoples of Italy Italy is a peninsula extending

about 750 miles from north to south

The Apennine mountain range

fairly large fertile plains ideal for farming

Rome

Greek Influence Arrived in Italy in large numbers during

their colonization period Cultivated olives and grapes Passed on their alphabet Gave Romans artistic and cultural model

through their developed art styles

Etruscan Influence Etruscans – people located north of

Rome in Etruria Greatly influenced early development of

RomeTogaArmy organizationBuilding projects

The Roman Republic

Government In 509 BCE, the Romans overthrew the last

Etruscan king and established a

Republic – a form of government in which the leader is not a monarch and certain citizens have the right to vote

Roman Confederation created to rule Italy Full Roman citizenship to all peoples

War and Conquest Rome was surrounded by enemies at

the beginning of the Republic

Engaged in almost continuous warfare over 200 years

Conquered people remained free but contributed to new government

Reasons for Success 1. The Romans were great diplomats

a person who is tactful and skillful in managing delicate situations, people, etc.

Extended Roman citizenship

2. The Romans excelled in military matters

The Roman Government

Early Rome was divided into 2 groups:Patricians

○ Great landowners / ruling class○ Could be elected to gov’t positions

Plebeians○ Larger of the two groups, included

craftspeople and small farmers

Unbalanced Power

The CEO of the Roman Republic were the consuls and praetors:

Two consuls ran the gov’t and led the armyThe praetor was in charge of civil law

The Roman Senate Held an important position in the Republic

A select group of 300 patricians who served for life

Very influential advice that had the force of law

The Struggle of the Orders Often conflict between patricians and

plebeians

By 287 BCE, all male Roman citizens were supposedly equal under the law

In reality, wealthy patrician and plebeian families formed a new senatorial ruling class that came to dominate the political offices

Roman Law Rome’s chief gifts to the Mediterranean

world was the Twelve Tables (adopted in 450 BCE)This helped the Romans developed a more

sophisticated system of civil law

Some of these standards are still recognized today

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean

After their conquest of Italy, the Romans found themselves face to face with

Carthage , a strong Mediterranean power with an enormous trading empire just off the coast of North Africa

Largest richest state

In 264 BCE, struggled with Rome for control of the Med

CARTHAGE

First Punic War Rome’s first war with

Carthage began in 264 BC and is known as the First Punic WarThis was fought over

control of Sicily

After a long struggle, a Roman fleet defeated the Carthaginian navy off the coast of Sicily and the war came to an end.

In 241 BCE, Carthage gave up all rights to Sicily and paid a fine to the Romans

Carthage vowed revenge

In response, Hannibal, the greatest of the Carthaginian generals, struck back beginning the Second Punic War

The Second Punic War Lasted from 218-201 BCE Hannibal decided to bring the war to

Italy He entered Spain, moved east, and

crossed the Alps with an army of 30-40 thousand men and 6,000 horses and elephants

Rome decided to invade Carthage rather than fight Hannibal in Italy

This forced Carthage to recall Hannibal

In 202 BCE the Romans crushed Hannibal’s forces

Carthage lost Spain, which became a Roman province

Rome became the dominant power in the western Med.

Carthage was destroyed in 146 BCE

Carthage became a Roman province called Africa.

From Republic to Empire

Chapter 5 Section 2

Growing Inequality and Unrest

The Senate controlled both foreign and domestic policy, and financial affairs

The Senate and political offices were increasingly controlled by a small circle of wealthy and powerful families

Many small farmers drifted to cities like Rome and formed a large class of landless poor

A New Role for

the Army

General Marius recruited his armies in a new way◦ Recruited urban poor and homeless by promising

them land

All volunteers swore and oath to the General

Originally the Roman army had been made up of small farmers who were landholders

Roman Fleet

To get laws passed for land for Veterans, Generals got involved politics

Marius created a new system of military recruitment that placed much power in the hands of the generals

The Collapse of

the Republic

For the next 50 years (82-31 BCE) Roman history was characterized by civil wars

Three men emerged as victors:◦ Crassus

Known as the richest man in Rome◦ Pompey

Military hero ◦ Julius Caesar

Held a military command in Spain

The combined wealth and power of these men was enormous and enabled them to dominate the political scene

In 60 BCE, Caesar joined w/ Crassus and Pompey to form the First Triumvirate◦ A triumvirate is a

gov’t by three people with equal power

Pompey was given power over Spain

Crassus over Syria

Caesar in Gaul (Modern France)

The First Triumvirate

When Crassus was killed in battle in 53 BCE, leading senators decided that Pompey should be the only ruler

They voted Caesar to lay down his command◦ Caesar refused

Caesar marched on Rome, defeated Pompey’s forces, and was left in complete control of the gov’t

Caesar was officially made dictator in 47 BCE◦ A dictator is an absolute ruler

Caesar gave land to the poor and increased the Senate to 900 members◦ This in turn weakened the power of the Senate◦ In 44 BCE, a group of leading senators

assassinated him

The Second Triumvirate

A new struggle for power followed Caesar’s death

3 men joined forces and formed the Second Triumvirate:◦ Octavian

Caesar’s grand-nephew◦ Antony

Caesar’s ally◦ Lepidus

Caesar’s commander of cavalry

Octavian and Antony soon came into conflict

At the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, Octavian’s forces smashed the army and navy of Antony

◦ Antony and Cleopatra Story

Octavian, at the age of 32, stood supreme over the Roman world

The wars had ended and so had the republic

This period (31 BCE- 14 AD) became known as the Age of Augustus

The Age of Augustus

Octavian became the first Roman emperor in 27 BCE

The Senate awarded him the title Augustus –”the revered one”

Name Change: ◦ Octavian = Augustus

Augustus control of the army was the chief source of his power

The Senate gave him the title of imperator – commander and chief◦ Imperator gave us our word emperor

The Early Empire

Lasted from 14-180 AD

Augustus’s new political system allowed the emperor to select his successor from his natural or adopted family

The first 4 successors came from his family

As the emperors grew more powerful, they became more corrupt◦ EX: Nero – had people killed if he wanted them

out of the way. Eventually the legions revolted and he chose to commit suicide.

Under the 5 good emperors, the powers of the emperor cont’d to expand at the expense of the Senate

They also created new programs to help the people

The good emperors were praised for their building programs throughout the provinces of Rome◦ Aqueducts, bridges, roads, and harbor facilities

The Empire’s Extent

Rome expanded further during the period of the Early Empire

Soon the emperors realized that the empire was too large to be governed easily

At its height, the empire covered 3.5 million square miles and had a pop of over 50 million

The privileges of Roman citizenship were granted to many people throughout the empire

Cities were important in the Spread of Roman culture, law, and the Latin language

Local city officials acted as Roman agents, performing gov’t duties….esp taxation

Urban Impact

Latin was the language of the western part of the empire --- Greek the east

These cultures mixed freely and the result = Greco-Roman civilization

Economic and Social Conditions

The Early Empire was a period of peace which lead to high levels of trade

Despite the active trade and commerce, farming remained the chief occupation

Culture and Society in the Roman WorldChapter 5, section 3

The Romans excelled in architecture

Romans still used columns and rectangular buildings but they also developed the arch, vault, and dome

Use concrete on a massive scale

Network of 50,000 miles of roads throughout the empire

THE ROMAN FAMILY

At the heart of the Roman social structure stood the family

Headed by the paterfamilias – the dominant male

All Roman upper-class children were expected to learn to read

Roman boys learned reading and writing, moral principles and family values, law, and physical training to prepare them to be soldiers

Changing RolesBy the 2nd century CE, important

changes were occurring in the Roman family◦Women were no longer required to

have guardians

Upper-class women had considerable freedom and were appreciated as enjoyable company and at the center of household social life

SlaverySlavery was common throughout

the ancient world, but no people had more slaves or relied on their labor more than the Romans

The slaves were most likely from Italy and were regarded as part of the family household

Slaves built roads and public buildings, and farmed the large estates of the wealthy

Some slaves revolted against their owners and even murdered them

The most famous slave revolt in Italy occurred in 73 BCE

Led by the gladiator, Spartacus, the revolt broke out in S. Italy and involved 70,000 slaves

Spartacus managed to defeat several Roman armies before being trapped and killed in 71 BCE

6,000 followers of Spartacus were crucified

GladiatorThe most famous of all the public

spectacles were the gladiatorial shows

These events were an important part of society and were free to the public

Games were held from dawn to dusk

Most gladiators were slaves or condemned criminals who had been trained for combat in special gladiatorial schools

Sometimes, criminals of all ages and both sexes were sent to the arena w/o weapons to face death from wild animals◦Numerous kinds of animal contests

were held as well◦5,000 beasts were killed in one day

when the Emperor Titus inaugurated the Coliseum in 80 CE

Bloody spectacles were indeed popular w/ the Roman people

The gladiatorial games and public entertainment fulfilled a political need

The games served to keep the minds of the idle masses off any political unrest.

The Decline and Fall of Rome

Chapter 5, section 5

The Decline

After the death of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the 5 good emperors, Rome fell back into civil war

A military gov’t under the Severan rulers restored order After this short dynasty Rome fell back

into civil war

For nearly 50 years, 235-284, the Roman throne was occupied by whoever had military strength to seize it

In this period, there were 22 emperors, 20 of which experienced a violent death

At the same time, the empire was troubled by a series of invasions From the east: Sassanid Persians From the North: Germanic tribes

Economic Collapse

Invasions, civil wars, and plague came close to causing an economic collapse of the Roman Empire

There was a noticeable decline in trade and small industry

A labor shortage created by plague (an epidemic disease) affected both military recruitment and the economy

Farm production declined

Diocletian and Constantine

The Roman Empire gained new lease on life through the efforts of two emperors, Diocletian and Constantine

The empire was changed into a new state: The Late Roman Empire: New gov’t structure Rigid economic and social system New state religion: Christianity

Diocletian (r. 284-305), feared the empire was too large for a single ruler and split the empire into 4 units

Maintained a higher power thus making him the ultimate authority

Constantine (r. 306-337) cont’d Diocletian’s policies

Both rulers significantly strengthened and enlarge the admin bureaucracies of the Roman Empire and increased the size of the army

Inflation

The reformations of these two rulers enlarged both the army and civil service institutions of Rome This in turn drained most of the public

funds More money was needed but the

population wasn’t growing▪ This means the tax base could not be

increased

To fight inflation – a rapid increase in prices – Diocletian issued a price edict in 301 that set wage and price control Despite heavy penalty, this failed to

work

Rise of Byzantium

When Constantine began his reign, he was the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire

He built a new capital in the east, Byzantium The city eventually became known as

Constantinople and was considered the “New Rome”

Constantine split the empire into Western and Eastern Empires

Constantinople would became the center of the Eastern Roman Empire and one of the great cities of the world

The Fall of Rome

The capital of the Western Roman Empire remained in Rome

Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire

The Western empire came under increasing pressure from the invading Germanic tribes

The Huns who came from Asia, moved into Eastern Europe causing native German Visigoths to move south and west and into Roman territory

Initially they settled but soon revolted against Roman rule

In 410, the Visigoths sacked Rome

Another group, Vandals, poured into Roman territory and crossed into Italy from Northern Africa In 455 they too sacked Rome

In 476, the western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown as the head of the military by German soldiers This date is taken as the date of the fall

of the Western Roman Empire

The Eastern Empire

While the Western Empire was collapsing, the Eastern Empire cont’d to thrive for centuries