The Roman Empire

Why are the Romans so famous?

They had a huge empire… 3 continents That empire achieved many things and

influenced later kingdoms and countries. Influential leaders Achievements in architecture, building

science, engineering, law. They were sports enthusiasts. They created a base language that created

5 different languages Christianity was born during this time.

What do we want to learn?

The geography of Italy. How Rome gains control of 3

continents How did the Roman Empire rise and

decline. What were the achievements of the

Roman culture.

Where is Rome?

It is in Italy Italy is bordered by

three islands and seas It has a Mediterranean

climate It is surrounded by

mountains There are 3-4 groups

of people who lived in Ancient Italy

How they ruled:

At first, they had republic Romans were made up of two groups Patricians were upper class

landowners. Plebeians were the working class.

How the Republic worked:

Two Consuls or top gov’t officials A Senate of elected patricians as a

lawmaking body. Praetors were judges Romans were ruled by a dictator in

times of war. Plebeians had the Council of Plebs,

a representative body that could veto laws

Roman Law

The most important laws were called The Twelve Tables

The tables were shown in the forum, or marketplace

“innocent until proven guilty” The law applies to everyone or “rule

of law” Juris Civilis Corpus- Body of Civil Law

Bellringer:

Look at your worksheet from yesterday entitled “ the Roman Republic”. Think about how our government is designed

How does our government look like the government of the Roman Republic? Provide 3 examples.

Bellringer

Name a problem that the United States is dealing with as a government right now.

Do you know how the problem started? If so, tell why.

What about the Roman Army?

The army divided into groups of 5,000 or legions.

All men had to serve at least 2-4 years but most members were volunteer.

How did Rome gain land?

By slowly conquering land around Italy.

The 1st and 2nd Punic Wars allowed Rome to defeat the city of Carthage and gain control of Africa and the Mediterranean Sea

The Rise and Death of Julius Caesar

Caesar was a general in the army in charge of Gaul (France)

He was part of the First Triumvirate or political alliance of 3 people.

The triumvirate consisted of Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar.

When Crassus died, Pompey and Caesar’s armies battled for power.

Caesar defeated Pompey’s armies

As a leader Caesar did many

things including building roads, a new calendar, and created jobs

How he was killed

Caesar wanted to become dictator and abolish the republic

His best friends decided to kill him before he declared himself “First Princeps” or First Citizen

The Early Empire Started with Caesar

Augustus Was Julius Caesar’s

adopted son He defeated Mark

Antony for power He was born and

raised Octavian He changed his name

when he became emperor

The name Augustus means “majestic one”

What is the Pax Romana?

It means Roman Peace For 250 years, Rome did not fight a

war. So, for that period of time, the

Romans created a vast trade network, built a lot of stuff, and created new ideas.

Good Emperors and Bad Emperors

Good Emperors expanded the empire and created many things Hadrian- built a wall and the Pantheon Trajan- improved education Antonius Pius Marcus Aurelius

The Bad

Nero- persecuted Christians Caligula- crazy enough that the

Praetorian Guard killed him and put Claudias in charge

Bellringer

The fall of the Roman Empire started 200 years before its collapse. Read the opening paragraph on page

318. By reading this paragraph, identify major

problems the Romans encountered years before its collapse.

What do you predict will be the causes of the collapse of the Roman Empire?

Why did Rome Fall? Worksheet that focuses on the decline of

the Roman Empire. Political- problems in the government Social- problems that exist among citizen. Economic- affects the way they produce

goods and services (jobs, trade, taxes) Military- affects the army and their ability to

fight.

Bellringer 1/19/11

Pg 320 Define the word “reform”. Describe two ways a government

might try to reform. Name two ways Diocletian tried to

reform the Roman Empire.

Objective

Define “reform” Describe important factors that led to

the Roman collapse

Why Did Empire Decline?

Political Problems Poor leadership Talented people refusing to serve in

government Wealthy people stopped paying taxes

Social Problems

More slaves as a labor force Lack of education The Romans became a lazy group of

people

Economic Problems

Soldiers seized crops and a famine started

Romans bought fewer goods People lost jobs Inflation- the rising of prices High taxes

Military

Workers leaving to serve in the army Army leader fought each other for

power Small invasions by rivals, the Romans

lost some of their land. The army couldn’t afford to pay

soldiers

Diocletian and Constantine

Diocletian divided the Empire into 4 parts

Help the economy by controlling wages and inflation

Constantine moved the capital to Constantinople

Theodosius

Tried to end fighting among the Romans

split the empire into two areas Western Roman Empire- capital was

Rome Eastern Roman Empire- capital was

Constantinople

Invasion

The Huns invaded Eastern European side of the empire

Germanic tribes like Franks, anglos, saxons, Vandals and Ostrogoths took over Northern Europe

The Visogoths took over Rome The Empire fell in about 476 a.d.

Roman Culture Roman Architecture

The Romans constructed domes They used Greek style columns in their buildings They built porches in from of their homes http://buildings.greatbuildings.com/Pantheon.ht

ml

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Roman_Colosseum.html

http://www.panoramas.dk/7-wonders/colosseum.html

Engineering The arch was used

as support for buildings

They were the first to use concrete

They designed the aqueduct

The coloseum was the first sports arena

Literature

They wrote satires or plays that poked fun of people

They wrote odes or poems that express strong emotions about life

Copied the style of Greek writers Famous writers: Virgil, Horace, Livy Latin became a standard language for

literature

Law

Today, we use many roman phrases in the courtroom such as jurisprudence, writ of habeas corpus,

The Romans used juries to decide the fate of someone