The Roman Republic and Empire

20

Sources of the Democratic Tradition

Vocabulary Builder

2

2

SECTION

Standards-Based Instruction

Standards-at-a-Glance

• History-Social Science

Students have learned about how the Greek philosophers viewed the law. Now they will learn the Roman views of law and identify the components of Greco-Roman civilization.

• Analysis SkillsCS3

Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.

• English-Language Arts

Writing 2.4

Prepare to Read

Build Background Knowledge

Ask students what they know about how ancient Rome was governed. If needed, have them preview the headings.

Set a Purpose

■

WITNESS HISTORYWITNESS HISTORY

Read the selection aloud or play the audio.

AUDIO

Witness History Audio CD,

Augustus Becomes Emperor

Do you think Tacitus approved of Rome’s becoming an empire?

(Prob-ably not—he seemed to despise the first emperor, and he was critical of other emperors.)

■

Focus

Point out the Section Focus Question and write it on the board. Tell students to refer to this question as they read.

(Answer appears with Section 2 Assessment answers.)

■

Preview

Have students preview the Section Standards and the list of Terms, People, and Places.

■

Have students read this section using the Guided Questioning strategy (TE, p. T20). As they read, have students fill in the chart describing the shift from monarchy to republic.

Reading and Note Taking Study Guide,

p. 8

Use the information below and the following resources to teach the high-use word from this section.

Teaching Resources, Unit 1,

p. 7;

Teaching Resources, Skills Handbook,

p. 3

High-Use Word Definition and Sample Sentence

commodity, p. 25

n.

any article that is bought and soldSilk is a

commodity

that people have valued since ancient times.

L3

L3

WITNESS HISTORYWITNESS HISTORY AUDIO

22

Standards PreviewH-SS 10.1.1 Analyze the similarities and differences in Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman views of law, reason and faith, and duties of the individual.H-SS 10.1.2 Trace the development of Western political ideas of the rule of law and illegitimacy of tyranny, using selections from Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics.

Terms, People, and Placesrepublicconsuldictatortribuneveto

CarthageJulius CaesarAugustus CaesarJustinian

Reading Skill: Understand Effects Use a chart like the one below to record the effects of changes in Rome’s government.

Rome began as a small city-state in Italy but ended up ruling theentire Mediterranean world. In the process the Romans estab-lished traditions of government that continue to influence themodern world. The story of Roman success starts with the geogra-phy of Italy. The Italian peninsula looks like a boot jutting intothe Mediterranean Sea. The peninsula is centrally located in theMediterranean, and the city of Rome is in the center of Italy. Thatlocation helped the Romans as they expanded, first in Italy andthen into lands around the Mediterranean.

Establishing a RepublicBecause of its geography, Italy was much easier to unify thanGreece. Unlike Greece, Italy is not broken up into small, isolatedvalleys. Its mountains, which run like a backbone down the lengthof the peninsula, are less rugged than the mountains of Greece.Finally, Italy has the advantage of broad, fertile plains, both in thenorth, under the shadow of the towering Alps, and in the west,where the Romans settled. Farms in these plains supported agrowing population.

Etruscan Rule The ancestors of the Romans migrated into Italyby about 800 B.C. They settled along the Tiber River in small vil-lages scattered over seven low-lying hills. There they herded andfarmed. Their villages would in time grow into Rome, the city onseven hills.

The Romans shared the Italian peninsula with other peoples.Among them were Greek colonists, whose city-states dotted southernItaly, and the Etruscans, who lived north of Rome. For a time, the

Augustus Caesar, Emperor of Rome in marble and in ivory cameo (above)

From Monarchy to Republic

••••

Effects

Augustus Becomes EmperorCornelius Tacitus, a Roman historian, was known for his critical characterizations of Roman emperors. Here he describes how the first emperor, Augustus Caesar, achieved that position:

“Augustus won over the soldiers with gifts, the populace with cheap grain, and all men with the sweets of repose, and so grew greater by degrees, while he concentrated in himself the functions of the Senate, the magistrates, and the laws. He was wholly unopposed, for the boldest spirits had fallen in battle, . . .”

Focus Question How did the government of Rome develop into an empire?

The Roman Republic and Empire

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Chapter 1 Section

2

21

Solutions for All Learners

Teach

Establishing a Republic

H-SS 10.1.1

Instruct

■

Introduce: Key Terms

Have stu-dents find the term

republic

(in blue) in the text and explain its meaning. Ask

How does a republic differ from a monarchy or an aristocracy of nobles?

(People do not choose a monarch or members of an aristocracy.)

Is everyone in a republic consid-ered equal?

(Not necessarily; the ple-beians in Rome had much less power than the patricians, for example.)

■

Teach

Explain that after the Romans overthrew the Etruscan monarch, more than 60 years passed before the rights of the common people significantly improved. Ask

How did the Laws of the Twelve Tables help the plebe-ians?

(It gave them the right to appeal a judgment handed down by a patri-cian judge.)

How did the tribunes serve as a check on the power of government?

(They could veto laws that might be harmful to the plebeians.)

■

Quick Activity

Invite the class to debate the Roman senate’s practice of appointing a dictator in times of crisis. Encourage students to support their opinions with reasoned argument. You might extend the debate by asking whether this practice should ever be used in the present-day United States.

Answer

Under the Etruscans, a group of nobles, led by a king, controlled Rome. At first a group of patricians, the senate, controlled the Roman republic. Instead of a powerful king, however, two consuls with limited power ran the affairs of government. Over time, the common people gained more influence in the government.

L1

Special Needs L2

Less Proficient Readers

Have students scan this page to find nouns that name Romans who held different levels of power in the republic. List their responses on the board. Ask them to describe each one briefly. Then have them create a diagram showing the powers of each of these Romans in relation to the others.

Use the following resources to help students acquire basic skills.

Adapted Reading and Note Taking Study Guide

■

Adapted Note Taking Study Guide, p. 8

■

Adapted Section Summary, p. 9

L3

L2

English Language Learners


Etruscans ruled much of central Italy, including Rome itself. An aristocracyof nobles, led by a king, controlled each Etruscan city-state.

A New Government The Romans drove out the Etruscans in 509 B.C.They set up a new government in which the people chose some officials.They called it a republic, or “thing of the people.” A republic, Romansthought, would keep any individual from gaining too much power.

In the early republic, the most powerful governing body was the sen-ate. Its 300 members were all patricians, meaning they belonged to thelandholding upper class. Senators, who served for life, made the laws.Each year, the senators elected two consuls from among the patricians.The consuls supervised the business of government and commandedRome’s armies. Consuls, however, could serve only one term. Also, theyhad to consult with the senate on major issues. By limiting the consuls’time in office and making them responsible to the senate, Rome had asystem of checks on the power of government.

In the event of war, the senate might choose a dictator, or ruler whohas complete control over a government. The law granted each Romandictator the power to rule for six months. Then he had to give up power.Romans admired Cincinnatus as a model dictator. Cincinnatus organizedan army, led the Romans to victory over an attacking enemy, attendedvictory celebrations, and returned to his farmlands—all within 16 days.

Common People Demand Equality The common people, or plebe-ians, made up the bulk of the Roman population. Yet they had little influ-ence on government. The efforts of these farmers, merchants, artisans,and traders to gain power shaped politics in the early republic.

The plebeians’ first breakthrough came in 450 B.C., when the govern-ment had the laws of Rome inscribed on 12 tablets and set up in theForum, or marketplace. Plebeians had protested that citizens could notknow what the laws were, because they were not written down. TheLaws of the Twelve Tables made it possiblefor the first time for plebeians to appeal ajudgment by a patrician judge.

Over time, the plebeians gained theright to elect their own officials, calledtribunes, to protect their interests. Thetribunes could veto, or block, laws harm-ful to plebeians. Little by little, Rome’scommon people forced the senate tochoose plebeians as consuls and finally toopen the senate itself to plebeians.

A Lasting Legacy Although the senatestill dominated the government, the com-mon people had gained access to powerand won safeguards for their rights with-out having to resort to war or revolution.More than 2,000 years later, the framersof the United States Constitution wouldadapt such Roman ideas as the senate,the veto, and checks on power.

Standards Check How did the Roman Republic differ from government under the Etruscans? H-SS 10.1.1

The Roman ForumThe Roman Forum (below) was a collection of buildings that stood at the heart of ancient Rome. Buildings included temples, monuments, and the Curia—the meeting place of the Roman Senate. The Twelve Tables (inset) were displayed in the Forum so that everyone would know what the laws were.

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22


Link to Civics

Independent Practice

Link to Literature

To help students better understand Roman law, have them read the selection from Edward Gibbon’s

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

and complete the work-sheet.


p. 11

Monitor Progress

■

As students fill in their graphic orga-nizer, circulate to make sure they understand where to look in the text for the main ideas. For a completed ver-sion of the graphic organizer, see

Note Taking Transparencies,

50A

■

Check to see that students have cor-rectly answered the questions on the worksheet.

Answers

Thinking Critically

1.

Tribunes could veto the acts of the Senate; assemblies accepted or rejected the laws of the Senate; censors could expel people from the Senate.

2.

Tribunes, assemblies, and the Laws of the Twelve Tables

Civic Responsibility

Male Roman citizens voted in assemblies on proposed laws and on candidates for high office. At first, voting was public, but starting in the 130s

B

.

C

., citizens used secret ballots—small wooden tablets covered with wax. Each citizen scratched a letter representing “for” or “against” on the tablet to support or oppose legislation, or wrote the name of a candidate for election. Then the citizen

dropped his ballot into a large urn. In modern Ameri-can elections, voters no longer use wax. The method varies by polling station. Voters may mark an x on a paper ballot, pull a lever in a voting machine, punch a card with a pin, or use a computerized voting method. As in Rome, however, American citizens still use secret ballots to cast their votes.

SPQR“The Senate and the Roman People”

Like the rulers of Ancient Rome, the creators of the United States Constitution created a republic—a system of government in which sover-eign power is held by those eligible to vote and political power is exercised by representatives chosen by those citizens. The concepts of checks and balances between branches of government, the veto, and limiting terms of office are also borrowed from the Roman Republic.

Chief governing body that consisted of 300–600 officials and ex-officials who served for life unless expelled by Censors. The Senate controlled finances and foreign affairs, debated and proposed laws, and advised the Consuls.Senate

20 Quaestors

Financial officers who served in the treasury or with army commanders making payments to troops and ordering supplies and equipment.

Officials who administered the city of Rome itself including its public buildings, aqueducts, public games, and religious festivals.

2 AedilesChief officials who presided over the Senate and assem-blies. Consuls initiated legislation, served as the chief generals of Rome’s armies, and conducted civil activities within Rome. The consuls could veto each others’ actions.

2 Consuls

Officials who oversaw public contracts, tax collection, and conducted a census of citizens to create voter lists.

2 Censors

Chief law officers who took over for Consuls when they were absent from Rome. Praetors also governed the provinces.

8 Praetors

10 TribunesOfficials elected by plebeians to protect their lives and property and to propose legislation. Tribunes could veto (Latin, “I forbid”) the act of any official or the Senate and could arrest other officers, including the Consuls.

AssembliesAll full Roman citizens were members of the assemblies and could vote when present. The assemblies accepted or rejected laws passed by the Senate, declared war, and elected all officials.

10 Tribunes

AristocraticElements

MonarchicalElements

DemocraticElements

Assemblies Assemblies

INFOGRAPHIC

�

senatus populus que Romanus

Thinking Critically1. Identify Main Ideas Cite three

examples of checks and balances in the Roman Republican government.

2. Identify Central Issues List three institutions created to protectPlebeians. H-SS 10.1.1


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Chapter 1 Section

2

23

History Background

From Republic to Empire

H-SS 10.1.1

Instruct

■

Introduce: Vocabulary Builder

Have students read the Vocabulary Builder term and definition. Ask them to predict what kinds of

commodities

traveled over trade routes into the Roman empire.

■

Teach

Point out that Roman expan-sion greatly increased trade, but it also created strains within Roman society. Ask

How did continual warfare affect the plebeians?

(They made up the army of citizen-soldiers, fighting without pay and thus gaining little from the success and wealth they brought to Rome.)

How did the rise of professional armies affect Rome?

(Soldiers became loyal not to the state but to their military commanders, which allowed generals like Julius Cae-sar to gain great power.)

■

Quick Activity

Use the Numbered Heads strategy (TE, p. T23) and ask students to discuss the following: Some historians have said that the Roman empire really began with Julius Cae-sar. Do you agree?

Tricks and Tactics

In the Second Punic War, Han-nibal led his army on a daring march from Spain across France and into northern Italy. The general and his dozens of elephants and thousands of soldiers forded rivers and crossed mountains, including the towering Alps. The narrow, icy trails and blinding snowstorms of the Alps took a huge toll on Hannibal’s forces. However, this bold maneuver surprised the Romans, who had expected an invasion from the

south. The army went on to win three great battles against the Romans over the next 15 years. Lack of supplies and reinforcements hindered Hannibal’s progress. In the end, the Romans outflanked Hannibal by sending an army to attack Carthage. When word of this reached Hannibal, he and his troops returned home to defend their city, where the Romans finally defeated them.

L3

EffectsFromRepublicto Empire

Causes•••

•••

From Republic to EmpireAs Rome’s political system evolved at home, its armies expanded Romanpower across Italy. Roman armies conquered first the Etruscans andthen the Greek city-states in the south. By about 270 B.C., Rome con-trolled most of the Italian peninsula. Rome then began to build anempire around the Mediterranean Sea.

Continuing Conquest Rome’s conquest of the Italian peninsulabrought it into contact with Carthage, a city-state on thenorthern coast of Africa. Carthage ruled an empire thatstretched across North Africa and the western Mediterranean.Between 264 and 146 B.C., Rome fought three wars againstCarthage. Rome won the first two of these Punic Wars. In thesecond, however, the Carthaginian general Hannibal led hisarmy, including dozens of war elephants, on a destructive ram-page through Italy. In the third Punic War, the Romans com-pletely destroyed Carthage and established themselves asmasters of the western Mediterranean.

While Rome fought Carthage in the west, it was alsoexpanding into the eastern Mediterranean. There, Romansconfronted the Hellenistic rulers who had divided up theempire of Alexander the Great. One by one, Macedonia,Greece, and parts of Asia Minor surrendered and becameRoman provinces, or lands under Roman rule. Other regions, like Egypt,allied with Rome. By 133 B.C., Roman power extended from Spain toEgypt. The Romans justly referred to the Mediterranean as marenostrum, or “our sea.”

Economic and Social Effects Conquests and control of busy traderoutes brought incredible riches into Rome. Generals, officials, and tradersamassed fortunes from loot, taxes, and commerce. A new class of wealthylandholders emerged. They bought up huge estates and forced people whowere captured in war to work on the estates as slaves. This use of slavelabor hurt small farmers, who could not produce food as cheaply as theestates could. Compounding farmers’ problems, huge quantities of grainpouring in from conquered lands drove down grain prices.

Expansion created further strains within Roman society. Rome couldnot have grown without its army, made up of loyal citizens who foughtwithout pay and supplied their own weapons. Yet these citizen-soldiersgained little from Rome’s success. Addressing plebeians, the Roman trib-une Tiberius Gracchus pointed out this injustice:

Primary Source

“ The beasts of the field and the birds of the air have their holes and their hiding places, but the men who fight and die for Italy enjoy only the light and the air. . . . You fight and die to give wealth and luxury to others. You are called the masters of the world, but there is not a foot of ground that you can call your own.”—Plutarch, Parallel Lives

Tiberius Gracchus and his brother Gaius hoped to improve the lot ofthe plebeians. The social reforms they tried to enact included distribut-ing land to poor farmers and using public funds to buy grain to feed thepoor. Senators did not like these reforms and saw the Gracchus brothersas a threat to their power. The brothers, along with thousands of their

Reading Skill: Identify Cause and EffectComplete a chart like the one below as you read this section.

The Punic WarsThe Carthaginian general Hannibal, shown here on an elephant, invaded Italy during the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage.

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24


History Background


■

Have students fill in the chart showing the causes and effects of the shift from republic to empire.

Reading and Note Taking Study Guide,

p. 8

■

Have students access

Web Code mzp-0122

to take the

Geography Interac-tive Audio Guided Tour

and then answer the map skills questions in the text.

■

Have students fill in the Outline Map

The Roman Empire at Its Height

and label various parts of the empire and the goods that flowed into Rome from these regions.


p. 15

Monitor Progress

■

As students fill in their charts, circu-late to make sure they understand the causes and effects of the shift from republic to empire. For a completed version of the chart, see

Note Taking Transparencies,

50B

■

Check students’ Outline Maps for accu-racy. Administer the Geography Quiz.


p. 16

Answers

Map Skills

1.

Review locations with students.

2.

parts of northern Africa and Spain

3.

The Romans launched public works programs to employ the jobless, gave public land to the poor, and granted citizenship to many people in the provinces. Augustus cemented the allegiance of cities and provinces to Rome by allowing them a large measure of self-government. Trade and travel flourished because the Roman army pro-tected travelers on the vast road system and kept pirates at bay.

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar’s bold rise to power echoed his boldness on the battlefield. His brilliant conquest of Gaul made him enormously popular. Romans thrilled to reports of his many victories, which added great riches and huge territories to the empire. In nine years of campaigning, Caesar lost only two battles. His tactics in Gaul are still studied at military

academies today. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon—the river separating Gaul from Italy—he said,

“alea iacta est,”

or “the die is cast,” meaning there was no turning back. Today, people use the phrase

crossing the Rubicon

to mean making a fateful decision from which there is no turning back. In this way, Caesar’s legendary boldness lives on.

50˚N

40˚N

10˚W

0˚ 20˚ E

30˚E

10˚E

CaspianSea

Black Sea

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

Red Sea

Nile

River

Euphrates River

RhineRiver

Danube River

Tigris River

PYRENEESMTS.

SICILY

CYPRUS

ALPS

SARDINIA

CORSICA

CRETE

Atlant icO cean

BRITAIN

SPAIN

NUMIDIA

EGYPT

ASIA MINOR

SYRIA

ARABIA

GAUL

GERMANY

MACEDONIA

AFRICA

Alexandria

Thebes

Cyrene

Rome

Athens

Byzantium

Damascus

Antioch

Zama

Carthage

New Carthage

2000 400 mi

2000 400 km

Conic Projection

N

S

EW

Roman Empire, A.D. 117

followers, were killed in waves of street violence set off by senators andtheir hired thugs.

Julius Caesar’s Rise to Power Soon Rome was plunged into a seriesof civil wars. At issue was who should hold power—the senate or popularpolitical leaders looking to enact reforms. During this time the oldarmies of citizen-soldiers evolved into professional forces, loyal first totheir commanders, not to Rome. One of those military commanders,Julius Caesar, emerged from the chaos of civil war to take charge of therepublic.

By 51 B.C., Caesar had completed his conquest of Gaul, the region thatis now France. Fearful of his political ambition, the senate orderedCaesar to disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar defied the orderand marched his army toward the Roman capital. The brilliant generalcrushed the army sent to stop him and then swept around the Mediterra-nean, suppressing rebellions. Later, upon returning to Rome, he forcedthe senate to make him dictator. Although he kept the senate and other

For: Interactive mapWeb Code: mzp-0122

Map Skills Through wars and diplomacy, the Roman republic gradually gained control of lands around the Mediterranean Sea. At its height, the Roman empire included lands in Europe, Africa, and Asia. An extensive

system of roads (above) linked distant parts of the empire.1. Locate (a) Spain (b) Gaul (c) Carthage

(d) Egypt (e) Macedonia

2. Regions What territory was added to the Roman empire as a result of the Punic wars?

3. Summarize What techniques did the Romans use to keep peace and order throughout the empire?

Roman Empire, A.D. 117



Chapter 1 Section

2

25


Roman Law

H-SS 10.1.2

Instruct

■

Introduce

Ask students to describe the concept of justice by making up sit-uations in which a person receives jus-tice. Ask

How does the law relate to justice?

(The law is, in part, a system that aims to deliver justice.)

■

Teach

Explain that Roman law devel-oped and grew along with the republic and empire. Ask

What was the differ-ence between the civil law and the law of nations?

(Civil law applied only to Roman citizens. The law of nations was designed to apply to all people.)

How did Justinian’s Code improve the state of Roman law?

(By bringing together all the various strands of Roman law and legal writ-ings, it created an orderly system of principles that could readily guide peo-ple many years later.)

■

Quick Activity

Display

Color Trans-parency 4: The Key Principles of Roman Law.

Use the lesson suggested in the transparency book to guide a discussion of the basic principles of Roman law.

Color Transparencies,

4


Invite pairs of students to write a modern-style advertisement promoting Justinian’s Code over the existing Roman law code. Their advertisements might take one of a variety of forms, from posters to television spots.

Monitor Progress

As students create their advertisements, circulate to make sure they are including enough details about Justinian’s Code.

Answer

Territorial expansion created strains within Roman society. The power struggle between the senate and reformers led a period of civil wars. Julius Caesar used military force to quell the rebellions and gain dominance. After his death, Octavian emerged as a strong leader with kinglike power over what had become a vast empire.

L4

Advanced Readers L4

Gifted and Talented

Ask students to conduct research to determine if the trade items that brought wealth to Rome continue to do so today. Advise students to consult encyclopedias, world almanacs, and world economic reference books for information on ancient Rome and modern Italy’s

imports and exports. Have them list the top five imports and exports for ancient Rome and modern Italy. Discuss with students what might account for the similarities and differences between past and present trade patterns.

L3features of the republic, he was in fact the absoluteruler of Rome.

Between 48 and 44 B.C., Caesar pushed througha number of reforms. He launched a program ofpublic works to employ the jobless and gave publicland to the poor. He also granted citizenship tomany people in the provinces.

Caesar’s enemies were jealous of his power andworried that he planned to make himself king ofRome. Saying that they needed to save the repub-lic, they plotted against him. In March of 44 B.C.,as Caesar arrived in the senate, his enemiesstabbed him to death. Out of the power strugglethat followed, Caesar’s grand-nephew Octavianemerged the winner.

Emperor Augustus Caesar The senate gave the triumphant Octa-vian the title of Augustus, or Exalted One, and declared him first citizenof Rome. Augustus Caesar made sure not to call himself king, a titlethat Romans had hated since Etruscan times. Yet he exercised absolutepower and named his successor, just as a king would do.

Under Augustus, who ruled from 31 B.C. to A.D. 14, the 500-year-oldrepublic came to an end. Romans did not know it at the time, but a newage had dawned—the age of the Roman empire.

Through firm but moderate policies, Augustus laid the foundation fora stable government. Although he left the senate in place, Augustus cre-ated an efficient, well-trained civil service to enforce the laws. He openedhigh-level jobs to men of talent, regardless of their class. In addition, hecemented the allegiance of cities and provinces to Rome by allowing thema large measure of self-government.

Pax Romana The government that Augustus organized functioned wellfor 200 years. This span of time is known as the period of the Pax Romana,or “Roman Peace.” During that time, Roman rule brought peace, order,unity, and prosperity to the empire. Roman lands stretched from theEuphrates River in the east to Britain in the west, an area approximatelyequal in size to the present-day continental United States.

During the Pax Romana, the Roman military maintained and protecteda network of all-weather roads, and Roman fleets chased pirates from theseas. Trade flowed freely to and from distant lands in Africa and Asia.Egyptian farmers supplied Romans with grain. Merchants carried ivory,gold, and other commodities from other parts of Africa; spices, cotton, andprecious stones from India; and silk and other goods from faraway China.People, too, moved easily within the Roman empire. They spread ideas andknowledge, especially the advances of the Hellenistic east.

Some of Augustus’s successors were weak and incompetent. Othersruled wisely. The emperor Hadrian, for example, codified Roman law,making it the same for all provinces. The emperor Marcus Aurelius, whoread philosophy while on military campaigns, came close to Plato’s idealof a philosopher-king. His Meditations show his Stoic philosophy andcommitment to duty: “Hour by hour resolve firmly . . . to do what comesto hand with correct and natural dignity.”

Standards Check How did the Roman republic become an empire? H-SS 10.1.1

Vocabulary Buildercommodity—(ka MOD e tee) n. any article that is bought and sold

Beware the Ides of MarchRoman Emperor Julius Caesar was murdered by his enemies in the Senate on the fifteenth of March in 44 B.C. In the earliest Roman calendar the Ides occurred on the fifteenth or thirteenth of each month. Legend has it that when he saw his friend Brutus raise his dagger he gasped the words “You, too, my child?”

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Careers

Greco-Roman Civilization

H-SS 10.1.1

Instruct

■

Introduce

Have students read the Primary Source on the next page. Dis-cuss what it means to say that law is an “eternal principle.” Ask

Did Cicero expect Roman emperors to act in accordance with the law?

(He implies that no human was above the law.)

AUDIO

Witness History Audio CD,

Cicero

■

Teach

Ask

What is Greco-Roman civilization?

(a blending of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman traditions)

Why didn’t Greco-Roman civiliza-tion disappear when the western Roman empire collapsed?

(Other cultures, including the Christian Church, the Byzantine empire, and the Muslims, preserved it.)

Do you think Greco-Roman ideas survive today in our culture?

(Students should real-ize how vital those ideas were to later European culture, which is the primary source of modern American culture.)

■

Quick Activity

Have students create a diagram to show where Greco-Roman civilization came from. Their diagrams should show that Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic traditions went into Greco-Roman civilization. They should also show Egypt and Mesopotamia as sources of Greek culture and Greece, Persia, Egypt, and India as sources of Hellenism.


Have students describe an artifact that would represent Greco-Roman civilization.

Monitor Progress

■

As students describe their artifact, circu-late to be sure they are including details from Greco-Roman source cultures.

■

Check Reading and Note Taking Study Guide entries for student understanding.

Answer

An accused person was presumed innocent until proven guilty; the accused was allowed to face the accuser and offer a defense; guilt had to be clearly established through evidence; judges could interpret the laws and were expected to make fair decisions.

Lawyer Over time, Roman law became quite com-plex. No longer was a basic knowledge of customary law enough to allow the ordinary citizen to conduct legal transactions. Some patricians who had studied the law for their own benefit began offering their ser-vices to others. In the later Roman empire, these law-yers first began accepting fees for their work. Today

the legal profession attracts many college graduates. They attend a school of law, often followed by an apprenticeship in a law office. Finally, to be admitted to the law profession, candidates must pass a special examination. Lawyers, or attorneys, have a duty to make the best case for their client, but as “officers of the court,” they also have a duty to be true to the law.

L3

Roman Law“Let justice be done,” proclaimed a Roman saying, “though the heavensfall!” Probably the greatest legacy of Rome was the establishment of jus-tice through the law. During the Roman empire, the institution of lawsfostered unity and stability. Many centuries later, the principles ofRoman law would become the basis for legal systems in Europe andLatin America.

Two Systems During the republic, Rome developed written laws.Beginning with the simple rules set forth in the Laws of the TwelveTables, the Roman code of laws grew over time with the addition ofnumerous rules and judges’ opinions. The resulting system of law, knownas the civil law, applied only to Roman citizens.

Roman expansion created a problem. Newly acquired territories hadtheir own customs and rules, so Rome needed a new system of law thatwould apply to both citizens and foreign subjects. Gradually, a secondsystem of law emerged that suited the Roman sense of justice. Romansbased this new system on the laws of nature, arrived at by using thehuman ability to reason. For this reason they believed it to be a legiti-mate system of law that could apply to all people. They called it the lawof nations.

The inspiration for this law of nations came largely from Stoic philoso-phy, especially its concept of natural law. From this concept, later think-ers developed the principle of natural rights, a key idea in the AmericanDeclaration of Independence.

Common Principles As Roman law developed, certain basic principlesevolved, many of which are familiar to Americans today. An accused per-son was presumed innocent until proven guilty. The accused had theright to face the accuser and offer a defense against the charge. Guilt hadto be established “clearer than daylight” through evidence. Judges wereallowed to interpret the laws and were expected to make fair decisions.

Justinian’s Code The western Roman empire collapsed under thepressure of Germanic invaders in the 400s. By then, Roman power hadconcentrated in the east, in what we call the Byzantine empire. The Byz-antine empire reached its greatest size under the emperor Justinian,who ruled from 527 to 565. Justinian is best remembered for his reformof the Roman law code.

Early in his reign, Justinian set up a commission to collect,revise, and organize all the laws of ancient Rome. They pro-duced the Body of Civil Law, popularly known as Justinian’sCode. This massive collection included laws passed by Romanassemblies or decreed by Roman emperors, as well as the legalwritings of Roman judges.

Justinian’s Code had an impact far beyond the Byzantineempire. By the 1100s, it had reached Western Europe. There,both the Christian church and medieval monarchs modeledtheir laws on its principles. Centuries later, the code alsoguided legal thinkers who began to compile the internationallaw in use today.

Standards Check What lasting principles of law did Romans develop? H-SS 10.1.2

Justinian and TheodoraJustinian’s code of laws served to transmit Roman law and legal writings to Western Europe and eventually modern international law. His wife, Theodora, was a tough politician and co-ruler of the Byzantine empire with Justinian.

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Chapter 1 Section 2 27

Assess and Reteach

Assess Progress■ Have students complete the

Section Assessment.

■ Administer the Section Quiz.

Teaching Resources, Unit 1, p. 3

■ To further assess student under-standing, use

Progress Monitoring Transparencies, 2

ReteachIf students need more instruction, have them read the section summary.

Reading and Note Taking Study Guide, p. 9

Adapted Reading and Note Taking Study Guide, p. 9

Spanish Reading and Note Taking Study Guide, p. 9

ExtendAsk groups of students to locate instances where Roman civil law has affected mod-ern legal systems. Each group should research civil law in one modern country (such as France, Germany, Spain, or one of their former colonies) and then present the results of the group’s research to the class.

Answer

Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman cultures

Section 2 Assessment

1. They all relate to Roman government.2. Rome started as a city-state controlled by

an aristocracy and led by a king. The Romans overthrew this monarch and established a republic that expanded into neighboring lands. Roman expansion cre-ated strains in Roman society that even-tually led to civil wars and a powerful dictatorship. The republic waned as pow-

erful rulers continued to expand their realm, creating an empire.

3. The Romans thought the king had too much power. They wanted to make some political choices themselves.

4. Their civil law applied only to Roman citi-zens. They needed another system to apply to the foreign subjects who came into the empire through conquest.

5. In terms of territory or political control it is not accurate, but in terms of culture it

is, because the Romans so thoroughly adopted Greek ideas.

● Writing About HistoryResponses should show an understanding of how conclusions can be drawn and pre-sented in a persuasive paragraph.

For additional assessment, have students access Standards Monitoring Online at Web Code mza-0122.

L3

L3

L2L1

L2

L4

AssessmentStandard H-SS 10.1.1H-SS 10.1.2E-LA W 2.4

2, 3, 54Quick Write

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AUDIO

Greco-Roman CivilizationAs a follower of Stoicism, the Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero heldpublic figures up to a high moral standard. As the republic declined, Ciceroattacked ambitious men like Julius Caesar. When Caesar came to power,however, he forgave Cicero, noting that it was “more glorious to haveenlarged the limits of the Roman mind than the boundaries of Roman rule.”Both kinds of Romans—Stoics and generals—had a lasting impact. Throughwar and conquest, Roman generals carried the ideas and other elements ofRoman civilization to distant lands. Yet the civilization that developed wasnot simply Roman. It blended Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman achievements.

Roman Culture In its early days, Rome absorbed ideas from Greek col-onists in southern Italy, and Rome continued to borrow heavily fromGreek culture after conquering Greece. To the Romans, Greek art, litera-ture, philosophy, and scientific genius represented the height of culturalachievement. Their admiration never wavered, leading the Roman poetHorace to note, “Greece has conquered her rude conqueror.”

Just as the Greeks had once absorbed ideas from Egypt and Mesopota-mia, the Romans adapted Greek and Hellenistic achievements. Theblending of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman traditions produced what isknown as Greco-Roman civilization. Trade and travel during the PaxRomana helped spread this vital new civilization.

Philosophy Romans borrowed much of their philosophy from the Greeks.The Hellenistic philosophy of Stoicism impressed Roman thinkers. Stoicsstressed the importance of duty. They also showed concern for the well-beingof all people, an idea that was later reflected in Christian teachings.

Preserving Greco-Roman Ideas When the western Roman empirecollapsed, the Christian church preserved some of its culture in its teach-ings. The Byzantine empire also carried forward achievements in lawand other areas. Still, many ideas were lost to western Europeans forcenturies. Fortunately, the Muslims saved much of this learning. Fasci-nated by Greco-Roman ideas, Muslim scholars translated the works ofAristotle and other thinkers into Arabic. In this way they preservedGreco-Roman ideas in philosophy, mathematics, and science.

Standards Check What cultures contributed to Greco-Roman civilization? H-SS 10.1.1

Standards Monitoring OnlineFor: Self-quiz with vocabulary practiceWeb Code: mza-0122

Terms, People, and Places

1. What do each of the key terms listed at the beginning of the section have in common? Explain.

2. Reading Skill: Understand EffectsUse your completed charts to answer the Focus Question: How did the gov-ernment of Rome develop into an empire?

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

3. Draw Inferences Why did the Romans reject the Etruscan monarchy and establish a republic?

4. Express Problems Clearly Why did the Roman empire need two systems of law?

5. Distinguish False From Accurate Images How accurate was Horace’s comment that “Greece has conquered her rude conqueror”?

● Writing About History

Quick Write: Write a Conclusion Usebiographical information from the section to draw a valid conclusion about a histori-cal figure. For example, draw conclusions about the real political goals of Julius Caesar or whether Romans benefited from having Augustus rule as an emperor. Then write your conclusion in a persuasive paragraph.

The Stoic philosopher Cicero firmly believed in the idea of natural law, as expressed in Rome’s law of nations.

Primary Source

“ This, then, as it appears to me, has been the decision of the wisest phi-losophers—that law was neither a thing to be contrived by the genius of man, nor established by any decree of the people, but a certain eternal principle, which governs the universe, wisely commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero, On the Laws, Book II

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The Roman Republic and Empire

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