TOPIC: ROME
Cornell Notes
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
HOW DID ANCIENT ROMANS
SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF
DECIDING WHO SHOULD RULE?
THE ETRUSCANSForefathers of the Roman Republic
GEOGRAPHYThe Italian Peninsula
• Separated on three sides called the “Mare
Nostrum” or our sea
• Approximately 1000 km long by 200 km
wide
• Separated from the rest of mainland Europe
by the Alps in the north
• Alps served as a formidable protective
barrier from northern invaders
• The Apennine Mountains ran the length of the
Peninsula, and made communication and travel
difficult
GEOGRAPHYThe Italian Peninsula
• Important rivers included the Po and Tiber rivers
• Rome itself grew as a small village along the Tiber
• Although generally fertile, rapid growth meant Romans came to rely on grain
imports from Egypt and Sicily.
• Climate is generally mild, though it can get quite hot in summer.
Four Growth Factors
1. Mild Climate
2. Agricultural prosperity
3. Seclusion from Europe
4. Central position in the
Mediterranean
THE ETRUSCANSForerunners of the Romans
• Sophisticated people in the Northeastern portion of the Peninsula
• Most information we know is collected from burial mounds
• Native to the Peninsula, descended from earlier peoples
• The Etruscans flourished at the same time as the Carthaginians and the
Greeks
The Etruscans
Brindisium
Ostia
Pompeii
Tarentum
FOUNDING OF ROME
• Legend- Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, god of War
• Abandoned by their Uncle in the Tiber River to drown.
• cared for by the she-wolf
• founded the city where they were rescued from the Tiber River
THE ETRUSCAN MONARCHY
Founding of Rome
• there were seven kings of Rome
• The first was Romulus, allegedly the son of Mars, god of war.
• Founding myth, Romulus and Remus raised by a wolf
•The two eventually challenged each other for supremacy over
Rome, and Romulus won.
THE ETRUSCAN MONARCHY
The Kings of Rome
• Etruscan expanded control southward and absorbed
Rome
• First King after Romulus was Tarquinius
•built the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
•Last King was Tarquin the Proud, who was overthrown
by Partricians in the increasing powerful city of Rome
• The Republic was founded thereafter
ETRUSCAN INFLUENCE•Many similarities between Roman & Etruscan worlds
•Numerals
• sport
•belief in Hades and the underworld
•Offices & political traditions- ivory thrones
and purple robes of the Etruscan royalty
adopted by Romans
•Etruscan axe and bundle of wooden rods
became a symbol of power in Rome
Text Work
Cornell Notes, Section 6.1 (pg. 155-159)
Answer Question #6 (pg. 159)
Roman Geography Map
The Etruscans
Brindisium
Ostia
Pompeii
Tarentum