Roman History

Roman History 9th grade World History Honors

Hannibal Barca

*Carthaginian* General who was victorious at the battle of Cannae against the Romans in the Second Punic War.

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Took war elephants over the Alps.

Scipio

Roman General who came up with a counter attack strategy against the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War.

Troops first conquered Spain, then attacked Carthage while Hannibal was in Italy.

Romulus and Remus

The story of how Romulus founded Rome. He killed his brother Remus. Potentially fictional.

Aeneas

Fought against the Greeks in the Trojan war. married the daughter of king Latinus. War broke out for the princess between him and other Kings. was supported by the Etruscans and was triumphant. Legend says that his royal bloodline became the future kings of Rome.

Gracchi Brothers

Influential elected tribunes in Rome, fought for the rights of the common people.

Marius

Marched on Rome with his personal and loyal army to enact social reforms that did favor the plebians.

Uncle of Julius Caesar

Sulla

* After Marius’ death, he seize Rome with his loyal army and initiated a reign of terror
* **Proscription** - posted names of ‘enemies of the state’ around Rome encouraging the roman people to kill those individuals and take their property
* His reforms favored the Patrician classes

Pompey

Was a powerful roman general who was also in the 1st triumvirate.

Crassus

Power rich guy who was in the 1st triumvirate.

Julius Caeser

* Named Dictator, essentially destroying the Republic but citizens loved him.
* Marriage to Cleopatra
* Granted citizenship to foreigners
* Settled military veterans in the provinces
* His economic plans decreased Roman debt and reduced unemployment
* established reforms and building projects that employed many people
* changed the calendar

Cleopatra

* Ruler of Egypt
* married Caesar , thought to be a military alliance
* later married Antony, thought to be in love

Mark Antony

* a consul and Caesars closest ally, he wished to take power in Rome and hunt down the assasin who killed Caesar.
* Was part of the 2nd triumvirate.
* Fell in love with Cleopatra as he settled in Egypt
* He and Cleopatra committed suicide after the battle of Actium

Lepidus

* a powerful Roman General and ally to Caesar also wished to take power
* was a part of the 2nd triumvirate
* After some conflict attempting to expand his own territorial possessions, Octavian forced him into retirement and absorbed Lepidus’ army into his own

Octavian

* an up-and-coming politician and military leader was adopted by and named by Julius Caesar as his heir
* was in the 2nd triumative
* Had an advantage being settled in Rome itself. He could coordinate plans with the Senate. He could speak to the common people directly if needed Using propaganda, he convinced the Roman people that Antony only cared about Egypt and Cleopatra (foreigners and foreign land)…
* Forced Lepidus into retirement and absorbed Lepidus’ army into his own
* Feeling the ambition and threat of his forces, Antony and him declared WAR

Jesus of Nazareth

* Christians formed their community around him, a Jewish teacher they saw as their savior.
* Born in 4 BCE, grew up in a time of tension between Roman overlords and Jewish subjects.
* Peaceful man who taught devotion to god and love for humans.
* Attracted large crowds because of his reputation for wisdom and miraculous powers. Ability to heal the sick
* Alarmed the Romans because he taught “the kingdom of god is at hand”, to him this could refer to a spiritual realm where the faithful gathered to god.
* The impending kingdom of god sounded like a threat to Roman rule and Palestine.
* To forestall this new rebellion, Roman administrators executed him by putting him on the cross in 30 CE

Augustus

formerly known as Octavian

* **first official roman empire**
* **Started a 200 yr reign known as the Pax Romana (Roman Peace)**
* **golden age of rome 27 Bc to 10 14AD**
* **Only instability was no transfer of power**
* **First law was to outlaw personal armies and establish a standing army for the empire.**
* **Annexed more land for the empire**
* **Restored some aspects of the republic to make the senate happy.**
* **Created the Praetorian Guard**
* **Personal army loyal to the emperor**
* **Established tax reform**
* **Opened up jobs for all of the classes**
* **Military veterans were given more land**
* **Established many public works**
* **Aqueduct, fresh water from the mountains**
* **Road system through the provinces**
* **Implemented “Bread and circuses”, offered free food and drinks and entertainment.**

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Tiberius

* **Began the Julio-Clausian Emperors, 4 emperors who follow are related to julius.**
* **Mostly tried to maintain the Empire as it was, ensuring wealth and peace**
* **Said that ruling rome was like “holding a wolf by the ears’**
* **Left the empire in the hands of the Praetorian Guard**

Caligula

part of the Julio-Clausian Emporers

* **Short reign, 37-41 AD**
* **Brutal, corrupt, mentally disturbed, and despised for his illogical actions and bad spending habits**
* **Built some successful aqueducts**
* **horse consul**
* **Declared war on mars and the ocean**

Nero

part of the Julio-Claudian Empire

* **Tyrannical and selfish**
* **He had his mother, wife, and many senators murdered.**
* **The great fire of Rome burned down much of Rome and as a result blamed and persecuted Christians**
* **Rumored that he began the great fire**
* **First persecuted the Christians**
* **Neglected duties, became fearful he would be killed and took his own life in 68 AD**
* **56-68 AD**

Vespasian

* **Stated the Flavian dynasty**
* **First emperor who was not a patrician**
* **Was a general**
* **Practical, frugal, helped restore stability**
* **Commissioned the building of the FLavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum) and the Roman Forum**
* **Good leader**

Titus

**79 to 81 AD**

* **Renowned military commander for conquering Jerusalem**
* **Eruption of mount vesuvius occurred during his reign (79 AD) → Pompeii**
* Flavian dynasty ended with his death

Paul of Tarsus

Spread Christianity to the urban masses and converted a lot of people, before he was executed by an emperor

Marcus Tullius @@**Cicero**@@

* Intellectual adopted stoic values
* Studied in Greece
* Was a persuasive orator
* Adapted Hellenistic thoughts to Roman needs
* Drew from stoics moral and ethics
* Emphasized an individuals duty to live with nature and reason
* Argued pursuit of justice was a person's highest public duty, scorned those who sought to accumulate wealth  or become powerful through illegal, immoral, or unjust means
* Helped establish stoicism as the prominent school of moral philosophy in Rome through his speeches and writings.

Spartacus

was an escaped slave who led the most serious slave uprising in 73 BC that as ultimately defeated by the roman army.

Emperor Constantine

Converted to orthadox Christian and created the Edict of Milan, which allowed people to practiced Christianity without being persecuted.

Diocletian

(286) In the later roman empire, he split the empire in half. Peak of Roman persecution.

Emperor Theodosus

(380) declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire

Nerva

Was one of the five good emperors

* ==**Appointed by the senate**==
* **ruled for a short time**
* **Wise and moderate Emperor**
* ==**Appointed an able military commander as his successor and set this precedent for the next 100 years.**==

Trajan

Was one of the five good emperors

* ==**Spanish-born senator and general**==
* **Last “conquering” emperor**
* ==**Expanded empire to its greatest size**==
* **Known for his philanthropy**
* **Created government funded orphanage system**
* **Social welfare programs**
* ==**Reconstructed the circus maximus**==

Hadrian

Was one of the five good emperors

* **Changed strategy from offensive to** ==**defensive**== **for the first time in roman history**
* **No more new conquests**
* **Built “**==**Hadrian's wall**==**” in Britain to protect against invaders**
* **Secured the roman borders**
* ==**Built the Pantheon**==

Marcus Aurelius 

Was one of the five good emperors

* **162-180 AD**
* **Considered to be the “Philosopher king”**
* **of the great Stoic philosophers**
* **Wrote Meditations which is still considered an important work about service and duty**

Who were the Five Good emperors?

Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius

End of the Pax Romana

* **Regardless of the strengths or weakness of a leader, Rome still ran pretty smoothly- because of** ==**Bread and Circuses**==
* **Many of the problems are rooted in the fact that Augustus** ==**never set up a clear standard for the succession of power**==
* **The emperor answered first and foremost to the military, and the Senate, while it didn't hold the power an empire did, still had a significant influence**
* **As the era of the “Five Good Emperors” came to an end a succession of weak leaders and civil wars followed and Rome began its slow decline**

Who was in the second Triumative?

**Octavian, Lepidus, and Mark Antony**

Battle of Actium

**Naval battle ended the conflict between Antony and Octavian**

First Punic War

* Roman policy of expansion led to conflict in Sicily 
* Effects of the First Punic War:
* Rome established a great Navy and Army 
* Carthage swore vengeance 
* Rome gained control of Sicily
* A Strategic island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea 

Second Punic War

Causes of the Second Punic War:

* Carthage, led by Hannibal Barca, conquered most of Spain and began to move along the French (Gaul) coastline
* Carthaginian desire for revenge

Events of the Second Punic War:

* HANNIBAL surprise attack (with elephants) on Italy from the North
* Hannibal and his troops terrorize the Italian Peninsula for 15 years! 
* The battle of Cannae was the worst defeat for the Romans
* However, they were never able to conquer Rome itself

The Roman General Scipio  comes up with an excellent counter-attack strategy: 

* His troops first conquer Spain
* Then, they attack Carthage directly while Hannibal is in Italy
* Hannibal and his troops rush back to Carthage and are defeated at the Battle of Zama

Effects of the Second Punic War:

* Hannibal is defeated, exiled.
* Carthage loses most of its Territory 
* Rome emerges as a military superpower 

Third Punic War

After 50 years of peace

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* __Causes:__ After 50 years Carthage grew stronger and planned to attack Rome once again 
* __Events__: Rome hears of this plan, goes on the offensive and attacks Carthage first and wins
* __Effects__: Carthage is burned to the ground and people are sold into slavery, put salt in the earth so that the soil could not be used to grow crops. Again, Rome is a superpower

What are the consequences of the Punic wars?

* Increase in Roman territory
* Complete control over Western Mediterranean 
* Expanded trade and wealth for Rome 
* Increase in slaves in Roman world 
* Destruction of Carthage

Odeacer

476 , conquers Rome and Rome falls

* Germanic Barbarian

What was the first place the Romans conquered after they conquered the entire Italian peninsula.

Sicily

What was the significance of 509 BC?

 Replaced the Etruscan king with an aristocratic republic

Patricians

Rich people/landowners

Plebians

Common people

Assembly

Patricians and plebeians met here and voted for the following groups

What to groups were excluded from the Roman republic?

Women and Slaves

The Senate

* Made up of Patricians elected by the Patrician class
* Most powerful government body in the Republic 
* Passed Laws
* Controlled the Budget 
* Advice to the Consuls 
* *(Aristocracy)*

The Tribunes

* Made up of Plebeians Elected by the Plebeian Class
* Held limited but important influence on the entire Government 
* *(Democracy)*

The Judicial Branch

* Known as the Magistrates
* Judges
* Held trials

Executive Branch

* Made up of 2 Consuls 
* Elected by the Patricians 
* Held Veto Power 
* Final say in major decisions, like military
* *(Monarchy)*