Rome

  1. What is the significance of Rome’s central location and geographic features?

  • rome’s location was essential to its success

    • had many hills surrounding and protecting the city

    • a river running right through the city - natural source of freshwater

      • easy access to trade

      • access to different cultures

    • relatively far inward to protect from pirates

    • easier to travel around italy than in greece

    • easy to dominate the meditarrenean


  1. What were the political and military structures of the Roman Republic?

    1. Gravitas - deep rooted seriousness

      1. striving to continue working - doing want you have to because it's your duty

    2. Republic  

      1. the roman kingdom was overthrown by the people (rape of lucretcia) and turned into the republic

      2. a form of government when the public elects the leaders 

        1. the leader is not a monarch

      3. citizens voted on representatives to rule on their behalf; every citizen was expected to have an active role in governing the state (similar to jury duty we have today)

      4. took monarch and split it up into 2 consuls 

        1. leaders to be elected to advice the consuls

    3. The struggle of the orders – plebeians and patricians

      1. Early Rome was divided into 2 orders; the PATRICIANS and PLEBEIANS

        1. patricians - wealthiest and most powerful class

          1. also patricians traced themselves back to the founding father's (people that overthrew the roman kingdom)

        2. plebeians - working and middle class; had rights for a simple life (majority of the people)

        3. plebeians were hardly represented as the patricians had political control

      2. The Patricians had many advantages that the Plebeians did not have; being able to vote, being able to hold office. In the Struggle of the Orders, the plebeians won rights to marry patricians, hold position in office, and eventually pass laws 

    4. Twelve Tables 

      1. first written set of laws in Rome

      2. trial by judge, right to property, limited right to vote for those who had it

    5. Forms of citizenship

      1. Romans defined citizenship for what you gave to the state

        1. money, service

      2. those who served to the state thrived and succeeded

      3. those who did not perished

        1. patricians

          1. rich and connected

          2. had all the political power 

        2. plebeians

          1. had little political rights

          2. had civil rights

        3. freedmen

          1. entitled to civil rights but no voting rights (not citizens, but can become)

            1. ancient greece did not have social mobility like this

          2. could eventually become citizens

        4. slaves

          1. had no rights

          2. freed very soon

          3. expected for a person to free their slaves

          4. their children were born free - shows social mobility

    6. The Roman Confederation

      1. a system that allowed some people to have full roman citizenship

      2. social mobility

      3. rome fought with freedman who were given citizenship

      4. slowly integrate societies

    7. The significance of Roman Law 

      1. reflects how laws should be fair

      2. laws were intended to be impartial and humane

      3. legal code that shaped roman life

      4. protected roman citizens


  1. Who were the important generals in the Punic Wars and what were the war’s effects?

Carthage was the largest threat to Rome

  1. Hannibal

    1. considered to be one of the greatest military commanders in history

    2. Carthaginian general

    3. very intelligent

    4. killed himself after he lost the second punic war

    5. watched his country loose the first punic war and vowed to get revenge

  2. Scipio Africanus

    1. also considered to be one of the greatest military commanders in history

    2. roman general

    3. hired for the 2nd punic war because he was thought to have the potential to defeat Hannibal

    4. at the battle of Zama, Scipio confronted Hannibal on Carthage land and they fought; Hannibal had to retreat back to Zama and Scipio won and Rome won

  3. Punic wars 

    1. definition

      1. 3 wars fought between Rome and Carthage for the right to control major trading posts in the Mediterranean

    2. effects

      1. gave Rome full control of most of the Mediterranean 

        1. important trade ports in the Mediterranean

      2. the destroying of Carthage

  4. First Punic War

    1. Started: Rome sent an army to Sicily, Carthage thought of Sicily as part of their empire, declared it an act of war. 

    2. Outcome: The addition of Rome’s new naval fleet, helped it defeat Carthage and gain control of Sicily, Carthage paid a fee to Rome

      1. Sicily became Rome’s first province

  5. Second Punic War

Arguably the Roman Republic’s greatest victory but stowed the seeds for the Roman Republic's destroy

  1. Started: Carthage wanted revenge, Rome convinced Carthage’s spanish allies to revolt against it. Hannibal declared war

  2. Took huge army over the Alps, war elephants died, many did not survive the trip

  3. Outcome: Carthage devastated Roman army at Cannae, Rome did not give up, Rome won the war and became domonte power in the Western Mediterranean. PINCER MOVEMENT

    1. Generals:

      1. Hannibal: Greatest of Carthage’s generals, father made him vow to always hate the Romans. wins nearly every battle he fights

      2. Scipio Africanus: Crushed Hannibal’s forces at the Battle of Zama and ended the war. decided to fight on carthage land instead of roman

  1. Third Punic War (shouldn’t be called a war)

    1. Started: Carthage broke treaty by declaring war on neighboring state, Rome sent an army to tighten its hold

    2. Outcome: Rome burned the city for 10 days, the surviving 50,000 citizens were sold into slavery. Carthage became Rome’s province called Africa. 

      1. Cato - conservative politician

        1. Wanted Carthage to be destroyed


  1. How did political and social unrest lead to civil wars in Rome?

10 years of destroying farmland in the Punic Wars led to ...

  1. Latifundia

    1. large landed estate owned by rich landowners 

    2. raised profitable products such as cattle and grain

    3. numerous slaves worked on one Latifundia during the Punic Wars

    4. caused farmers to lose land

  1. Proletariats were the result of Latifundia

    1. Proletariat - poor landless group that came out of the Punic Wars

  1. Gracchi Brothers

    1. politicians who represented the plebeians who tried to reform Rome’s social and political structures to help the lower classes

    2. TIberius and Marcius

    3. tried to redistribute land

      1. however they didn’t have much of a voice because the patricians were in control

    4. tried to get re-elected, but they didn’t like that

    5. wealthy didn’t like that

    6. committed sucide before execution

  2. ‘Optimates (optimal) - they wanted to keep their political standings; saw the poor farmers as the noblemen and that they deserved more

  3. Equites (equality) - they wanted to address the issues with the social classes

  4. Marius & Sulla  

    1. Both populares (political function that who helped the plebs)

    2. Marius - rehired soldiers and got them jobs and land

    3. for the first time, soldiers were loyal to Marius instead of the state

    4. Sulla - able to get himself elected dictator for life

    5. generals realized that if they teamed up they could obtain enough power to take total control

      1. TRIUMVIRATES

    6. Both tried to create private armies so people would be loyal to them and fight for them and not rome, an attempt to gain power. 

    7. They both got control of private armies by the senate, and then took advantage of the new military system. 

    8. When the council of Plebs tried giving the power over to Marius, a civil war broke out

    9. Sulla won, and then seized the entirety of Rome. Sulla then decided to restore power to the hands of the senate and eliminated most of the powers of the popular assemblies

    10. Sulla wanted to restore a traditional Roman republic, however what really came of his existence was the attractiveness to seize ambitious men. 

      1. Overall, he inspired Military generals whose armies pledge allegiance to them instead of Rome. 

      2. people then became loyal to generals instead of the government - how the empire came up

GRAVITAS ENDED

  1. What factors led to the beginning of the Roman Empire?

  • social and economical instability

    • plebeians came back from the war and found their farms destroyed

    • many had to sell their farms 

      • patricians took advantage of this

    • greatest influx of slaves

      • free labor 

    • destroying of the middle class

      • plebeians were the hard workers of society and now they were slaves

        • landless peasants - proletariat

  • rise of populares

    • people turned to their favorite generals instead of the government

    • bread and circuses

  • the collapse of the first two triumvirates 

  • acceptance in political violence - assassination of Julius Caesar


  1. First Triumvirate and Second Triumvirate

    1. triumvirate - a political alliance of the three most powerful men of the roman republic; had complete control


FIRST TRIUMVIRATE 

  • made up of 

    • Caesar → “the thug”

    • Crassus → richest man in rome

    • Pompey → expanded rome to the east - beheaded by egyptian pharaoh - head sent back

They brought stability to the Republic

  • Julius Caesar (achievements, assassination) year 0, after golden age of greece

    • very popular man with the public

    • expands Roman citizenship

    • created more jobs

    • feared by the senate

    • dictator of the Roman Empire for 10 years

    • assassinated by Brutus (a friend) because the senate was scared that Caesar would overthrow them and rule as a tyrant

Cassius - a roman senator and general who was the leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Caesar

(Crassus and Crassius - different people)

Crassus was killed in battle in 53 B.C.

Fearing Caesar’s popularity, leading senators decided that rule by Pompey alone would be least harmful to their cause 

They voted for Caesar to lay down his command and return as a private citizen to rome

Caesar chose to keep his army and moved into Italy by illegally crossing the Rubicon

  • The river that formed the southern boundary of his province (Gaul)

Caesar marched on Rome, starting a civil war between his forces and those of Pompey and his allies

The defeat of Pompey’s forces left Caesar in complete control of the Roman gov

Caesar was made dictator → an absolute ruler

  • gave land to the poor

  • increased the senate to 900 members

  • By filling the senate with his supporters and increasing the number of senators, he weakened the senate's power

  • He granted citizenship to many people in the provinces that helped him

  • Julius Caesar - first citizen, the first king

  • He had so many followers

  • He was making himself emperor (but wasn’t → was a dictator)

  • instatuted land reforms which brought stability

  • He disregards old rules because he takes away other rights to give poor people more rights

  • Brutus and Cassius were generals who stabbed Caesar



SECOND TRIUMVIRATE

  • made up of 

    • Augustus Caesar (Octivan) → the heir of julius caesar

    • Marc Antony → caesar’s oldest friend, great speaker 

    • Marcus Lepidus → roman general


The assassination of Julius Caesar led to another civil war lead by Caesar’s adopted nephew Octavian and his best general, Marc Antony

  • Marc Antony and Octavian go to war against each other

  • Marc Antony dies

Octavian emerges as the unchallenged leader of Rome, was given the title Augustus (“Exalted One”), and became Rome’s first emperor

  • Rules for 41 years

The Pax Romana begins when Augustas defeated Marc Antony in the civil wars

  • Pax Romana (The Roman Peace) for about 207 years

    • The golden age of Rome

    • “Famous Rome”

      • Great wealth in Rome

      • Roads and sea routes built (all leading to Rome)

      • Highway system

      • Roman aqueducts produce fresh water

      • Gladiatorial games

Under Augustus, Rome was ruled as an empire

After Caesar's murder, the people didn’t trust the Senate to rule, and that’s how the empire came up


                          Roman REPUBLIC                                                       Roman EMPIRE

  • Elected officials

  • Rule for one year

  • Appointed by senate

- Emperor

- For life, although many were assassinated

- Take power by inheritance or by force


  1. Octavian / Augustus & Pax Romana 

    1. Octavian / Augustus caesar

      1. Julius caesar’s adopted nephew

      2. the first emperor of Rome

      3. goes into a civil war against Marc Antony (a member of his triumvirate)

      4. under his ruling, Rome was ruled as an empire 

      5. rome’s first empire

Augustus saved rome but gave up liberty and freedom

  1. Pax Romana - the golden age of Rome

    1. writing and theatre

      1. the language spoken was Latin

        1. the basis for all the romance languages

      2. Livy - restored traditional roman virtues to society

        1. spread gravitas

      3. Virgil - tried to show that Rome’s past was as heroic as that of Greece

        1. wrote plays

        2. inspired people to have faith

      4. actors in plays were all male slaves

    2. sport and leisure

      1. gladiators

        1. a combatant who fought other gladiators to entertain

        2. they were usually slaves, prisoners of war, or volunteers

      2. bestiarii

        1. handling or combatting beasts

        2. lead to an extensive trade market for exotic animals 

      3. breads and circuses - a way to keep the people temporarily happy; the government giving the people food and giving them  entertainment

    3. new technologies created

      1. highway systems 

        1. all highways lead to Rome

    4. great wealth in Rome

  2. Augustus’ reforms

    1. religious reforms 

      1. restoration of the old religion

      2. a renewed trust in the traditional gods

    2. constitutional reforms

      1. introducing and enforcing new laws 

      2. changing the laws from the laws of the roman republic to the laws of the roman empire

    3. financial reforms 

      1. the new system provided a stimulus to trade throughout the empire 

      2. this lead to stability, security, and prosperity


  1. The Good Emperors 

    1. These rulers led during a time of peace and prosperity; Pax Romana which lasted about 200 years. During this time, the emperor’s power increased while the power of the senate slowly decreased.

    2. Augustus - great tolerance, good leadership, did what was best for empire. He was the first emperor and made the empire stable.

    3. Hadrian - conquered land, good to citizens, advanced infrastructure, built Hadrian's wall, expanded.

    4. Marcius Aurelius - good king/philosopher, wrote to himself

    5. Trajan - provided state funds to assist poor parents in raising and educating of their children

    6. Officials appointed and directed by the emperor took over the running of the gov

      1. Created new social programs


  1. Nero  

    1. an example of a bad emperor

    2. burned rome

    3. tried to kill his mother

    4. persecuted Christians

    5. rome was so strong that they could survive bad emperors like Nero

    6. partied during the burning of rome and blamed the christians for the burning

 

  1. How did the Romans spread Greco-Roman arts and culture throughout the Empire, and what were their characteristics?

    1. Livy and Virgil

      1. Livy 

        1. restored traditional roman virtues to society

        2. well known historian in Ancient Rome

        3. wrote 142 books 

      2. Virgil

        1. tried to show that Rome’s past was as heroic as that of Greece

        2. wrote 3 of the most famous poems in Latin literature

        3. wrote encouraging plays

    2. Aqueducts, Coliseum, Circus Maximus

      1. aqueducts

        1. brought water from outside sources into towns and cities 

        2. didn’t have to live by a river anymore

          1. more expansion

      2. Colosseum

        1. a huge structure used for gladiator fights and other sporting events

      3. Circus Maximus

        1. large racecourse that held chariot races

        2. the first and largest stadium

        3. emperors were willing to pay for the games because it was a way to control the city mobs and gain popularity

    3. Latin

      1. the language that was spoken in Ancient Rome

      2. the basis for all of the romance languages

        1. shows how big of an impact ancient civilizations have on modern-day

    4. Greco-Roman civilization

      1. the mixing of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman traditions

        1. started through Alexander’s conquests


  1. What factors led to the decline of the Roman Empire?

Rome went from a society with gravitas to a place with decadence and extravagance 

  1. Bread & circuses

    1. to keep the votes of the poor citizens and prevent them from revolting, the emperors gave them free food and entertained them with gladiator fights

      1. an effective way to rise to power

    2. a way to keep the people temporarily happy

    3. people prioritized food and entertainment

    4. Romans became reliant on bread instead of working for it

      1. shows a loss of gravitas

  2. Diocletian

    1. Roman emperor who divided the empire into a West and an East section

      1. East empire becomes stronger and less Roman, while west fell.

        1. EAST EMPIRE - BYZANTINE EMPIRE

    2. He also heavily taxed citizens which caused many business problems to emerge

Constantine and the Edict of Milan

  • constantine - byzantine’s first christian emperor

    • first byzantine emperor to move to byzantium (renamed constantinople in his honor)

    • under him eastern roman empire flourished

      • constantinople was a thriving city for trade since it sat at the crossroads of asia and europe

      • byzantines soon dominated eastern mediterranean

      • eastern half became wealthier than west

      • diocletian’s reforms temporarily halted the decline of rome

  • edict of milan - christianity became approved by the emperor



  1. What are the beliefs that define Christianity and how did Christianity spread throughout the Empire and what were the consequences?

Christianity was spread by apostles and missionaries. It was seen as a threat, and they were persecuted, until the emperor Constantine became a Christian.

  1. Judaism

  1. The Jewish religion 

  2. believe that Jesus wasn’t the son of God

  3. The Jews have yet to discover their Messiah

  4. Judaism is a religion that one must be born into

  1. Teachings of Jesus

  1. Jesus taught people that he was God’s son and to love God above all people

  2. He taught people that God was the most powerful form of life and you must follow the teachings of God to achieve salvation.

  3. christians kept on trying to spread

  4. jesus was killed due to his political threats

  5. Christians believed he was the Messiah

  1. Paul

    1. a missionary

    2. a great example of how dedicated some could be towards their religion

    3. devoted to spreading his religion and sharing it’s ideas

    4. spread his ideas about Christianity his whole life

    5. Center of Paul's message was the belief that Jesus was the savior, the son of god who had come to Earth to save humanity

    6. taught that Jesus’ death made up for the sins of all humans.