Plebeian

• Commoners

Patrician

• Rich people, high class

Struggle of the Orders

• Conflict between patricians and plebeians that dragged on for hundreds of years

  • Plebeians win rights

Twelve Tables

• 1st Roman written law

  • Product of a simple farming society

Law of Nations

A body of law that answered legal questions that involved both Romans and non-Romans 

Roman Republic/Roman Empire

• Roman Republic 

  • In which the leader was not a king and certain citizens had the right to vote

  • Founding

    • Overthrew the last Etruscan king

  • Conquered

    • the Peninsula

    • Western Mediterranean

  • Were successful because the Romans were 

    • Good diplomats 

    • Military experts

    • Practical in politics

• Roman Empire

  • A large political unit or state, usually under a single leader, that controls a lot of people and territories

Punic Wars

• Carthage v. Rome wars 

1st Punic War

• 246-241 BCE

• Start: Rome sent an army to Sicily

  • Carthaginians thought Sicily was part of their empire and in thus saw this as an act of war

• Outcome: Rome won after smoking Carthage’s navy

  • Sicily became the first Roman province

2nd Punic War

• Start: Carthage added new lands in Spain

  • Rome encouraged one of Carthage’s Spanish allies to revolt against Carthage

  • Hannibal struck back against Rome

• Outcome: Carthage lost Spain and Rome became the dominant power in the Med. 

Hannibal 

• Greatest Carthaginian general

3rd Punic War

• Conservative Roman politicians such as Cato called for the complete destruction of Carthage

• 146 BCE - Roman soldiers burned and demolished the city in 10 days

  • 50000 men, women, and children were enslaved

• Carthage became a Roman province called Africa

Macedonian Wars

General Sulla

• Had a civil war between Marius’ forces -> Sulla wins and seized Roma in 82 BCE

• Legacy: using an army to seize power

Julius Caesar

• Was stabbed 23 times, leading to his demise

• Was extremely popular and had the loyalty of the army

• Crossed the Rubicon river and took Italy starting a civil war with Pompey and his allies -> Caesar won

• Was made dictator

Augustus

• Caesar’s grand nephew

• 1st Roman emperor

• “The revered one,”

• Maintained an army of 28 legions (approx. 151,000 men)

Pax Romana 

• 200 years of relative peace and prosperity in Rome

• Ruling classes treated with respect

• No unlawful executions

• Relative peace

• Expansion of the emperor’s powers

• Social programs

• Building programs with public works projects 

Greco-Roman era

• Adopted Greek style of Art

• Sculptors produced more realistic works rather than idealistic like the Greeks

• Used Greek styles such as colonnades and rectangular buildings