THE RISE AND FALL OF

THE ROMAN EMPIRE

 IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHY
• Apennines Mountains run north and
south, for the length of Italy

• Mountains divide the east from the west

• Mountains less rugged, so city-states

not as isolated as in Greece

• Fertile plains lie in the north, below the

Alps separating Switzerland and Italy
today.

• Plains at base of mountains good for

farming – fertile soil
 IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHY
▪ Rome began as a small city-state
located in the center of the Italian
peninsula
▪ Rome on the Tiber River
• 18 miles inland
• Safe from pirates
• Rome built on seven hills
• Easier to defend
 EARLY ROMAN PEOPLE
• Latins
• Etruscans
• Greek
 EARLY ROMAN PEOPLE

• Latins: ancestors of the Romans

• Herders and farmers
• Settled along the Tiber River along the 7 hills
• Etruscans: ruled central and northern Italy
• Came from Asia Minor (Eastern Mediterranean)
• Romans borrowed Etruscan alphabet, arch and
worshipped similar gods/goddesses
• Greeks: settled in southern Italy/Sicily
INFLUENCE OF THE
ETRUSCANS

Writing

Religion

The Arch

Engineering
THE FOUNDING OF ROME

THE MYTH

ROMULUS
AND REMUS
Legend says Romulus and Remus, twin sons
of Mars, god of War, founded the city where
they were rescued from the Tiber River and
cared for by the she-wolf. (753 B.C.E.)
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Reality
• Romans drove out Etruscan
rulers around 509 BC
• Set up a republic - a form of
government where people
elect representatives.
• The United States has a
representative government.
We learned about this form of
government from the Romans.
 ROMAN REPUBLIC

Representative Democracy - officials elected by citizens

Also known as a republic
U.S. would also borrow the ideas of the senate, the
veto, and checks on political power!
 GOVERNMENT SET-UP
•2 consuls (rulers of Rome) every year the patrician
class elected two to supervise the business of the Roman
government and to command the army. Senate

•Senate (representative body for patricians) most

powerful governing body, made up of members of
the landholding upper class.
•Tribal assembly (representative
body for plebeians) made up of
farmers, merchants, artisans, and
traders who made up the bulk
of the population.
 ROMAN CITIZENSHIP
• Romans had a strong sense of citizenship.
• Roman citizens were protected by Roman government, but had a duty to
participate in society and to make it better.
• The philosophy that preached good citizenship was called Stoicism.
• Stoicism stressed the importance of being a good citizen.
 ROMAN SOCIETY: TWO SOCIAL
CLASSES
Patricians Plebeians
 PATRICIANS
• Patrician – an educated person of wealth or high rank
• an aristocrat or member of the privileged class
• Once the Etruscans were driven out, the patricians declared Rome a
republic
• At the beginning of the republic, only the patricians held public office,
whether civil or religious
• Patricians served in the SENATE and as consuls
 CONSULS

• 2 patricians were elected as consuls

• Job was to supervise the government and
command the armies
• Consuls had to agree; this enabled a system
of checks and balances
• Consuls served 1 year term
 ROMAN SENATE

• Most powerful governing body made up of

300 patricians (landholding upper class)
• The Senate led the Roman Republic.
• They made the laws for the republic.
• Senators served for life
• Senate could choose a dictator
 DICTATOR
• When Rome was in a time of crisis (War) they would temporarily appoint a
dictator
• A dictator - one whose word was law
• only a dictator could override the decision made by the consuls.
• Senate chose a dictator to rule for 6 months
 PLEBEIANS
• Known as Plebs, they made up the majority of Romans
• Plebs (commoners): farmers, merchants, artisans, traders
• Plebeians (all males of military age) had certain rights: could
serve in the ASSEMBLY, vote, trade, hold property, and
administer judicial self defense.
• But not as privileged as the patricians: could never marry a
Patrician, could not hold a public office and could not receive
entry into the Senate
• included the right to elect their own officials, called tribunes
• tribunes could veto, or block, laws that they felt harmed
plebeians
 PLEBEIANS
• Gradually achieved political equality with the patricians.
• Marriage of plebeians with patricians was accepted
• Plebeians admitted to the consulate and the dictatorship.
 STRUCTURE OF ROME
Could rule up
Dictator 1 to 6 months in
2
times of war
300 men

Majority of
Population
 STRUCTURE OF ROME

1
Consuls 2 Preside over
300 men senate,
generals, 1 yr
term
Majority of
Population
 STRUCTURE OF ROME

1
2 Served for
Senate 300 men life, most
powerful
body
Majority of
Population
 STRUCTURE OF ROME

Dictator 1
Consuls 2
Senate 300 men

Patricians Majority of
Population
 STRUCTURE OF ROME

1
2
300 men Representatives
Tribunes for the
plebeians
Majority of
Population
 STRUCTURE OF ROME

1
2
300 men
Tribunes
Plebeians Majority of
Population
 STRUCTURE OF ROME

1
2
300 men
Tribunes
Plebeians Majority of
Population
No
Slaves power
 THE 12 TABLES OF LAW

• The Plebs did not know what the laws were because laws
were not written down, and were only known by the
patricians.
• The Plebs insisted the laws be written.
• In 450 BC the patricians agreed to engrave the laws on 12
bronze tablets and to set them in the Forum for all to see.
• The 12 Tables are the most enduring legacy from the
Roman Empire
 ROMAN LAW AND
RIGHTS
Basic Principles
• Roman laws stressed fairness and common sense.
• There was equal treatment under the law in Rome and people were
considered innocent until proved guilty when accused of a crime.
• The U.S. took much of its system of government from the Romans.
THE PUNIC WARS
 GROWING RIVALRY

ROME
VS
CARTHAGE
For control of trade
throughout the
Mediterranean Region
 THE PUNIC WARS 264-146 B.C.

Competition in the Mediterranean caused conflict

between Rome and Carthage. These conflicts were
known as the Punic Wars. (There were three)
• The First Punic War-Rome defeated Carthage and
gained the island of Sicily
• The Second Punic War-Hannibal leads his army across
the Alp and for about 15 years moved through Italy
winning many battles. He was forced to return home to
defend Carthage but was defeated by General Scipio.
Carthage was forced to give up Spain and gold and
silver mines.
• The Third Punic War-Rome completely destroyed
Carthage. Survivors were killed or sold as slaves and the
earth was salted so nothing would ever grow there
again.
 RESULTS OF PUNIC WARS
• Series of 3 wars lasting100 years
• Carthage was destroyed
• Rome inherits Carthaginian
Empire
• Rome controls the entire
Mediterranean
HANNIBAL’S MARCH
CARTHAGINIAN EMPIRE
 THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE
• Julius Caesar

• Marcus Licinius Crassus

• Gaius Magnus Pompey

 CIVIL WAR & DICTATORS

Julius Caesar

Marcus Crassus
Pompey
 ROME IS RULED BY THE FIRST
TRIUMVIRATE
• Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus will rule as the First
Triumvirate.
• Crassus is killed in a war in Asia.
• Caesar defeats Pompey and becomes the sole ruler of
Rome.
JULIUS CAESAR
• Description:
• Civil War breaks out in the
Republic
• First Triumvirate formed in
60 BC
• Government run by three
men who shared power
• Julius Caesar, Crassus &
Pompay
 JULIUS CAESAR
Description:
• Julius Caesar is elected consul
in 59 BC
– grants himself governor of
Gaul from 58 – 50 BC
– wins decisive battles securing
Roman borders in the North
– Caesar seen as a military hero
– “Veni, vidi, vici…” = I came, I
saw, I conquered
 JULIUS CAESAR
• Introduced a number of reforms
• land to the poor
• more people granted citizenship
• roads built
• public works undertaken
• a new calendar introduced
 THE DEATH OF JULIUS
CAESAR
• many feared Caesar would assume title of king & set
up a dynasty
• 60 members of Senate plot to kill him
• Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius
• March 15, 44 BC Caesar is stabbed 23 times that result
in death in the senate chamber
• Rome plunges into another civil war
BEWARE THE IDES OF
MARCH!
44 BC
 THE ROMAN EMPIRE
27 BCE – 476 CE
The Second Triumvirate
• Octavian Augustus
• Marc Antony
• Marcus Lepidus
 AUGUSTUS – “EXALTED
ONE”
• “PRINCEPS”-First citizen
• Caesars grandson, Octavian, and his chief
general, Mark Antony, joined forces to hunt
down his killers.
• These two soon began to fight one another -
Octavian defeated Antony at the battle of
Actium.
• Octavian becomes the first emperor of Rome
and the senate gives him the title “Augustus”
which means “Exalted One” and also
declared him First Citizen.
 ROME’S FIRST EMPEROR

• Octavian is Rome’s first

emperor.
• He took the name
Augustus Caesar.
• Under his rule, Rome
expanded and enjoyed a
period of peace.
 ROME UNDER AUGUSTUS
(OCTAVIAN)
• Under the leadership of Augustus, Rome
experienced a “Golden Age”
• His reign marked the beginning of the “Pax
Romana” which lasted 200 years
• He supported the growth of new business
• He established a sound money system
• New roads were built
• Police and fire departments were organized
• He was the first in the line of emperors
worshipped as Gods and allowed to choose
their own successors
 OTHER EMPERORS OF
ROME
• Later emperors enlarged the Roman Empire
and brought about important changes
• Tiberius did away with the Assembly
• Claudius made Britain a Roman territory and
helped unify the empire by letting people from
the provinces sit in the Senate
• Vespasian built the Colosseum and destroyed
the city of Jerusalem
• The empire reached its largest size under Trajan
• Hadrian reinforced the northern border to
defend against invasion
• Marcus Aurelius was the last emperor during the
“Pax Romana”
 PAX ROMANA/ROMAN
PEACE

• After the death of Marcus Aurelius political and

economic chaos rocked the Roman empire
• Emperors were overthrown- in one 50 year period 26
emperors reigned.
• Economic issues also created problems
• Taxes placed a burden on business people and farmers
 Corruption
Julius Caesar flourished
New wealth
rose to
in Rome
power and
was assassinated

Political Turmoil War with

In Rome Carthage
The Republic
Declined

Slaves and Augustus

Allies established
Revolted empire
Assassination
Gracchus
led
brothers
to
Killed
Civil War
 THE GREATEST EXTENT OF
THE ROMAN EMPIRE – 14 CE
 ROME ENGINEERING
• Rome built great roads to travel on and aqueducts to bring water into the
city.
• Rome also built great stadiums and amphitheaters for the entertainment of
the people.
• Romans also developed the use of the arch.
 ROMAN ART
• Mosaics were popular in Rome. A mosaic is a picture made out of small,
colored tiles or pieces of glass.
• The Romans also made great statues that looked like the real thing, even
though they were made from stone.
 Virgil
• The Aeneid - tried to show that Rome’s
past was as heroic as that of Greece.
• Linked his epic to Homer’s work by
telling how Aeneas escaped from Troy
to found Rome.
• The Aeneid - produced patriotism and
help unite Rome after years of civil
wars.
 PAX ROMANA
• Rome lived in peace for 200 years.
• It was called the Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome.
 GAMES AND SPECTACLES

• Circus Maximus: site of

public games and
festivals influenced by the
Greeks for mass
entertainment
• Chariot races, gladiator
combats in front of 250
thousand spectators
CHARIOT RACES
 GAMES AND SPECTACLES:
GLADIATORS

• Mostly criminals and slaves

trained to fight

• System dealt with “criminals,”

political enemies

• Some free men volunteered

• Dressed as Roman enemies
who fought to the death

• Most popular events in the

amphitheater
ROMAN EMPIRE
 PAX ROMANA ENDS
• The Pax Romana “Period of Peace” ended with the
Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 A.D.
• The Roman Empire was thrust back in Civil Wars over
succession to the throne
• 180-284 A.D. political assassinations, and instability
defined the Roman Empire
 THE EMPIRE SPLITS
• In 284 A.D. Diocletian wanted to reform the Empire.
• Diocletian spilt the Empire into two parts: East and West
• In theory splitting the land and dividing power would
protect Rome
• To address economic problems he fixed prices for
goods and services and passed laws which forced
farmers to remain on the land.
• In cities, sons were required to follow their father’s
occupation
• These were efforts to ensure a steady production of
food and other goods.
EASTERN & WESTERN
EMPIRE
 DIOCLETIAN SPLITS THE
EMPIRE IN TWO: 294 CE
CONSTANTINE: 312 - 337
 CONSTANTINE
• Constantine took the throne in 313 A.D. and issued the
Edict of Milan
• Established a new capitol city of Rome in Byzantium
called Constantinople “New Rome”
• eastern portion of the empire the center of power.
• Diocletian and Constantine’s reforms serve as a band
aid and help the Empire survive in the short-term
• The western half of the empire was in decline but the
eastern half would continue to prosper for about 1000
years until being conquered by the Turks.
 DECLINE OF ROME
• Rome grew weak because it had grown
too large, in population and land mass.
• Inflation→ Rapid rise in prices, combined
with high taxes sunk the middle class
• Slave labor was also a problem in the
empire. With so many slaves, the people
did not need to work.
• Political instability
 The Fall of the Roman
Empire

Political Economic
Military
More authoritarian Heavy taxation Social
German invasions
government Reliance on slave labor Declining patriotism
Army lacked discipline
Frequent Civil Wars People became poor Discipline, devotion
and training
Declining popular vote Population declined to duty
Relied on mercenaries
Empire divided in half Agricultural output fell
 BARBARIANS ATTACK
ROME
• Romans called the people who destroyed Rome
Barbarians.
• Mercenaries- Foreign soldiers who fight in the military for
pay=Decline in Patriotism
 FOREIGN INVASIONS
• As the Huns moved into Europe, the Visigoths,
Ostrogoths, and other Germanic people crossed into
Roman territory seeking safety.
• The Roman army was no longer strong enough to stop
the invaders.
• Finally in 476, a Germanic leader Odoacer ousted the
Roman emperor.
ATILLA THE HUN
 ROME FALLS
• The Huns forced other tribes out of their traditional homeland and closer to
Roman borders
• With Rome spread thin and with the most power resting in Constantinople
Rome is an easy target
• The Roman Empire fell in 476 AD.
• The eastern part of the empire survives.
• Republic Government
ROMAN LEGACY
• Roman Law
• Latin Language
• Roman Catholic Church
• City Planning
• Romanesque Architectural Style
• Roman Engineering
• Aqueducts
• Sewage systems
• Dams
• Cement
• Arch