Roman Empire

History
Timeline: Roman Kingdom
 Kingdom- Rome was founded in 753 BC
 Supposedly founded by seven kings one of which was Romulus.
 Conquered by the Etruscans but soon they were pushed out.
 After the Etruscans were pushed out they changed their government to a
Republic
Roman Kingdom
 Latin tribes, Latin ethnicity
 Absorbed much of Etruscan ideas and cultures. 600BC Romans ruled by
Etruscans
 Started out as a Kingdom of the Roma or Romans.
 The Kingdom of Rome was ruled by seven kings, 509 BC romans expelled last
of the kings
Timeline: Roman Republic
 The Roman Republic was founded in 509BC after the Roman deposed the
Etruscan king who conquered Rome.
 They established a Republic to govern.
 The Republic was governed by a Senate and two Consuls.
 Consuls were essentially a military officers who commanded the armies but
they also had some civic duties.
 During a crisis a dictator would be given power but for no more than six
months
Roman Republic
 This was a time a great Geological expansion
 Rome would conquer most of its territory
 Roman Republic
 Quaestors 20- aids to consuls and governors, helped run provinces, sometimes
commanded military legions.
 Aediles 4- helped govern Rome and saw to the upkeep of public building like temples,
public baths, and aqueducts, put on festivals.
 Praetors 8- Judges that decided punishments or cases, helped Consuls command
armies and were awarded a governorship at the end of term.
 Consuls 2- functioned as executive branch and military leaders, responsible for the
vote.
 Roman Consuls
Roman Republic
 Rome fought the Samnite Wars, Latin Wars, Pyrrhic Wars, and wars against
other Italic tribes.
 Values: loyal to Rome and family, realistic, tough
 Rome conquered and colonized Italy
 Roman roads and military outposts kept Rome together. Via Appia built 312
BC
 Punic Wars were fought, 1st Punic War 262-241BC, 2nd Punic War 218-201
BC, 3rd Punic War 146 BC
 Macedonian Wars and Eastward expansion
 Macedonian wars,1st 214-205 BC, 2nd 200-196/7, 3rd 171- 168/9 BC, 4th 150-
148 BC
Rome moves East
 Conquered the Achaean league and burned Corinth
 Pergamum ceded his kingdom to Rome at his death this gave Rome a
foothold in Anatolia (Turkey)
Rome takes control of Judea
 Hasmoneans ruled Judea for 80 Years before the Romans showed up.
 63 BC Romans Annexed Syria and Judea
 He annexed the region by interfering in a Jewish civil war and support
Hyricanus. Hyricanus was supported by the Idumean governor Antaper.
 Hyricanus appointed high priest and Antaper given government of the region.
 Parthian invasion in 40 BC caused Herod son of Antiper to plead with the
Roman senate.
 Herod began building campaign that started a Romanization of Judea
Herod
 Idumean son of Antiper, governor of Judea at the birth of Christ
 Herod governs the regions of Saria, Eastern and Western Idumea, Judea,
Galilee, Decapolis, Trachinitis, Batanea, Auranitis, Gaulanitis, Itruea, Perea
 Building projects- Ceaseria,Fortresses(Masada, Machaerus, Cypros
Alexandrium, and Herodium), Herodian Jericho,
Architecture
 Romans invented cement which they used to build many of their structures
 Adopted many aspects of Greek architecture such as columns
 Invented the Roman Arch which would increase the weight an door can bare
 Invented aqueducts, colosseum, palaces
 They built theaters and chariots race tracks in almost every Roman city.
 Designed the aqueduct to bring water to the cities.
 Invented the arch
Timeline: Roman Empire
 Caesar Augustus first Emperor 27B.C.- A.D.14
 Tiberius A.D. 14-37, Emperor during the life of Jesus
 Gaius (Caligula) A.D. 37-41
 Claudius A.D. 41-54
 Nero A.D. 54-68
 Year of four Emperors Galba, Otho, Vitllius, Vespasian A.D. 68-69 death of
Nero left Empire unstable
 Vespasian A.D. 69-79
Timeline: Empire
 Titus A.D. 79-81destroyed Jewish Christians
 Domitian A.D. 81-96 Worst persecution of Christians
 Nerva A.D. 96-98
 Trajan A.D. 98-117 Wars
 Hadrian A.D. 117-138 Bar Kakhbah revolt, Jerusalem rebuilt as a Roman
colony. Some Persecution. Hadrian's Wall in great Britain.
 Constantine A.D. 305-355 changed official state religion to Christianity
 Empire started to split in A.D. 285
Roman Buildings
Mamertine Prison
Cell Entry
Rome
 Built upon seven hills
 Capital of the Roman Empire
 Several prominent buildings, Colosseum, Circus Maximus
 Roman and Greek architecture is also designated as monumental.
Roman Religion
 Polytheistic
 Adopted most of their practices from the Greek religion
 Revolved around making sacrifices to gods to get them to do something
 Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Neptune, and Vulcan
 Gods control different aspects of nature including. Ocean, Lighting,
underworld, harvest, wind, etc.
 Emperor was considered a god
Roman Legion
 A Legion was a Roman military unit that formed the back bone of the Roman
army.
 Legions made up of soldiers that were armed with iron armor and weapons.
 They were the military that dominate the known world for over 100 years.
 They fought as a compact unit and obeyed their commanders.
 One notable loss was the defeat in Germania. Roman soldiers were surprised
in dense forest where they could not fall into formation.
Roman military
 Roman military is based on the Legion.
 Roughly 5,000-6,000 men. Broken into Cohorts of 600 men
 Their armor was made of iron.
 They used small swords, javelins, spears, and large shields.
 Fought in compact groups that attacked together.
 Roman tactics were the most formidable in the world.
The empire split
 Empire split into the East and the West
 The Western Roman Empire was overrun by the Germanic tribes.
 Lombards, Goth, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Franks, and
Burgundians,
 Religiously many of these peoples followed the same gods as the
Scandinavians
 These peoples would start many of the cultures that would influence nations
that we know today.
Writing
 Latin was the major language of the Roman Empire
 Greece began to dominate the Eastern half of the Empire
 Aramaic was a prominent language in the Roman controlled Middle East
 Hebrew- Language spoken by the Jews of Judea and Galilee, especially in a
religious function
 Old Norse or Germanic was spoken by these tribes. These languages would
help form the basis for many modern European languages.
Historians and texts
 Bible various authors
 Histories by Herodotus, records the Greek wars with Persia. Included
writings on other topics.
 The History of the Peloponnesian Wars by Thucydides, Records the
Peloponnesian Wars fought between the Athenian led Dalian League and the
Spartan led Peloponnesian League
 The Works of Josephus, Records the History of the Jews from Creation
through the taking of Jerusalem by Titus. Included writings on other topic.
Historians and texts
 Virgil- Wrote “Early History of Rome” from founding roughly 575BC to 390BC
 Suetonius-Biographer wrote “Lives of the Caesars” about the Roman
Emperors.
 Plutarch- Biographer wrote about the lives of Greeks and Romans.
 Tacitus- Wrote about Roman Empire wrote from AD 14. Wrote mostly about
the Roman Empire. Book called “Annals.” Reveals Nero’s persecution of
Christian and about Jewish rebellion.
 Julius Caesar- Wrote about his conquest of Gaul and other writings