What is “cultural diffusion”?
A. One culture taking over anotherB. Cultures sharing and blending ideasC. Destruction of a cultureD. A culture remaining the same
#1
After the Peloponnesian War was over, what kingdom took over Greece?
A. SpartaB. PersiaC. AthensD. Macedonia
#2
Who was Alexander talking about when he said, “I am indebted to my father for living, but I am
indebted to my teacher for living WELL.”
A. AristotleB. PlatoC. ArchimedesD. Xerxes
#3
What country was Alexander’s army in when his soldiers demanded to return home after
being away for 11 years?
A. EgyptB. PersiaC. GreeceD. India
#4
What city became the center of trade, learning, and Hellenistic culture in the Mediterranean
world during the time of Alexander?
A. AthensB. RomeC. AlexandriaD. Persepolis
#5
What is “cultural diffusion”?
A. One culture taking over anotherB. Cultures sharing and blending ideasC. Destruction of a cultureD. A culture remaining the same
#1 ANSWER: B
After the Peloponnesian War was over, what kingdom took over Greece?
A. SpartaB. PersiaC. AthensD. Macedonia
#2 ANSWER: D
Who was Alexander talking about when he said, “I am indebted to my father for living, but I am
indebted to my teacher for living WELL.”
A. AristotleB. PlatoC. ArchimedesD. Xerxes
#3 ANSWER: A
What country was Alexander’s army in when his soldiers demanded to return home after
being away for 11 years?
A. EgyptB. PersiaC. GreeceD. India
#4 ANSWER: D
What city became the center of trade, learning, and Hellenistic culture in the Mediterranean
world during the time of Alexander?
A. AthensB. RomeC. AlexandriaD. Persepolis
#5 ANSWER: C
Essential Question:What were the lasting characteristics of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire?
Impact of Geography on RomeIdentify one GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE and propose
how it might impact the culture of Rome
The Geography of Rome Rome was located on the Italian peninsula
along the Mediterranean Sea
The Romans were influenced by the Greeks and a neighboring tribe called the Etruscans
The Culture of Ancient RomeRoman religion was
polytheistic and based on the Greek gods (usually only
the names changed)
The Culture of Ancient RomeLike Greek agoras, Roman cities had a forum
for markets and public gatherings
Ancient Roman SocietyRoman society was divided into three major groups
At the top were the nobles (called patricians); they controlled most of the land and held key
military and government positions
Ancient Roman SocietyRoman society was divided into three major groups
Patricians made up 5% of all Roman citizens
Ancient Roman Society
Most Roman people were commoners (called plebeians); they were farmers,
shopkeepers, or peasants
Ancient Roman Society
Plebeians paid the majority of taxes collected in the Roman Republic; they
made up 95% of Roman citizens
Ancient Roman Society
At the bottom of society were slaves and residents
of the Roman Republic who were not Roman
The Government of Ancient Rome
When Rome was first
founded, it was ruled by kings; but in 509 BCE, the
Romans created a republic
The Government of Ancient Rome
A republic is a form of
government in which citizens
have the power to elect their
leaders
The most important feature of the republic was the Senate, whose 300 members were elected by citizens to make laws and taxes
The Government of Ancient Rome In 451 BCE, government
officials wrote down Rome’s laws onto the Twelve Tables, which
were hung in the forum for all citizens to see
The Twelve Tables were based on the idea that
all citizens of Rome had a right to the protection
of the law
The Government of Ancient Rome
The Twelve Tables made clear how the law would be
applied to Roman citizens
The Roman Military
Rome was protected by an advanced army of professional soldiers
(not part-time soldiers who were farmers or merchants by trade)
The Roman MilitaryRome had the largest army in the Mediterranean
at the time; it was also highly organizedThe Roman soldiers were divided into
groups of 5000 men called legions
Each legion was divided into smaller groups of 80 men (called centuries) commanded by
elite soldiers called centurions
The highly organized command structure ensured that legions could be rapidly
deployed against the enemy
Advances in military technology (such as catapults) enabled the professional Roman
soldiers to not only defend the Romans’ territory, but to expand it
The Romans went to war with a neighboring kingdom, Carthage
(based in northern Africa)
THE PUNIC WARS
THE PUNIC WARS
The Carthaginians engaged the Romans in three long wars over the
course of about a hundred years
THE PUNIC WARSLed by the great
general Hannibal, the Carthaginians
nearly defeated the Romans in
the second war; they invaded the Italian peninsula
and almost captured Rome
The Romans held the Carthaginians off, then completely destroyed
Carthage in their third war
THE PUNIC WARS
With Carthage’s defeat, the Romans were then the most dominant power in the Mediterranean,
carving out an enormous empire
THE PUNIC WARS
ROMAN TERRITORY
Controlling this massive territory,
though, would present new
problems for the Romans
PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues:
The new lands brought more slaves, which
created a job shortage for Roman citizens
Generals who controlled the army
became more powerful than Senators
PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues:
People flocked to the big cities from farms, which created food
supply shortagesStruggles for power led to a series of civil wars
between Romans
JULIUS CAESAR
From the turmoil within the Roman Republic, a new political leader
emerged: a general named Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar partnered with two
other Roman politicians to take control of Rome (they formed a triumvirate)
Julius was extremely popular with the
Roman people, due to his great military
victories
Julius Caesar
gathered more power to himself,
while looking to solve the Roman
Republic’s problems by
initiating reforms
Caesar named himself dictator-for-life in 46 BCE, which weakened the Senators’ power a great deal
Fearing that he was becoming too powerful, members of the Roman
Senate conspired to assassinate Caesar
Caesar was cornered and stabbed to death in the Roman Senate building, which began
the end of the Roman Republic
The assassination led to another civil war led by Caesar’s adopted son Octavian and
his best general, Marc Antony
FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE
Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate
to rule the Roman Republic
FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE
Octavian exacted revenge on the Senators who assassinated Julius
Octavian soon became undisputed ruler of Rome,
renaming himself Augustus Caesar
“Augustus” means “exalted one”; Julius
Caesar’s last name became the title for “emperor”
FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE
Augustus did away with the Senators’ power, eventually ending the representative government of Rome and
becoming Rome’s first emperor
The Senate still met, but the emperor had all of
the real power
THE PAX ROMANA
Pax RomanaPax Romana
Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and
expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE
The Empire was over 3
million square miles in size
and contained about 80
million people
Pax Romana became the “golden age” of Rome as emperors like Augustus built well-paved roads and a modern
infrastructure; they had a merit-based bureaucracy to rule the empire
Roman aqueducts brought water to cities
Emperors built arenas and used chariot races, gladiator events, and theater to
entertain the Roman people
The Roman Coliseum
Rome would have a wide range of different
emperors over the years
ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE
UGLY
Several emperors were
excellent leaders (like Trajan and
Marcus Aurelius)
ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE
UGLY
Some were not so good; Nero was
ruthless and uncaring of the Roman people’s well-being; the legend is that Nero played his
fiddle while part of Rome burned (then
blamed Christians for the fire)
ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE
UGLY
ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE
UGLY
Commodus was a weak and inept leader, leading a life of laziness and debauchery
ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE
UGLY Domitian was paranoid and devised many tortures and executions for his enemies
ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE
UGLY Caligula was a psychopath; he
raped whomever he wanted, killed
for greed and pleasure, and
thought he should have been treated
as a god
Despite having some bad emperors mixed in with the great ones, the Roman Empire grew in
size, power, and glory
But all things come to an end, and the Roman Empire, for all its greatness, would eventually
decline and fall