ROME:

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

Geography

Ancient Italy: 750 BC

Romulus and Remus

ROMAN REPUBLIC509 B.C.E- 29 B.C.E.

Republican Government 2 Consuls

Rulers of Rome Served one year term

Senate Representative body composed of patricians

Patricians- Noble families Tribal Assembly

Representative body for plebeians Plebeians- lower class

The Twelve Tables Provided political and social rights for the

plebeians

Roman Engineering Extensive Road system Aqueducts Forum Coliseum

Rome’s Early Road System

Roman Aquaducts

Roman Forum

The Colosseum

Colosseum Interior

Carthaginian Empire

Carthaginian War

Roman Reforms Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus

Gave the poor grain and small plots of free land

Gauis Marius Recruited an army from the poor and

homeless Gave them land for their service Professional standing army

Problems Class tensions Gracchus brothers reforms did not

work Civil War Breaks out 88-82 B.C.E New generals emerge

Sulla vs. Marius Sulla named Dictator

Tries to Reform Rome Reforms ultimately fail

Sulla relinquishes his power back to the Senate

The First Triumvirate Group of three rulers 60 BC – Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey dominate Rome for 10 years Breakdown of Triumvirate:

Julius Caesar governing Gaul Crassus sent to Persia Pompei stays in Rome

Caesar marches on Rome 49 B.C.E. Reforms as an Absolute Ruler Death- Ides of March 44 B.C.E.

Beware the Ides of March!

Et tu, Brute?

Octavion Augustus vs. Marc Antoni

The Second Triumvirate Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus

ended in violence Octavian defeated Antony &

Cleopatra in battle of Actium 31 BC Begins the Roman Empire

THE ROMAN EMPIRE

27 BCE - 476 CE

Caesar Augustus Octavian claimed to restore Republic

Augustus – exalted one Imperator – supreme military commander

(emperor) Had right to select his own heir

Very simple and frugal

Pax Romana27 B.C.E- 180 C.E.

207 years of peace Roman Empire spanned more than 3

million square miles Population: 60 - 80 million

Greatest Extent of the Roman Empire 14 C.E.

Roman Empire Ecomony

90% engaged in agriculture Luxury items obtained through trade Denarius – common coinage Roman Roads

Government Soldiers of Roman Army left in the provinces

to govern Often intermarried with locals

Locals allowed to keep customs and religious practices

Roman Road Network

Roman Weaknesses Roman empire was an empire with long,

exposed landward frontiers. African Coastal provinces flanked by deserts

False sense of security Europe never satisfactorily defended

Even after 100 years of conquest/expansion Most crucial mistake Caesar made was not

expanding beyond the Rhine river and accepting those cultures Would be bitter about not being included in the

Roman Empire

Rome in Crisis: 3 C.E.

Problems of the Western Empire

Sprawling Size Long, vulnerable land frontier

Civil Wars Uneasy relations with Persia Christianity

Subversive- challenged worship of Emperor as divine

Germanic peoples coveted Roman Wealth

Diocletian Splits the Empire in two: 294 C.E.

Barbarian Invasions: 4c-5c

Attila the Hun:“The Scourge of God”

Constantine: 312 - 337

Constantinople: “The 2nd Rome” (Founded in 330)

Spread of Christianity

The Byzantine EmpireDuring the Reign of Justinian

Legacy of the Roman Empire:

Republic Government Roman Law Latin Language Roman Catholic Church Romanesque Architectural Style Roman Engineering

Aqueducts Sewage systems Dams Cement Arch