Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10

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Legendary Beginning of the Roman Kingdom

L egend has it that ancient Rome began

with a fight between two brothers,

Romulus and Remus in 753 BCE. The

fight was about where the city would

be and its name. Romulus killed his brother

Remus so he could name the city Rome. Or, it

could have been named for Roma who fled

there after Troy fell. Legend has it that she and

the other women burned the ships so they

and the men were stranded on the Tiber River

and had to build a city. The Roman Kingdom

lasted from 753 BCE-509 BCE.

Italy, where Rome is located, is a peninsula

that looks like a high-heeled boot. It is located

in the center of the Mediterranean Sea,

perfect for trade with the countries around

the sea.

Rome was built on the Tiber River in central

Italy. It soon covered seven hills. The Alps

mountain range in the north and the

Apennines range that lies across central Italy

protected the city from invasion by land. The

river created a natural fjord (deep waterway)

for a harbor that made trade with other

countries very easy.

Volcanic ash from volcanoes such as Mt.

Vesuvius made for rich soil excellent for

agriculture. Because the soil and the mild

climate were perfect for grains, olive trees,

grapes, and citrus fruits, the population grew

quickly as did the economy. The surplus crops

were traded with Greece, Spain, Africa, and

Asia.

The Greek settlers to the south influenced

Rome’s trade practices, dress, and religions,

and the Etruscans of the north influenced the

Roman culture, and luxurious living. The

Romans were talented at improving skills

learned from their neighboring cultures.

War and Power

Rome and Carthage in northern Africa, were

rivals in trade. Carthage, at the time of Rome’s

birth, was the most powerful trade center in

the Mediterranean Sea. As Rome grew, it

became a threat to the Carthaginian economy.

Historical Snapshot An ancient Rome Close Reading Investigation

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Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10

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Two wars broke out called the Punic Wars.

The Second Punic War was led by brilliant

generals. Hannibal was on the Carthage side,

and Marcus Marcellus and Quintus Fabius

Maximus for the Romans. War broke out

when Hannibal invaded Italy intending to

make the outlying cities rebel against Roman

rule. Hannibal’s efforts failed when Quintus

Fabius, nicknamed The Delayer, waged

guerilla warefar (attacking and running then

attacking again). When Marcus Marcellus

attacked Carthage from the sea, Hannibal

had to run home to defend his city.

Rome won wars against the Carthaginians

and Macedonians being fought at the same

time. By 52 BCE, after they won wars against

the Seleucid Empire and the Gauls, Rome

was most the powerful force in the world.

But still, Roman ships were plagued by

pirates so they did not completely dominate

the sea.

The Republic of Rome

As the Romans conquered more and more

territories, they brought back slaves to do

the hard labor. This displaced Roman citizen

laborers who became angry at the loss of

jobs and income. The Patricians (elite of the

population) became richer and richer, while

the poor, the Plebeians, became

even more poor.

Around 509 BCE the last king of Rome,

Tarquin the Proud, was removed from the

throne, and a system based on elected

officials and representatives was established.

The people governed themselves. The

leaders wrote a constitution to protect rights

of the individual citizens and set up three

branches of government for checks and

balances of power, and separation of

powers. The Senate was the oldest being

formed as an advisory counsel to the kings.

Then, in the Republic, the senators advised

the two highest ranking officials, the consuls

or magistrates. The Consuls led the armies

and the civil government, and the Roman

assemblies had control over elections,

criminal trials, and legislation (laws). The

Senate controlled the money, foreign policy,

and daily administrative duties, which meant

the Senate had the most power of the three.

This system is called a republic. Rome was

the first country to be ruled by the people.

Patricians first held these offices, then they

were opened to elected plebeians. United

States has the same kind of government with

three branches, and the checks and balances

as well as the separation of powers.

The law of Rome was written on the Twelve

Tables (tablets) so the population could

read and be aware. The law insured Roman

citizens fair treatment. The Republic of Rome

lasted from 509 BCE to 27 BCE. However, the

Roman Empire lasted for another four

hundred and forty-nine years until 476 CE.

That mean that Roman was a recognized

power for about 1,200 years!

Roman society and economy

But being the most powerful brought many

costs to society and economy. With the

defeat of Macedonia and Seleucids, the

cultures merged and the once rural and plain

living of the Patricians became luxurious.

Even though Rome had no warring enemies,

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Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10

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the soldiers were away from their small

farms longer than ever before so their

income decreased. The huge farm estates

that produce goods to export squeezed out

the unattended smaller farms. These farm

estates were the first commercialized

agriculture. The owners depended on slave

labor that deprived Roman citizens of labor

wages.

War booty and tax farming (a way of taxation

that required a fixed amount of taxes from a

community or city, and how the people

raised the funds for the taxes was their own

business) raised a new class of merchants

called the Equites, sometimes called knights.

They ranked just below the patricians. Rome

conducted a regular census to regulate taxes.

Religion in Roman Culture

The Romans believed that any conquered

people would behave better if they could

worship in their own religion, so they

accepted all the gods of the countries they

defeated. It is called polytheism. The only

religion to be recognized by Rome that did

not come from a conquered country was

Christianity. It was never the official religion

of any country until Constantinople of the

Roman Eastern Empire made it the official

religion of the citizens in the early 300s CE.

Roman achievements

The Roman Constitution provided that Rome

was responsible for building and maintaining

all main roads. To save money, they invented

a way to build roads that lasted. Some of the

roads such as the Appian Way that leads into

Rome are still usable today. They also built

aqueducts, manmade water ducts that were

above ground or underground that carried

fresh water from the mountains to the

towns. Romans invented the vaulted ceiling

that supported ceilings of tremendous

weight, and they used concrete to build

structures like the Pantheon that have lasted

for more than 2,000 years. The calendar we

use today was laid out by Julius Caesar who

was declared Rome’s dictator, and July is

named after him. Augustus Caesar (the first

Roman emperor) named August. Another

invention of the Romans is the bound book.

Instead of a heavy, long scroll, Roman law

students could study from an actual book just

like today! Crassus, a powerful man in Rome,

charged a “safety fee” to the people. If they

paid, he would not burn down their homes. If

they did not pay, he would charge them to

send men to put out the fire. Thus, the first

fire department was invented.

Roman Empire

The Empire began when Julius Caesar had

the Senate declare him dictator over Rome.

In 44 BCE, a few men were afraid he would

disband the Senate so they murdered him.

Julius Caesar’s heir, Octavius, and his

nephew, Mark Antony, and his friend,

Lepidus, defeated Caesar’s murderers. They

divided up the empire into three divisions:

Octavius took Rome; Lepidus took Africa and

Spain, and that kept him out of the power

struggles; Antony took the eastern section.

Antony got involved with Cleopatra of Egypt,

which upset the balance of power. In 31 BCE,

Octavius defeated Antony and Cleopatra’s

armies giving him sole power over Rome.

Then Octavius changed his name to

Augustus, and he was declared emperor over

Rome in 27 BCE.

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Complete the following questions by using the reading, Historical Snapshot: Ancient Rome Close Reading Investigation.

1. List the section subheading(s) where you can find the following key concepts for social science:

Geography: ______________________________ Religion: _______________________________________

Achievements: ______________________________________________________________________________

Economy: __________________________________________________________________________________

Leadership: _________________________________________________________________________________

2. Achievements: Write an excerpt from the reading that explains why the development of a republic was important. Write your selection in quotation marks._________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Achievements: Sketch four important inventions developed by the Romans.

4. Vocabulary: What is the meaning of the word “aqueduct” in the following sentence? They also built aqueducts to bring fresh water from the mountains.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Geography: What did the Alps and the Apennines have to do with the development of the city of Rome? _________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Religion: Why were there so many gods in the Roman Republic?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Achievements: What was so unusual about the Roman Republic? What are the three branches of government?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Achievements: Who invented the first fire department? What crooked way did he use to do it?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Economy: Think about it! Rome had a mild climate and rich soil for agriculture. Why would this help the population of Rome increase? Why did it help the economy expand?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Leadership: Write an excerpt from the reading that explains what happened to the first dictator of

Rome.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania

Historical Snapshot An ancient Rome Close Reading Investigation Analysis

Name____________________________ Period_____