Microsoft Power Point - Ancient Rome

8/6/2019 Microsoft Power Point - Ancient Rome

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Ancient Rome


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Roman Mythology: MoreGods

Polytheistic Cupid was part of

Roman mythology

Many Gods were ofGreek origins, but

apparently renamed to

suit their culture andlanguage


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Social Structure: Organizedand Patriarchal Consisted ofpatricians(land-owning noblemen)

and plebeians (all otherfree men)

Rome was organized as arepresentative republic

Senate (patricians families)

Assembly (initially made up

of patricians, but lateropened to plebeians)

Two consuls were electedby the Assembly . Theconsuls had veto powerover decisions made bythe Assembly.


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Social Structure: Organizedand Patriarchal This structure was muchmore stable than the Greek

polis, in which every malecitizen was expected to

vote on every issue. Thisis similar to theconstitutional democracyin the US.

The US government isstructured after the RomanRepublic. Instead of twoconsuls, the US has apresident.


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Social Structure: Organizedand Patriarchal

Early on, Rome developed civil lawsto protect individual rights (similar to

the Bill of Rights)

The laws were later codified andbecame known as the Twelve Tables

of Rome (the concept of innocent

until proven guilty originated here).

Later the laws extended to aninternational code that applied to

Rome's conquered territories.


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The social structure of thefamily center onpater

familias- eldest male in the

family- though women did

have considerable influenceon their families, with some

supervising a family

business or family estate.

Roman women could own

property , but were still

considered inferior to men.


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Slavery was an importantelement, as in Greece, to

the social structure of

Rome.

Slaves comprised about

1/3 of the population-

most of whom came from

conquered territories

some of them had the

possibility of freedom.


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Roman Military Domination:All Directions, All the Time

As Rome expanded,Carthage, a city state ofNorth Africa withpowerful ambitions of its

own, became its firstenemy.

It didnt take long toescalate into full wars.

They became known asthe Punic Wars 264 to 146B.C.E.


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The first Punic War (264-241) was fought to gaincontrol of the island ofSicily; Rome won this

one. The second began in 218B.C.E. with an attack byHannibal, a Carthaginian

general, considered one ofthe great military geniusesof all time.


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Hannibal led his army all theway to northern Italy, crossedthe Alps (on elephants) andsurprised the Romans.

He was on the verge ofdestroying Rome when Romansoldiers landed in Carthage. Hehad to return home to defend his

city. Fifty years later, in 149 B.C.E.,

the Third Punic War wasinstigated by Rome.


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Roman Military Domination:All Directions, All the Time Rome invaded Carthage and

burned it to the ground. Romethen continued its expansionthroughout the Mediterranean.

Warfare aided the spread ofRoman culture throughout muchof western Europe and theMediterranean.

To maintain their empire theRomans built an extensive roadnetwork and aqueducts, andgreatly enlarged their navy.


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Collapse of the Republic andRise of Imperialism

Following the Punic Wars the situation aroundRome was becoming unsettled.

First landowners had begun using more slaves from theconquered territories. This displacement of small farmers,

who moved to the cities, caused overcrowding andunemployment.

Second, the Roman currency was deflated, causing a highrate of inflation.

Third, the political leaders began fighting amongthemselves. The power of the Senate weakened andultimately the power transfer to three men


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Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesarbecame known as the First Triumvirate.

Ceasar was given power over southernGaul (France) and other parts of

Europe. Civil War between the Senateand Caesars followers resulted inresulted in pushing Pompey andCrassus out of the picture.

Caesar than became emperor for life.His angry senators assassinated him in44 B.C.E.


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After his death a second triumviratecomposed of Octavius, Marc Antony,

and Lepidus came to power. Things

did not change much the second time

around. Power shifted to Octavius whorose to power and assumed the name

Augustus Caesar. The days of the

Roman Republic were over and the

empire was led by a single emperor.


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Collapse of the Republic andRise of Imperialism Under Augustus, Rome became the

capital of the western world.

Established

Common coinage

Civil service

Secure travel for merchants

With these elements in place theempire returned to stability and for

the next 200 years they enjoyedpeace and prosperity. This periodbecame known as the Pax Romana(Roman Peace).


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Collapse of the WesternPortion of the Roman Empire

With the Roman peace thearts flourished, especially

literature and architecture.

OvidsMetamorphoses

VirgilsAeneid

Pantheon, Coliseum, and

Forum

Science and Technology

Ptolemy (astronomy)

Roads and aqueducts


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Religious Diversity: NewChiefs on Beliefs Early days in the Roman Republic- paganism

was the state religion

Christianity grew out of Judaismfirsttolerated then seen as threats to their power

Nero began to persecute Christians, evenkilling them in open spectacle at theColosseum.

Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of

Milan in 313 C.E. By 391 C.E. Christianity became the official

religion of the Roman Empire.


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The fall of the RomanEmpire has many theoriesand is endlessly debatedover.

Internal decay

Weak or bad rulers

Series of epidemics

External pressure

Size and the expense ofmaintaining it (Germanicinvaders)


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In 284 C.E. Diocletian had becomeemperor

Divided the empire into two regions run by

co-emperors

Brought armies back under imperial control To deal with economic problems he

strengthened the imperial currency, forced a

budget on the government, and capped prices

to deal with inflation. Civil War erupted upon his retirement


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322 C.E. Constantine came to power. He ordered the building of Constantinople at the

site of the Greek city of Byzantium in 340 C.E.

Problems of shrinking income and externalpressure proved insurmountable

After his death the empire was divided into twopieces, east and west

The eastern half (Constantinople) thrived

The western half (Rome) spiraled downward


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Microsoft Power Point - Ancient Rome