The Roman Empire

Introduction to the Roman Empire

Introduction

• 500 BC, Rome just a small town in Italy

• 133 BC, Rome controlled all of Italy and many foreign lands. Spain, Greece, Macedonia, Turkey, North Africa

• Roman Empire quickly spread to Europe

Reasons for Success

• Rome was located in the centre of the Mediterranean world. This made it easy for its army and navy to move quickly in any direction.

Reasons For Success

• Soldiers were courageous and well trained, and battles were carefully planned ahead of time by able generals.

• Romans had the ability to make friends out of their defeated enemies. Eventually conquered people accepted the Roman rule and the peace that it bought.

Rise and Fall of Rome: Overview

Video: Legacy of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire: Italy

• Italy is shaped like a high-heeled boot

• Has islands with largest being Sicily

• Italy is a peninsula that extends from Southern Europe to the Mediterranean Sea

The Roman Empire: Italy

• Italy is hilly and mountainous

• The Alps separate Italy from Europe, Apennines run the length of the peninsula

• Mountains encouraged independent states in Ancient Italy

The Roman Empire: Italy

• Italy has great farmland

• Most population found in Italy’s plains

• Rome found halfway up

• Rome is built of hills along the Tiber River which protects it from floods and enemies

• Good for farming, freshwater, transportation, and an outlet to the sea

Vocabulary

• City – State: city that is also a nation or country

• Veto: the power to reject proposals and acts, to cancel someone’s decision

• Twelve tables: Laws that gave common people protection against unfair decisions by patrician judges

• Punic wars: the three wars Rome fought with Carthage

Vocabulary

• Dictator: absolute ruler of Rome, rules over all the citizens and slaves

• Carthage: in North Africa. Carthage and Rome fought three wars to control all trade on the Mediterranean

Vocabulary

• First Triumvirate The three most powerful leaders formed an

alliance to govern the country (empire) together (share the power).

Crassus, Caesar, and Pompey; each person would be in complete control of a specific portion of the empire.

Caesar got the west, Pompey got the centre (Italy), and Crassus the east. They were not allowed to travel into the other leaders area.

Vocabulary

• Second Triumvirate: Three of Caesar’s supporters who joined forces

against Caesar’s murderers.

Rome’s Social Class

• In some republics “the people” had the power to elect the leader.

• Only certain classes could vote

• Three classes Patricians Plebeians Slaves (not Romans and couldn’t vote)

The Roman Republic

• 500 B.C., Romans drove out Etruscan rulers and established a Republic

• Not a democracy like Athens, leaders all patricians (the wealthy)

• Consuls ran government and army

• Consuls hold office for a year and little chance of gaining power

• Two consuls kept each other in check with power to veto

The Roman Republic

• 300 patricians in the senate

• Responsible for making tough decisions

• Common people had no say in decisions

• Under Roman law common people could not be in government or marry patricians

• Fight for equality would last nearly 200 years

The Roman Republic

• Early on plebeians said they would not fight in the army unless they got say in government

• Not good because of ongoing wars with Italy

• Patricians let plebeians have an assembly and elect 10 people who could argue with consuls

• These were called Tribunes.

• Done to avoid civil war

The Roman Republic

• 451 B.C., patricians let plebeians write the Twelve Tables

• A set of laws to protect plebeians from unfair patrician judges

• Next two centuries plebeian position improves

• Allowed to marry patricians, hold office for consul, make laws for all, and become members of the Senate

• Enslavement for debt outlawed

• 287 B.C., equality although patricians still made up the nobility and held highest positions

Decision Making

• Decisions made on a personal level

• Citizens chose a town elder

• Elder able to ask citizens for advice to make his decisions

• Decisions often favoured patricians at expense of plebeians

• This strained the relationship between patricians and plebeians

• Patricians did not care about things that would benefit plebeians