Geography

• Location

• Punic Wars

• Farming

• Expansion of the Roman Empire

Location• In the Mediterranean Sea,

Rome gained the islands Consia, Sardinia, and Sicily from Carthage.

• Rome was built on the seven hills that includes Capitoline Hill, Palatine Hill, Aventine Hill, Caeline Hill, Esquiline Hill, Viminal Hill, and Quirinal Hill.

• When the city states grew, they established colonies along the sea coasts.

Punic Wars• During the second Punic

War, Rome expanded territories throughout the Mediterranean region.

• In the treaty, that Carthage and Rome agreed on, Italy belonged to Rome, and the western Mediterranean belonged to Carthage.

• According to the treaty, Sicily was considered territory for both Roman and Carthage.

Farming

• Romans would trade many things for farming such as wheat and grain.

• The Greeks would begin farming colonies to increase farm land, and trade.

• Since Greeks had limited farmland, they relied on imported grain.

Expansion of the Roman Empire

• In 264 B.C., Rome gained Italy.

• During the second Punic War, Rome continued its expansion by conquering the Po Valley in northern Italy.

• The Romans drove the Etruscans out of Italy, and took over the Italian Peninsula.

Religion

• Spread of Christianity

• Roman Beliefs

• Etruscan Mysticism

• Greek Mythology

Spread of Christianity

• Christians don’t cremate their children’s body, so their soul will rise to heaven.

• Unlike Romans, Christians believe in one god, and one god only.

• Christians communities were established along the Roman Empire.

Roman Beliefs

• After a baby’s birth, the farther would inspect the baby to see if it is healthy. If it is unhealthy, than the baby was left outside to die.

• Romans believe in many gods.

• Christian communities were established along the Roman Empire.

Etruscan Mysticism

• The Etruscans believed that gods gave them the sign of nature.

• They thought that they can predict good harvests by studying the seasonal migrations of birds.

• Etruscan diviners used the stars to plan the layouts of their town.

Greek Mythology

• Greeks conducted elaborate rituals and sacrifices to favor of their gods.

• Greek Gods and Goddesses controlled all aspects of Greek life.

• The Greeks believed in a few gods, unlike the Christians who believed in one god only.

Achievements

• Development of Aqueducts

• Development of the Dome

• Latin Language

• Network of Concrete Roads

Development of Aqueducts

• This was a supply of water that was used for drinking.

• It came from springs, wells, and distant lakes.

• The Development of Aqueducts was also used for irrigation and planting crops.

Development of the Dome• They improved on

designing by inventing the Dome that is a roof formed by rounded arches.

• Today we use this achievement by using the same architecture to make the Capital Building.

• The most celebrated Roman dome was the Pantheon, which was designed by Antonia Ralladic.

Latin Language

• The Latin Language was considered the romance language.

• The source of the Latin Language was the Greek alphabet.

• People relied on this so that they can understand, talk, and write to each other.

Network of Concrete Roads

• These roads were built for transportation across the Roman Empire.

• The Concrete Roads were important for transporting trading goods.

• Many people took advantage of these roads for directing them to places they want to go.

Politics

• Republican Government

• Political Corruption

• Freedom for Women

• System of Laws

Republican Government• There are three branches

of government called the Consuls, the Senate, and the Assembly.

• In 509 B.C., the Romans expelled their Etruscan kings and established the Republic.

• When the Roman Republic was first set up, the people in charge were two people called consuls. Women were not allowed to be consuls.

Political Corruption

• The choice of a new emperor was always open to debate between the old emperor, the senate, the Praetorian Guard, and the army.

• Beginning in A.D. 186, when the army strangled the emperor, the practice of selling the throne to the highest bidder.

• During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 new bidders.

Freedom for Women

• Women were given the right to own property, which helped give other rights.

• Hortensia was a leader of women rights. She led a protest against the government taxing 1,400 wealthiest women during the Roman Civil War in 42 B.C.

• She spoke out publicly against government actions, and succeeded in getting political leaders to change their minds.

System of Laws• The Roman Senate was

the most powerful branch of the Government after the emperor.

• Laws were decided by votes of the senators and posted around the city.

• Crimes happened usually at night because of the poor lighting. Some streets were closed because of curfews and they were also dangerous.

Economy

• Inflation

• Trade

• Unemployment

• Excessive Spending

Inflation• The Roman Economy

suffered from inflation (the increase of prices) after the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

• Once the Romans stopped conquering new islands, the flow of gold into the Roman Economy decreased.

• Many people stopped using coins and began to trade goods for goods rather than using money.

Trade• Romans would trade to

get wheat and grain to farm.

• They ended up making trade routes, so it would be easier to direct where you go to trade different goods.

• Many people would rather trade goods for goods than use money.

Unemployment• Slave owners would sell their

crops for lower prices, then farmers couldn’t compete with those prices and eventually sold or lost their farms.

• Thousands of these men filled the empire, where they were not enough jobs to provide them.

• At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more than100,000 unemployed people in Rome alone.

Excessive Spending• Maintaining an army to

defend the borders of the Empire from barbarian attacks was a constant drain of the Government.

• The army was hot only unreliable, but very expensive.

• The emperors were forced to raise taxes frequently, the majority of which were paid by businessmen and farmers which hurt the economy.

Social Events

• Recreation

• Education

• Plebeians

• Patricians

Recreation• Romans enjoyed

watching bloody spectacles of the Gladiator Games in the Coliseum.

• They would cheer for there favorite racer, and if that racer didn’t win riots usually broke out.

• Usually slaves or prisoners of war fought each other to their death.

Education

• Instead of going to school, poor children would go to work at the ages of six and seven instead.

• Before the age of seven, wealthy children were home schooled by their fathers.

• Tutors would write on long scrolls, while children would write lessons on a small wooden board made of wax.

Plebeians

• Plebeians were the working class of ancient Rome. (farmers, bankers, builders, and craftsmen)

• They worked hard to support their families.

• Unlike more privileged classes, most plebeians couldn’t write, so they would not be able to record their experiences.

Patricians

• Patricians sat at the top of the Roman Society next to the emperor.

• The word “Patrician” comes from the Latin word “patres” which means “fathers”. These families provided the empire’s political, religious and military leadership.

• Most patricians were wealthy landowners from old families.

What are the most important ideas that you learned about

ancient Rome?• The most important ideas that I learned about ancient

Rome is trade and recreation. I consider trade important in ancient Rome because they traded many goods like grain and wheat to farm. They also traded to receive goods without using money. I also consider recreation important in ancient Rome because that is where many people would meet up to socialize. They were aloud to sit next to separate genders, so that is where many people would find their boyfriend or girlfriend. I believe that the most important ideas that I learned in ancient Rome is trade and recreation.