Geography

location

• Rome’s peninsula extends from southern Europe into the Mediterranean sea (this peninsula is 850 miles long)

• The geographic area is close to that of Greece.

• Both Greece and Rome enjoy the climate of the Mediterranean which is hot dry summers and mild winters.

• Rome is also I a good area for trade with many natural harbors for trade.

Geography within Rome

• One of Rome’s main rivers is the Tiber river (this river is the second longest river in the world at 250 miles long)

• There was a high mountain range just beyond the roman peninsula that separated Rome from the rest of Europe that was called the alps that acted as a natural barrier.

• Rome had many plains especially in the North that were very arable

Expansion

• Rome was established in the year 500 BC.

• Rome conquered the rest of Italy in 264BC.

• By 146 BC Rome had conquered Spain, Greece, and Macedonia.

Trade routes

• Roman ships carried wheat from Egypt to Italy and they shipped wine,olive oil,and pottery to Europe and the Greek islands.

• Rome built a series of paved roads that were used so legions but also worked very well for trade.

• Red pottery was exported West to Britain and East to India. Silver bowls and bronze were shipped to Russia and Northern Europe.

Religion

Spread of Judaism

• Judaism like many religions spread from where it began. Many Jews lived in Rome.

• In 63BC Judea became part of the Roman Empire.

• By 300AD Jews had migrated out of Rome into Persia.

• When Jews migrated from their home land it is called a Revolt.

Christianity

• When Jews migrated from their home land it is called a Revolt.

• By 300AD Christianity had spread to three different Countries called Carthage and Alexandria.

• By 300AD Rome had established there first Christian community.

Judaism beliefs

• Jews do not believe in one supreme God like many Romans.

• Jews do not believe in cremation. They bury their dead outside the walls of the empire so that their spirits may be lifted easier.

• Jews do not kill for any good reason and will not betray their religion.

The Roman religion

• Rome had one single main religion.

• Top officials of the Roman Empire acted as priest for the Roman religion.

• The Romans worshiped hundreds of Gods. Many of the Gods were adopted from Greek and Etruscan ideas.

Achievements

Military organization

• As the Roman Empire expanded it needed more Army’s to defend its borders so the Emperors required any citizens who owned land to serve in the Army.

• The Army was divided into legions. These units were made up of six thousand heavily armed soldiers traveling by foot.

• Legions were then divided into groups called Centuries who could be moved around quickly.

• The Roman army was built on the basis of discipline and organization.

Network of concrete roads

• To improve transportation and be able to communicate faster the Romans built a series of concrete roads that stretched across the Empire.

• By 100Ad Rome had built 250,000 miles of roads to connect the cities of Rome.

• These roads were built of heavy cement blocks pressed into crushed rocks and pebbles.

• Roman roads were built to last forever, and like they said, Roman roads still exist in good condition today.

The development of aqueducts

• The growing need of water in Rome forced Romans to build aqueducts.

• Aqueducts were concrete canals that brought water to the cities of Rome to wells and lakes.

• For drinking water the aqueducts had to pass over mountains and through valleys to get to the cities of Rome.

The development of the dome

• Romans learned how to use columns and arches to make a dome shape.

• After Romans learned how to use cement they were able to mold domes on the ground.

• Domes were used in government buildings and other important buildings because of they are structurally sound.

Politics

Hadrian

• Hadrian was a strong believer of Greek culture.

• Hadrian separated Italy into four regions.

• Hadrian built new structures and improved legal system.

Emperors

• There were two emperors that were completely different. One of these emperors was Augustus who was mostly a good emperor but had a couple failures, but then there was Nero who was down right crazy.

• There was also Hadrian who was a strong smart capable man that ruled the empire well but also had some failures.

• And last there was Trajan who believed in other people to solve problems between countries. One way he did this was he sent capable administrators to other countries to solve problems.

Roman republic

• The government had a tri-part tight or three part government. These parts were Magistrates, Senate, and Assemblies

• The Magistrates were the main officials of the Roman Republic. They were the monarchy part of the government. There were two top Magistrates; they lead the government and the army.

• Two assemblies made up the third branch of the government. These assemblies were the Republican and Democratic assemblies.

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Senate

• The first set amount of senates in the office was 300, but was then raised by Sulla to 600, but by Julius censurers’ time he had raised it to 900, but then Augustus later lowered it to 600 again

• Before Augustus became emperor senates were not paid but Augustus changed senates to be rich men from wealthy families and the job usually came hereditary

• Senates were also he head of the states and prepared bills to be past through the civilians to be voted upon.

Economy

Trade

• Romans built many roads, and improved water ways for trade.

• Romans imported silver and dies to decorate and color their clothes

• Rome was a huge empire with many natural resources for trade

Excessive military spending

Maintaining an army was a constant drain on the Roman Empire.

• As the drain went on the roman citizens did not find the need to fight, and the Roman Empire had to rely more and more on recruited soldiers.

• Not only was this army unreliable it was also very expensive which led to the rise of taxes for the citizens.

• Not only was this army unreliable it was also very expensive which led to the rise of taxes for the citizens.

• After Rome had stopped conquering lands the flow of gold had slowed tremendously and had stopped in some parts thus leading to inflation

• Romans spent all their gold on luxury items which left no gold for coins.

Excessive military spending

• During the later years of the empire farming had stopped and farmers were replaced by slaves.

• Thousands of these homeless farmers filled the cities.

• The empire then had to import grain to feed all the unemployed Romans.

Social structure

Patricians and Plebeians

• The Patricians were descendants of the most powerful families or nobles.

• They were large land owners, lived in large houses, and had a lot of political power in the senate.

• The Plebeians were mainly artisans or pheasants.

• They had no political power.• The Plebeians and the

Patricians were separated much like blacks and whites were in early America.

Education

• In early Roman Republic times education was completely in the hands of the children’s parents.

• Boys that were large land owning men would be required to serve in the army.

• Later parents would send their kids off to school to get an education.

The Poor's food

• During 122BC and onward a grain discount was available to the Roman poor people at half price.

• In 58BC it was completely free with some pork, oil, and salt.

• The poor farmers lived on what their crops and animals produced

The wealthy peoples food

• In the morning wealthy Romans ate bread, wine, and cheese with dried fruit and honey.

• In the mid day the Romans ate light. They ate what was left from last night’s dinner

• Dinner was the main meal of the day. Usually it consisted of eggs, salads, vegetables, shell fish, snails, and roasted stuffed door mice. And usually was a three course meal.

Conclusion

I think trade was the most important idea I learned about Rome, because most of

Rome's wealth came from trading there many resources Rome had so many resources

because of it huge size.