the roman republic and the roman empire

THE ROMAN

REPUBLIC and

THE ROMAN

EMPIRE

Essential Question:What were the lasting characteristics of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire?

In addition to Greece, another significant classical civilization

was ancient Rome

Impact of Geography on RomeIdentify one GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE and propose

how it might impact the culture of Rome

The Geography of Rome Rome was located on the Italian peninsula

along the Mediterranean Sea

The Romans were influenced by the Greeks and a neighboring tribe called the Etruscans

The Culture of Ancient RomeRoman religion was

polytheistic and based on the Greek gods (usually only

the names changed)

The Culture of Ancient Rome

Roman writing was

called Latin; it was based

on Greek writing

The Culture of Ancient RomeRoman architecture borrowed

heavily from Greek styles

The Culture of Ancient RomeLike Greek agoras, Roman cities had a forum

for markets and public gatherings

Ancient Roman SocietyRoman society was divided into three major groups

At the top were the nobles (called patricians); they controlled most of the land and held key

military and government positions

Ancient Roman SocietyRoman society was divided into three major groups

Patricians made up 5% of all Roman citizens

The Life of the Patricians

Ancient Roman Society

Most Roman people were commoners (called plebeians); they were farmers,

shopkeepers, or peasants


Plebeians paid the majority of taxes collected in the Roman Republic; they

made up 95% of Roman citizens

The Life of the Plebeians


At the bottom of society were slaves and residents

of the Roman Republic who were not Roman

Quick Class Discussion:

Based upon this image, what was

Roman government

like?

The Government of Ancient Rome

When Rome was first

founded, it was ruled by kings; but in 509 BCE, the

Romans created a republic


A republic is a form of

government in which citizens

have the power to elect their

leaders

The most important feature of the republic was the Senate, whose 300 members were elected by citizens to make laws and taxes

The Government of Ancient Rome In 451 BCE, government

officials wrote down Rome’s laws onto the Twelve Tables, which

were hung in the forum for all citizens to see

The Twelve Tables were based on the idea that

all citizens of Rome had a right to the protection

of the law


The Twelve Tables made

clear how the law would be

applied to Roman citizens

The United States also has a republican government, very similar to the one of

Ancient Rome

The Roman Military

Rome was protected by an advanced army of professional soldiers

(not part-time soldiers who were farmers or merchants by trade)

The Roman MilitaryRome had the largest army in the Mediterranean

at the time; it was also highly organizedThe Roman soldiers were divided into

groups of 5000 men called legions

Each legion was divided into smaller groups of 80 men (called centuries) commanded by

elite soldiers called centurions

The highly organized command structure ensured that legions could be rapidly

deployed against the enemy

Advances in military technology (such as catapults) enabled the professional Roman

soldiers to not only defend the Romans’ territory, but to expand it

The Romans went to war with a neighboring kingdom, Carthage

(based in northern Africa)

THE PUNIC WARS

THE PUNIC WARS

The Carthaginians engaged the Romans in three long wars over the

course of about a hundred years

THE PUNIC WARSLed by the great

general Hannibal, the Carthaginians nearly defeated the Romans in

the second war; they invaded the Italian peninsula

and almost captured Rome

The Romans held the Carthaginians off, then completely destroyed

Carthage in their third war

THE PUNIC WARS

With Carthage’s defeat, the Romans were then the most dominant power in the Mediterranean,

carving out an enormous empire

THE PUNIC WARS

ROMAN TERRITORY

Controlling this massive territory,

though, would present new

problems for the Romans

PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues:

The new lands brought more slaves, which

created a job shortage for Roman citizens

Generals who controlled the army

became more powerful than Senators

PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues:

People flocked to the big cities from farms, which created food

supply shortagesStruggles for power led to a series of civil wars

between Romans

JULIUS CAESARFrom the turmoil within the Roman Republic, a new political leader

emerged: a general named Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar partnered with two

other Roman politicians to take control of Rome (they formed a triumvirate)

Julius was extremely popular with the

Roman people, due to his great military

victories

Julius Caesar

gathered more power to himself,

while looking to solve the Roman

Republic’s problems by

initiating reforms

Caesar named himself dictator-for-life in 46 BCE, which weakened the Senators’ power a great deal

Fearing that he was becoming too powerful, members of the Roman

Senate conspired to assassinate Caesar

Caesar was cornered and stabbed to death in the Roman Senate building, which began

the end of the Roman Republic

The assassination led to another civil war led by Caesar’s adopted son Octavian and

his best general, Marc Antony

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE

Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate to

rule the Roman Republic


Octavian exacted revenge on the Senators who assassinated Julius

Octavian soon became undisputed ruler of Rome,

renaming himself Augustus Caesar

“Augustus” means “exalted one”; Julius

Caesar’s last name became the title for “emperor”


Augustus did away with the Senators’ power, eventually ending the representative government of Rome and

becoming emperor

The Senate still met, but the emperor had all of

the real power

THE PAX ROMANA

Pax Romana

Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and

expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE

The Empire was over 3

million square miles in size

and contained about 80

million people

Pax Romana became the “golden age” of Rome as emperors like Augustus built well-paved roads and a modern

infrastructure; they had a merit-based bureaucracy to rule the empire

Roman aqueducts brought water to cities

Roman architects used new styles like concrete domes to beautify cities

Emperors built arenas and used chariot races, gladiator events, and theater to

entertain the Roman people

The Roman Coliseum

Rome would have a wide range of different

emperors over the years

ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE

UGLY

Several emperors were excellent

leaders (like Trajan and

Marcus Aurelius)


UGLY

Some were not so good; Nero was

ruthless and uncaring of the Roman people’s well-being; the legend is that Nero played his

fiddle while part of Rome burned (then

blamed Christians for the fire)


UGLY


UGLY

Commodus was a weak and inept leader, leading a life of laziness and debauchery


UGLY Domitian was paranoid and devised many tortures and executions for his enemies


UGLY Caligula was a psychopath; he

raped whomever he wanted, killed

for greed and pleasure, and

thought he should have been treated

as a god

Despite having some bad emperors mixed in with the great ones, the Roman Empire grew in

size, power, and glory

But all things come to an end, and the Roman Empire, for all its greatness, would eventually

decline and fall

CONCLUSIONS

Rome expanded from a city, to a republic, to an empire

The era of the Roman Republic introduced

representative democracy

The era of the Roman Empire led to the Pax Romana and the “golden age” of Roman

innovation and culture

Closure Activity

Would you rather live during the Roman Republic or the Empire? Provide at least 3 reasons why

the roman republic and the roman empire

Documents

roman government

roman republic

roman soldiers

ancient roman societyat

roman army

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roman cities

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