Transcript Presentation

Ancient rome
Geography, people, & expansion
Founding Legend of romulus
and remus - twin boys left to die by a
wicked uncle, found and suckled by a shewolf, raised by a sheperd, who grow up to
reclaim their royal birthright and found
rome
Geography:
1. Italian peninsula – shaped like a boot
2. Alps – mountains to the north,
separating italy from the rest of
europe
3. Apennines – mountains running
north to south along the peninsula
4. Tiber River- rome is located 15
miles from the mouth, off the west
coast of the peninsula
5. Po River- in the north, its valley is
the “bread basket” of rome
6. Sicily – large island off the toe
of the boot
people
1. latins
Found and settle rome along the
tiber river In the 700’s bc
2. etruscans
Influenced roman:
Engineering – paved roads, sewers,
draining swamps
Architecture – the dome & arch
Religion – prophecy based on
flight of birds & internal organs
of animals
Triumph – parade for victorious
returning military
Government (The Republic)
4. Magistrates(officials)
>Consuls
1. Romans overthrow
2.Senate
•Served
as
the
chief
Etruscan king in 509 B.C.
•The most important and
executives
who
ran
and set up a form of gov’t
powerful governing
the
gov’t.
in which voters elect
body (300 Patricians).
>Praetors
officials to run the state
•Controlled public funds
•In
times
of
war
they
called a Republic
or taxes
commanded armies
•Determined foreign
•In
times
of
peace
3. Assemblies
policy
they oversaw the
•Citizens in
•In times of emergency
legal system
these
the Senate could name a
>Censors
assemblies
dictator for 6 months
- Recorded
voted on
population for tax
laws
purposes
-Oversaw moral
conduct of the
people
*Censors/Census
today?
Conflict of the Orders
(or Social Classes)
1. The powerful aristocratic or upper class that controlled the
government was called the Patrician class
2. The lower social class, discriminated against by law and which
gradually gains more rights, was called the Plebian class
3. The Twelve Tables of law, which spelled out rights, were
engraved on stone tablets and placed in the chief public square
called the Forum
Miscellaneous
1.Army
– The most important military unit of the Roman army was made up of
4,500 - 6,000 men and was called the legion
2. Family
– The father had absolute authority in the family and
Was called the paterfamilias
3. Religion
– Family worship centered on the goddess of the hearth called Vesta
– After the Romans Conquered the Greeks they identified their gods with
those of Olympus – just giving them Latin names Ex. Zeus becomes
Jupiter
– Etruscan influence also caused Romans to believe a god’s will or the
future could be learned by observing the internal organs of sacrificed
animals and the flight of birds
* Later Romans will at first persecute Christians and then
adopt Christianity as the official state religion
expansion
Rome expands from A village to a
city-state, (then a monarchy under the
etruscans) then to a republic, and finally
to an empire
1. rome vs carthage
A. Carthage
> A powerful citY-state on coast of north africa
Originally a phoenician (a people from the Eastern
Mediterranean sea) colony
Became a commercial (business) power in the
Western Mediterranean
B. The PUNIC WARS
Latin word for Phoenician is Punicus (so they get
called the “punic” wars)
>Initially Rome has the better army, carthage
The better navy
C. First punic war 264 – 241 B.C.
>the War was fought largely over control of sicily
>rome then builds ships equipped with boarding
Bridges and uses marines to defeat carthage
(after over 20 years of fighting)
>in 241 B.C. carthage asks for peace
>terms include: paying a large indemnity (or
payment for war damages) And the loss of
Sicily
D. Second punic war 218 – 202 B.C.
>Carthaginian army includes infantry,
Cavalry, and war elephants
>Carthaginian general hannibal makes a famous march
with his army from spain over the alps and into italy
Going Over the alps
Crossing the rhone
River In southern
france
E. Hannibal’s army over 15 years:
>defeats any roman legions sent out from rome to fight it
>it can’t defeat rome’s fortified cities or deliver a
knockout Blow to rome itself, but it does ravage S.E. italy
for years
>also, hannibal is unsuccessfull in his attempt to win
italian allies Away from rome to fight for him
Rome eventually turns the tables by invading north
Africa And threatening the city of carthage itself
Battle of zama 202 b.c.
Here, the Roman general scipio (africanus) defeats
hannibal, Ending the 2nd punic war
Battle of Zama
Scipio
Peace treaty terms following
2nd punic War include:
>Another large indemnity
>loss of spain
>Loss of navy
*and, carthage was not to make war without
rome’s permission
F.
rd
3
Punic War
• 149-146 B.C.
• Senator Cato says “Carthage must die”!
• Roman Senate declares war on Carthage, which falls after
a bitter siege and eventually brutal house to house fighting
• Romans raze (or burn) Carthage, enslave surviving
population, and sow the fields with salt
cato
G. Conquest of Hellenistic
East
• During 2nd Punic War, Macedonia had been
was allied with Carthage
• In 197 B.C. Rome defeats Macedonia
• By 133 B.C. Rome’s supremacy in the
Mediterranean was complete
Problems of Roman Expansion:
1.Government
• Officials in charge of provinces, called
Proconsuls (like our Governors today), took
bribes and neglected needs of the people.
• Tax Collectors, because they could keep
whatever they collected in excess of the
legitimate tax, would attempt to squeeze as
much money from the provincial people as they
could
2. Agriculture
• Some Romans acquired large estates called Latifundia
(similar to our pre-Civil War Southern plantations)
• As time passed, Rome came to depend on the provinces for
grain (Ex. Egypt) to feed the masses of people now living
in Rome
• Many small farmer-soldiers had to sell their farms and
move to the cities (Rome)
• Many, not finding jobs came to depend on the government
for food (The “dole”) (*Today’s welfare programs…)
3. Social
• The decline of independent farmers and the growth of jobless
masses in the cities weakened early Roman ideals of discipline
and devotion to the state
• Some slaves enjoyed humane treatment, but some led wretched
lives, and some revolted
• The most brutal slave revolt began in 73 B.C., involved more
than 70,000 slaves, lasted 2 years, and was led by a slave named
Spartacus
*6,000 slaves who initially survived the
Gov’t’s crushing of the revolt were then
Crucified along the Appian way, the main
Road leading into rome