Transcript Rome*s Beginnings: Romulus and Remus

Mythical version:
• Trojan prince Aeneas discovers Latins while looking
for the promised land.
• Romulus and Remus, sons of Latin Princess and god
Mars – they were abandoned
• Romulus kills Remus and he becomes first king
Historical version:
• Latins settled on Palatine, a fertile area with a
pleasant climate around 1200 B.C.
• Etruscans of Etruria ruled Rome (Latin) for 200 years
• Romans overthrew Etruscan leaders and set up a
Republic in 509 B.C.
 Romans conquered and controlled all of Italy by
275 B.C.
 City-state Carthage ruled much of North Africa,
Spain, and Sicily
 Roman conflict with Carthage started the Punic
Wars – lasted over 100 years
 Romans fought Carthaginians for control of the
Mediterranean Sea.
 Hannibal defeated at Zama; Carthage lost all its
territories to Rome.
 By 146 B.C. Rome was the leading power of the
Mediterranean.
Rome’s conquests caused changes in the economy and
government:
~ large estates replaced small farms; cities became
crowded
~ the gap grew between the rich and the poor
Attempts were made to improve conditions in Rome:
~ Gracchi brothers gave land and wheat to the poor
~ General Marius gave power to the army
~ General Sulla gave more power to the Senate
Julius Caesar built up the army and took power
~ He conquered Britain, Libya, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Numidia
and Asia Minor
~ Caesar was assassinated by those who opposed his rule
~After Caesar’s death, power was shared by Marc Antony,
Lepidus and Octavian
~Civil war broke out between Antony and Cleopatra and
Octavian
~Octavian won naval victory at Actium in 31 B.C.
~When Antony was defeated and Egypt was made a Roman
province, he and Cleopatra committed suicide to
avoid being paraded through Rome as captives
~Octavian became the absolute ruler of Rome; he was
given the title “Augustus” (honored)
~As Rome’s “First Citizen”, Augustus ended the expansion
of the Empire at its defensible boundaries: Rhine,
Danube, and Euphrates rivers; and Sahara Desert
~Augustus introduced the “Pax Romana”, a time of peace
~ Augustus’ successors accepted his defensive foreign
policies
~ Trajan, Rome’s last great conqueror, established new
provinces in Dacia, Armenia, Assyria and Mesopotamia
~ The Empire reaches its greatest height under Trajan in
A.D. 117
~Five good emperors ruled Rome between A.D. 96 and
A.D. 186
~After A.D. 186, civil wars broke out in the Empire and
emperors lost control
~Rome’s size was difficult to manage; Diocletian divided it
in two
~Barbarians attacked the Empire from many sides
~Internally, the gladiatorial games were one sign of Rome’s
decline