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Rome
Founding
1500BC-Latins crossed
Alps
Founded Rome on 7 hills
by Tiber River
Agricultural
750BC-Conquered by Etruscans
Latins (Romans) learned to:
Build roads, walls, & buildings
Make metal weapons
Republic
5th-3rd centuries BC
Social aristocracy
Patricians
Consuls
Senate
Plebeians largely excluded
from government
Plebeians eventually gained
right to vote and hold office
Fasces
 Pittsburg
Federal
Bldg.
 Birmingham,
AL
 Spain
 Nebraska
Supreme
Court, Lincoln
Chicago
City Hall
 Buffalo, NY, City
Council Chamber
Fasces
Fasces
Conquered Mediterranean
World
Italian Peninsula
340-270 BC
Well-trained citizen-soldiers
Wise treatment of conquered peoples
Carthage—264-146 BC—Punic Wars
Rome destroyed and took Carthage
Eastern Mediterranean by 1st century
BC
Effect of
Conquests
Spread Greek culture
Officials/Nobles gained large fortunes
Roman virtues disappeared
Ruined small farmers & workers
Farmers migrated to cities
Politicians offered free programs
Citizen-soldiers replaced by
professional soldiers
Republic to Dictatorship
By 2nd century BC, Roman generals
battled for control Civil War: Caesar vs.
Pompey
60 BC--First Triumvirate
Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus
Caesar had his army’s loyalty
Senate told him to disband army
He invaded Rome
Became dictator
Assassinated in 44 BC
Caesar’s
Roman
Republic
Republic to Dictatorship
Civil War: Octavian vs. Antony
Mark Antony and Octavian
defeated Brutus and Cassius, the
chief conspirators in Julius
Caesar’s death
Octavian defeated Antony
Became absolute ruler of Rome
Roman Empire
27 BC--476 AD
Octavian
Senate gave him the title of Augustus
Began Pax Romana
Developed trade/industry/science/arts
Trajan
Empire at its greatest
Hadrian
Built defensive walls in Britain
Roman Empire
Marcus Aurelius
Philosopher/ruler/soldier
His death ended Pax Romana
Diocletian
Divided Empire
Constantine
Reunited empire
Moved capital to Byzantium
Converted to Christianity
Germanic Invasion
Germans allowed to settle
Huns pushed more Germans in
Visigoths in Spain
Ostrogoths in Italy
Vandals in North Africa
Franks in Gaul
Angles & Saxons in Britain
476AD-last Roman emperor
Why West Fell-Political
Corrupt dictatorial government
Did not have people’s loyalty
Empire could not be governed
efficiently from one central city
Primitive transportation
Poor communication
Rivalry over succession led to
civil wars
Why West Fell-Economic
Small farmers abandoned land
Became workers on large estates
Lost desire to increase production
Heavy, unjust taxation
Burdened people
Destroyed ambition to work and
progress
Widespread use of slaves
Why West Fell-Social
People only interested in luxury &
survival
Ideals had almost vanished
Sharp class distinctions
Cities declined
Previous centers of culture and
industry
People fled to rural regions
Why West Fell-Military
Roman armies included German
mercenaries
Armies considered themselves
masters of the state, not its
servants
Roman Contributions
Pax Romana—27 BC-180 AD
Greco-Roman (classical) civilization spread
throughout Empire
Roman Law
Influenced legal systems in Byzantine
Empire, Western Europe and US
Architecture
Effectively used concrete,
arch and dome
Pantheon
Roman Contributions
Language
Romance languages
Literature
Cicero—Father of Latin prose
Vergil—Wrote the Aeneid
Historical Writing
Livy—Wrote history of Rome
Plutarch—Wrote Parallel Lives
Roman Contributions
Science
Practical scientists in:
Sanitation
Public health
Research scientists generally
non-Roman
Ptolemy (Greek)
Sun revolves around earth