ROME The Italian Peninsula was

ROME

• The Italian Peninsula was settled in prehistory. By 1000 – 500 BCE three groups battled for control. The Latins, who were headquartered at Rome, the Greeks, who had colonies on the southern coast and Sicily, and the Etruscans, who were native to northern Italy.

Roman Social Classes • Early Rome was dominated by two social classes; the patricians and the plebeians. • Patricians - wealthy aristocratic class, Latin nobles. • Plebeians - wealthy non-aristocratic townspeople and landowners as well as merchants and farmers.

Government Under the Republic • Early government was divided into two branches; executive and legislative. • Rome had two officials called consuls who commanded the army and directed the government. • The senate was the aristocratic branch of Rome’s government. (Led foreign & domestic policy) (Later plebians were allowed in the senate. ) • Dictators were chosen during time of crisis by the consuls and elected by the senate.

The Roman Army • Rome’s success in war was due to its strong army. • Every male citizen had to serve in the military when needed. • Roman generals improved on ek military tactics by employing smaller, more mobile divisions of troops. (Legions, century) • Gre

• Rome’s power grew slowly and steadily as the legions battled for control of Italy. Eventually they defeated the Etruscans to the north and the Greek city-states to the south. By 265 BCE the Romans controlled almost all of Italy. • People in different conquered areas received different treatment. Conquered Latins (central Italy) were allowed full citizenship. Territories farther from Rome were allow citizenship, but not the vote. All other territories were not considered citizens, but allies of Rome. • The lenient policy toward defeated enemies helped in Rome’s growth.

• Rome’s location gave it easy access to the riches of the lands ringing the Mediterranean Sea. Rome traded olive oil and wine for foods, raw materials, and manufactured good from other lands. • Other large and powerful cities interfered with Roman access to the Mediterranean.

The Punic Wars

The First Punic War • Carthage had expanded to Sicily and the Romans wanted to stop them. • Carthage wanted the Strait of Messina and the Romans defended it. • The Romans began using grappling hooks to get on board Carthage’s ships and fight hand to hand. • The First Punic Wars lasted 23 years. Rome won.

The Second Punic War • Hannibal led 59, 000 men and 60 elephants into the Alps. • Sickness, hunger, snow, and attacks killed most of the elephants & men. • The Second Punic War lasted 17 years with Rome winning.

The Third Punic War • Began in 146 B. C. E. following 50 years of peace. • During the war the Romans burned Carthage and sold its people into slavery. • The Romans also tilled salt into the soil. • Rome won.

Religion & Family • Early Romans worshiped nature spirits which later became gods and goddesses. • The Romans borrowed Greek deities and gave them Roman names. (Jupiter / Zeus) • The family was the basic unit of Roman society with the father the head of the household. • Roman wives had few legal rights, but had more freedom than Greek women.

Julius Caesar • He was a celebrated Roman general and statesman. • Joined forces with Crassus & Pompey to form the triumvirate. • He won a victory in the Civil War of 49 -46 BC by controlling the Rubicon River, and was dictator from 46 -44 BC. • He changed the Roman republic into a monarchy and a truly Mediterranean empire.

Caesar Cont. • He was launching a series of political and social reforms when he was assassinated by a group of nobles, as he was on his way to Pompey's Theater where the Senate convened. • The day was March 15, 44 B. C. which is known as 'The Ides of March'. • Caesar’s grandnephew Octavian would become ruler and create what was known as the Roman Empire.

Pax Romana • Period of peace and prosperity. • The Colosseum and Circus Maximus was constructed. • Built a series of stone water channels called aqueducts. • Traded with places as distant as China and Britain.

Circus Maximus

GLADIATORS

Gladiators • Were professional fighters in ancient Rome. • Fought against each other, wild animals, and condemned criminals, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of spectators. • These fights took place in arenas in many cities from the Roman Republic period through the Roman Empire.

Gladiators Cont. • Gladiators typically were either prisoners of war, slaves or criminals condemned to gladiator schools (ad ludum gladiatorium). • There were also a number of volunteer gladiators. • Gladiators were paid each time they fought & could buy their freedom but could never become Roman citizens.

Rome’s Power Spreads • 6 CE Rome made Judea a province

Jesus of Nazareth • At age 30 began a traveling ministry • Ministry very attractive to the poor • His popularity threatened Roman and Jewish leaders

• Apostles – Jesus’ 12 disciples or students • Pax Romana made spread of Christianity easy • Apostle Paul welcomed all converts – Jews or Gentiles. Paul spread Christianity throughout the empire.

Jewish rebellions • 66 CE band of Jews rebelled against Rome • Rome stormed Jerusalem, burned the temple mount • 132 CE Jews rebelled again Rome forced Jews to leave Judea: Diaspora

Christianity • Problems for Rome • Refused to : – worship Roman gods – honor emperor as a god – perform military service • Taught their religion was the “one true faith” • scribed his conversion to Christianity.

Rome Responds • Christians persecuted • Thousands were crucified, burned, or killed by wild animals • scribed his conversion to Christianity.

Emperor Constantine • Ended persecution of Christians • Declared Christianity one of the approved religions

Decline and Fall of Rome • 3 rd Century Huns and other tribes invaded • Disruption of trade • Raised taxes, minted coins with less silver, suffered from inflation • Serious food shortages and spread of disease • his conversion to Christianity.

Reform attempts • Diocletian splits the empire into 2 parts • Constantine reunites the empire, moves capital to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople) • After Constantine empire split in two again

Western Empire Falls • worsening internal problems • Separation from resources of the Eastern Empire • Invaders: Germanic tribes and Huns

• The Empire contributed many things to the world: • A calendar with leap years • The institutions of Christianity • Aspects of modern neo-classicistic and Byzantine architecture. • The extensive system of roads that was constructed by the Roman Army lasts to this day. • Because of this network of roads, the time necessary to travel between destinations in Europe did not decrease until the 19 th century, when steam power was invented. • Even modern astrology comes to us directly from the Romans. • The Roman Empire also contributed its form of government, which influences various constitutions including those of most European countries and many former European colonies. In the United States, for example, the framers of the Constitution remarked, in creating the Presidency, that they wanted to inaugurate an "Augustan Age". • The modern world also inherited legal thinking from Roman law, fully codified in Late Antiquity. • Governing a vast territory, the Romans developed the science of public administration to an extent never before conceived or necessary, creating an extensive civil service and formalized methods of tax collection.

• Eastern Empire flourishes until 1453 CE, when it fell to the Ottomans.

Roman Decline • Constantine ordered most jobs to be hereditary. • Constantine moved the capital to the city of Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople. • After the death of Theodosius, (last Roman Emperor) the eastern part of the Roman Empire became known as the Byzantine Empire. • Barbarian invasions by the Visigoths, Huns and Vandals led to the fall of Rome in 455 CE.

Latin Alphabet word distribution.

Christianity by percentage of population in each country.