Chapter 5 Ancient Rome and the Roman Republic

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Chapter 5Ancient Rome and the Roman Republic
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Geography
-Located on the Italian peninsula, in the center
of the Mediterranean Sea -The Alps are in the
North -The Apennine Mts. are on the eastern
coast -broad, fertile plains in the north and
west
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Early Civilization
-Italy was originally occupied by many different
groups of people -Two main groups were Greek
colonists and the Etruscans -The Etruscans ruled
much of central Italy and Rome itself -Ancestors
of the Romans, the Latins, settled in the area
that is now Rome around 800 B.C.
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Legend of the Founding of Rome
-Legend has it that twin brothers, Romulus and
Remus founded the city -According to the tale,
the twins mother was a Latin woman and their
father was the war god Mars -This led Romans to
believe that they had a divine origin
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Rome Geography
Rome is located -On the banks of the Tiber
River -On and around seven hills
Why would this geographic location be an
advantage?
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Politics
- 509 B.C. Rome is Founded

• Romans drove out their Etruscan ruler and
  established a republic
• They did not want one person to have all the
  power

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Structure of the Republic

• Patricians landholding upper class
• Plebeians farmers, merchants, artisans, traders
• Senate governing body
• Consuls two patricians
• Dictator assigned to be in charge in the event
  of a war for six months

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Patricians vs. Plebeians

• Plebeians have no say in the government
• Eventually get to elect their own officials
  called tribunes in 494 B.C.
• For 84 years, (421-337 B.C.) plebeians fought to
  have a role in each part of the government

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Social Structures

• -A man was the head of the household and his wife
  and children did not question his authority
• Over centuries, women received more rights. These
  included
• Owning property
• Running businesses

• All children were taught to learn to read and
  write
• Wealthy had private tutors for their children

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Religion
-Romans were polytheistic-they believed in many
gods and goddesses -Many of the gods were
adapted from the Greek gods

• Roman calendar is full of feasts and celebrations
  to honor the gods and goddesses
• Temples for worship to ask for divine assistance

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Politics

• Rome grows strong and begins conquering the rest
  of Italy
• -By 270 B.C., Rome controls most of the Italian
  peninsula
• Military is made up of citizens
• Rome conquered justly- allowing those conquered
  to keep their culture, customs, and government-
  as long as they supplied soldiers, paid taxes,
  and acknowledge Roman leadership

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The Punic Wars
-Carthage had an empire throughout the
Mediterranean -Rome fought Carthage in three
wars from 264 B.C. to 146 B.C. (118 years!) -By
the Third Punic War, Rome had completely
destroyed Carthage and gained all of Carthages
territory
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Economics
-Conquests brought much wealth to Rome -Wealthy
families bought huge estates called latifundia.
-Romans forced the people they conquered to work
as slaves on the latifundia -Slave labor hurt the
small farmers because it cost them more to
produce food, and the price was driven down by
the immense quantities coming into Rome -Farmers
fell into debt, sold their land, and moved to the
city looking for work -gap between rich and poor
widensriots and chaos
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The Gracchus Brothers

• The brothers worked to get the state to
  distribute the land to the poor farmers
• They also worked to get the state to buy grain to
  feed the poor
• Senate felt they were a threat to its power, and
  hired thugs to kill the brothers and their
  followers

-Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were patricians who
were elected tribunes
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Republic to Empire
-Civil wars break out to decide who should hold
power. The senate wanted to keep the status quo
political leaders wanted to weaken the senate and
enact reforms -Slave uprisings throughout the
republic -Armies became loyal to their
commanders because they gave them benefits such
as captured land