Classical Rome

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Classical Rome
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Vocabulary

• Patricians- A member of one of the noble
  families of the ancient Roman Republic, which
  before the third century B.C. had exclusive
  rights to the Senate and the magistracies.
• Plebeians- Of or relating to the common people of
  ancient Rome
• Senate- An assembly or a council of citizens
  having the highest deliberative and legislative
  functions in a government,
• Praetor- An annually elected magistrate of the
  ancient Roman Republic, ranking below but having
  approximately the same functions as a consul.
• Provinces- A territory governed as an
  administrative or political unit of a country or
  empire
• Ius Civile (civil law)- the legal code of ancient
  Rome codified under Justinian the basis for
  many modern systems of civil law regulated
  civilian life
• Ius naturale (natural law)- Laws that apply to
  all societies and all people
• Struggle of the Orders- conflict between the
  patricians plebeians over equality of rights
  for plebeians
• Tribunes- An officer of ancient Rome elected by
  the plebeians to protect their rights from
  arbitrary acts of the patrician magistrates
• Paterfamilias- A man who is the head of a
  household or the father of a family

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• Manumission- the formal act of freeing from
  slavery
• Latifunda- A great landed estate, especially of
  the ancient Romans
• Pax Romana- the Roman peace the long period of
  peace (_at_200 years) enforced on states in the
  Roman Empire-
• First Triumvirate- Power of the consuls divided
  among three leaders Pompey, Crassus, Julius
  Caesar
• Princeps Civitas- title given to Augustus
  meaning First Citizen of the State
• Messiah- One who is anticipated as, regarded as,
  or professes to be a savior or liberator.
• Five Good Emperors- Golden Age of the Roman
  Empire under Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus
  Pius, Marcus Aurelius
• Gladiators- A person, usually a professional
  combatant, a captive, or a slave, trained to
  entertain the public by engaging in mortal combat
  with another person or a wild animal in the
  ancient Roman arena
• Tetrarchy- Joint rule by four governors

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Geography Rome

• Rome is located in the center of the Italian
  peninsula. This location helped the Romans expand
  in Italy and beyond.
• The Apennine Mountains run down the center of
  Italy but are not too rugged nor high.
• Fertile plains supported a growing population.
• Ancestors of the Romans settled along the Tiber
  River. These villages eventually grew into Rome.

Rome
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GREECE
ROME
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Etruscans--Who were they?

• Etruscans settled in the northern part of the
  Italian peninsula establishing city-states
• Traded with Phoenicians Greeks
• Phoenicians were seafaring carriers of culture
• Greeks created colonies in the southern part of
  peninsula (ie. port of Naples)
• -- technologically advanced-built temples,
  walls, canals-
• masters of public works!
• -- Organized government
• under successive kings
• -- Ruled over the city of
• Rome until 509BCE
• when the aristocrats
• overthrew the king

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The Roman Republic 509 B.C. 31 B.C.
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• In 509 B.C., the Romans drove out the Etruscans
  and set up a new
• government, which they called a republic. In a
  republic, some
• officials are chosen by the people.

In the early republic, the senate dominated the
government. Its members were patricians, or
members of the landholding class.
Little by little, the plebeians, or common
people, gained some political power. These
included the right to elect their own officials,
called tribunes. The tribunes could veto, or
block, laws that they felt harmed plebeians.
More than 2,000 years later, the framers of the
United States Constitution would adapt Roman
ideas of government, such as the senate, the
veto, and checks on political power.
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Roman Republic Government

• Rome
• Senate set up under the kings as a council of
  elders to advise the king (Patricians)
• Assembly made up of all citizens capable of
  bearing arms (Plebeians)
• Patricians Plebeians met in the assembly to
  elect
• Two Consuls- to govern the city
• Magistrates- appointed judges upon retirement
  served in Senate
• Tribunes- plebeians appointed to protect
  commoners

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Republican Governments
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Twelve Tables

• Law Codes originally written on wood then
  inscribed later on bronze and placed in the Forum
  (town square)
• 450 BCE 10 consuls drew up 10 laws just before
  they finished they added two more laws
• Prohibiting marriage between the classes
• Laws were binding and cannot be changed

• Significance?
• - judges could no longer interpret the laws
  unjustly
• -becomes the basis for western civilization
  civil criminal legal system

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Quick Look at the 12 Tables

• In your base groups, decide what laws you would
  use from the 12 Tables to solve the case assigned
  to your group.
• Timekeepers- 8 mins! Be ready to share.

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End of Roman Republic- Beginning of Roman Empire

• Following Caesars murder, Roman citizens took
  matters into their own hands.
• Octavian, Caesars adopted son takes rule
• Octavian renamed Augustus-first emperor ending
  the 500 year old Roman Republic
• 42BCE Augustus soldiers demand that the senate
  give Consulship to Augustus
• Plebeians re-elect Augustus as consul thirteen
  times
• Ruled for 41 years and began the Pax Romana
  (Roman Peace) that lasted _at_ 200 years (27BCE to
  CE 180)
• Restored law, security, initiated reforms in
  government, created public works

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Augustus Reforms

• Created efficient civil service to enforce the
  laws.
• Opened up high-level jobs to men of talent,
  regardless of race.
• Allowed cities and provinces to govern
  themselves.
• Ordered a census, or population count, in order
  to make the tax system more fair.
• Set up a postal service and issued new coins.
• Employed the jobless.

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Great Achievements Legacies of Rome

• Latin- unifying language of the Roman Empire
• Arch, dome, aqueducts roads
• Literature- Virgils Aeneid
• Satire

• Julian Calendar some days months names
• Christianity as a dominant religion
• Codified Legal system

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Religious Diversity in the Early Empire
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• As long as people honored Roman gods and
  acknowledged the divine spirit of the emperor,
  they were allowed to worship other gods as they
  pleased.
• After the Romans conquered Judea, they excused
  the monotheistic Jews from worshiping the Roman
  gods.
• Rome mistrusted Christians because they refused
  to make sacrifices to the emperor or honor the
  Roman gods.
• Roman officials persecuted the Christians. Many
  Christians became martyrs, people who suffer or
  die for their beliefs.

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Rebellion under Roman Rule

• 66 CE Jews rebelled against Roman rule in
  Jerusalem
• Romans destroyed their cities
• 132 CE Jews rebelled again
• Romans crushed the revolt and forced the Jews to
  scatter out of Jerusalem to outskirts of Roman
  empire and other territories

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The Teachings of Jesus

• Some of Jesus teachings were rooted in Judaism
  
• Belief in one God
• Ten Commandments
• Mercy and sympathy for the poor and helpless
• Obedience to the laws of Moses
• Jesus also preached new beliefs
• Called himself the Son of God
• Proclaimed that he brought salvation and
  eternal
  life to anyone who would believe in him
• Jesus also emphasized Gods love and taught
  the need for justice, morality,
  and service to others.

Did you know that Jesus lived His entire life
under Roman rule?
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Spread of Christianity

• At first, the apostles and disciples preached
  only in Judea.
• Disciples began to preach inJewish communities
  throughout the Roman world.Jews who accepted
  thebeliefs of Jesus became the first
  Christians.
• Paul spread Christianity beyond the Jewish
  communities, to non-Jews.

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The Empire in Crisis
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With the end of the Pax Romana, political and
economic turmoil rocked the Roman empire.
Political Problems
Economic Social Problems

• High taxes to support the army burdened business
  people and farmers.
• Poor farmers were forced to work and live on
  wealthy estates.
• Overcultivated farmland lost its productivity.

• Emperors were repeatedly overthrown or
  assassinated.
• In one 50-year period, 26 emperors ruled, and
  only one died of natural causes.

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Empire in Trouble-Decline of Rome

• Empire too large to govern
• Corruption in military and untrained soldiers
  most were hired mercenaries
• Civil wars broke out
• Distrust of the leaders
• Ineffective emperors
• Increased reliance on slave labor
• Rich became lazy and self-centered (all for self,
  not for the good of the people)

• Heavy taxes no jobs for the poor
• Trade decreases prices increased
• Population declined due to disease, starvation,
  war
• Barbarian tribes, such as the Huns, Visigoths,
  Franks, and Saxons overrun the empire
• Empire split in half- Western Roman Empire
  Eastern Roman Empire

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Foreign Invasions
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• A weakened Rome could not withstand the forces of
  Germanic invasions.
• The Huns dislodged other Germanic peoples and,
  little by little, conquered the Roman empire.

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Can the Empire Be Saved? Two Reformers Tried
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Diocletian
Constantine

• Divided the empire into two parts to make it
  easier to govern
• Tried to increase the prestige of the emperor
• Fixed prices to slow inflation, or the rapid rise
  of prices
• Established laws to ensure steady production of
  food and goods

• Continued Diocletians reforms
• Granted toleration to Christians, which led to
  the rapid growth of Christianity
• Built a new capital at Constantinople, making the
  eastern part of the empire the center of power

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Western Eastern Roman Empires

• By 476 CE Visigoths sack Rome Western Roman
  Empire comes to an end and is thrown into an Age
  of Darkness
• Eastern Roman Empire (Constantinople) later
  renamed the Byzantine empirelasts another 1000
  years!

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Just a great map to look at!