The Roman Empire

1
The Roman Empire

• 27 BCE to 476 CE

2
Building the Empire
3
Building the Empire

• Home to more than 1 million people
• Territory surrounded the Mediterranean Sea
• Became a Republic run by elected leaders

4
Romes Emperors

• Augustus
• First Emperor of Rome
• Established new governing powers

5
Emperor Powers
Raise Taxes
Declare War
Nominate Public Officials
Punish Lawbreakers
6
Laws and Citizenship

• Roman laws were written down and kept on public
  display.
• Laws protected the rights of the citys citizens
• Only citizens could vote or hold office
• Citizenship was very valued and desired
• People who were conquered were allowed to become
  citizens thus creating loyalty to the empire

Innocent until proven guilty
7
Engineering
Aqueducts Man-made channel that carried water
from distant mountains into Rome or other cities
8
Architecture

• Used Greek ideas to make buildings larger and
  stronger
• Columns and open spaces
• Design style still copied today.

9
Philosophy

• Focuses on improving Lives
• Stoic philosophy emphasizing peoples civic
  duty
• How they could improve everyday life
• Not to be concerned with possessions.

10
Art

• Realistic Art
• They wanted their statues and painting to look
  like they could come alive.

11
Christianity Spreads

• Spread quickly through Rome
• Officials initially tried to stop the spread by
  persecuting Christian followers
• By the 300s, most of Romes population was
  Christian
• Influence of church leaders helped unify Rome as
  a single Christian society