Geography of Rome❖ Be thinking about the

following statement and question. Just think; you do not have to write anything down.

❖ Italy was able to support more people than Greece did. They were also more united in their government and culture than the Greeks were.

❖ Based on the picture and the statement above, what can you hypothesize about the geography of Italy?

Geography of Rome❖ Italy is a peninsula in Mediterranean Sea.

How might this have helped the Romans control trade in the Mediterranean (#10)?

❖ What other two seas make Italy a peninsula (#4)?

❖ How is a peninsula beneficial? Detrimental?

❖ Shoe “kicks” Sicily (label this if you need to) and “stomps” Greece

❖ Mountainous, but slopes level off to large flat plains that are ideal for growing crops (#7)

❖ Alps separate Italy from the rest of Europe (#1)

❖ What other mountains are seen in Italy (#2)?

❖ How might the mountain ranges of Italy have affected people’s lives in ancient times (#11)?

Geography of Rome❖ What have we not talked about that a civilization

MUST have in order to survive and be successful?

❖ Let’s review the water sources:

❖ Mesopotamia...

❖ Egypt...

❖ China...

❖ India...

❖ Greece...

Geography of Rome

❖ Rome is located on what river (#3)?

❖ In what direction does this river run (#5 G)? What about the Po River (#5 F)?

❖ How was the Tiber River helpful to the development of Rome (#5 H)?

❖ 15 miles from the Mediterranean Sea; located on seven hills. Why was this location a good place to found a city (#3 A)?

Early Influence

❖Read Pages 340-344 outloud

❖Please follow along as others read

The Development of Rome

❖ Greeks and Etruscans shaped Roman civilization (#3 D & E)

❖ What do you think the Greeks were doing when they came to Italy?

From the Greeks...From the

Etruscans...Grapes and olives

Infrastructure (arches, engineering, cuniculus)

Greek alphabet Dress (short cloaks and togas)

Architecture (Pantheon, Colosseum, Circus Maximus)

Military ideas

Art (displaying documents i.e. plaques, pottery, painting, sculpture)

slave fighting (gladiators) and chariot races

literature -- poetry and myths

gods/religion

The Roman Empire❖ Eventually, Rome grew into

an Empire.

❖ How far north did it extend? In Europe, how far west? (#6)

❖ What physical feature formed the southern boundary (#8)?

❖ #13: At one time, the Romans avoided sea travel because the Italian peninsula had few good harbors. What evidence can you find to support the argument that this geographical drawback was eventually overcome?

How did Rome begin?❖ Romulus and Remus

❖ Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA1D9wd29jI

❖ What is the myth of Romulus, Remus, and how Rome got its name?

❖ The Origins of Rome (#3 B & C)

❖ The Latins

❖ The Etruscans & the Greeks

❖ The Aeneid

❖ Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNVJNxkNSDs

Birth of a Republic

❖ Etruscans ruled Rome for more than 100 years (grew very wealthy)

❖ Tarquins, the ruling family, were cruel

❖ Romans overthrew Etruscan king in 509 B.C.E.

❖ Created a republic

Birth of a Republic

❖ Republic:

❖ form of government in which the leader is not a king or queen but someone put in office by citizens with the right to vote

❖ citizens have power

❖ How is this different from Athenian democracy?

Rome’s Strength❖ After Rome created the

republic, they defeated the Greeks and Etruscans, and finally ruled most of Italy.

❖ Army was AWESOME

❖ Every male that owned land had to serve in the army

❖ Legions: small group of soldiers (6000)

How could a legion make the military

more efficient?

Rome’s Strength❖ Rome’s rulers were very

generous to conquered people

❖ Allowed them to vote, serve in government, and run their own local affairs

❖ Had to pay taxes though

❖ Why would the Romans be so generous to the people they conquer?

Patricians

❖ Upper class was called patricians. They were a small group of wealthy land owners.

❖ Although they were a small group, they controlled most of the wealth in Rome.

❖ They ran the government. Original Senate was made up of 300 patricians.

❖ They would often change laws so they could keep power

Plebeians

❖ Free non patricians made up the plebeian class. They were mostly peasants, laborers, shopkeepers, craftspeople, etc.

❖ They had no power on what went on in the government, but were still forced to serve in the army

❖ Overtime, these plebeians grew tired of having no power, they started to fight for rights.

Social Equality❖ After years of struggle, the patricians finally agreed to

give up some power. It started with a small group of Plebs that could veto, or overrule, laws. Later they could pass laws that only effected other Plebs.

❖ As time went on the Plebs gained more power. They demanded laws be written down on the Twelve Tables so they could not be changed.

❖ They then got to elect a consul, leader, to represent them and finally got the right to pass laws for all citizens with equal representation in then Senate. (page 351)

Trouble in the Republic❖ The Roman army seemed invincible, but there were

problems in Rome:

❖ Farmers could not farm because of enlistment or bad land due to Hannibal (poured salt on land). Small farms also disappeared because of latifundia. Instead of Romans working latifundia for wages, land owners brought in slaves to work the land.

❖ Government was not ran correctly.

❖ Gap between rich and poor could not be fixed.

❖ Cities became overcrowded, which created its own problems.