Chapter Five “Roman Empire”

600 B.C. – A.D. 500

Welcome to Ancient Rome

The Roman Empire

“All roads lead to Rome”

Building Roman Roads… slaves at work.

United by Great Road

system

Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the answers.

large flat stones concretegravel and sand

Introduced standard coinage throughout the Empire

Enforced standardweights andmeasurementsthroughout the Empire

•Italy is a peninsula about 750 miles long

•Apennine (A PUN NAY) Mountains run down the center

Not rugged like in Greece, provides Good Farming

The Land and Peoples of ItalyThe Land and Peoples of Italy

• 3 important fertile plains ideal for farming are along the Po Riveralong the Po River; the plain of Latiumthe plain of Latium, where Rome is located; and the plain of plain of CampaniaCampania, south of Latium.

• farmland allowed it to support a large population.

Etruscans

Greeks

Carthaginians

Daily Life in Ancient Rome

The Impact of Geography

•Rome located 18 miles inland on the Tiber River

•Easy access to the sea but safe from pirates

•Built on 7 hills

The Impact of Geography

•Italian peninsula was a natural stopping point for trade & travel

•Center of Mediterranean Travel

Turn to page 149, “Voices from the Past”

Roman Roman SoldiersSoldiers

Roman Soldiers!

Romans:Romans:For all their war, not one puts on a crown,

but instead builds a senate where they consider the best for all people.

The Roman The Roman RepublicRepublic•Early Rome ruled by kings, some

Etruscan•509 B.C. overthrew the last

Etruscan king

•Republic – a form of government in which the leader is not a monarch & certain citizens have the right to vote

Roman Values & Roman Values & VirtuesVirtues

3 virtues: duty, courage & discipline

Livy Roman historian wrote of Cincinnatus

Why Rome Was Why Rome Was Successful?Successful?

1. Good diplomats2. Extending Roman citizenship & allowing states to run internal affairs

3. Skilled persistent soldiers & brilliant strategists

Why Rome Was Why Rome Was Successful?Successful?

4. Built towns connected by roads

5. Soldiers were deployed quickly

6. Law & politics: Roman were practical & created institutions that responded to problems

The Birth of Rome

VIDEO:

• ““Building an Empire”Building an Empire”• Size, Culture, Customs, Pompeii,

Technology, Religion, Laws, War

The Government of The Government of RomeRome

Two groups:•1. Patricians – great landowners,

who became Rome’s ruling class•2. Plebeians – landholders,

craftspeople, merchants & small farmers

*Only patricians elected to public office

Patriciancarrying

busts of his ancestors

in a parade

The Government of The Government of RomeRome

•Chief executive officers•Consuls (2) – ran the government & led the Roman army into battle

•Praetors – in charge of civil law

The Government of The Government of RomeRome

•Senate, about 300 patricians served for life

•Centuriate assembly, elected consuls & praetors & passed laws

•Organized by classes based on wealth

Roman LawRoman Law•First code of law:

Twelve TablesTwelve Tables•Law of Nations : Issues of Roman and Non-Roman citizenship

•Standards of justice applied to all people equally & used principles recognized today

Law of NationsLaw of Nations•Innocent until proven otherwise

•The accused has a right to a defense before a judge

•Judges should decide cases based on evidence

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean

• Rome faced a strong power in the Mediterranean–Carthage.

• Founded by the Phoenicians around 800 B.C. on the coast of North Africa, Carthage had a large trading empire in the western Mediterranean.

• The presence of Carthaginians in Sicily worried the Romans.

• The two groups began a long struggle in 264 B.C. for control of the Mediterranean area.

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean (cont.)

• The First Punic War

• Romans realized that to win the war they needed a large navy, which they built.

• Rome defeated Carthage’s navy, and in 241 B.C. Carthage gave up its rights to Sicily and paid money to Rome.

• Sicily became Rome’s first province.

Video: 1st Punic War

1st Punic War

• Carthage wanted revenge.

• Hannibal, the greatest Carthaginian general, began the Second Punic War, which lasted from 218 to 201 B.C.

• To take the war to Rome, Hannibal entered Spain, moved east, and then crossed the Alps with a large army, including a large number of horses and 37 battle elephants.

• Many soldiers and animals died during the crossing, but Rome was still under a real threat.

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean (cont.)

Video: Hannibal’s Revenge

Video: 2nd Punic War

• At the Battle of Cannae, Rome lost 40 thousand men.

• In response, Rome raised another army. • Meanwhile, Hannibal roamed throughout Italy

but could not successfully attack the major cities.

• In a brilliant move, Rome attacked Carthage, forcing the recall of Hannibal.

• At the Battle of Zama, Rome crushed Hannibal’s forces.

• Spain became a Roman province, and Rome controlled the western Mediterranean.

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean (cont.)

Hannibal

The Defeat of Hannibal at the Battle The Defeat of Hannibal at the Battle of Zamaof Zama

Video: Battle of Zama

• 50 years later, the Romans fought the Third Punic War.

• In 146 B.C., Roman soldiers sacked Carthage.

• 50 thousand men, women, and children were sold into slavery.

• The territory of Carthage became a Roman province called Africa.

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean (cont.)

Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with elephants to be used in battle. Few of them survived the trip, but some did. What do you think the reaction was of the Roman soldiers to elephants in battle?

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean (cont.)

The few elephants that survived terrified the Romans, as one could imagine on being faced with a charging elephant. Who knows how history would have been different if all of Hannibal’s elephants had survived?

Ruins of Carthage

Rome’s new empire