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ROME:. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Geography. Ancient Italy: 750 BC. Romulus and Remus. Roman Republic. 509 B.C.E- 29 B.C.E. Republican Government. 2 Consuls Rulers of Rome Served one year term Senate Representative body composed of patricians Patricians- Noble families
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ROME: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Republic 509 B.C.E- 29 B.C.E.
Republican Government • 2 Consuls • Rulers of Rome • Served one year term • Senate • Representative body composed of patricians • Patricians- Noble families • Tribal Assembly • Representative body for plebeians • Plebeians- lower class
The Twelve Tables • Provided political and social rights for the plebeians
Roman Engineering • Extensive Road system • Aqueducts • Forum • Coliseum
Roman Reforms • Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus • Gave the poor grain and small plots of free land • Gauis Marius • Recruited an army from the poor and homeless • Gave them land for their service • Professional standing army
Problems • Class tensions • Gracchus brothers reforms did not work • Civil War Breaks out 88-82 B.C.E • New generals emerge • Sulla vs. Marius • Sulla named Dictator • Tries to Reform Rome • Reforms ultimately fail • Sulla relinquishes his power back to the Senate
The First Triumvirate • Group of three rulers • 60 BC – Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey • dominate Rome for 10 years • Breakdown of Triumvirate: • Julius Caesar governing Gaul • Crassus sent to Persia • Pompei stays in Rome • Caesar marches on Rome 49 B.C.E. • Reforms as an Absolute Ruler • Death- Ides of March 44 B.C.E.
Beware the Ides of March! Et tu, Brute?
The Second Triumvirate • Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus • ended in violence • Octavian defeated Antony & Cleopatra in battle of Actium 31 BC • Begins the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire 27 BCE - 476 CE
Caesar Augustus • Octavian claimed to restore Republic • Augustus – exalted one • Imperator – supreme military commander (emperor) • Had right to select his own heir • Very simple and frugal
PaxRomana27 B.C.E- 180 C.E. • 207 years of peace • Roman Empire spanned more than 3 million square miles • Population: 60 - 80 million
Roman Empire • Ecomony • 90% engaged in agriculture • Luxury items obtained through trade • Denarius – common coinage • Roman Roads • Government • Soldiers of Roman Army left in the provinces to govern • Often intermarried with locals • Locals allowed to keep customs and religious practices
Roman Weaknesses • Roman empire was an empire with long, exposed landward frontiers. • African Coastal provinces flanked by deserts • False sense of security • Europe never satisfactorily defended • Even after 100 years of conquest/expansion • Most crucial mistake Caesar made was not expanding beyond the Rhine river and accepting those cultures • Would be bitter about not being included in the Roman Empire
Problems of the Western Empire • Sprawling Size • Long, vulnerable land frontier • Civil Wars • Uneasy relations with Persia • Christianity • Subversive- challenged worship of Emperor as divine • Germanic peoples coveted Roman Wealth
Legacy of the Roman Empire: • Republic Government • Roman Law • Latin Language • Roman Catholic Church • Romanesque Architectural Style • Roman Engineering • Aqueducts • Sewage systems • Dams • Cement • Arch