Ancient Rome Part 1

Becoming Rome…(per legend)  Romulus and Remus: twin brothers born to a princess and Mars  Uncle put them in the Tiber river to die  She-wolf nursed them; farmers raised them  Became powerful and well liked “Myths & Legends: the Founding of Rome”

Becoming Rome…(per legend)  Went to an Augury: interpreting omens using flying birds  Tells them where to build city  Brothers fight; Remus is killed  Romulus founds Rome

Livy ~59 BCE – 17 CE  Historian  Writing famous in his time and influential for centuries  Admired by Emperor Augustus  142 books (don’t all survive today)  Not political (avoids some bias)  History through a ‘moral compass’

The Legend of the Rape* of the Sabine Women  *kidnapping  Too many unmarried men in Rome  Needed wives  No neighboring states would agree to marriages  Sabines were a neighboring people  Romulus invited them all to a party

The Legend of the Rape* of the Sabine Women  The young Roman men kidnapped the Sabine unmarried women  War  Sabine women accepted their fate  Sabine women pleaded with the Romans and the Sabines to end the war  Peace treaty

Becoming Rome…(per history)  ~ BCE: ‘Latins’ lived in huts, farmers/herders  ~ BCE: Greek colonization  Etruscans turn Rome into a city  ~500 BCE: Romans overthrew Etruscans; found Roman Republic  Continuous warfare with neighbors  ~260 BCE: Romans control most of Italy

Roman Confederation  Ruled Italy  Roman citizenship  Allies (own governments) – had to provide soldiers to Rome  Allies could become citizens

Carthage  ~800 BCE: Phoenicians found Carthage  A large trading empire; very rich/powerful  264 BCE : Punic Wars (3 wars)  Hannibal, general of Carthage  146 BCE: Rome destroys Carthage  129 BCE: Rome controls Macedonia and Greece

Hannibal ~ BCE  Son of a great general  Crossed the Alps to get to Northern Italy  Started journey with ~100,000 men and 40 elephants  Sent some home as they went; some died: disease, weather, local tribes  Arrived in Italy with ~25,000 men and elephants

Hannibal ~ BCE  Was eventually defeated  Several years later, Rome demanded Hannibal be turned over to them  Hannibal killed himself

Roman Republic  ~500 BCE  Republic: leader is not a monarch and some citizens have right to vote  Patricians: wealthy landowners; ruling class; could hold office  Plebeians: less wealthy landowners, small farmers, craftspeople, merchants

Roman Republic  Citizens: men, could vote  Praetors: in charge of civil law (‘citizen’ law); lead republic; judges  Consuls: chosen every year; ran government; led army

Roman Republic: The Senate  ~300 patricians, served for life  Advise government  By 3 rd century BCE – made laws

Roman Republic: Class Divisions  Patricians vs plebeians  Couldn’t marry  Hundreds of years of conflict  Started to gain power  287 BCE Council of Plebs could pass laws  All male citizens now equal (not really)

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