Unit 5

 How did Rome expand from a small settlement to an emerging world power ?

 Republicomens  Patriciansgladiatorial games  Plebeians  Veto  consuls  tribunes  forum  legion  legionaries  latifundias  publicans  Senators  Soothsayers

 How was Rome founded?

 After the fall of Troy, a Trojan prince named Aeneas fled the city and traveled to the land of his ancestors in the West.  This area was what we know now as Italy.  Here, Aeneas and his followers joined the group of people who were living there called the Latins.  A Roman writer named Virgil wrote about Aeneas and his journey in a book called the Aeneid.

 About 800 B.C.- a Latin princess gave birth to twin boys. The boys’ father was the Roman war god, Mars.  The boys were taken from her by as a punishment for a broken promise and they were left on the banks of the Tiber River to die.

 The babies were discovered by a she-wolf who took care of them.  One day a shepherd found the boys and killed the wolf. He then raised the boys as his own. They were named Romulus and Remus.  The boys set out to found a new city for themselves. They decided to allow the gods to choose who the ruler would be.

 According the legend- each twin climbed a hill and waited on a sign from the gods.  A flock of 6 vultures flew over Remus  A flock of 12 vultures flew over Romulus- Romulus claimed to be king. He then fought with his brother and eventually, Romulus killed Remus.  Romulus becomes the king of the new city, Rome.

 About 1000 B.C.- groups started to invading lands around the Mediterranean.  One of these groups was called the Latins- they settled on the Palatine. The Romans belonged to this group.  The area had a pleasant climate and fertile soil  There were forests nearby for timber  They gravel roads to bring supplies in from the coast

 By 776 B.C.- the settlement on the Palatine became a village of about 1,000 people.  Most of the people were farmers.  Main crops were wheat and barley

 Around 800 B.C.- the Etruscans settled in Etruria that was north of the Latin settlement on the Palatine.  They borrowed their alphabet from the Greeks  Their language was different from other groups in the ancient world  They may have came to Italy from the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor

 They were Italy’s first highly civilized people and “people from the sea”- made living as traders  They also were farmers  They were miners- used copper, lead, iron, and tin.  Merchants used metals for weapons, jewelry and other luxury items that were traded around the Mediterranean world.

 Had a strong army  Borrowed weaponry and battle formations such as the phalanx from the Greeks  They also had shoes that were considered a “secret weapon”. It gave them better footing on rough and hilly ground.  The Etruscans became the richest group and dominated all of northern Italy including the Latin village on the Palatine

 They had strong sense of Social Order- people were divided into classes  Upper- wealthy landowners, nobles, priests  Middle- farmers, traders, city workers  Lower- slaves and captives of war

 The Etruscans were polytheistic  They worshiped the same gods as the Greeks did.  They were very superstitious, they believed in consulting soothsayers and looking for omens.  Modern burial practices are modeled after the Etruscans

 The Etruscans were more culturally advanced than the Latin people  Used arches in building  Gladiatorial Games- originated as a custom from Etruscan funerals  The Romans borrowed the Etruscan alphabet  The Romans borrowed the religious customs and beliefs of the Etruscans  The Romans borrowed city planning from the Etruscans

 How did social structure effect the development of early Roman government?

 In 509 B.C.- Romans overthrow Tarquin the Proud (Etruscan king) and they set up a republic as their form of government.  A republic is a form of government where people choose their leaders.  In the early days of the Republic, the Patricians (who were the members of the oldest and richest families in Rome) were in control of the government.

 Patricians could hold public office and perform certain religious rituals  The Plebeians (who were the poorer citizens in Rome) were unable to hold political office until reforms were made many years later.  Plebeians paid taxes and served in the army.  Plebeians could not marry patricians and could be sold into slavery if they fell into debt.

 At the Head of the Republic:  2 Consuls were chosen every year for 1 year terms  veto power (they could say no to acts of each other)  shared equal power.  both had to agree before a law passed  administrators and military leaders

 The Senate-  Made up of 300 men who were chosen for life  Called Senators who were retired magistrates  Handled daily problems of government  Advised the consuls  Proposed laws and approved public contracts for building roads and temples

 Tribunes  government officials who were elected to protect the lower classes (Plebeians) rights  They could veto acts of the consuls and senate if they were not beneficial to the lower class.

 Assembly  All male Roman citizens were members  They could declare war and agree to peace terms  Elected the consuls, the tribunes, and the magistrates

 Magistrates oversaw the finances of the Republic  Judges ruled on court cases

 Before 450 B.C.- Roman Laws were not written down  In 450 B.C., Roman laws were carved down on 12 bronze tablets called the Twelve Tables.  These laws were placed in the Forum.  Laws applied to both Patricians and Plebeians  The laws covered all aspects of Roman life from wills, property rights, and court actions  They are the foundation of all future Roman laws

 The main benefit of having laws written down was that the lawmakers and law- enforcers couldn't change them to suit their whims  Once a law was made public (and carving it into stone was about as public as it got), the law was known to everyone.  If a law was made public, then it was everyone's responsibility to know and obey.

 Elections of tribunes and recording laws were the first steps toward a more democratic government in Rome  Changes occurred in 250 B.C.  No one sold into slavery because of debt and plebeians could hold office

 How did the expansion of the Roman Republic effect the economy, government, and social classes?

 The Romans prevented the Etruscans from regaining Rome by crossing the Tiber River and conquering several Etruscan cities.  The Romans protected their new boundaries by conquering their neighbors or making alliances with them

 The Romans were able to get more land because they had a strong army that was organized into legions.  The legion was the Roman army. It was the division of Roman soldiers called legionaries  Each legion had 5,000 soldiers, and were divided into groups of 60 to 120 soldiers

 Legions were better than a phalanx for several reasons 1. The legion was smaller and could move faster. 2. Soldiers in a phalanx fought as a group and attacked only from one direction. 3. Each legionary depended on his own fighting ability. 4. The groups within a legion could split off from the main group and attack from the sides and rear as well as the front.

1. Legionaries were well trained. 2. They spent hours practicing with their double-edged iron swords. 3. They went on long marches every day. 4. Before going to sleep, they had to build completely fortified camps, even when the legion would stay in an area only one night. 5. They built roads out of lava blocks so soldiers and supplies could move forward rapidly.

1. The Romans were mild rulers. 2. At first, they did not tax the people they conquered. 3. They let the conquered people keep their own government and take care of their own affairs. 4. Some were even allowed to become Roman citizens. 5. In return, the conquered people were expected to serve in the Roman army and to support Rome’s foreign policy. 6. As a result, many enemies became loyal Roman allies.

 Carthage-  a Phoenician city on the Northern coast of Africa.  controlled most of North and West Africa, most of what is now Spain, and some islands off the coast of Italy.  also controlled the western half of the island of Sicily.

 In 264 B.C.- 1. The Romans and Carthaginians fought. 2. The war that broke out lasted 23 years. 3. It was the first of three wars. 4. It was during this time the Romans build their first fleet of ships but made improvements to the design.

1. The Romans modeled their ships after a Carthaginian warship they found abandoned on a beach. 2. They added a corvus, or a kind of movable bridge, to the front of each ship. 3. The Romans knew they could not out sail the Carthaginians, but believed they could outfight them. 4. The corvus allowed soldiers to board an enemy ship and fight hand-to-hand on its decks. 5. It changed a sea war to a land war.

5. Result of First Punic War-  Rome defeated Carthage, even though they lost many ships and men in storms. Rome gained control of Sicily.

 The Second Punic War- 1. General Hannibal Barca attacked the Roman army by land from the north. 2. Hannibal and his troops surprised the Roman army by marching from Spain through southern Gaul, or present-day France, and then crossing the Alps into Italy. 3. They brought elephants with them across the snow-covered mountains to help break the Roman lines.

 Once Hannibal reached Rome- 1. The Carthaginians did not have the heavy equipment needed to break down Rome’s walls. 2. Also, the Carthaginians could not gain more supplies due to the Roman navy controlling the sea.

 For the next 15 years- 1. Hannibal and his troops wandered the countryside of southern Italy. 2. They burned towns and destroyed crops.  So - Rome attacked Carthage.

 The Result of the Second Punic War:  The Romans defeated Hannibal and his army at the battle of Zama. The power of Carthage was broken. They agreed to pay Rome a large sum of money and give up all its territories, including Spain.

 After 50 years of peace:  Carthage showed signs of regaining power 1. To prevent this, the Romans attacked in 149 B. C., the Third Punic War. 2. They burned Carthage and plowed salt into its fields so nothing could grow. 3. They killed the Carthaginians or sold them into slavery.

1. Rome attacked Corinth and allies. 2. Rome already controlled Macedonia and Syria. 3. Now, Rome added Greece to the areas it ruled. 4. Rome became the leading power of the Mediterranean.

1. The conquests and the wealth that came with them changed Rome’s government and economy. 2. Among the changes were the replacement of small farms with large estates, the use of enslaved people, a movement from farm to cities, and the decline of the Roman Republic.

 Small farms were replaced by large estates called latifundias.  Latifundias produced crops, sheep, and cattle for sale at market.  Rome imported wheat from Sicily and Northern Africa since they no longer grew it on their own

 Hannibal’s invasion changed Roman agriculture- Roman farmers burned their fields and much of the land was ruined.  Farmers didn’t have money to fix up farms or restore the land  Patricians began to buy up small farms and combine them into latifundias  Romans began to enslave their captives to work the land

 Farmers sold their land could either work the land for new owners or move to Rome  Most moved into Rome  Living conditions were terrible- very crowded, not enough fresh water, waste unable to be removed, constant danger of fires or buildings collapsing, and disease (typhus)  No industry except construction

1. The Romans began to demand taxes as well as enslaved people, from the areas they conquered. 2. Tax contracts were sold to people called publicans. 3. The publicans were tax collectors 4. They paid Rome ahead of time for the contracts. 5. Then, they collected taxes from the conquered people. 6. The amount of taxes collected was supposed to be no more than 10 percent above the price they paid for the contract. 7. Most publicans, however, made extra money.

1. Because the farmers had lost their land, they had also lost their economic and political independence. 2. Merchants became poorer because rich Romans could get luxuries elsewhere. 3. Artisans had lost business because rich Romans wanted luxury goods from Greece. 4. Government officials were too busy getting rich to worry about solving the republic’s problems. 5. The gap between rich and poor grew greater. 6. The poor hated the rich for what they had done to them. 7. The rich hated and feared the poor. 8. Rome was no longer politically stable.