The Romans – the rise of an empire Why did the Romans want an empire? Objectives: To revise what the words ‘empire’ and ‘colony’ mean. To identify 3/4/5+ ways in which the Roman Empire benefitted people.

In the Beginning… Ancient Rome begin as a group of villages along the Tiber River in what is now Italy. Around 750 B.C. these villages united to form the city of Rome.

The Rise and Fall of Rome The Roman Kings 753BC-509BC The Roman Republic 509BC-27BC The Roman Empire 27BC-395AD After 395AD the Roman Empire was split into two; the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476AD. The Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantine Empire) collapsed in 1453AD.

How big was the Roman Empire? Under the leadership of ambitious generals, Rome’s highly trained soldiers took over most of the land surrounding the Mediterranean. The ancient Romans called the Mediterranean mare nostrum, meaning “our sea”.

Which reasons do you think were the most important to: Rome? Why? The colonies? Why? Homework – find at least one picture of at least one way in which Rome improved the lives of their colonies. There is still a lot of evidence we can see today! Stick the picture in your book and explain what it is and how it helped

How do you get an Empire? WAR Much of the Empire was gained through fighting. At first the Romans fought small battles with neighbouring tribes who they had arguments with. As they won these battles they gained control of the lands around Rome and gradually gained land and power. These victories made the Romans confident and soon the Roman Army was waging wars to gain land rather than to defend Rome. This led to Italy falling to Roman control, then countries such as Greece, Austria and France fell. As the empire grew larger the army also grew as captured soldiers would be made to join the army... allowing the Romans to attack yet more countries.  

TRADE The Romans became very wealthy as a result of the wars that they fought. Some areas of Europe were keen to make money from the Romans and were willing to let the Romans control them in return for the protection they offered and the wealth that they generated through trading.  

ALLIANCE Sometimes people would feel threatened by other tribes and ask the Romans to help them. These tribes would form an alliance (make an agreement) with the Romans saying that they would help each other out in times of trouble: this usually meant that the Roman Army would go and stay in this place.

Copy the paragraph into your books! After 509BC, Rome began to expand. The Roman Army conquered most of Western Europe, as well as parts of Asia and North Africa. The Romans fought over 20 wars, and a total of 2567 battles. The Roman Army is recognised by historians as an extremely effective fighting machine.

Plenary There are 18 Roman cities marked on the map, with their Roman names. What modern country are the cities in? You can have a bonus point if you know the modern name for a city.

Answers! London, UK Sremska Mitovica, Serbia Trier, Germany Sofia, Bulgaria Lyon, France Thessaloniki, Greece Arles, France Eregil, Turkey Pavia, Italy Istanbul, Turkey Ostia, Italy Izmir, Turkey Rome, Italy Balikesir City, Turkey Aquileia, Italy Antakya, Turkey Sisak, Croatia Alexandria, Egypt