ROMAN REPUBLIC ROMAN EMPIRE ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY THE FALL OF ROM E

REPUBLIC: a system of government where the officials are chosen by the people PATRICIANS Landholding upper class 300 patricians made up the senate The senate was the most powerful body of government PLEBEIANS Farmers, merchants, artisans, traders Majority of the population Had little influence in the government

The Senate elected two consuls from the patrician class Power was shared between the senate and the consuls In the event of war, the senate would choose a dictator The plebeians elected tribunes (officials) to represent their views

Covered civil, criminal, and religious law, as well as trial procedure Provided a foundation for later Roman law codes

Punic Wars – Rome fought three wars against Carthage, located in North Africa Between 264 B.C. and 146 B.C. Romans and Carthaginians fought bloody battles Outcome of the Punic Wars – Rome conquered Carthage Other conquests – Macedonia, Greece, parts of Asia Minor, Spain, Gaul

Ambitious military commander who rose to power and forced the senate to make him dictator

At one time, dominated Roman politics with Pompey, another military commander He set out to expand Rome and conquered Gaul after nine years of fighting Suppressed rebellions and revolts taking place throughout the Mediterranean – “I came, I saw, I conquered” Forced the senate to make him dictator Imposed many reforms – public works programs, employment, gave land to the poor, granted Roman citizenship to more people, introduced a new calendar based on Egyptian knowledge On March 15 th, 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was assassinated – “Ides of March”

Means “Roman Peace” 200 year period of time that brought peace, order, unity, and prosperity The golden age of Ancient Rome Began with Emperor Augustus Many achievements were made Ended after the death of Marcus Aurelius

GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION: a classical civilization that blended both Greek and Roman culture LANGUAGE LAW ENGINEERING RELIGIONARCHITECTURE ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS

Colosseum: Ancient Rome’s largest stadium where spectators watched the slaughter of exotic animals and gladiators battling to the death Gladiators: Slaves who had been trained to fight; they would battle one another in the Colosseum for entertainment

Aqueducts: Bridge like stone structures that brought water from the hills to Roman cities

The Pantheon Building

 Jesus is born in 4 B.C.E. in Bethlehem  Around age 30, Jesus began spreading his teachings. To help him, he recruited 12 apostles

 Jesus was crucified by the Romans because they thought he might lead the Jews to revolt against the Romans  Followers of Jesus (apostles, disciples) preached Jesus’ message. The most influential were Peter and Paul.

 For three centuries, Christians were persecuted by the Romans. They were thought to be disloyal to Rome.  In 313 C.E., Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, freeing the Christians from religious persecution

 Roman Catholic Church was established and legalized  In the 380’s, Christianity became the official religion of Rome

WHERE WAS IT FOUNDED? Roman Empire, Middle East WHO WAS THE FOUNDER? Jesus WHAT IS THE SACRED TEXT? The Bible WHERE DID IT INFLUENCE? It spread worldwide

MAJOR BELIEFS Monotheistic (Trinity) Jesus was resurrected and rose to heaven Christ is the savior Justice and morality Ten Commandments: ethical code of conduct Old and New Testament

Government became too strict (authoritarian) People stopped supporting the government The empire divided – Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire  Western Roman Empire Capital – Rome  Eastern Roman Empire Capital – Constantinople

Roman army lacks training and discipline Barbaric invasions (Germanic tribes, Vikings, Huns) Romans were forced to hire foreign soldiers to defend the borders (mercenaries)

Heavy taxes to support the government Farmers began to abandon their land Middle class families were going into poverty Romans depended too much on slaves

Because people depended on slaves too much, people became selfish and lazy Patriotism and traditional Roman citizenry declined People neglected the state and focused more on personal salvation Population declined because of disease and war

The fall of Rome refers to the fall of the Western Roman Empire The Eastern Roman Empire continued to prosper and flourish for another 1000 years, and renamed itself the Byzantine Empire The Western Roman Empire entered a period of chaos, disorder, and disunity