What is “cultural diffusion”? A.One culture taking over another B.Cultures sharing and blending ideas C.Destruction of a culture D.A culture remaining the same #1

After the Peloponnesian War was over, what kingdom took over Greece? A.Sparta B.Persia C.Athens D.Macedonia #2

Who was Alexander talking about when he said, “I am indebted to my father for living, but I am indebted to my teacher for living WELL.” A.Aristotle B.Plato C.Archimedes D.Xerxes #3

What country was Alexander’s army in when his soldiers demanded to return home after being away for 11 years? A.Egypt B.Persia C.Greece D.India #4

What city became the center of trade, learning, and Hellenistic culture in the Mediterranean world during the time of Alexander? A.Athens B.Rome C.Alexandria D.Persepolis #5

What is “cultural diffusion”? A.One culture taking over another B.Cultures sharing and blending ideas C.Destruction of a culture D.A culture remaining the same #1ANSWER: B

After the Peloponnesian War was over, what kingdom took over Greece? A.Sparta B.Persia C.Athens D.Macedonia #2ANSWER: D

Who was Alexander talking about when he said, “I am indebted to my father for living, but I am indebted to my teacher for living WELL.” A.Aristotle B.Plato C.Archimedes D.Xerxes #3ANSWER: A

What country was Alexander’s army in when his soldiers demanded to return home after being away for 11 years? A.Egypt B.Persia C.Greece D.India #4ANSWER: D

What city became the center of trade, learning, and Hellenistic culture in the Mediterranean world during the time of Alexander? A.Athens B.Rome C.Alexandria D.Persepolis #5ANSWER: C

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC and THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Essential Question: What were the lasting characteristics of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire?

In addition to Greece, another significant classical civilization was ancient Rome

Impact of Geography on Rome Identify one GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE and propose how it might impact the culture of Rome

The Geography of Rome Rome was located on the Italian peninsula along the Mediterranean Sea The Romans were influenced by the Greeks and a neighboring tribe called the Etruscans

The Culture of Ancient Rome Roman religion was polytheistic and based on the Greek gods (usually only the names changed)

The Culture of Ancient Rome Roman writing was called Latin; it was based on Greek writing

The Culture of Ancient Rome Roman architecture borrowed heavily from Greek styles

The Culture of Ancient Rome Like Greek agoras, Roman cities had a forum for markets and public gatherings

Ancient Roman Society Roman society was divided into three major groups At the top were the nobles (called patricians); they controlled most of the land and held key military and government positions

Ancient Roman Society Roman society was divided into three major groups Patricians made up 5% of all Roman citizens

The Life of the Patricians

Ancient Roman Society Most Roman people were commoners (called plebeians); they were farmers, shopkeepers, or peasants

Ancient Roman Society Plebeians paid the majority of taxes collected in the Roman Republic; they made up 95% of Roman citizens

The Life of the Plebeians

Ancient Roman Society At the bottom of society were slaves and residents of the Roman Republic who were not Roman

Quick Class Discussion: Based upon this image, what was Roman government like?

The Government of Ancient Rome When Rome was first founded, it was ruled by kings; but in 509 BCE, the Romans created a republic

The Government of Ancient Rome A republic is a form of government in which citizens have the power to elect their leaders

The most important feature of the republic was the Senate, whose 300 members were elected by citizens to make laws and taxes

The Government of Ancient Rome In 451 BCE, government officials wrote down Rome’s laws onto the Twelve Tables, which were hung in the forum for all citizens to see The Twelve Tables were based on the idea that all citizens of Rome had a right to the protection of the law

The Government of Ancient Rome The Twelve Tables made clear how the law would be applied to Roman citizens

The United States also has a republican government, very similar to the one of Ancient Rome

The Roman Military Rome was protected by an advanced army of professional soldiers (not part-time soldiers who were farmers or merchants by trade)

The Roman Military Rome had the largest army in the Mediterranean at the time; it was also highly organized The Roman soldiers were divided into groups of 5000 men called legions

Each legion was divided into smaller groups of 80 men (called centuries) commanded by elite soldiers called centurions

The highly organized command structure ensured that legions could be rapidly deployed against the enemy

Advances in military technology (such as catapults) enabled the professional Roman soldiers to not only defend the Romans’ territory, but to expand it

The Romans went to war with a neighboring kingdom, Carthage (based in northern Africa) THE PUNIC WARS

The Carthaginians engaged the Romans in three long wars over the course of about a hundred years

THE PUNIC WARS Led by the great general Hannibal, the Carthaginians nearly defeated the Romans in the second war; they invaded the Italian peninsula and almost captured Rome

The Romans held the Carthaginians off, then completely destroyed Carthage in their third war THE PUNIC WARS

With Carthage’s defeat, the Romans were then the most dominant power in the Mediterranean, carving out an enormous empire THE PUNIC WARS

ROMAN TERRITORY Controlling this massive territory, though, would present new problems for the Romans

PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues: The new lands brought more slaves, which created a job shortage for Roman citizens Generals who controlled the army became more powerful than Senators

PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues: People flocked to the big cities from farms, which created food supply shortages Struggles for power led to a series of civil wars between Romans

JULIUS CAESAR From the turmoil within the Roman Republic, a new political leader emerged: a general named Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar partnered with two other Roman politicians to take control of Rome (they formed a triumvirate) Julius was extremely popular with the Roman people, due to his great military victories

Julius Caesar gathered more power to himself, while looking to solve the Roman Republic’s problems by initiating reforms Caesar named himself dictator-for-life in 46 BCE, which weakened the Senators’ power a great deal

Fearing that he was becoming too powerful, members of the Roman Senate conspired to assassinate Caesar

Caesar was cornered and stabbed to death in the Roman Senate building, which began the end of the Roman Republic

The assassination led to another civil war led by Caesar’s adopted son Octavian and his best general, Marc Antony

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate to rule the Roman Republic

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Octavian exacted revenge on the Senators who assassinated Julius Octavian soon became undisputed ruler of Rome, renaming himself Augustus Caesar “Augustus” means “exalted one”; Julius Caesar’s last name became the title for “emperor”

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Augustus did away with the Senators’ power, eventually ending the representative government of Rome and becoming Rome’s first emperor The Senate still met, but the emperor had all of the real power

THE PAX ROMANA Pax Romana Pax Romana Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE The Empire was over 3 million square miles in size and contained about 80 million people

Pax Romana became the “golden age” of Rome as emperors like Augustus built well-paved roads and a modern infrastructure; they had a merit-based bureaucracy to rule the empire Roman aqueducts brought water to cities

Roman architects used new styles like concrete domes to beautify cities

Emperors built arenas and used chariot races, gladiator events, and theater to entertain the Roman people The Roman Coliseum

Rome would have a wide range of different emperors over the years ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY

Several emperors were excellent leaders (like Trajan and Marcus Aurelius) ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY

Some were not so good; Nero was ruthless and uncaring of the Roman people’s well-being; the legend is that Nero played his fiddle while part of Rome burned (then blamed Christians for the fire) ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY

Commodus was a weak and inept leader, leading a life of laziness and debauchery

ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY Domitian was paranoid and devised many tortures and executions for his enemies

ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY Caligula was a psychopath; he raped whomever he wanted, killed for greed and pleasure, and thought he should have been treated as a god

Despite having some bad emperors mixed in with the great ones, the Roman Empire grew in size, power, and glory

But all things come to an end, and the Roman Empire, for all its greatness, would eventually decline and fall

CONCLUSIONS Rome expanded from a city, to a republic, to an empire The era of the Roman Republic introduced representative democracy The era of the Roman Empire led to the Pax Romana and the “golden age” of Roman innovation and culture