Rome the Empire Ms. Lasater World History POD 1

Rome the Empire  People still had the same values  Still met in the Forum  The Senate still existed  But the REAL power was in the hands of the Emperor beginning with Caesar’s great nephew, Augustus

Roman Emperors  Rome was an empire for 500 years and ruled by 140 emperors during this time  A few famous emperors:  Augustus  Caesar’s adopted son  Nero  Favored by the people but eventually went insane  Trajan  Spanish emperor; great conqueror- Rome gained the most territory under his rule  Diocletian  Split the empire in two: Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire  Constantine  First Christian Roman emperor; lived in Byzantium which he renamed Constantinople (now Istanbul)

Pax Romana  Started during Augustus’s 45 year reign  Rome was at peace during his rule and this peace continued for about 200 years  Culture and literature flourished  Buildings and engineering masterpieces  Things that weren’t ‘peaceful’  City of Rome  Some emperors were cruel/insane  Expanded the empire

Pantheon  Built in the early days of the Roman empire  Honored all Roman gods  Built of concrete (Roman invention!)  Dome- still one of the largest- influenced Renaissance artists

Colosseum  Public entertainment center (think PNC Arena)  Seated 45,000  Gladiator combat  Gladiator vs. gladiator  Gladiator vs. animal  Anyone could attend events  Admission was free

Two Roman Empires  Management  Rome was far away from the provinces and enforcement was difficult  Financial strain  Needed money to:  Rebuild roads  Support legionnaires  Enable growth  Needed new regions to tax  Solution  Diocletian decided to split the empire in half  Western and Eastern Roman empires  Each had its own ruler  Eastern capital: Byzantium  Western capital: Rome