History 11 Rome

The Roman Empire Why were they such a big deal? Highlights of Rome: 1.The Roman Republic.

The Roman Republic The Romans drove out their Etruscan rulers in 509 B. C. this is seen as the founding of the Roman state. Officials were chosen by the people and they called it a republic, or “thing of the people.” They had a group of 300 Senators, who served for life and made laws.

Government The Landholding upper class made up the Senate originally. Plebeians were the farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders. They made up the majority of the population, but they had little influence until they protested and gained rights in 450 BC.

Society The family was the basic unit and the father was the head of the household. Roman children learned to read and write. They had a well trained army with legions (5,000) full of citizen soldiers who provided their own weapons and fought without pay. Reward and harsh punishment commanded respect.

Conquered Lands Rome generally treated its defeated enemies with justice. They required conquered people to acknowledge Roman leadership, pay taxes, and supply soldiers. In return Rome let them keep their own customs, money and local government. They developed a large network locals adopted Latin and many Roman customs.

Decline of the Republic Conquest of busy trade routes brought lots of riches to Rome. Generals, officials and others made large fortunes form the loot and taxes. This created a new wealthy upper class who used slave labor to create huge estates. Their production hurt small farmers. The price of grain dropped. Farmers went into debt and became landless. There arose a restless class of unemployed and a large gap in rich & poor.

Attempts to Reform Tiberius who was elected to the tribune in 133 BC attempted to reform by calling on the state to distribute land to the poor famers. Also the use of public funds to buy grain to feed the poor. This angered the Senate causing civil war. Out of the chaos came Julius Caesar a strong military commander.

Caesar In 59 BC Caesar and his army started to make new conquests and were successful. Meanwhile civil war was being waged. From BC he pushed public works to employ the jobless and gave land to the poor. He also gave citizenship to more people. His enemies worried of his power and so he was stabbed to death to save the republic.

Augustus Octavian took power after he beat out Mark Antony. When he took power the Senate gave him the title of Augustus or Exalted One and declared him first citizen. Although he did not use the name king he exercised absolute power and named his successor as a king would. Under him the republic came to an end and the Roman empire started.

Quiz 1.What present day country is Rome in? 2.What form of government did they set up? 3.Who could vote in the Roman Republic? 4.What caused civil war in Rome? 5.Who was the strong military commander that was stabbed to death?

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Roman Empire Augustus was able to organize a civil service system and the government was able to function well for 200 years. Known as Pax Romana (Roman Peace). The main problem was who would rule after the death of an emperor. That lead to some violence.

Bad Emperors and Good Emperors Depending on the quality of the emperor the empire functioned differently. An example of a bad emperor was Nero who persecuted Christians and was even blamed for setting a fire that destroyed much of Rome. A Good emperor was Marcus Aurelius who was committed to duty and philosophy.

Roman Law During the Republic they developed a system of law known as civil law that applied to all who were considered citizens it latter applied to all people under Roman rule. They guaranteed freedoms like innocent until proven guilty, accused can face the accuser, and guilty had to be “clearer than daylight. ”

Religion in the Empire Some Romans turned to mysterious religions others kept up with tradition. Rome generally tolerated religion as long as they showed loyalty to Rome. Jews revolted against Roman control in 66 AD. The rebellion was crushed by the Roman forces destroying the their temple and killing thousands of Jews and scattering others.

Christianity. As turmoil engulfed the Jews in Palestine, Christianity was growing. After the death of Jesus Christ the apostles spread the messages of Jesus. According to tradition, Peter established Christianity in Rome itself. Rome’s toleration did not extend to Christianity. Nero blamed them for many things and killed Peter and Paul.

Christianity Despite the persecutions Christianity was able to spread. In AD 313 the emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan that granted freedom of worship to all citizens of the empire. 80 years later Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.

Christian Church in Rome The early communities shared common faith in Christ. It was not until later that they organized. Each community had its own priest. Some became more powerful. In cities like Rome and Constantinople. There was a division from East and West. In the Rome the leader was called pope. In the East 5 patriarchs remained a council. Christian Missions become important as Rome fades.

Leading to the Fall The end of the Roman greatness did not occur overnight. It happened centuries before the final fall. Leading up the empire was divided into two parts, each ruled by a co-emperor. After Pax Romana, a disruptive pattern emerged where emperors were overthrown by ambitious generals. In a 50 year period 26 emperor reigned. Created political violence and instability.

Quiz 1.What was the 200 years of peace called? 2.Name 1 right that citizens were guaranteed? 3.Why was there no toleration for Christianity originally? 4. What Roman law announced that all were free to choose their own religion? 5. Who declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire?