1. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome
Information from The Ancient History Encyclopedia.

2. The Beginning of Ancient Rome
According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BCE.
Legend of Romulus and Remus.
Located on the banks of the Tiber River.
Monarchical type of government.
Ruled by one person, typically a king.
According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BCE by two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were the sons of the god Mars. These brothers were abandoned and then found and raised by a she-wolf. When they grew older, Remus was captured by the King Amulius. Romulus went to rescue him and, in the process, killed the king. With the position of king open, the two brothers fought over who should have it and Romulus won, killing Remus. He built the city and named it Rome, after himself.
The location of Rome on the Tiber river provided Romans easy access to transportation to sell their goods and allowed merchants from Greece to come to trade.
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3. Rome Becomes a Republic
509 BCE
Style of government changes from monarchy to republic.
The Republic fell because of its inability to adapt to constant expansion.
Rome started out as a republic in 509 BCE and continued until about 27 BCE.
When the last king was deposed in 509 BCE, Lucius Brutus changed the type of government from monarchy to republic.
Wars helped to consolidate the power of the Roman Republic. They also demonstrated and increased the wealth and prestige of Rome.
Rome as a republic fell because it was not set up to adapt to constant expansion, both in the style of government and having increased area and populations to control.
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4. Rome Becomes an Empire First emperor Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE.
Following this was 200 years of peace and prosperity – the Pax Romana
Julius Caesar’s death in 44 BCE marked the end of the Republic. Following this, his nephew Octavian (whom he also adopted as a son) became the first emperor of Rome in 27 BCE – Augustus Caesar . (The intern years were spent in war).
Following this was Pax Romana (Roman Peace) which was a 200 year period of peace and prosperity. We saw evidence of this in the film as Emperor Augustus Caesar “turned a city of clay into a city of marble.”
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5. The Height of the Roman Empire - 117 CE
The Roman Empire reached its height in 117 CE under Emperors Trajan and Hadrian.
Rome reached its height in 117 CE under Emperors Trajan ( CE) and Hadrian (117 CE – 138)
Under the rule of Trajan, many aqueducts, roads, and public spaces were built and improved. He was known to be concerned with good government and public welfare. He also acquired territory for Rome, including Dacia and Armenia (found on the map above).
Emperor Hadrian built a wall marking the Northern boundary of the Roman Empire. He built/established city all over the Roman Empire, specifically the Balkan Peninsula, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Greece. The Pantheon was also completed under his reign.
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Left – Trajan
Right – Hadrian
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6. Splitting into East and West – 285 CE
Civil wars led to social and economic unrest in the Roman Empire.
Broke the Empire into 3 sections.
Empire reunited by Emperor Diocletian and then divided into two in 285 CE.
Goal: make the Empire easier to manage.
Prior to 285 CE, civil wars led to social unrest and an unstable economic environment which resulted in the Roman Empire splitting into three.
Emperor Diocletian (ruled from 284 – 305 CE) reunited the Empire.
Divided by Diocletian in 285 CE in an attempt to make governance more manageable.
Each with two leaders.
West: Constantine and Maxentuis
East: Galarius and Maximinus Daia
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7. Constantine
Through a series of civil wars, Constantine gained control of both the Eastern and Western Empires.
Made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Moved the capital city of the Empire from Rome to Byzantium.
Renamed it Constantinople.
Ruled from CE.
- He became sole emperor of Rome and ruled for 31 years (from CE).
Constantine claimed that he saw a cross with the words “In Hoc Signo Vinae” (conquer by this sign). And believed that it was Jesus Christ who helped him win the wars. Because of this belief, he made Christianity the official religion of Rome.
Constantine restored some aspects of the Roman Empire such as stabilizing the economy and reforming the military. He also moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the city of Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople after himself. This new capital of the Empire was easily defendable and could control trade through the black sea.
He had three sons: Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. Upon his death, the Empire was divided between his sons. However, greed took over and the sons fought and killed one another to gain power. Contantius II won, but died soon after with his cousin Julian taking over.
Julian ruled for two years and working to restore the Roman Empire. He took a strong opposing position to religion and removed Christianity as the official religion of the Empire.
Theodosius followed, and restored Christianinty to the Empire. And was the last Emperor of Eastern/Western Rome.
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8. The Fall of the Roman Empire
Roman military was no longer at the strength it once was and could not protect its borders as it once had.
Beginning in 376 CE, Rome entered into 6 years of battles against the Goths.
The Western Roman Empire ended in 476 CE.
The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) ended in 1453 CE.
Goths were a Germanic tribe.
During these battles, the emperor of Western Rome, Valens, was defeated. This was an important event in the decline of Rome.
The Western Empire ended in 476 with the Germanic king overthrowing the Emperor.
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