1. Rome and the Rise of Christianity (600 BC – 500 AD) Section 1 - The Rise of Rome

2. The Land and Peoples of Italy Geographic Setting Italy is about 750 miles long and 120 miles wide. Peninsula is located in the Mediterranean Sea. Location allowed them access to the lands of the Mediterranean. They carried on trade and built an empire Mountains - Apennines. They are low mountains, so they did not divide Italy as Greece was divided. Fertile plains supported a growing population. Rome is near the center of Italy on the Tiber River.

3. The Roman Republic Rome was founded in 509 BC when the Romans drove out the Etruscans who had ruled them By 264 BC the Romans had defeated many enemies and had gained control of most of Italy

4. What characteristics made Rome successful? Romans were good diplomats – they extended citizenship and allowed conquered states to run their own internal affairs. Romans were great militarily – they were good soldiers, they were persistent, they did not quit, but would build new armies or navies, they were great strategists. Romans built colonies as they conquered, they built roads to connect new towns with the Republic, so troops could move quickly for protection.

5. The Twelve Tablets of Roman Law Adopted in 450 BC written laws to protect the plebeians – they were publically displayed in Rome. Eventually, Roman law developed into a system of civil law known as the Law of Nations based on natural law or universal law based on reason. Roman standards of justice included the following: a person was innocent until proved otherwise, people accused of wrongdoing were allowed to defend themselves before a judge, a judge was expected to make a decision based on evidence. *What other code systems have we previously studied this year?

6. The Punic Wars: Between the Roman Republic and Carthage Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians around 800 BC Carthage had a huge trading empire from Spain to Sicily Carthage was the largest and richest state in the area

7. The First Punic War Began in 264 BC The Romans sent an army to Sicily where Carthage had a colony. Up to this point Rome had been a land power without a Navy. They built a navy so they could engage Carthage on water. The Roman fleet defeated Carthage’s fleet and in 241 BC Carthage gave up all rights to Sicily and paid a fine to Rome

8. The Second Punic War Hannibal, the greatest Carthage general traveled from Spain, across the Alps to attack Rome. His army had about 46,000 men, many horses and 37 battle elephants In 216 BC the Romans were defeated at the battle of Cannae The Romans sent troops to Spain and Carthage. Carthage was defeated in 202 BC

9. The Third Punic War In 149 BC the Romans wanted to completely destroy Carthage. Carthage lived under siege until146 BC. Roman soldiers burned and demolished the city. The people of Carthage who survived were sold into slavery. The land where Carthage had been and the surrounding area became a vital source of grain for the growing Roman population.