Rome
Geography
- Built on 7 rolling hills around that Tiber River, near the center of the Italian Peninsula.
- The midway point between the Alps and Italy’s southern tip
First Romans
- 1000 to 500 B.C., three groups inhabited the region and fought for control of it.
- They were the Latin’s, Greeks , and Etruscans
- The Latin’s built the original settlement at Rome. It was a cluster of wooden huts on top of one the seven hills.
Greek Influence
- Between 750BC and 600 BC, the Greeks established colonies along the southern part of Italy and Sicily.
- The cities became very prosperous and commercially active.
- They brought all of Italy, Including Rome, into closer contact with Greek civilizations
Etruscans
- They were native to northern Italy.
- They were skilled metal workers and engineers
- They were very influential in the development of the Roman Civilization.
- Roman adopted their alphabet and some of their architecture, especially the arch.
Republic
- Republic- is a form of government in which the power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders
- In Rome, citizenship with voting rights was granted only to free-born adult male land owners
Patricians and Plebeians
- In the republic, different groups of Romans struggled for power
- Patricians- the wealthy landowners who held most of the power.
- Plebeians- the common person, but could still vote. Usually farmers and merchants.
- Patricians inherited their power and social status, and claimed that they had the right to rule due to their ancestry.
- They barred the Plebeians from holding high offices in the Government
- In time the leaders of Rome, allowed the Plebeians to form their own assembly and elect their own representatives to protected their rights from the Patrician officials, they called this their tribunes.
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