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[4thSHELBYp!]

Roman Life • Hannibal crossing the Alps -one of the greatest military achievements of ancient warfare -happened during the 2nd Punic War -Hannibal crossing the Alps was known to e one of the major achievements of the second Punic war -took 16 days to cross -many of their elephants didn’t survive the journey • Why did they cross the Alps? -he thought that is would give him a better chance against the Romans if he came down with all of his war elephants -the wars were fought over pure hatred by one side against the other • Roman Trade -very vital to the Roman Empire -most common trade: beef, corn, glassware, iron, lead, leather, marble, olive oil -Main trading partners: Spain, France, Middle East and North Africa -they used the Tiber river, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea for trading -Two-way trade routes extended to other commercial centers in lands as far away as Egypt, Germany,, and China -the Empires located around the Mediterranean Sea helped make all this commercial activity possible • Roman Agriculture -used crop rotation -sometimes had to import food because of mountains -after conquering Egypt, able to import lots of wheat -most of crops raised on large estates called LATIFUNDIAS -Cicero considered farming the best of all Roman occupations -the main crop was wheat, and bread was present during almost every meal -Majority of work done on the farm was done by slaves and servants • Farming -farms created main source of income for Romans -certain types of food were given out to the public for free (corn, wheat) -since Roman Empire stretched through a lot of land, there were different flimates to allow a mixture of crops produced I think it’d be better to pay more attention to smaller farms because they will be better quality and if they have a bad year and invested all of their money into a big farm they they’re screwed. • Slavery General Info -ancient Rome depended on slaves -Most slaves were foreigners and unlike most places it didn’t depend on race -not uncommon for desperate Romans to sell their children into slavery -when freed, they culd work the same jobs as the Plebeians -debt slavery was common, where a person could work off a debt by becoming a slave for a certain period of time, depending on the debt -some slaves were forced to become gladiators -SATURNALIA – a Christmas for the slaves in which the slaves and masters switched places -during the celebration the master performed all the task a slave would -it was a way the masters showed respect towards slaves • Slavery -manual labor -domestic services -could be highly educated and skilled, worked as teachers and physicians -slaves task included working on farms – produced the food and materials the cities depended on -businesses – managed shops for store owner, in charge of shop keeping, lending of money and selling of merchandise -public buildings – worked on aqueduct systems, build roads and bridges and arenas. • Gladiator -gladiator games were games fought between an armed man and a criminal, wild animal, or another soldier. -they were fought in the Coliseum in from of audiences -many people who fought the criminals and wild animals risked their social standigns and lives for glory -they had costumes and scenery which had to be put up as well • Gladiator Games -Thumbs up means save the gladiator that’s down and thumbs down means let him die -order of Events at the Gladiators Games: 1. Animal hunts – they had a scene and the Emperor would use a bown from his box seat and shoot them 2. The Bestiaries – these were gladiators trained to fight tigers and lions 3. Criminals were sentenced to fight wild beasts at the games but without any skills, weapons or armor I’d rather fight and have a chance • Emperors • Tiberius – adopted a son of Augustus – 22 years and 6 months – possibly assassinated by Caligula. He was cruel tyrant who put men to death upon mere suspicion • Calgula – great nephew of Tiberius – 3 years and 10 months – assassinated in conspiracy involving senators and Praetorian guards. He was insane and once threatened to have his horse made consul, and at another time raised a great army, and marched in hundreds of miles, and then commanded the soldiers to gather the shells on the beach and carry them back to Rome • Cladius 1 – nephew of Tiberius and uncle of Caligula – 13 years 9 months – probably poisoned by his wife Agrippina. -he was a weak and foolish emperor who allowed the cruelest acts to be committed in his name, and then forgot them, and invited the person whom he had just had put to death. • Nero – 13 years and 8 months – stepson and adopted son of Claudius -he was a monster of vanity and cruelty; he was suspected of setting fire to the city and allowing more than two-thirds of it to burn up, in order that he might rebuild it finer than it had been before