Monday, October 8

Roman Life

Hannibal Crossing the Alps

Why did he cross the Alps

he thought that it 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 item: beef,corn,, glassware, iron,lead,leather,marble,olive oil,perfumes,purple dye, silk,timber, tin and wine
main trading partners: Spain, France, the Middle East, and North Africa
Made trade very simple only using one form of currency
They used the Tiber river, Mediterranean sea, and the black sea for a trading route
manufacturing of goods increased in the empire's cities, and many opportunities for commerce existed
rome became one of teh empires greatest commercial centers
two way trade routes extended to other commercial centers in lands as far away as Egypt, Germany, and China
the empire's location around the Mediterranean sea helped make all this commercial activity possible

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 by slaves and servants
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 climates to allow a mixture of crops produced
romans had 4 systems of farm management- work done by owner and family, tenant farming and share cropping forced labor(slaves), and other arrangements in which farm owner loaned farm out

Slavery

ancient Rome depended on slaves
most slaves were foreigners and unlike most places it did not depend on race
not uncommon for desperate Romans to sell their children into slavery
when freed, they could 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 this celebration the master performed all the tasks a slave would
it was a way that masters would show appreciation and respect to the slaves
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 owners in charge of shop keeping, lending of money, and selling of merchandise
public buildings-worked on aqueducts systems, built roads and bridges and arenas

Gladiators

the gladiator games were games fought between an armed man and criminal, wild animal, or another soldier. They were fought in the Coliseum in front of large audiences. Many of the people who fought the criminals and wild animals risked their social standing and their lives for the glory. They had costumes and scenery which had to be put up as well
thumbs up means save the gladiator thats down and thubs down means let him die
Order of events at the Gladiator games
- animal hunts-they had a scene and the Emperor would use a bow from his box seat and shoot them
- the Bestarii- these were gladiators trained to fight lions and tigers
- criminals were sentenced to fight wild beasts at the games but without any skills, weapons, or armor

Emperors

Tiberius- adopted son of Augustus- 22 years and 6 months- possible assassinated by Caligula. He was a cruel tyrant who put men to death upon mere suspicion
Caligula- 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 it hundreds of miles, and then commanded the soldiers to gather the shells on the beach and carry them back to Rome
Claudius I- nephew of Tiberius and uncle of Caligula- 13 years and 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 persons to dinner 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 to that he might rebuild it finer than it had been before

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