Monday, October 8th

Roman Geography

Rome was built on 7 rolling hills around the Tiber River, near the center of the Italian Peninsula
It is the midway point between the Alps and Italy's southern tip

First Romans

From 1000 to 500 BC, three groups inhabited the region and fought for control of it
They were the Latins, Greeks, and Etruscans
The Latins built the original settlement at Rome - it was a cluster of wooden huts on top of one of the seven hills

Greek Influence

Between 750 BC 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 civilization

Etruscans

They were native to Northern Italy
They were skilled metal workers and engineers
They were very influential in the development of Roman civilization
Romans adopted their alphabet
and they adopted 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 landowners

Patricians and Plebeians

In the early republic, different groups of Romans struggled for power
Patricians were the wealthy landowners who held most of the power
Plebeians were the common person, but could still vote - usually farmers and merchants
The 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 representative

Army

Along with their government, the Romans also took great pride in their military as well
All men who owned land were required to serve in the army
Some of the high public office positions required 10 year of military service

Legions

The Roman soldiers were organized into large military units called legions
Legions were made up of 5,000 foot soldiers
A group of cavalry would support each legion
The military organization and fighting skill of the Roman army were key factors in Rome's rise to greatness
Broken up into smaller groups called 'centuries' that were made up of 80 people

Expansion

By fourth century BC, the Romans dominated central Italy
They had defeated the Etruscans to the north and the Greek city-states to the south

Treatment

Latins on the Tiber became full citizens
In territory farther from Rome, the conquered people were citizens as well but didn't have voting power
The remaining people became "allies" of Rome

Roman Republic

Shortly after their victories in the punic wars, the quick and rapid expansion began to hurt the empire
The land was going to large estate and the small farmers were not making any money and were out of jobs
One of the reasons leading to a civil war

Roman Ag

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
Since Roman Empire stretched thought a lot of different 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, share cropping forced labor, and other arrangements in which farm owner lent their farm out

Slavery

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 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 for their slaves
Manual labor
Domestic services
Could be highly educated and skilled, worked as teachers and physicians
Slaves task include 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 aqueduct systems, built roads, bridges, and arenas

Gladiator

The gladiator games were games fought between an armed man and a 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 that's down - thumbs down means let him die
Animal hunts - they had a scene and the Emperor would use a bow from his box seat and shoot them
The Bestiarii - these were gladiators trained to fight tigers and lions
Criminals were sentenced to fight wild beasts at the games but without any skills, weapons or armor

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