October 30 - November 10, 2017

October 30, 2017 to November 3, 2017

 

THIRD PUNIC WAR – 149-146 BC

  • 53 years after the 2nd Punic War
  • Rome went on the offensive and laid siege to Carthage
  • The Romans burned the city and 50,000 people were sold into slavery
  • With Carthage out of the picture, Rome would continue its conquests in the upcoming decades

 

CH. 5.2 THE ROMAN EMPIRE

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC FALLS APART:

  • Why?
  • Growing gap between rich and poor – income inequality
  • As Rome took over certain areas, it took in slaves as well
  • By 100 BC, slaves made up 33% of Rome’s population
  • Small farmers couldn’t compete with the rich landowners and had to sell land leaving them homeless- many became soldiers
  • 2 tribunes, Tiberius and Gaius, were murdered, after pushing for giving land to the poor

 

CAUSE:

EFFECT:

Rapid expansion of the roman Empire

Difficult govern with a republic with a republican form of government

Greedy, dishonest leaders

The poor felt no loyalty to the roman government who was keeping them poor

Professional soldiers who were poor citizens and only made money if they won a battle

 

Soldiers only loyal to the general who paid them

Power hungry generals (Caesar) fight one another for control of government

Caesar’s rivals fear he is becoming too powerful and declare him a public enemy

Caesar crosses the Rubicon River and brings his army with him to Rome

Civil War breaks out for three years

Caesar defeats Pompey and declares himself dictator

This ends the Republican system of government in Rome

 

 

 

 

JULIUS CAESAR’S RESUME

  • After Sulla’s death, Caesar returned to Rome and went into politics
  • During his travels, was captured by pirates
  • Became Governor of Spain, a Roman province in 61-60 BC
  • In 60 BC, Julius Caesar joined forces with Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and Pompey, a popular general
  • With their help, Caesar was elected consul in 59 BC
  • For the next 10 years, these three men dominated Rome as a triumvirate, a group of 3 rulers
  • Was known as the First Triumvirate
  • After being Consul for one year, became Governor of Gaul (France and Belgium) from 58-50 BC
  • Caesar’s power and popularity concerned Crassus and Pompey back in Rome

First Triumvirate Falls Apart

  • Crassus was killed in a battle in Syria so he was out of the picture
  • Pompey became jealous of Caesar’s power and popularity so the Senate ordered Caesar to disband military and return to Rome
  • Caesar refused and instead crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BC and attacked Pompey’s troops
  • By 46 BC, Pompey was dead and his troops defeated
  • Caesar returned to Rome with support from the people and the military and became dictator – 46 BC
  • In 44 BC, Caesar was named dictator for life

CAESAR AS A DICTATOR

  • Served just a year before he was assassinated
  • Granted Roman citizenship to many people in their provinces
  • Expanded the senate, adding friends and supporters from Italy and other regions
  • Helped the poor by creating jobs, especially through the construction of new public buildings
  • Started colonies where people without land could own property
  • Increased pay for soldiers
  • Reformed the Roman calendar
  • Was killed because people were jealous of him

JULIAN VS GREGORIAN CALENDAR

  • The Julian calendar was the calendar from 46 BCE to 1582 CE when the Gregorian Calendar took its place
  • The Gregorian Calendar was introduced and named after Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and is still used today
  • The difference in the average length of the year between Julian

 

 

November 6, 2017

 

AFTER JULIUS CAESAR

  • Octavian=Caesar Augustus=Augustus

 

THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE- 43 BC – 33 BC

  • Civil War broke out after Caesar’s death
  • The Roman Republic was now completely gone at this point
  • Octavian (Caesar’s grandnephew/adopted son), Marc Antony (a general), and Lepidus (a politician) ruled Rome for ten years
  • Fell apart eventually Lepidus to retire
  • Octavian forced Lepidus to retire
  • Octavian went to war against Marc Antony (with Queen Cleopatra from Egypt)
  • Octavian defeated Antony/Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC

 

INTERESTING FACTS:

  • Cleopatra was a guest in Rome (with Caesarion) for several years as Caesar’s guest and won over the Roman people with her beauty and charm
  • Caesarion (Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar) was Cleopatra’s and Caesar’s son and possibly his only biological son
  • Once Octavian and Marc Antony defeated Caesar’s killers, they split the Roman Republic in two-Octavian took Rome and Antony took Egypt
  • Antony quickly falls in love with Cleopatra (had three kids)- Huge problem. Why?
  • 1. Antony is married to Octavian’s sister, Octavia. Octavian not pleased.
  • 2. Octavian is concerned that Antony and Cleopatra want to take over Rome
  • Octavian decided to attack first and defeated Antony and Cleopatra fleet in Battle of Actium as stated previously
  • Antony and Cleopatra were able to escape but eventually committed suicide together instead of being captured

 

AUGUSTUS AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE – 27 BC – 14 AD

  • Octavian took the title “Augustus” which means “exalted one”
  • He would usher in the “Pax Romana” (27 BC – 180 AD) which means “Roman Peace”
  • This was the period of time where Rome was at its peak

 

AUGUSTUS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Stabilized the frontier
  • Glorified Rome with awesome public buildings- “found Rome brick and left it marble.”
  • Created a system of government that survived for centuries
  • Set up civil service within Rome

-          Paid workers to manage the affairs of government

ROMAN LIFE

  • Discipline, strength, and loyalty were stressed in Rome

-          People had gravitas that had these characteristics

  • 90% of people farmed throughout the empire
  • The rich lived by conspicuous consumption
  • Most people lived in poverty

-          High unemployment

-          Lived in cramped tenements – fires common

-          Gov’t provided grain every day

-          Struggled for survival

GLADIATOR CONTESTS

  • Gov’t put on to appease the poor
  • Provided free of charge during holidays (150/year by 250 AD)
  • Fought in the Colosseum in Rome (pic next slide)
  • Animal vs animal, man vs animal, man vs man

ROMAN RELIGION

  • Government and religion were linked
  • Among the most important Roman gods and goddesses were:

-          Jupiter, father of the gods

-          Juno, Jupiter’s wife, who watched over women

-          Minerva, goddess of wisdom and arts and crafts

-          Worship of the emperor also became part of the official religion of Rome

 

November 8, 2017

CH. 6. 3 – THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

  • Roman gods were very impersonal and practiced with very little emotion
  • Rome took over the Jewish land of Israel around 63 BC which introduced Christianity to the Roman Empire
  • Christianity broke off from Judaism and was based on the life and teachings of Jesus as well as his death and resurrection
  • As Jesus traveled around preaching, many people started following him

WHY WAS CHRISTIANITY ATTRACTIVE TO PEOPLE?

  • Embraced all people – men and women, enslaved persons, the poor, and nobles
  • Gave hope to the powerless
  • Appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome
  • Offered a personal relationship with a loving God
  • Promised eternal life after death

SAUL 2 PAUL

  • Paul, an apostle, stressed that Jesus was the son of God who died for people’s sins

-          An apostle was a Christian teacher or missionary

  • He also declared that Christianity should welcome all converts, Jew or Gentile (non-Jew)

ROME’S REACTION

  • Rome persecuted Christians as they didn’t want to worship the Roman gods

-          Many people were crucified, burned, or killed by wild animals in the circus arenas

  • Roman Emperor Constantine named Christianity one of the roman Empires religions in 313 AD after winning a battle where he believed the Christian God intervened
  • In 380 AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the empire’s official religion

THE EARLY CHRISTIAN (CATHOLIC) CHURCH

  • A priest led each small group of Christians in each church
  • A bishop, who was also a priest, supervised several local churches

-          Eventually, every major city had its own bishop

-          The apostle Peter became the first bishop of Rome

-          According to tradition, Jesus referred to Perter as the “rock” on which the Christian church would be built

-          As a result, all priests and bishops traced their authority to him

  • These bishops said that Peter was the first pope, the father or head of the Christian Church
  • Whoever was bishop of Rome was also the leader of the whole church

EARLY CHRISTIAN LAWS

  • As time went on, there were growing disagreements between Christians in regards to beliefs
  • The New Testament was added to the Hebrew Old Testament to make the Christian bible which helped unify Christians

-          Included the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) as well as the Epistles (letters) of Paul among other documents

THE NICENE CREED

  • In 325 AD, Constantine further unified the teachings of Christianity
  • In Nicaea (in Turkey today), church leaders wrote the Nicene Creed, which defined the basic beliefs of the Church

 

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

  • Historians generally agree that the end of the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (161 – 180 AD) marked the end of two centuries of peace and prosperity (Pax Romana) and the Roman Empire

November 10, 2017

3 MAIN CAUSES FOR THE FALL OF ROME

1.)    Internal problems and conflicts

2.)    Separation of the Roman Empire into East and West

3.)    Outside invasion

DIOCLETIAN SPLITS THE EMPIRE- 285 AD

  • Diocletian was a strong ruler that brought law and order back to the Empire
  • He believed that the empire had grown too large and too complex for one ruler
  • He divided the empire into two

-          Greek-speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt)- Byzantine

-          Latin-speaking West (Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain)

  • He took the Eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler for the West

CONSTANTINE

  • Constantine took control of the western part of the Roman Empire in 312 AD and also took control of the eastern part in 324 AD
  • United the empire during his reign and moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium (330 AD), changing the name of the city to Constantinople
  • Huge walls were built around Constantinople to protect it from barbarians
  • After his death, the empire was split into two again
  • Today the city is known as Istanbul
  • The Byzantine Empire would last until 1453 when the Ottoman Turks took the area over
  • Germanic tribes moved into the Roman Empire due to the Huns moving into their territory around 370 AD

THE HUNS

  • The Huns attacked over 70 cities

THE LAST ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE END

  • The last Western emperor was Romulus Augustulus, a14 year old
  • He was ousted by German forces in 476 AD and Rome fell
  • The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) continued and flourished until the Ottoman Turks took them over in 1453
  • After Rome fell, Europe fell into the Dark Ages from around 500-1500 AD

 

THE LEGACY OF ROME

  • The Latin language

-          The basis of many future languages – French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian

-          Many English words have their root in Latin

IMPORTANT ROMAN LAWS THAT IMPACTED US

  • All persons had the right to equal treatment under the law
  • A person was considered innocent until proven guilty
  • The burden of proof rested with the accuser rather than the accused
  • A person should be punished only for actions, not thoughts
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