Wednesday, October 10

Research 10/2:

Romulus and Remus

They were twin sons of a princess named Rhea and of the war god, Mars. Other gods and goddesses were out to get their family so Rhea sent them down a river. They were fed by a she-wolf and then a shepherd and his wife adopted them. Later on, they decided they wanted to be kings so they decided to built a city on the shore of Tiber. They both wanted to be the only king so they fought. Romulus picked up a rock, killed his brother, and made himself king. That's how Rome started.

Roman Republic vs US Government

Executive Branch - two consuls vs one president - 1 year term vs 4 year term

Legislative Branch -

Senate - high social status and economic status, serve for life - advises consuls

Centuriate Assembly - soldiers only, chose consuls, serve for life

Tribal Assembly - ordinary citizens, serve for life, make laws

Judicial Branch - 8 judges, one year by the Centuriate Assembly, to oversee civil and criminal courts

Legal Code - Twelve tables - this was a list of rules that was the Supreme law of the land in Rome - in America, it is equal to the Constitution

Research 10/3:

Punic Wars and Hannibal

The three Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome took place over nearly a century, beginning in 264 B.C. and ending with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C. In the first war, Rome took over Sicily. In the second war, the great general, Hannibal, was defeated by Scipio Africanus. In the third war, Scipio Africanus captured and destroyed the city of Carthage and Rome won. Rome became an even greater empire that spread into Africa.

Rome defeated Carthage in all three wars. Each war was harder for the Romans to win though. War 1-2, Tome was on the defensive. Aggressor in the last war. Key players were Hannibal (C), Scipio (R) and Cincinnatus (R).

Hannibal was a Punic Carthaginian military commander, generally considered one of the greatest military commanders in history.

Lasting effects - showed the civilizations in the Mediterranean that Rome was a dominant force and by 70 BC, Rome had conquered a lot of land around the Mediterranean Coast.

Research 10/4:

Emperors after Augustus

Augustus - 41 years and 8 months

Tiberius - adopted son of Augustus - 22 years and 6 months - possibly 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 Praetorinan guards.
He was half-mad, 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 upon the sea-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 Agrippinna
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 that he might rebuild it finer than it had been before.

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

Julius Caesar

Debate information
Another civil war broke out because of Caesar's death

Avengers of Caesar

Octavian, Mark Antony, Lepidus avenged Caesar and became the 2nd triumvirate
Even jealousy here, Octavian forced Lepidus to retire his power
Mark Antony fell in love with Cleopatra and followed her to Egypt

Augustus

The term given to Octavian meaning "exalted one"
Rome was at the peak of its power and at peace throughout Augustus' Rule and even to 180 AD
Pax Romana - "Roman Peace"

Roman Life

Hannibal Crossing the Alps

One of the greatest military achievements of ancient warfare
Happened during the 2nd Punic War
Took 16 days to cross
Many of their elephants did not survive the journey
Why?
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 items: beef, corn, glassware, iron, lead, leather, marble, olive oil, perfumes, purple dye, silk, silver, spices, timber, tin, and wine
Main trading partners: Spain, France, the Middle East, and North Africa
Made trade very simple by 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 the empire's 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

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 if food were given out to the public for free (corn, wheat)
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 and share cropping forced labor (slaves), and other arrangements in which farm owner lent 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 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

Emperors

Christianity

Religion has always played a large role in Roman society
However, the polytheistic system was very important
So, as the empire grew so did the new religion called Christianity

Jesus of Nazareth

Viewed as the Messiah or savior by Christians
Born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea
Baptized by John the Baptist
He took up carpentry
At the age of 30, he then took up ministry
For the next three years, he preached, taught, did good works, and reportedly performed miracles

History of Jesus

Historical records of the time mention very little about Jesus
Main source of information about his main teachings are the Gospels
These gospels were written by his disciples or pupils, called apostles

Jesus’ Death

Jesus was growing in popularity and this concerned Roman and Jewish leaders
A governor of Rome named Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome
He then was crucified on a wooden cross

Spreading Christianity

After Jesus’ death, the followers of Jesus continued to spread his ideas
Despite the large amount of political and religious opposition, the new religion of Christianity began to spread

Paul

A man who really influenced the spreading of Christianity
Was once a Jew, and again Christianity
He was able to do many of his speeches, and travel throughout the Roman Empire because it was during Pax Romana

Charts

Christian – believe that Jesus is the Messiah – acceptance of Gentiles and Jews alike
Jewish – believe that Jews are the chosen people – adherence to Jewish law
Both – believe in one god and believe in the ten commandments

Organization Chart

Pope

Bishops Bishops Bishops

Priest Priest Priest Priest Priest

The People

Persecution of Christians

The main reason was that they refused to worshiped Roman gods
As Pax Romana began to crumble, persecution of the Christians increased
Thousands were crucified, burned, or killed by wild animals in the circus arenas
Other Christians and even some non-Christians regarded persecuted Christians as martyrs
Martyrs – were people willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a belief or cause

Popularity

Became a world religion for multiple reasons
Embraced all people
Gave hope to the powerless
Appealed to those who were repelled by extravagances of imperial Rome
Offered personal relationship with a loving god
Promised eternal life after death

Constantine Accepting Christianity

Constantine was fighting over leadership of Rome
He then prayed to the Christian God, and saw a cross
He then ordered the artisans to paint the Christian symbol on the shields
He was successful in battle so began to accept Christianity

Blogs

Wednesday, October 10

Comments