The Romans: Building the West Rise of Rome: Geography Italy is a peninsula of land that extends about 750

miles in length from North to South, and is not very wide, about 120 miles across. The peninsula has a central spine of mountains that run from North to South along the entirety of the nation. The spine has long served as a haven for Italians and Romans during times of attack and as hindrance to commerce at times. Italy can be divided into 3 regions: 1. The Po River Valley in the North. 2. The Plain of Latium- the site of the city of Rome. 3. The region of the Campania, which makes up the southern portion of the peninsula. Geography has played a crucial role in the history and development of the Roman population. The Italian mainland possessed more farmland that the Greek city-states, and therein could support a larger population. The Apennines were not as rugged as the mountains of Greece and did not separate the cities of Italy. City of Rome It is located in an especially favorable location. It is 18 miles inland, upstream along the Tiber river. This location means that it was safe from pirates during its early days and because it was located along the banks of the Tiber river, it was an excellent position of trade. Romes location is the only place the Tiber river can be easily crossed in central Italy. Rome was built on seven hills and at first it was actually 7 cities. During this time the Romans, or Latins, were ruled by the Etruscans. Mythical Creation of Rome Mariana- the Etruscan Princess- gets pregnant with a Latin and runs away for fear of her father. She lives in the wilderness and gives birth to two boys. She dies after labor. A she-wolf comes and takes care of the two boys. She teaches them everything she knows. When they are 17, she dies. Remus wants to teach the inferior humans, but Romulus wants to conquer them. They get in a fight and Romulus kill Remus. Romulus forms a city called Rome, after himself. According to myth, all Romans are descended from wolves.

Roman Law Based upon a law code known as the 12 Tables. This code of law was not adequate however, so the Romans developed a system of civil law based on an idea known as the Law of Nations. Some developments that came from Roman law: Being presumed innocent until proven guilty.

 Having the right to a trial by a jury of your peers. Mandating that you have a judge who was to be impartial and guarantee a fair trial. Being able to defend yourself by confronting your accusers. Decisions in a courtroom should be made on Reason and Precedent. All of these principles of law lived on beyond the Roman Republic and ultimately have served as the basis for most of western law including the laws of the United States. Punic Wars After the conquests of Italy, the Romans found themselves face to face with another strong power in the Mediterranean Basin. This other power was focused around the city of Carthage. Carthage was founded by the earlier studied Phoenicians as a trading colony in 800 B.C. In its extensive history before the founding of Rome, Carthage became the dominant economic power in the Southern and Western Mediterranean. Why was the 1st Punic War fought? Rome was having a problem with grain supplies and Sicily was known as the bread basket of the Mediterranean. The Romans invaded Sicily, and that was the initial spark of the Punic War, because the Carthaginians considered Sicily to be their property. The Romans, once they started the war, realized that since they were a LAND power, and the Carthaginians were a SEA power, they could not hope to win if they did not make a bigger navy. After 15 years of fighting, the Romans created a powerful Navy. By 241 B.C., the Romans had defeated the Carthaginians and their leader Hamilcar Barca. The Carthaginians had to pay a fine. Sicily became the 1st Roman province outside of the Italian Peninsula.

2nd Punic War After their defeat, the Carthaginians annexed Spain. Hamilcars son, Hannibal Barca, vowed revenge for the embarrassment that his father had endured during the 1st Punic war. This embarrassment came from the fact that Hamilcar was blamed for the loss of the war as he was the commanding general, even though Hamilcar won more often than he lost. Hannibal vowed revenge and launched attacks on Roman territory. By 216 BC Hannibal brought a large Army across the Alps into Northern Italy. Hannibals amry: o 40,000 infantry and archers o 6,000 horses and cavalry. o Many elephants. In the Spring of 216 BC, the Romans decided to meet Hannibals army as it marched Southward across the Italian Peninsula. This turned out to be a mistake. Rome lost armies

of 40,000 men on 2 occasions. Hannibal was a gifted tactician and many times won when outnumbered 2-1. The Romans received a break, due to the fact that Hannibal did not bring the siege craft necessary to take Roman cities. The Romans did however possess this technology and by 206 B.C. they had used it to take over ALL of Spain and cut Hannibals line of supply from Carthage. At the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, the Romans besieged the city of carthage, and Hannibal had to sneak his army out of Rome and went home. After this, the Carthaginians surrendered. They had to pay taxes, give up Spain, destroy their navy, and limit their army. This made Rome the dominant power in the Mediterranean.

3rd Punic War o Occurred 50 years after the 2nd Punic war ended. o The 3rd Punic war was fought over the fact that the Carthaginians, over time, had stopped paying their taxes, and began to rebuild their commercial Navy. o Many powerful Romans had no desire to see Carthage emerge again as an economic or social competitor, so in 147 BC, the Romans set out to destroy Carthage. o In 146 BC the Romans arrived at Carthage with a force of nearly 100,000 men. They attacked Carthage for 10 days. At the end of the 10 days the Romans tore the city of Carthage down brick by brick, sold the 50,000 women of children of the city into slavery and executed every male over the age of 12. o This ended the Punic wars. Death of the Republic Dawn of an Empire o During the 2nd century B.C., there increasingly was a larger division between rich and poor in the Republic. o The people became more separated by classes, and the senate became the most powerful piece of the Roman political structure. o Marius decided that if he could unite the underclass of Rome, and get htem to be loyal to him and him alone, then he could be more powerful politically, and the underclass in the Roman world would be happy as well. o Marius created large private armies that were loyal to him and him alone. In return, they would be granted land, food, and better social status. o In 82 B.C. a series of civil wars ravaged the Roman Republic and an individual known as Lucius Sulla took over and killed ALL opposition. After this reign of terror, Sulla handed power bck to the Senate, this however set a dangerous precedent: military force was now an acceptable weapon against the government.

Civil war and the 1st triumvirate

o For the next 50 years Rome was in a constant stae of civil war with competing generals using their armies to gain power wherever they could. o 3 generals emerged as leaders from the wars: o Julius Caesar- 1st dictator o Crassus- Richest Roman o Pompey- Most politically connected. o These 3 were able to get power as they had the most significant armies. o Together they were granted power equally, and they became known as the 1st triumvirate. o As leaders sharing power, each was given a district to rule. o Pompey received command and governorship of Spain. o Crassus received command in Syria. o Caesar became military governor and overall commander in Gaul, which is modern-day France. In France Caesar came to have a military, political, and economic success and his power became greater than the other two. o In 53 B.C. Crassus was shot and killed in a battle in Syria, which left only Pompey and Caesar to rule.. o The senate feared Caesar and asked him to lay down command and return to Rome. o Caesar responded with a no! and returned with his troops across the Rubicon river (Boundary between uncivilized area to the North and civilized Rome to the South) and seized control of Rome to become dictator. o Romanization- Taking people who arent Roman and making them Roman. o In 47 B.C. Julius Caesar became the dictator. Anything he said was law. o He realized the divide was the cause of civil war. The granted land to all plebians. o Increased senate to 900 people. Made senate less powerful but made it appear more thoughtful for the people. Caesar as Dictator o In 44 B.C., 3 years into his reign, he was assassinated in the Senate chamber. Stabbed no less than 33 times, last blow was by his adopted son, Brutus. o Final blow- through back into heart. o Julius killed 5 of his attackers before he was killed. o Last words: Y tu Brutei (You too Brutus?) 2nd Triumvirate- Immediately following Julius death, a new struggle for power began and a 2nd triumvirate formed. The 3 men who formed the 2nd triumvirate were: o Octavian Augustus Caesar- Julius Caesars nephew. o Marc Antony- Julius Caesars primary ally in the Senate, and assistant military planner. o Lepidus- Caesars second in command and overall cavalry commander. The 2nd triumvirate only lasted a couple years and was dissolved with the death of Lepidus, around 40 B.C. This left Marc Antony and Augustus Caesar in control. Both of them would divide the empire. Octavian took the west, Marc Antony took the east. 33 B.C.- Marc falls in love with Cleopatra. 32 B.C -. Brought back a set of twins to Rome with Cleopatra. This personal conflict caused war between Octavian and Marc.

31 B.C.- Marc and Cleopatra flee to Egypt when his army was destroyed at Battle of Actium. 30 B.C. - Marc and Cleopatra commit suicide because he thought Octavian would kill him when he found him. Age of Augustus o Beginning in 27 B.C. Octavian Caesar came to be known as Augustus (Revered One), and became the emperor of Rome. o He expanded the territory that the Romans controlled ot include most of the mid-East, Egypt, and North Africa, and he attempted to conquer the entirety of Germany, however, the German Barbarians proved to e too strong to conquer at that time. o He reduced the size of the regular active duty army to a maintainable 28 legions (150,000 men). He also recruited a reserve corp. of 130,000 men (22 legions) that could be brought to active status within 24 hours. o Additionally, in an effort to avoid the fate of Julius Caesar, he created a special forces corp. which was made up of 9,000 men that were under direct control of the emperor. o These special forces troops protected the emperor and led strikes against forces that a traditional legionary was unable to attack. o This group of special forces became known as the praetorian guard. The Early Empire o Beginning in A.D. 14, a new group of Emperors ruled Rome. o The period fro m14 -180 A.D. is known as the Early Empire. o After Augustus, the emperors which ruled were: o Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero. o Each of these emperors took over more of the powers that Augustus had granted the Senate before his death. By the time of Nero, the senate was virtually useless. o Each of these emperors were flawed in some way. o Tiberius- Sought war All of the time. o Caligula- Had a habit of killing outspoken opponents publicly. o Claudius- Was arrogant to the extreme. o Nero- Nero was CRAZY. He attempted to kill his own mother on 4 occasions. He reportedly played with fire and may have started a fire that burnt of Rome. o He elected his white horse to the Senate, gave him a red and purple toga, and the deciding vote. o Nero was also especially abusive to his praetorian guards. o When he didnt pay them, and continued to abuse the guards, they rebelled, and Nero committed suicide by stabbing himself rather than suffer from his guards. o Neros final words were: Oh what an artist the world has lost in me. o Following the death of Nero, a period of Pax Romana, or Roman Peace began with a series of 5 good emperors. Geography covered by the Roman Empire o By the end of the 2nd century A.D., the Roman Empire covered an area of land approximately 3.5 million square miles, and had a population of 50-60 million people. o In terms of modern-day countries, ancient Rome by te end of the 1st century A.D.:

o France, Spain, Italy, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Greece, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Southern England, Western Iraq, NW Saudi Arabia, and a small piece of Germany. Culture and Society in the Roman World o Roman architecture was based on the Greeks. o They used Corinthian style columns in their buildings and structures, and also placed Greek statues in public buildings and the homes of the rich. They made replicas of the statuary when supplies of Greek originals became scarce. o Romans invented 3 new types of architectural forms: o Arch, Vault, and Dome. o Each of these architectural innovations were added to the Greek architectural base, to build bigger more complex structures like bridges, aqueducts, and temples. o The Romans were also the first to develop paved roads which would connect every section of the Empire to the city of Rome. Roman Literature o Most Roman literature focused around poetry and epic heroes borrowed from Greek literature. o The most distinguished of the Roman writers was Virgil. Virgil lived in ancient Mantua and wrote poems and told Romans how to be moral. o Another prominent Roman writer was Horace, who many times pointed out what was wrong with the city of Rome, and Roman society. o The most famous Roman writer, and the most prominent Roman historian was named Livy. We know a lot about Rome through Livy. Roman Family o Revolved around the paterfamilias, who was the dominant, usually the oldest, male. o Roman families were multigenerational, meaning that children, parents, and most times their grandparents or great-grandparents lived in the same home. o If you have 2 boys, they get married and come back to live with you. Their children also live in your home. o The paterfamilias made all decisions for the household. o He also divided the workload for the family. He could also: o Sell children into slavery. o Kill a member of the family for defying him. o This would change in 100 A.D. when the paterfamilias powers were lessened. Women in the Roman World o Women were perceived to be weak in the Roman world, and therefore they needed a male guardian at all times. o The paterfamilias was to be that guardian. It was his responsibility to keep them safe at home and when they went out to the Coliseum for entertainment, or the market for food.

o The paterfamilias also arranged the marriages of the females in his family. If he died, then the father of the girl, or the oldest male relative got to decide. o Girls could legally be married at age 12. 14 was the average age. The men they married were usually 5-10 years older, but often exceeded. o The paterfamilias usually picked older males because they had access to more money for which to provide for the wife to be and the children that would soon follow. Slavery in the Roman World o The Romans had more slaves than any other culture in the Roman world. o Romans used slaves for: o Farming- French o Education- Greek o Entertainment- Spanish/Germans. o The Romans developed the practice of having contests between slaves who fought to the death. We now refer to these slaves as gladiators. Public Programs o The Roman Empire beginning in the 1st century, the Romans began large scale social programs to help their poor. o Food provision- The Romans provided one pound of grain per citizen per day if you were unable to buy food. This in effect was the worlds first food stamp program. In the city of Ancient Rome, approximately 200,000 Romans received free food. o Public waterworks- In an effort to enhance sanitation, and make life more enjoyable, the Romans provided: Public baths Public Gymnasiums, Saunas Public recreation fields Amphitheaters and the Coliseum o Public Housing- The Romans built the first public housing projects called Insulae, these were apartment buildings constructed up to six stories tall. Religion in Rome: From Paganism to Christianity and the Fall of Rome Pre-Christian Roman Religion o Prior to Augustus, the Romans had a religion that revolved around a Pantheon of Gods. o The Roman gods were derived from the earlier Greek gods. o Jupiter (Zeus) - King of the Gods. o Mars (Ares) God of War. o Venus (Aphrodite)- goddess of love and beauty. o Mercury (Hermes) - Messenger god. o Neptune (Poseidon) God of the Sea. o Pluto (Hades) God of the underworld. o Vulcan (Hephaestus) - God of fire/forge. o Minerva (Athena) Goddess of wisdom.

o Augusts rebuilt the Roman Religion. o Rebuilt temples. o Jupiter, Venus, Saturn. o Beginning with Augustus, Roman Emperors were often granted title of God. o Romans were tolerant of other religions. o Religions had to submit to authority of Rome, and paid their tax to worship gods. o Religious Dissenters Groups that didnt pay their tax, or questioned the authority of the secular government. They were prosecuted. o Judaism: Followers were divided into 3 groups. o Sadducees- Favored cooperation with Romans. o Essenes- Awaited a messiah that would return from paradise. o Zealots- Attempted to overthrow Romans by force. Jesus Christ Founder of Christianity. To the Sadducees, Jesus was a political/religious leader who they believed posed a threat. Jesus was tried as a threat to Rome and executed in 33 A.D. This did not stop the spread of Christianity. Rebellion in Judea In 66 A.D., Zealots attempted a complete rebellion. Romans swarmed in and destroyed the 2nd temple. Thorn, Flagellum, Crucifixion. 40-100 A.D. Christianity spread to Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, Libya, and Spain. Persecution Christians were opposed to accepting a Roman Emperor as God. Christians refused to pay tax to worship. Christians became to be seen as a political threat to Rome. During the reign of Nero, Christians began to be punished on a large scale. Nero charged Christians with treason. Execution: o Fights with wild animals while tied and unarmed. o Public beatings. o Exposing Christians to flame. During the reign of the 5 good emperors, persecution began to be reduced. By the time of Constantine, Christianity had become the official religion of Rome.