Rome expanded its territory through military conquests between 264 BC and 44 BC, gaining control of the Mediterranean region. Its central location on the Tiber River in Italy allowed it to develop trade networks by sea and an extensive road system across its empire. Over time, Rome transitioned from a republic to an empire ruled by emperors like Augustus, Trajan, and Hadrian. The Roman economy was based on farming and trade, though inflation increased as the value of currency decreased under various emperors. Roman society was stratified, with patricians, plebeians, consuls, tribunes, and slaves filling different roles.

1. GEOGRAPHY

2. Expansion Rome conquered Gaul, Asia minor,Syria,and a part of north Africa by 44B.C. Rome conquered Spain, Carthage, Sicily, Sardinia, and Macedonia Greece by 146B.C. By 264B.C. Rome controlled all of Italy

3. Location Rome was located next to the Tiber River so that was Rome’s main water supply Rome, despite its many mountains, had arable land meaning it was good farming land Rome has many mountains but one main mountain range is the Apennines which had rivers flowing down them Rome was in the Mediterranean Sea meaning they could travel by water and trade by water

4. Boarder Invasions Rome was mainly at war with Carthage Carthage had a brilliant general named Hannibal who took 40,000 soldiers and 40 elephants to invade Northern Italy The Romans worst defeat came at a fort called Cannae in Southern Italy when 45,000 Roman soldiers were killed Rome finally started the third Punic War where the Romans burned Carthage to the ground and plowed salt into its fields

5. Trade Routes Since the Romans controlled the Mediterranean shipping goods by sea was safe The Romans linked their empire together with a vast network of paved roads that were meant for military purposes but goods also traveled on the roads The Roman trade routes extended well beyond the empire The Romans trade routes went through many places such as Egypt, Macedonia, Spain, Carthage, and many more

6. RELIGION

7. Christianity After the death of Jesus the apostle Peter became the leader of the disciples The Roman roads made it possible for Christians and their ideas to move across the empire When a great fire destroyed much of Rome, the emperor Nero blamed it on the Christians so, many Christians were rounded up and killed Romans tolerated most religions as long as everyone worshipped the Roman emperor as a god, but the Christians refused and faced waves of persecution

8. Judaism The Jews resented Rome, They saw the Romans as unbelievers occupying their land The Jews were divided by religious differences, some priests focused on protecting the temple even when they needed the Romans help, while others moved to caves where they would be left alone Jesus had angered religious leaders by criticizing the way money was being used in the temple

9. Greek Mythology Greeks conducted elaborate rituals and sacrifices to ensure the favor of their god Greek gods and goddesses controlled all aspects of life including founding cities, healing the sick, and victory in battles Zeus was the god of the sky and the ruler of the Olympian gods and he held a thunder bolt as a weapon and would hurl it at those who displeased him

10. Etruscan Mysticism The Etruscans believed that gods gave them signs in nature The Etruscans thought they could predict harvests by bird migrations The Etruscan diviners used the stars to plan the layouts of their towns and read the livers of animals before conducting burials

11. ACHIEVEMENTS

12. System of Laws The Romans took the rule of law further by setting up a court system with judges, lawyers, and juries One law the Romans believe was if a slave committed theft or did damage with his masters knowledge, the action or damage is in the slaves name Another law is if anyone summons a man before the magistrate, he must go, if the man does not go they may take him by force Today we use laws to live by and hold order in society to prevent theft and murder

13. Development of Aqueducts Roman engineers designed aqueducts to supply towns with clean water Wealthy Romans had water piped directly to their homes Water flowed through a system of lead pipes which ran into public fountains where poor people got their water Other water pipes supplied water to the public baths found in every city

14. Republican Form of Government The Roman republic government let the Roman citizens elect their leaders The Roman government had two bodies of law : the Senate and the Assembly The Roman government says all citizens are equal before the law

15. Network of Concrete Roads More than 50,000 miles of straight paved roads crisscrossed the empire The Roman roads linked cities and military forts Roman roads were built to last a long time Roman roads were built to mainly move the army quicker from place to place

16. POLITICS

17. Augustus Rule While Augustus was the emperor he opened up the senate to all men, not just members of old patrician families Augustus claimed Caesar was sitting among the gods and being Caesars heir this made him the son of a god To avoid the same fate as Julius Caesar, Augustus offered to give up the throne but, when the people demanded he be absolute ruler he accepted gracefully

18. Trajan Rule Trajan decreased taxes for the Roman citizens To stop starvation Trajan increased the distribution of food Trajan built bridges to cross rivers and streams He was very efficient in controlling provinces

19. Hadrian Rule Hadrian encouraged Greek culture within the Roman empire Hadrian built an 80 mile wall around Rome to protect it from invaders Hadrian divided Italy into four regions to settle legal matters quickly Hadrian built new structures and helped reform the legal system

20. The Senate The Senate was the second branch of government that represented the tradition of oligarchy In the republic, the Senate continued to advise consuls, it also controlled state finances and passed laws The original Roman Senate had 300 members who served for life, they came from the oldest and richest Patrician families in Rome

21. ECONOMY

22. Farming Farming was the foundation of the Roman economy, the most important crop was grain Farmers paid their taxes in grain The city of Rome was a huge market for grain, olive oil, and other farm products

23. Inflation Emperors tried to increase the money supply by issuing coins made of less precious metals When merchants realized that coins were being made of less precious they raised their prices A bag of wheat that had cost one denarius a century earlier rose in price to 200 denarius As money lost its value, tax collectors began seizing food, clothing, wagons, and other valuable and necessary goods as payment of taxes

24. Trade Grain was shipped to Rome’s widespread armies for soldiers to eat Ships carried wheat from Egypt to Italy, silver bowls and bronze ware were shipped to Russia and Northern Europe Ships also carried wine, olive oil, and pottery to Europe and the Greek islands Red pottery was exported west to Britain and east to India, Romans also imported luxury goods such as silk from as far away as China

25. Military Spending Military spending left few resources for other vital activities such as providing public housing and maintaining the quality of public roads In the later years of the empire, frustrated Romans lost their desire to defend the empire so the government paid mercenaries from other countries The army was not only reliable but expensive thus the emperors were forced to raise taxes frequently

26. SOCIAL STRUCTURE

27. Plebeians The Plebeians were the poor Romans Poor Plebeians lived at the top of buildings where there was rarely running water The poor Plebeians also known as clients could not afford the spacious rooms on the bottom so they lived in the smaller and less expensive apartments above

28. Patricians Patricians also known as patrons were wealthy Romans who offered their assistance to Plebeians Patricians helped the less fortunate because they would receive something in return A Plebeian who was helped by a patrician would support the political careers of their patron A Patrician would provide money and other forms of aid, such as help in legal matters

29. Consuls A Consul was a official appointed by the Roman government to reside in another country Some Consuls led the army and the government, while others also acted as judges and high priests When the Consuls left for war they sometimes appointed a dictator to serve in their place, Consuls appointed dictators for periods of six months. In 458 B.C. the Consuls appointed a farmer soldier named Cincinnatus to serve as a dictator, according to legend he raised an army, defeated the enemy, and handed power back to the Consuls in just 16 days

30. Tribunes The Tribunes started in 471 B.C., the Plebeians went on strike and demanded their own voice in the government The Tribunes represented the Plebeians interests in civic affairs. The Tribunes had the power to veto or block a law they viewed unfair to the common people. The Tribunes were in the interest of the common people such as state representatives in modern time

31. CONCLUSION I believe expansion was the most interesting idea about the Roman Empire.I think it was important because it determined how far the empire stretched.Also since the slaves took most of the Roman jobs the expansion gave more land for new jobs and new jobs meant less homeless people.Even though expansion caused wars and death I think it was the most interesting idea about Rome.