The document provides an overview of the beginnings and rise of ancient Rome. It discusses: - The founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus in 753 BC along the Tiber River. - The three groups - Latins, Greeks, and Etruscans - who inhabited the region and fought for control. The Latins were the first Romans. - How the Roman Republic replaced the monarchy in 509 BC, led initially by two consuls instead of a king. - The three Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage from 264-146 BC which established Rome as the dominant power. - Key figures like Julius Caesar, who conquered Gaul, and Augustus,

1. Ancient Rome

2. The Beginnings of Rome
■ According to legend, Rome was founded in
753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin
sons of the god Mars and a Latin princess.
– Rome was built on seven rolling hills near the
Tiber River.

3. Inhabitants of Rome
■ Three groups that lived in the region and
fought for control were the Latins, the
Greeks, and the Etruscans.
■ Latins:
▪ Were farmers and shepherds who wandered into
Italy across the Alps in 1000 B.C.
▪ They settled into a region on the Tiber River
known as Latium.
▪ They were the 1st
Romans

4. Latium

5. Inhabitants of Rome
■ Greeks:
▪ Between 750-600 B.C., Greek settlers established
about 50 colonies on the coasts of Italy and Sicily.
▪ Their cities thrived and it brought Romans into
closer contact with Greek civilization.

6. Greek Colonies

7. Inhabitants of Rome
■ Etruscans:
▪ The Etruscans were native to northern Italy.
▪ They were skilled metalworkers and engineers.
▪ Also had a system of writing and the Romans
adopted the Etruscan alphabet.
▪ They influenced Roman architecture by using the
arch.

8. Etruscans

9. Roman Religion
■ Borrowed religion
from the Greeks
■ Roman gods also took
on the personality
traits as the Greek
gods except with
different names.
▪ Example: Zeus was the
king of the Greek gods,
while Jupiter was king
of the Roman gods

10. The Roman Republic
■ Last king of Rome was Tarquin the Proud.
– Tarquin was overthrown in 509 B.C. for a new
type of government.
▪ They called it a republic which is a form of
government in which power rests with citizens who
have the right to vote to select their leaders.

11. Patricians vs. Plebeians
■ Two groups battled for power early in the Roman
republic.
– Patricians: They were the aristocratic landowners who held
most of the power.
– Inherited their power and social status.
– Claimed their ancestry gave them power to make the laws for Rome
and the people.
– Plebeians: They were the common farmers, artisans, and
merchants who made up the majority of the population.
– Citizens of Rome who had the right to vote
– Were barred from holding the most important government positions.
– In time, the Senate allowed them to form their own assembly and elect
representatives called tribunes. Tribunes protected the rights of the
plebeians from unfair acts of patrician officials.

12. The Roman Forum

13. Roman Government
■ In the place of a king, Rome had two
officials called consuls.
▪ Like kings, they commanded the army and directed
the government.
▪ A consul’s term lasted only one year and could not
be re-elected for 10 years.
▪ One consul could always override, or veto, the
other’s decisions.

14. Roman Government
■ The Senate was the aristocratic (patrician) branch of
Rome’s government.
▪ It had both legislative and administrative functions in the republic.
▪ Powers also included influence on foreign and domestic policy.
■ The Assemblies were the more democratic (plebeian)
side of the government.
▪ All citizen-soldiers were members of the Centuriate Assembly.
▪ An assembly, called the Tribal Assembly, elected the tribunes and
made laws for the common people.
– In times of crisis, the republic could appoint a dictator – a
leader who had absolute power to make laws and command the
army.

15. Roman Army
■ All citizens who owned land were required to
serve in the army.
▪ To secure certain public offices, 10 years of service were
required.
▪ Roman soldiers were organized into large military units called
legions. The Roman legion was made up of some 5,000
heavily armed foot soldiers which was known as an
infantry.
▪ Legions were divided into smaller groups of about 100 men,
each of which was called a century.
■ This military organization and fighting skill of the
Roman army were key factors in Rome’s rise to
greatness.

16. The Roman Army

17. The Punic Wars
■ In 264 B.C., Rome and Carthage went to war.
This was the beginning of the long struggle
known as the Punic Wars.
▪ Between 264-146 B.C., Rome and Carthage fought three
wars.
– The 1st
Punic War, for the control of Sicily and the
western Mediterranean, lasted 23 years (264-241 B.
C.).
▪ It ended in the defeat of Carthage and Rome took the rich,
grain-growing island of Sicily as the chief prize.

18. The 1st
Punic War

19. The Punic Wars
■ The 2nd
Punic War
began in 218 B.C..
■ The mastermind
behind the war was a
29-year-old
Carthaginian general
named Hannibal.
■ Hannibal was a
brilliant military
strategist who wanted
revenge on Rome.

20. The 2nd
Punic War
■ Hannibal assembled an army of 50,000
infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 60
elephants with the intent of capturing
Rome.
■ To surprise the Romans, he led his
army on a long trek from Spain across
France and through the Alps.
■ Although he lost half of his men,
Hannibal’s greatest victory came at
Cannae in 216 B.C.
■ Hannibal inflicted enormous losses on
the Roman army, but they regrouped
led by Scipio.
■ In 202 B.C., Scipio invaded Carthage
and forced Hannibal back to defend his
country.
■ Finally, at Zama near Carthage, the
Romans defeated Hannibal.

21. The 3rd
Punic War
■ By the time of the 3rd
Punic War (149-146 B.C.),
Carthage was no longer a threat to Rome.
▪ The Romans did not forget the destruction Hannibal left at
Rome.
▪ So in 149 B.C., the Romans invaded Carthage and by 146 B.
C. the city was set afire and 50,000 inhabitants were sold
into slavery.
■ By 70 B.C., Rome was now in control of the
ancient world.

22. The 3rd
Punic War

23. Julius Caesar

24. Julius Caesar
■ In 60 B.C., Caesar joined forces with
Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and Pompey, a
popular general.
▪ With their help, Caesar was elected consul in 59 B.
C.
– For the next 10 years, these 3 men would
dominate Rome as a triumvirate, a group of
three rulers.

25. Caesar
■ Caesar was a strong leader and military
genius.
▪ After serving his year of consul, he named himself
governor of Gaul.
▪ During 58-50 B.C., Caesar led his legions in a
successful campaign to conquer all of Gaul.
▪ This would make Caesar very popular in Rome.

26. Caesar vs. Pompey
■ Pompey became weary of Caesar and his
success.
▪ In 50 B.C., the Senate ordered Caesar to disband his legions
and return home……. Caesar refused.
– The Result?
– On the night of January 10, 49B.C., Caesar and his
army marched into Rome and Pompey fled.
– Caesar’s troops would defeat Pompey’s armies in Greece, Asia,
Spain, and Egypt.
– Finally in 46 B.C., Caesar returned to Rome, where he
had the support of the army and the common people.
■ In 46 B.C., Caesar was named dictator for life.

27. The Assassination of Caesar
■ Many nobles became weary of Caesar’s
popularity.
– A number of important senators, led by
Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius, plotted
his assassination.
▪ On March 15, 44 B.C., they stabbed him to death
in the senate chamber.

28. The 2nd
Triumvirate
■ After Caesar’s death, civil war broke out
and destroyed the Roman Republic.
– Three of Caesar’s supporters banded together
to crush the assassins.
– Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus formed
the 2nd
Triumvirate in 43 B.C.
▪ They ruled for 10 years until jealousy and violence
led to its resolve.

29. The 2nd
Triumvirate
■ 1st
: Octavian forced Lepidus to retire
■ 2nd
: Octavian and Mark Antony became rivals.
– Mark Antony fell in love with Queen Cleopatra while in
Egypt and Octavian accused Antony of plotting to rule
Rome from Egypt.
■ At the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., Octavian
defeated the combined forces of Antony and
Cleopatra. Later, Antony and Cleopatra
committed suicide.

30. Octavian Becomes Augustus
■ After the war,
Octavian returned to
Rome where he would
become the
unchallenged ruler.
■ Eventually, he
accepted the title of
Augustus, or exalted
one.

31. The Pax Romana
■ Rome was at its peak under Augustus from 27 B.C. until 180 A.D.
– This period of peace and prosperity is known as the Pax Romana or Roman
peace.
■ Augustus was Rome’s ablest emperor.
– After he died in 14 A.D., Tiberius, his son, became emperor.
■ After Tiberius’s death, Rome’s peace and prosperity depended on the
transfer of power between emperors.
■ The problem was solved with the invention of the Five Good Emperors.
– Beginning with Nerva in 96 A.D., and ending with the reign of Marcus Aurelius in
180 A.D., these 5 emperors adopted a respected leader to succeed them.
– With Aurelius’s death in 180, this marked the beginning of the empire’s decline
and the end of the Pax Romana.

32. Jesus
■ Jesus was born sometime
between 6-4 B.C.
– He taught many
fundamental Jewish beliefs
that were contained in the
Old Testament.
– The New Testament
contains information about
his life and his teachings.
▪ Followers of Jesus were
known as apostles.

33. Early Years of Christianity
■ Jews tried to rebel against the Roman
government.
– In 70 A.D., Romans stormed Jerusalem and
destroyed the temple complex.
▪ 500,000 Jews were killed
– Then in 132, another half-million Jews died in
three years of fighting.
– Most Jews were driven from their homeland
into exile after this.
▪ This dispersal of the Jews is called the Diaspora.

34. Spread of Christianity
■ The widespread of Christianity was the
result of a variety of reasons.
▪ 1. It embraced all people- men, women, slaves,
poor, and nobles.
▪ 2. It gave hope to the powerless
▪ 3. It appealed to those who were repelled by
imperial Rome.
▪ 4. It offered a personal relationship with a loving
God.
▪ 5. It promised eternal life after death.

35. Constantine and Christianity
■ A critical moment in Christianity occurred
in 312 when the Roman emperor
Constantine was fighting 3 rivals for his
life.
– On the day before the battle at Milvian Bridge,
Constantine prayed for divine help
▪ He then saw a cross of light in the heavens
bearing the description, “In this sign, conquer.”
– Constantine won the battle and gave credit
for his success to the Christian God.

37. The Official Religion
■ In 313, Constantine ordered an end to all
persecution of the Christians.
■ In the Edict of Milan, he declared
Christianity to be one of the religions
approved by the emperor.
■ Finally in 380, the emperor Theodosius
made it empire’s official religion.

38. Decline of the Roman Empire

39. Decline of the Roman Empire
■ The Roman Empire began its decline in 180 A.D.
– 1st
problem was the economy.
– Sources of income began to disappear
– Pirates disrupted trade on the Mediterranean
– Wars were costly
– 2nd
problem was agriculture
– Overworked soil produced no crops
– Farmland was destroyed by warfare
– Food shortages resulted from these reasons
– 3rd
problem was the Roman Army
– Army began to lose wars
– Discipline and loyalty collapsed

40. Diocletian
■ In 284 A.D., Diocletian, a strong-
willed army leader, became the
new emperor.
■ Diocletian accomplished many
reforms:
– 1. Doubled the size of the Roman
armies
– 2. He divided the empire into
Greek-speaking East, and Latin-
speaking West
– 3. Diocletian took the Eastern
Empire and appointed General
Maximian ruler of the Western
Empire
– 4. Each emperor had an assistant,
who was to become their
successor.

41. Diocletian
■ Diocletian retired in 305 A.D. and plans for his
succession failed after his death in 311.
■ The results:
– 312: Constantine gains control of the Western Empire
– 324: Constantine gains control of the Eastern Empire
– 330: Constantine moves the capital from Rome to the
Greek city of Byzantium, a grave consequence for the
Roman Empire. He renamed the city Constantinople.

42. Decline of the Roman Empire
■ After Constantine’s death, the empire would
once again be divided; the East would survive,
the West would fall.
– 408: The Visigoths, led by Alaric, and destroyed Rome
in three days.
– 444: The Huns, led by Attila, attacked both sides of
the empire.
– 455: The Vandals invaded Rome, thus ending the
Roman Empire forever.

43. Greco-Roman Culture
■ A new culture
emerged after the
Roman Empire. The
Greco-Roman
culture mixed
elements of Greek,
Hellenistic, and
Roman culture.
■ This is often called
the classic
civilization.

44. Greco-Roman Culture
■ During the Greco-Roman
culture, the Romans
developed a type of
sculpture called bas-
relief. In bas-relief,
images project from a flat
background.
■ Romans also created
mosaics. Mosaics were
pictures or designs made
by putting small pieces of
stone, glass, or tile onto a
surface.

46. Roman Literature
■ Virgil:
– Spent 10 years writing the
most famous work of Latin
literature, The Aeneid, the
epic of the legendary
Aeneas.
■ Tactius:
– Wrote The Annals and
Histories of Rome. In this
book, he wrote about the
good and the bad of
imperial Rome.