1. The Beginnings of Rome
Ancient Rome began with the overthrow of foreign Kings in 503
B. C. But romans like to say the history of their city began at
753 B. C.

2. The Founding of Rome
The legend keeps going with the twins Romulus and
Remus the descendants of Aeneas who founded
Rome. Their mother abandoned them, but they were
saved by a wolf. When the twins grew up they fought
over Rome’s location so Romulus killed his brother
Remus and traced Rome’s location around Palatine
hill. After Romulus a series of Roman kings ruled the
city. In the 600s B. C. the Etruscans from northern
Italy conquered Rome. In order to regain self-rule the
romans overthrew the Etruscans King.

3. Romes Geography and Early
Life
 Over throw of Estrucans
 Rome grew from a city to a country, and
eventually into an empire

4. Hills and Rivers
 1st settlers of Rome were Latin
 They built Rome on seven steep hills
 They chose Rome for it’s mild climate,
good farmland, and strategic location
 Located a short distance from the
Mediterranean Sea on ancient trade
routes, it also lay next to the Tiber River,
an important resource

5. Italian Peninsula
 Location on Italian Peninsula played
important role in development
 The 2 main mountain ranges of Italy
helped protect Rome
 The Alps border Italy on the North and
the Apennies form Italy’s spine
 Italy also had big plains that were good
farming

6. Farm Life
 Roman farmers planted wheat, barley,
beans, vegetables, and fruit.
 They later planted olives and grapes.
 They raised pigs, goats, sheep, and
chickens.
 They used oxen to pull their plows.
 Most Roman farmers lived in simple
homes of mud or timber.

7. Farm Life
 Most Roman farmers lived in simple homes
of mud or timber.
 Had little furniture.
 Lived with grandparents, aunts& uncles,
nieces& nephews, or cousins.
 They had to obey the orders they got.

8. Rise of the Republic
• Rome developed into 2 classes the
Patricians and the Plebeians
• There was a conflict between the two
classes; when the conflict ended it defined
the citizens rights
○ They used this system for 500 years to
keep the people under control

9. • Patricians were wealthy land
owners that had seats in the gov’t
• Upper class
• Plebeians were commoners that
had the right to vote but didn’t have
gov’t seats
• Lower class
• The Twelve Tables was a system
made around 450b.c. to establish
basic rights and duties
• Made by patricians

10. The leaders of
the Roman
republic
established a
tripartite
government.

11. The type of government has
three branches
legislative
judicial
executive

12. Types and what they do
Legislative: makes laws
Judicial: interprets law in court
Executive: enforces a country’s laws

13. Legislative branch included the senate and the assemblies

14. The senate
 Was made up of 300  Judicial branch
members that advise consisted of eight
Roman leaders. judges they served for
 Most senators were one year.
patricians.  They oversaw the
 The assemblies were courts and governed
made up of plebeians. the provinces.
 Their representatives  2 consuls led Rome’s
protected the rights of executive branch.
plebeian.  For 1 year they
commanded the army
and the directed the
government.

15. Going on
each consul had the power to veto or overrule the
other.
In times of crisis the consuls could choose a
dictator – a leader with absolute power.

16. The republic expands
 For hundred of years after the founding of the
republic, Rome expanded it territories.
 By the 300s B.C., the Romans dominated central
Italy.
 By 275 B.C., all of the and the Italian Peninsula
was under Roman control.
 Rome did not impose harsh rule on conquered
peoples.
 The republic offered Roman citizenship to most of
them and allowed them to govern themselves.
 In return , the new citizens had to pay taxes and
provide soldiers for the Roman army.

17.  Romans brought great wealth and slaves
 They bought large estates and farmed them with slaves
 But because many small farmers couldn’t compete, they lost their
farms
 Unemployment and poverty increased
 The gap between rich and poor grew wider

18. Rome Becomes an Empire

19. Conflicts at Home
 w/ expansion wealthy Romans
neglected civic duties
 They wanted more power & wealth
 Distance between rich & poor increased
 Threat of an uprising increased
○ Poor resented the wealthy

20. Reform Fails
 Reformers tried to break up huge
estates & give land to poor
 Wealthy landowners in the Senate opposed
reforms & had reformers killed

21. Civil War
 General who conquered other lands became hungry for
power
 Hired poor farmers to serve as soldiers
○ Loyalty shifted from Republic to generals
 Civil War broke out
 One side was generals who supported the plebeians
 On the other were generals backed by patricians & senators
 Marius
 General for plebeians
 Sulla
 General for patricians
 82 B.C.
 Patricians won war
 Sulla took power & became a dictator

22. Julius Caesar
 Rose to power after death of Sulla
 General, politician, & dictator
 Born into noble family
 Many of many talents & ambition
 Would have to prove himself on the
battlefield

23. Military Leader
 Gauls
 Fierce fighters in France
 Defeated by Caesar in a brilliant military
campaign
○ Conquests won new lands & great wealth for
Rome
○ Also won him fame & fortune
○ Wrote about exploits in a book entitled
Commentaries on the Gallic War

24. Dictator for Life
 Caesar gain reputation as a reformer who supported
common people
 Popular w/ plebeians
 Had enemies
 Powerful Romans (senators) opposed him
○ Cicero is one such person (key consul)
 Distrusted Caesar & his quest for power
 When Caesar returned from Gaul he was ordered to
break up his army, but instead he marched into Italy
and began fighting for control of Rome
 Caesar was victories
 46 B.C. he was appointed Roman ruler
 44 B.C. he was named dictator for life

25. Caesar’s Reform
 He expanded the senate by appointing
supporters from Italy & other regions
 Some feared he would make himself king
○ He would rule for a lifetime & family members
would also rule after him

26. Assassination & Legacy
 Concerns over his growing power were
his downfall
 Senate resented his power
 March 15 44 B.C. some senators
surrounded Caesar & assassinated him
 Leaders of this conspiracy were eventually
killed or committed suicide

27. Emperors Rule Rome
 Several Roman leaders struggled to
gain power after Caesars death
 Octavian (great-nephew of Caesar) was one
 Struggles led to another civil war
 War destroyed what was left of Roman
Republic
 Octavian eventually wins the war and took
the name Augustus (means exalted one)

28. Augustus Rebuilds Rome
 Was 1st emperor of Rome
 Liked to be called 1st citizen instead
 Restored some aspects of republican gov’t
○ Senators, consuls, & tribunes held office again
 Augustus had power over them though
 He brought provinces under control &
strengthened defenses
 Began a civil service (a group of officials
employed by the gov’t)
 Collected taxes, oversaw postal system, &
managed grain supply
 He also rebuilt & beautified Rome
 Built grand temples, theaters, & monuments

29. The Roman Peace
 Rome experienced peace & stability
 Called Pax Romana (Roman Peace)
 Lasted about 200 years
 Empire grew in size (2 million square miles)
 Roman army became greatest fighting
force in the world
 300,000 men
 Guarded empire’s frontiers
 Built roads, bridges, & tunnels
 Strong navy created

30. A Strong Government
 Pax Romana continued after Augustus
died in A.D. 14
 Good & bad rulers followed him
 The gov’t started by Augustus was so
effective that it continued to do well
 By A.D. 100s empire reached from Spain to
North Africa to Britain

31. Agriculture
 Helped empire prosper
 Everything depended on it
 Most people were farmers
 Most survived on produce from their local area
 Additional food could be obtained through trade
 Industry also grew
 Manufacturing of pottery, metal goods, & glass
increased
 Wine & olive oil as well

32. Trade
 Economy grew through trade routes
 Traders sailed Mediterranean Sea
 Traveled by land to Gaul & other parts of
Europe
 Acquired valuable good not available at
home
 Grain, ivory, silk, spices, gold/silver, & wild
animals

33. Currency
 Economy was united by a common
currency
 Silver coins called denarius was used
throughout empire
 Made trade between different pats of the
empire easier
 Expanding economy benefited the
already wealthy
 Division between rich & poor grew

34. The Daily Life of Romans

35. Family and Society
 Head of family was father
 Owned all property & had control over other
family members
○ Power limited by public opinion & custom
(Society disapproved of punishing family w/o
good cause)

36. Women
 Had some freedoms
 Expected to run the household & take
care of children
 Could inherit property & run small
businesses when husbands were away
 Had little power outside the home &
could not vote

37. Children
 Most educated at home
 Wealthy families sent boys to private
schools
 Girls stayed home & learned household
skills
○ Usually married by 14

38. Social Classes
 Old division of patricians & plebeians
evolved into upper & lower classes
 Patricians & wealthy plebeians became upper
class
 Middle Class: prosperous business leaders &
officials
 Lower Class: Farmers
 Lowest Class: slaves (largest class in society)
○ 1/3 of population
○ Some prisoners of war
○ Some slaves because parents were
○ Slaves worked as low-level clerical positions,
performed physical labor (worked in mines, on
large estates, & as servants)

39. Roman Beliefs
 Worshipped 100’s of spirits
 Spirits lived in everything around them
 Household gods protected them
 Set up shrines in their homes

40. Religious Influences
 Beliefs became influenced by culture
 Etruscans & Greeks influenced Roman
religion
○ Etruscans: adopted idea of gods in human
form, rituals designed to predict the future
○ Greeks: borrowed many gods from Greeks
 Jupiter similar to Greek god Zeus

41. Religion & Public Life
 Government & Religion were linked in
Rome
 Priests were gov’t officials
 Emperor was head of church
 Roman gods were symbols of the state
 Expected to honor gods in public
ceremonies
 Overtime emperors became worshipped as
gods

42. Life in Roman Cities
 At the height of the Roman Empire,
Rome had nearly 1 million people
 People from across the empire moved to
Rome
○ Created a blend of ideas & customs

43. The Crowded City
 Crowded, dirty, & noisy
 Many were unemployed & poor
 Lived in rundown apartment buildings w/ no
running water or toilets
 Public bathhouses were a means of
adapting
 People dropped their trash out the windows
injuring pe0ple walking on the streets
below
 Fire was a constant danger

44. Rich and Poor
 Poor had little to eat
 Bread, olives, & fruit
 Gov’t provided free grain
 Wealthy
 Life of luxury
 Lived in large, comfortable homes in the
countryside
 Went to theaters
 Had fancy dinner parties
 Had fine foods: dates, oranges, ham, salted
jellyfish, roast parrot, & boiled flamingo
tongue

45. Responding to Urban
Problems
 Built sewer & plumbing systems for
sanitation
 Built aqueducts to carry water to Roman
towns
 Public baths
 All classes visited baths to bathe & socialize
 Gov’t provided entertainment to distract
Romans from problems w/ city life
 Circus Maximus: oval stadium where chariot
races took place

46. The Development of Christianity

47. Christianity’s Jewish Roots
 63 B.C.
 Romans conquered Jewish kingdom of
Judah (Judea)
○ Jews had been treated badly & wanted
to be free from foreign rulers
 Sacred writings promised a Messiah
(descended from King David) who
would free them

48. The Life of Jesus
 Born in a province of Judea
 Followed many teachings of
Judaism
 Also taught ideas & practices that
differed

49. Birth & Early Life
 Know of the life of Jesus from the
Gospels
 He was born in Bethlehem & grew up in
Nazareth
 Was raised by Mary & Joseph

50. Jesus’ Followers
 He became a traveling teacher
 Biblical accounts say he cured the sick
& lame & turned water to wine
 He had 12 disciples (close followers)

51. The Teachings of Jesus
 He preached justice, compassion, & the
coming of God’s kingdom
 Delivered messages in parables or stories
with morals
 3 best known are: Good Samaritan, the
Prodigal Son, & the Lost Sheep
 Good Samaritan: teaches importance of helping
others, even if they are different
 Prodigal Son: deals w/ God’s call for the lost
soul to repent
 The Lost Sheep: deals w/ God’s concern for
every individual, no matter how lost or
seemingly insignificant

52. The Death of Jesus
 Claim of Jesus as the Messiah
threatened the Romans
 Questioned their political power & authority

53. The Early Christians
 Jesus’ disciples were Jews
 Eventually developed beliefs & practices
that broke away from Judaism
○ Became known as Christians

54. The Early Church
 Disciples though Jesus fulfilled
prophecies
 Tried to convince other Jews to accept Jews
as the Messiah
 The early Church
 Stressed sharing property, charity, helping
prisoners, & taking common meals
○ Women & slaves were eager to join
 Disciples hoped to spread Jesus’
message & convert others

55. Conflicts Arises
 1st members of church were Jewish
converts to Christianity
 Conversions of Gentiles (non-Jewish
people) to Christianity sparked debate
 Roman leaders ignored early Christians
 Viewed as a division of Judaism

56. Paul Spreads Christianity
 Saul
 Early leader of Christian church
 The Road to Damascus
 Saul experienced a sudden conversion
○ Jesus was revealed to him as son of God
○ Saul was appointed to proclaim Jesus among
the Gentiles
○ Became to believe Jesus was the Jewish
Messiah
 Saul’s cultural & political background helped
to convert nonbelievers

57. The Journeys Change
Christianity
 Paul made 4 missionary journeys
 Christianity spread through Roman
Empire
 Paul thought people did not have to
become Jews before becoming
Christians
 Separated Christianity from Judaism
 Made new religion appealing to Gentiles

58. The Letters
 Paul started new churches & kept in
touch by writing letters
 Letters explained Christian beliefs & urged
coverts to live according to God’s law

59. Paul’s Death & Legacy
 Paul wanted to travel to Rome to spread
Christian faith
 He reached Rome but not in the way he had
hoped
 Near the end of his career he returned
to Jerusalem
 He was taken into custody by Romans (was
in prison for 2 years, demanded to be tried
before Caesar in Rome)
 A.D. 60
 He arrived in Rome & remained under