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| Twins, who according to legend, founded the city of Rome in 753 B.C. They were sons of the god Mars and a Latin princess. They were abandoned on the Tiber River as infants and raised by a she-wolf. The twins decided to build a city near the spot. However, it was men who built the city, and they a chose a spot mostly for its strategic location and fertile soil. |
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| The wealthy landowners of Rome who held most of the power in the early republic. They inherited their power and social status from their ancestors, and claimed that their ancestry gave them the authority to make laws for Rome. They used to be the only ones who could hold important government positions, and barred the plebeians from doing so. |
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| The common farmers, artisans, and merchants of Rome who made up the majority of the population. They did have the right to vote, but rarely were allowed to hold important government positions. In time, Rome's leaders allowed the plebeians to form the own assembly and elect representatives called tribunes. Tribunes helped protect the rights of the plebeians from unfair acts of patricians officials. |
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| With laws unwritten in Rome, patrician officials often began to interpret law to their personal advantage. In 451 B.C., a group of ten officials began writing down Rome's laws. The laws were carved onto twelve tablets, or tables, and hung in the Forum. They became the basis for later Roman law. This was an important victory for the plebeians, because the Twelve Tables established the idea that all free citizens had a right to the protection of the law. |
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| Rome had two officials known as consuls. Similar to kings, they exercised their power over the army and directed the government. However, their powers were limited. A consul's term was only one year long and the same person could not be elected again for ten years. Also, one consul could always overrule, or veto, the other's decisions. This is essential, because this is similar to the government of the U.S., as the President has limited power, like the consuls. Also, this is most likely where the power to veto was first thought of. |
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| The senate was the aristocratic branch of Rome's government. It had both a legislative branch and administrative functions in the republic. Its 300 members were chosen from the upper class of Roman society. Later, plebeians were allowed in the Senate. The Senate exercised great influence over both foreign and domestic policy. The Senate of Rome is significant because it is very similar to the Senate of the United States, and influenced the way the U.S. runs its government. |
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| Large military units ito which Roman soldiers were organized, sometimes made of 5,000 heavily armed foot soldiers (infantry). A group of soldiers on horseback (cavalry) supported each legion. Legions were divided into smaller groups of 80 men, each of which was called a century. The military organization and fighting skill of the Roman army were key factors in Rome's rise to greatness. |
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| Rome had been seeking to grow its empire far and wide; they took over all of Italy by 265 B.C. In 264 B.C., Rome went to war with Carthage. This marked the beginning of the long struggle known as the Punic Wars, which lasted from 264-146 B.C., and was composed of three wars throughout. The first, for control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean, lasted for 23 years (264-241 B.C.), in which case Carthage lost. The second Punic War began in 218 B.C. The mastermind behind this war was Hannibal, a brilliant military stragetist who wished to avenge his homeland's earlier loss to Rome. He eventually lost in 202 B.C. During the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.), Rome laid siege on Carthage. In 146 B.C., the city was set afire and its 50,000 inhabitants were sold into slavery. Its territory was made into a Roman Empire. Rome's victories over Carthage in the Punic Wars gave it dominance over the western Mediterranean. They went on to conquer the eastern half as well, and by about 70 B.C. Rome's empire streched from Anatolia in the east to Spain in the west. However, this growth and power brought with it a set of new difficulties. |
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| Rome had been seeking to grow its empire far and wide; they took over all of Italy by 265 B.C. In 264 B.C., Rome went to war with Carthage. This marked the beginning of the long struggle known as the Punic Wars, which lasted from 264-146 B.C., and was composed of three wars throughout. The first, for control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean, lasted for 23 years (264-241 B.C.), in which case Carthage lost. The second Punic War began in 218 B.C. The mastermind behind this war was Hannibal, a brilliant military stragetist who wished to avenge his homeland's earlier loss to Rome. He eventually lost in 202 B.C. During the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.), Rome laid siege on Carthage. In 146 B.C., the city was set afire and its 50,000 inhabitants were sold into slavery. Its territory was made into a Roman Empire. Rome's victories over Carthage in the Punic Wars gave it dominance over the western Mediterranean. They went on to conquer the eastern half as well, and by about 70 B.C. Rome's empire streched from Anatolia in the east to Spain in the west. However, this growth and power brought with it a set of new difficulties. |
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| Hannibal (247-183 B.C.) was a Carthaginian general, who was the military mastermind behind the Second Punic War (218-202 B.C.); he looked to avenge his homeland's loss to Rome. He assembled an army of 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 60 elephants with the intent of capturing Rome. Instead of a head-on attack, Hannibal guided his army on a long trek from Spain across France and through the Alps. Despite losing about half his men and most of his elephants, Hannibal's surprise attack seemed to work. For more than a decade, he marched his troops up and down Italy. Hannibal won his greatest victory in Cannae in 216 B.C. However, the Romans regrouped and prevented Hannibal from capturing Rome. Scipio devised a strategy that forced Hannibal to return to defend his native city. In 202 B.C., the Romans finally defeated Hannibal. After his defeat, he went on to fight Rome with Rome's enemies. When Romans came for him in Bithynia on the Black Sea in Anatolia, he commited suicide rather than submit to Rome. |
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| Cannae was where Hannibal's greatest victory during the Second Punic War was won. This inflicted tremendous damage upon the Romans. However, the Romans regrouped, and with the help of Scipio, they defeated Hannibal. |
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| During the Second Punic War, the Romans had to regroup from their loss to Carthage at Cannae (216 B.C.) Fortunately, they regrouped from the loss with help from allies, and help off Hannibal from capturing Rome. They were in need of a general with the military skill that could match that of Hannibal. They found Scipio. He devised a plan to attack Carthage. His strategy forced Hannibal's troops to flee back to Carthage to defend their homeland. Because of Scipio and his strategic military planning ability, Rome was able to defend itself. The Romans went on to win the Second Punic War in Zama in 202 B.C. Had Scipio not been general, Hannibal could have taken over Rome and its empire; this would have changed history and knowledge dramatically. |
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Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus |
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| During the turmoil that followed the expansion of the Roman Empire, there was growing discontent among the lower classes of society. The two brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, attempted to help the poor. As tribunes, they proposed such reforms as limiting the size of estates and giving land to the poor. Their ideas made them enemies of the senators and they both died violent deaths. Tiberius in 133 B.C. and Gaius Gracchus in 121 B.C. After their deaths, a period of civil war reigned upon Rome, and led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the rise of Julius Ceasar. |
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| In 60 B.C. a military leader named Julius Ceasar joined forces with Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and Pompey, a popular general. With their help, he was elected consul in 59 A.D., where he served one year, according to tradition. He was a strong leader and a genius at military strategy. After serving as consul, he then appointed himself as the governer of Gaul (now France). During 58-50 B.C., Ceasar conquered Gaul and won over Roman support. In 50 B.C., the senate at the urgings of Pompey (now his political rival), ordered Ceasar to disband his legions and return home. Ceasar didn't listen, and on January 10, 49 B.C., he took his army across the Rubicon River in Italy, the southern limit of the area he commanded. He marched his army swiftly toward Rome, and Pompey fled. His troops defeated Pompey's armies in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt. In 46 B.C., Ceasar returned home, where he won support of the army and the masses. That same year, the senate appointed him dictator, and in 44 B.C., dictator for life. Ceasar governed as an absolute ruler, however, he started a number of reforms. He granted Roman citizenship to many people in the provinces. He expanded the Senate, adding friends and supporters from Italy and other regions. He also helped the poor by creating jobs, especially through the construction of new public buildings. He started colonies where people without land could own property, and he increased pay for soldiers. Many nobles and senators expressed concern over Ceasar's growing power, popularity, and success. Some feared losing their influence. A number of senators, led by Gaius Cassius and Marcus Brutus plotted his assassination. On March 15, 44 B.C., they stabbed him to death in the senate chamber. After Ceasar's death, civil war broke out again and destroyed what was left of the Roman Republic. |
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| After Ceasar's death, when civil war broke out, three of Julius' supporters banded together to crush the assassins. Ceasar's 18-year-old grandnephew and adopted son Octavian joined with an experienced general named Mark Antony and a powerful politician named Lepidus. In 43 B.C., they took control of Rome and ruled for ten years as the Second Triumvirate. Their alliance, however, ended in jealousy and violence. Octavian forced Lepidus to retire. He and Mark Antony then became rivals. While leading troops against Rome's enemies in Anatolia, Mark Antony met Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. He fell in love with her and followed her to Egypt. Octavian accused Antony of plotting to rule Rome from Egypt, and another civil war erupted. Octavian defeated the combined forces of Antony and Cleoptra at the naval battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Later, Antony and Cleopatra commited suicide. Whlie he restored some aspects of the republic, Octavian became the unchallenged ruler of Rome. Eventually he accept the title of Augustus, or "exalted one". Rome was now ruled by one man. He lived from 63 B.C. to A.D. 14. His rule marked the beginning of the Pax Romana -"Roman peace", a 207 year period from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180. During this time, the Roman empire was at its greatest. |
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| After Ceasar's death, when civil war broke out, three of Julius' supporters banded together to crush the assassins. Octavian joined with an experienced general named Mark Antony and a powerful politician named Lepidus. In 43 B.C., they took control of Rome and ruled for ten years as the Second Triumvirate. Their alliance, however, ended in jealousy and violence. Octavian forced Lepidus to retire. He and Mark Antony then became rivals. While leading troops against Rome's enemies in Anatolia, Mark Antony met Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. He fell in love with her and followed her to Egypt. Octavian accused Antony of plotting to rule Rome from Egypt, and another civil war erupted. Octavian defeated the combined forces of Antony and Cleoptra at the naval battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Later, Antony and Cleopatra commited suicide. Whlie he restored some aspects of the republic, Octavian became the unchallenged ruler of Rome. |
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| After Ceasar's death, when civil war broke out, three of Julius' supporters banded together to crush the assassins. Ceasar's 18-year-old grandnephew and adopted son Octavian joined with an experienced general named Mark Antony and a powerful politician named Lepidus. In 43 B.C., they took control of Rome and ruled for ten years as the Second Triumvirate. Their alliance, however, ended in jealousy and violence. Octavian forced Lepidus to retire. He and Mark Antony then became rivals. While leading troops against Rome's enemies in Anatolia, Mark Antony met Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. He fell in love with her and followed her to Egypt. Octavian accused Antony of plotting to rule Rome from Egypt, and another civil war erupted. Octavian defeated the combined forces of Antony and Cleoptra at the naval battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Later, Antony and Cleopatra commited suicide. Whlie he restored some aspects of the republic, Octavian became the unchallenged ruler of Rome. |
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| After Ceasar's death, when civil war broke out, three of Julius' supporters banded together to crush the assassins. Ceasar's 18-year-old grandnephew and adopted son Octavian joined with an experienced general named Mark Antony and a powerful politician named Lepidus. In 43 B.C., they took control of Rome and ruled for ten years as the Second Triumvirate. Their alliance, however, ended in jealousy and violence. Octavian forced Lepidus to retire. He and Mark Antony then became rivals. While leading troops against Rome's enemies in Anatolia, Mark Antony met Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. He fell in love with her and followed her to Egypt. Octavian accused Antony of plotting to rule Rome from Egypt, and another civil war erupted. Octavian defeated the combined forces of Antony and Cleoptra at the naval battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Later, Antony and Cleopatra commited suicide. Whlie he restored some aspects of the republic, Octavian became the unchallenged ruler of Rome. Eventually he accept the title of Augustus, or "exalted one". Rome was now ruled by one man. He lived from 63 B.C. to A.D. 14. His rule marked the beginning of the Pax Romana -"Roman peace", a 207 year period from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180. During this time, the Roman empire was at its greatest. He was Rome's ablest ruler.He stabilized the frontier, glorified Rome with splendid public buildings, and created a system of government that survived for centuries. He set up civil service. That is, he paid workers to manage the affairs of government, such as grain supply, tax collection, and the postal system. Although the senate still functioned, civil servants drawn from plebeians and even former slaves actually administered the empire. After Augustus died in A.D. 14, the system of government he established maintained the empire's stability. |
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| Rome was at its peak of power from the beginning of Augustus' rule in 27 B.C. to A.D. 180. For 207 years, peace reigned throughout the empire, except for some fighting with tribes along the borders. This period is know as the Pax Romana- "Roman peace". During this time, the ROman Empire included more than 3 million square miles. Its population numbered between 60 to 80 million people, with about 1 million people living in Rome itself. |
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| The earliest Romans worshiped powerful spirits or divine forces, called numina, that they thought resided in everything around them. Closely related to these spirits were the Lars, who were the gaurdian spirits of each family. They gave names to these powerful gods and goddesses and honored them through various rituals, hoping to gain favor and avoind misfortune. In Rome, government and religion were linked. The deities were symbols of the state. Romans were expected to honor them not only in private ritulas at shrines in their homes but also in public worship ceremonies conducted by priests in temples. During the empire, worship of the emperor also became part of the official religion of Rome. During the time of the Pax Romana, another activity slowly emerged in the Roman Empire - the practice of a new religion known as Christianity. The early followers would meet with much brutality and hardship for their beliefs. But their religion would endure and spread throughout the empire, and eventually become one of the dominant faiths of the world. |
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| To distract and control the masses of Romans, the government provided free games, races, mock battles, and gladiator contests. By A.D. 250, there were 150 holidays a year. On these days of celebration, the Colosseum, a huge arena that could hold 50,000 would fill with the rich and the poor alike. The spectacles they watched combined bravery and creulty, honor and violence. In the animal shows, wild creatures brought from distant lands, such as tigers, lions, and bears, fought to the death. In other contests, gladiators engaged in combat with animals or with each other, often until one of them was killed. |
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| To distract and control the masses of Romans, the government provided free games, races, mock battles, and gladiator contests. By A.D. 250, there were 150 holidays a year. On these days of celebration, the Colosseum, a huge arena that could hold 50,000 would fill with the rich and the poor alike. The spectacles they watched combined bravery and creulty, honor and violence. In the animal shows, wild creatures brought from distant lands, such as tigers, lions, and bears, fought to the death. In other contests, gladiators engaged in combat with animals or with each other, often until one of them was killed. |
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| Jesus , a Jew born sometime around 6 to 4 B.C., was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea. He was raised in the village of Nazareth in Northern Palestine. He was baptized by a prophet known as John the Baptist. As a young man, he took up the trade of carpentry. At the age of 30, Jesus began his public ministry. For the next three years, he preached, taught, did good works, and reportedly perfomed miracles. His teachings contained many ideas from Jewish tradition, such as monotheism and the principles of the Ten Commandments. Jesus emphasized god's personal relationship to each human being. He stressed the importance of people's love for God, their neighbors, their enemies, and even themselves. As Jesus preached from town to town, his fame grew. He attracted large crowds, and many people were touched by his message. Because Jesus ignored wealth and status, his message had special appeal to the poor. Jesus' growing popularity concerned both Roman and Jewish leaders. When Jesus visited Jerusalem about A.D. 29, enthusiastic crowds greeted him as the Messiah, or king. The chief priests of the Jews, however, denied that Jesus was the Messiah and stated that his teachings were blasphemy, or contempt of God. The Roman governor Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome, and sentenced him to be crucified. After Jesus' death, his body was placed in a tomb. Three days later, his body was gone, and a living Jesus began appearing to his followers. The Gospels go on to say that then he ascended into heaven. The apostles were more convinced than ever that he was the Messiah. It was after his teachings that Christianity was based on. |
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| Historical records of Jesus' time mention very little about Jesus. The main source of information about his teachings are the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible. Some of the Gospels are thought to have been written by one or more of Jesus' disciples, or pupils. These 12 men later came to be called apostles. |
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| Jesus' dicsiples, or pupils, later came to be known as apostles. The apostles were a group of 12 men. Many believe that they were the ones who wrote down the Gospel. |
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| The apostle Paul had enormous influence on Christianity's development. Paul was a Jew who had never met Jesus and at first was an enemy of Christianity. While traveling to Damascus in Syria, he reportedly had a vision of Christ. He spent the rest of his life spreading and interpreting Christ's teachings. Paul wrote influential letters, called Epistles, to groups of believers. In his teaching, Paul stressed that Jesus was the son of God who died for people's sins. He also declared that Christianity should welcome all converts, Jew or Gentile. It was this universality that enabled Christianity to become more than just a local religion. |
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| During the early years of Christianity, much Roman attention was focused on the land of Jesus' birth and on the Jews. In A.D. 66, a band of Jews rebelled against Rome. In A.D. 70, the Romans stormed Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple complex. All that remained was a western portion of the wall, which today is the holiest Jewish shrine. The Jewish fortress near Masada held out until A.D. 73. About a half a million Jews were killed in the course of this rebellion. The Jews made another attempt to break free of the Romans in A.D. 132. Another half-million were killed in three years of fighting. Although the Jewish religion survived, the Jewish political state ceased to exist for more than 1,800 years. Most Jews were driven from their homeland into exile. This dispersal of the Jews is called the Diaspora. |
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| A critical moment in Christianity occured in A.D. 312, when the Roman emperor Constantine was fighting three rivals for leadership of Rome. He had marched to the Tiber River at Rome to battle his chief rival. On the day before the battle at Milvian Bridge, Constantine prayed for divine help. He reported that he had seen an image of a cross. He ordered artisans to put the Christian symbol on his soldiers' shields. Constantine and his troops were victorious in battle. He credited his success to the help of the Christian God. In the next year, A.D. 313, Constantine announced an end to the persecution of Christians. In the Edict of Milan, he declared Christianity to bo one of the religions approved by the emperor. Christianity continued to gain strength, and in A.D. 380, the emperor Theodosius mad it the empire's official religion. |
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| The apostle Peter had traveled to Rome from Jerusalem and became the first bishop there. According to tradition, Jesus referred to Peter as the "rock"on which the Christian Church would be built. As a result, all preists and bishops traced their authority to him. Eventually, every major city had its own bishop. However, later bishops of Rome claimed to be the heirs of Peter. These bishops said that Peter was the first pope, the father or head of the Christian Church. They said that whoever was bishop of Rome was also the leader of the whole Church. Also, as Rome was the capital of the empire, it seemed the logical choice to be the center of the Church. |
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| Augustine was one of the most important writers of Christian teachings. He became bishop of the city of Hippo in North Africa in 396. Augustine taught that people could not recieve God's grace unless they belonged to the Church and recieved the sacraments. One of Augustine's most famous books is The City of God. It was written after Rome was plundered in the fifth century. Augustine wrote that the fate of cities such as Rome was not important because the heavenly city, the city of God, could never be destroyed. |
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| In A.D. 284, Diocletian, a storng-willed army leader, became emperor. He ruled with an iron fist and severly limited personal freedoms. Nonetheless, he restored order to the empireand increased its strength. He doubled the size of the army and sought to control inflation by setting fixed prices for goods. To restore the prestige of the office of emperor, he claimed descent from the ancient Roman gods and created elaborate ceremonies to present himself in a godlike aura. He believed that the empire had grown too large and too complex for one ruler. In perhaps his most significant reform, he divided the empire into the Greek-speaking East and the Latin speaking West. He took the eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler fro the West. While Diocletian shared authority, he kept overall control. His half of the empire, the East, included most of the empire's great cities and trade centers and was far wealthier than the West. Because of ill health, Diocletian retired in A.D. 305. However, his plans for orderly sucession failed. Civil war broke out immediately. By 311, four rivals were competing for power. Among them was an ambitious young commander named Constantine. |
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| Constantine gained control of the western part of the empire in A.D. 312 and continued many of the social and economic policies of Diocletian. In 324 Constantine also secured control of the East, thus restoring the concept of one ruler. In A.D. 330, Constantine moved the capital from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium, in what is now Turkey. The new capital stood on the Bosporus Strait, strategically located for trade and defense purposes on a crossroads between West and East. With Byzantium as its capital, the center of power in the empire shifted from Rome to the east. Soon the new capital stood protected by massive walls and filled with imperial buildings modeled after those in Rome. The city eventually took on the name Constantinople, or the city of Constantine. Due to the moving of the capital, after Constantine's death, the empire would again be divided. This led to the fall of the West. |
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In A.D. 330, Constantine moved the capital from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium, in what is now Turkey. The new capital stood on the Bosporus Strait, strategically located for trade and defense purposes on a crossroads between West and East. With Byzantium as its capital, the center of power in the empire shifted from Rome to the east. Soon the new capital stood protected by massive walls and filled with imperial buildings modeled after those in Rome. The city eventually took on the name Constantinople, or the city of Constantine. Due to the moving of the capital, after Constantine's death, the empire would again be divided. This led to the fall of the West.
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| The Huns were a fierce nomadic group of Mongols who, around A.D. 370 came to the Roman Empire and destroyed everything in the way. For many years, Germanic peoples had gathered on the northern borders of the empire and coexisted in relative peace with Rome. In an effort to flee from the Huns, the various Germanic people pushed into Roman lands. they kept moving through the Roman provinces of Gaul, Spain, and North Africa. The Western Empire was unable to field an army to stop them. In 410, hordes of Germans overran Rome itself and plundered it for three days. Meanwhile, the Huns, who were indirectly responsible for the Germanic assault on the empire, became a direct threat. In 444, a poerful cheiftain named Attila, united an army of 100,000 soldiers. Attila terrorized both halves of the empire. In the East, his armies attacked and plundered 70 cities (but failed to scale the walls of Constantinople.) The Huns swept into the West. In 452, Attila's forces advanced against Rome, but bouts of famine and disease kept them from conquering the city. Although the Huns were no longer a threat to the empire after Attila's death in 453, the Germanic invasions continued. |
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The Huns were a fierce nomadic group of Mongols who, around A.D. 370 came to the Roman Empire and destroyed everything in the way. For many years, Germanic peoples had gathered on the northern borders of the empire and coexisted in relative peace with Rome. In an effort to flee from the Huns, the various Germanic people pushed into Roman lands. they kept moving through the Roman provinces of Gaul, Spain, and North Africa. The Western Empire was unable to field an army to stop them. In 410, hordes of Germans overran Rome itself and plundered it for three days. Meanwhile, the Huns, who were indirectly responsible for the Germanic assault on the empire, became a direct threat. In 444, a poerful cheiftain named Attila, united an army of 100,000 soldiers. Attila terrorized both halves of the empire. In the East, his armies attacked and plundered 70 cities (but failed to scale the walls of Constantinople.) The Huns swept into the West. In 452, Attila's forces advanced against Rome, but bouts of famine and disease kept them from conquering the city. Although the Huns were no longer a threat to the empire after Attila's death in 453, the Germanic invasions continued.
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| Pompeii is a Roman town, in which the best examples of Roman painting can be found. These paintings date back to as early as the second century B.C. In A.D. 79, nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, covering Pompeii in a thick layer of ash and killing about 2,000 residents. The ash acted to preserve many buildings and works of art. |
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| Virgil was a Roman poet who followed Greek forms and models and promoted his own themes and ideas. He spent ten years writing the most famous work of Latin literature, the Aeneid, the epic of the legendary Aeneas. Virgil modeled the Aeneid, written in praise of Rome and Roman virtues, after the Greek epics of Homer. |
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| The Aeneid is an epic that took Virgil about ten years to write. It is considered to be the most famous work of Latin literature, that tells the story of the the legendary Aeneas. Virgil modeled it, written in praise of Rome and Roman virtues, after the Greek epics of Homer. |
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| Livy was a famous Roman historian. He compiled a multivolume history of Rome from its origins to 9 B.C. He used legends freely, creating more of a national myth of Rome than a true history. |
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| Tacitus was a notable Roman historian, who is famous among ancient historians becasue he presented facts accurately. He also was concerned about the Romans' lack of morality. In his Annals and Histories, he wrote about the good and bad of imperial Rome. |
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