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Geography

Punic Wars

• The first Punic war started in 264 B.C.

• When the competition to control the western Mediterranean region grew fierce, a group of Sicilian soldiers, called Mamertines, seized the town of Messina.

• The first Punic war began because of Rome’s jealousy of Carthage’s expansion and

beauty.

Location

• Rome was located in what is called the western Mediterranean region.

• Rome’s location was ideal for trade because boats from any area could access Rome’s ports.

• Rome was the central meeting point for Africans, Persians, and Europeans because people could sail there easily.

The Expansion of Rome

• Many Romans had their own views of Rome’s expansion.

• People who supported expansion thought the rich could get more exotic foods and gain more allies to make Rome a safer place.

• People who disagreed with expansion thought Rome would be unable to protect it’s expanded borders.

Rome at its Height

• Rome at its height covered the whole west Mediterranean region.

• The Roman empire started as a republic that only covered the Italian peninsula.

• However, after many years of expansion, it turned into the huge powerful empire we study today.

Religion

Violence against Jews

• In Rome there was a great deal of religious persecution.

• Romans would do this to people who practiced a different religion.

• If you were Jewish you would be thrown into an arena containing starved lions.

Violence against Christians

• In Rome Christians also faced religious persecution.

• Christians were also thrown into arenas with lions and this sick act was viewed as a spectator sport.

• Needless to say the Christians and Jews were extremely mistreated.

The Spread of Christianity

• In the earlier years of Christianity Romans rejected Christian beliefs.

• At first Romans would execute Christians. Christians called people who lost their lives for their faith martyrs.

• After many years of this religious persecution Romans learned to except Christianity and later became the number one religion in Rome.

Christianity

• Jesus, the son of god, was born in 4 B.C.

• Christianity believed in Heaven and the underworld and that God created heaven and Satin created the underworld.

• Christianity also believed that once you believe in your heart that Jesus was the savior of man and rose from the dead you would go to Heaven.

Achievements

System of Concrete Roads

• The Romans developed a system of concrete roads to speed up trade.

• Romans made their concrete out of rocks packed together.

• This Roman achievement is still used today.

Aqueducts

• The Romans used Aqueducts as an irrigation system.

• The Romans also used Aqueducts for indoor plumbing.

• The Romans were among the first to use Aqueducts.

Military Organization

• The basic unit of a Roman army was a legion.

• Before the Romans had legions they would arrange their armies in long lines.

• This tactic worked great on flat planes, however, the lines were to hard to maintain when they were trying to move up hills.

Development of the Dome

• The development of the Dome was a breakthrough in Roman architecture.

• Roman architects were inspired by the Etruscan arch and eventually created the dome that we know today.

• The uniqueness of the dome is not only its shape but also its ability to keep rooms at a comfortable temperature. Because of its circular shape, the dome circulates cool and warm air easily.

Politics

Augustus

• Augustus’ birth name was Gaius Octavious. His name was changed to Octavian. Eventually it was changed to Augustus.

• Caesar, Augustus’ uncle, gave him an important military position when he was only 19 years-old.

• The senate awarded Octavian the title Augustus (meaning highly respected).

Caesar

• Caesar was the uncle of the great Augustus.

• Caesar was an extremely strong supporter of the expansion of Rome.

• Caesar believed the more areas the Empire controlled the more allies were gained. The allies would in turn send troops to defend and expand the Roman Empire.

Political Violence

• There was a great deal of political violence in Rome.

• Rome, for a period of time, was a democracy. That means no one person had too much power.

• If a senate member was well liked by the citizens, more than likely, that member would be assassinated because the others feared he would gain too much power.

Republican form of Government

• In Rome, they had a republican form of government that gave the people the right to vote for Emperor so not one person had too much power.

• Moreover, Political power was spread out between the senate and other branches of government. Each branch was equally powerful.

• Today many nations, including the United States, use a similar form of government.

Economy

Unemployment

• Unemployment was caused by the expansion of Rome.

• As Rome conquered more areas they accumulated more slaves. The wealthy men had slaves do the jobs of workmen.

• As a result, 90% of Rome was unemployed and/or homeless.

Inflation

• Inflation (an increase in prices) was caused by an increase in military spending.

• Also, the flow of gold into the economy decreased causing people to barter.

• Food prices increased due to slave labor on farms.

Excessive Military Spending

• It was expensive for the government to maintain an army.

• The government poured all the money into defending the boarders against barbarians leaving very little for public housing, education, and maintaining the quality of public roads.

• Today, the United States is facing that same problem with the wars in the middle east.

Farming

• Farming in ancient Rome was extremely important to the economy. Farmers sold their crops or used them for trade.

• Wealthy men farmed on large estates using slaves. Therefore, they could sell their crops at a lower price.

• Farmers had to produce extra wheat for the Roman rulers who handed out free bread to the poor.

Social Structures

Emperors

• Obviously, Roman emperors were at the top of the Roman social structure.

• Rome had 37 different emperors- 25 were assassinated.

• Roman emperors ruled over the empire. Some ruled fairly and others did not.

Patricians

• The patricians were the upper class in Roman society.

• This social group included the wealthy and officers of the Emperor.

• The patricians often held lavish parties in their domus, or home.

• The wealthy lived in beautiful homes with marble walls, floors, and windows made of small panes of glass.

Plebeians

• The plebeians were considered middle class in the Roman society.

• Only plebeians who were well educated made it into the senate.

• The plebeians for the most part lived modest lives renting rooms on the second floor of small apartment houses with six or more stories called islands.

Slaves

• Slaves were at the bottom of the Roman social structure.

• All slaves were captured soldiers or town people from conquered areas.

• Unlike the period of slavery in the United States, Roman farmers did not own slaves. Slaves were assigned to farmers.

Rome’s most amazing achievement.

I think that Rome’s most amazing achievement was its military organization because I think that the way they solved the problem of organizing there armies in legions instead of long lines was genius and obviously it worked well because how else would the Romans have been able to conquer so much land.