Tuesday s bell-ringer. Get a textbook. Open it to page 132. Write down the vocabulary terms and define them in your notes.

Transcription

1 Tuesday s bell-ringer Get a textbook. Open it to page 132. Write down the vocabulary terms and define them in your notes.

2 CHAPTER 6; SECTION 2 From republic to empire

3 Setting the scene After the Romans took over the Italian peninsula, Rome began to build a huge empire. This is known as territorial expansion, and it can lead to the downfall of nations/empires. Rome suffered from this territorial expansion because of the conflicts that are inherent with such rapid expansion (Who gets power? Who gets the newly acquired land? The book says this... The effects of territorial expansion gradually weakened and finally crushed the Roman republic.

4 Winning an empire Wars with Carthage: As Rome expanded throughout the Italian peninsula, it came into contact with anybody living on the peninsula. The Romans eventually made contact with the Carthagians (Carthage), and tensions rose. Carthage wasn t going to give up their land so easily, so a war broke out. The wars (3) raged between 264 & 146 B.C. The Romans later named this series of wars The Punic Wars.

5 Winning an empire The 1 st Punic War: Rome won the first of The Punic Wars. They gained Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. The 2 nd Punic War: Hannibal, the leader of the Carthaginian army, invaded the Italian peninsula from the North riding over the Alps on elephants. For 15 years, Hannibal and his men moved across Italy winning battle after battle.

6 Winning an empire The 3 rd Punic War: Rome forced Hannibal out of the Italian peninsula. Hannibal returned to his homeland to defend it. The Roman looked at Carthage as a rival and wanted revenge for Hannibals 15 years of attacks. Rome completely destroyed Carthage. Survivors were killed or sold into slavery.

7 Winning an empire Other Conquests: The Romans believed in something known as imperialism. This basically means that they wanted to control everything, both foreign and domestic. Rome would launch small war-parties to gain provinces, or new lands. This is how Rome gained Macedonia, Greece, and parts of Asia Minor. Over time, the Roman Empire became the largest in history. The Romans could accurately claim that the Medeterranian Sea was Mare Nostrum, or Our Sea.

8 Winning an empire Social and Economic Effects: Rome grew very rich because it took over so much land. People also grew very rich from this territorial expansion because they could dominate trade. These super-rich people would build huge estates, called latifundia. Some people, such as local farmers suffered. They could not grow food as cheap as could be grow in the provinces or at the slave driven latifundia. Eventually, a gap grew between the super-rich and the poor.

9 Winning an empire Social and Economic Effects: The poor, who felt that they were getting an unfair deal in life, began to riot. Territorial Expansion led to the super-rich, but it also led these riots and a large number of poor people living in the streets of Rome.

10 Winning an empire Attempts at Reform: Two brothers, named Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, were some of the first Roman citizens to attempt to reform, or fix, the problems in Roman society. They were both tribunes, so they helped the plebeians (poor). They wanted the government to give land to the poor and even use public funds to buy grain to feed the poor. The Gracchus brothers angered the Senate with their demands, and they Senate set off waves of street violence by hired thugs. The Gracchus brothers and thousands of their followers were killed.

11 Decline of the republic Julius Caersar s Rise to Power: Rome had undeniable issues. They were also having problems trying to resolve these issues. The Senate wanted to remain in power, but the people wanted to vote for leaders. Out of this chaos emerged Julius Caesar, an ambitious miliatary commander. Caesar was adored by the public. His rival, Pompey, wanted power, so he tried to make Caesar look bad. In ~59B.C., Caesar crushed Pompey in a Roman civil war, then he forced the Senate to make him the dictator for life.

12 Decline of the republic Caesar s Reforms: He employed the jobless through a series of public works. He gave public land to the poor. He better organized the government throughout the empire and gave full citizenship to many people. His most significant reform was that he incorporated the Egyptian calendar into the Roman calendar. This would be called the Julian calendar, and it is still used today!

13 Decline of the republic Assassination and Civil Wars: Caesar s enemies didn t like that he was gaining so much power. They thought that to save the Roman Republic, Caesar needed to die. In 44B.C., Caesar is stabbed to death as he enters the Senate. His killing sent Rome into more civil war. Mark Antony, Caesar s chief general, and Octavian, Caesar s grand-nephew, tried to bring justice to those responsible for his killing. Unfortunately, the two quarreled over power. Antony won in 31B.C. and took over the throne.

14 Roman empire and roman peace A Stable Government: Octavian became known as Augustus, or Exalted One. He did not become dictator/king, but he exercised absolute power and named his own successor, just like any other king/dictator would. He left the Senate intact, but he created a more efficient way to enforce the laws made in Senate. To improve the tax system, Augustus created a census (Population count). He established a postal system. He made new coin currency.

15 Roman empire and roman peace A Stable Government: He employed the jobless to work on building new roads and temples. He even sent jobless people to work on other people s farms. Augustus never dealt with the issue of what would be done with an emporer s power when he died. Rome didn t want to give it to the son automatically, and they never could come up with a better way. What resulted is violence and intrigue each time that an emporer died...

16 Roman empire and roman peace Bad Emperors and Good Emperors: Rome had some bad emperors over the years (Caligula and Nero to name two). Caligula appointed his favorite horse as consul, and Nero was responsible for setting Rome on fire. Rome had some great emperors over the years (Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius to name two). Hadrian codified Roman law and made it consistent throughout the empire, and Marcus Aurelius, who read what Plato wrote, believed in being very stoic and always doing what comes to hand with correct and natural dignity.

17 Roman empire and roman peace The Pax Romana: This is the 200 year span that began with Augustus and ended with Marcus Aurelius, and it means Roman Peace. Rome came to peace, order, unity, and prosperity and brought it to other lands throughout the known world at that time. All people became much more properous during this time in history. Ideas, customs, technology, and other innovations spread freely throughout the world during this time.

18 Roman empire and roman peace Bread and Circuses: All people in the Roman empire loved spectacular entertainment. They went to the Circus Maximus to see chariot races. They went to watch Gladiator contests at the Colosseum, Rome s grandest stadium. These types of violent events were a way for the Emperor to pacify Rome s restless mods. The government even fed the gladiators grain foods when they came to these events. Critics of the violent events warned people to stay away from this policy of bread and circuses, but few listened.