Range of Influence The Romans 12000 BCE Now

Range of Influence

The Romans ~12000 BCE – Now

Living in Huts ● Humans have lived on the Mediterranean for over a million years ● First settlements in Rome are difficult to establish (since people still live there) ● At least 14, 000 years ago ● Latin hadn’t yet evolved ● They also didn’t call themselves “Roman”

The Reign of the Kings 753 -509 bce ● ● ● Legend says Rome was founded by brothers Romulus and Remus. Romulus killed his brother over a dispute over which hill the city would be on Ruled by succession of 7 kings The last three were so bad, something had to be done Progressive thinking Roman citizens finally ousted the kings and created a new form of government

Rēs Publica th 6 ● ● ● century BCE The republic was a form of government where the leaders were elected from the “common” people Only citizens (taxpayers) were allowed the vote Voting was regimental and high class citizens often monopolized the vote But everyone had some representation: rich, poor, citizen, non-citizen Many public offices were available, for local, regional and federal positions

Julius Caesar, End of the Republic ● ● ● After much civil strife and warfare the power of the Republic fell away The Republic lasted 500 years Julius Caesar was the first to claim Dictator for life Remember those kings? So did the Romans. Many hated the idea of being ruled by one man Caesar was assassinated on the ideals of restoring the Republic… mostly

Age of Augustus ● ● Augustus, Caesar’s nephew, gained control and named himself Emperor (from Latin imperator “general”) Emperors now held most of the political power Under good Emperors, Rome flourished in art, literature & architecture The Empire reached its height under the Golden Age of Augustus

Roman Empire ● ● Unfortunately there were more bad emperors than good ones Many Emperors abused their power Many Emperors were assassinated Rome still grew in size and influence

Rise of Byzantium ● ● ● Rome was divided into Eastern and Western “kingdoms” because of the difficulty in maintaining such a large empire with increasingly hostile natives In 410 the city of Rome was sacked by the Goths Eastern Rome (Byzantium) became a large influence in the Mediterranean

Fall of Byzantium ● ● ● Byzantium maintained much of its Roman heritage, but mainly spoke Greek. Eventually adopting Christianity, it became a stopping point for Crusaders going east Constantinople was sacked by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 signaling the end of Roman Rule

Greek Identity as Roman ● The Byzantines called themselves Roman, despite no longer having a presence in Rome ● For centuries after the Byzantine empire fell, the people of Greece referred to themselves as Roman ● In the 1830’s Greece gained its independence and forged a new national identity, now dropping “Roman” for “Greek”

What Made Rome so Powerful? ● ● Rome was able to conquer and control one of the largest empires in history 1 st Effective, well trained, professional, volunteer army While they didn’t invent much, their engineering skills perfected the arch, the paved road, concrete, etc. They often valued and welcomed foreigners, their ideas and their gods

The ideals and institutions of the Romans are so well known, they have been copied time and time again

Capitol Building, Washington D. C. Supreme Court Building, Washington D. C. Models an ancient Greek/Roman Temple Blind Justice is a Roman Goddess

Jefferson Memorial, Washington D. C. Nearly exact copy of the Pantheon Columbia, goddess of liberty and personification of America. Not really a Roman goddess, but made to look like one Flag of Virginia “Thus always to Tyrants”

Bates Hall, Boston Public Library, Boston Ma Brown University (RI) Most elements of the US constitution were inspired by or copied from Roman law

Order, discipline and regimented units of the Roman Legion