ROME Founded by twin brothers 753 BC Romulus

ROME

• Founded by twin brothers (753 BC) Romulus and Remus • Started out being ruled by kings. • Last king was bad and overthrown…now Rome is a republic

• Rome also had huge army. Generals became very powerful. • Rome’s most famous general was Julius Caesar eventually takes power as an absolute ruler.

• Caesar was killed by the Roman Senate, and his nephew became the next “Caesar. ” This is how the Roman Empire began. • There were 91 emperors over almost 600 years!

• Rome expanded throughout Europe, parts of Africa, parts of Asia, and parts of the Middle East.

• Pax Romana-Long period of peace (207 years) • Agriculture and trade became very important.

• Romans used people they conquered as slaves. • Most of Rome’s public was poor. They were distracted and controlled by parades, celebrations, games, races, and fights.

• Christianity rose and spread in Ancient Rome • Romans had been polytheistic, but Emperor Constantine made Christianity ok and popular in Rome (312 A. D. )

• The Roman Empire became too big. The Empire was split into two parts. However, the economy became weak, and the military could not keep out invaders.

• Legacies of Rome include architecture, the Latin Language, the Roman system of laws, and art and literature.

Copy Cats! • The Romans based their religion on Greek Mythology –They were also polytheistic –Many of the gods/goddesses were the same, but the Romans changed their names –The gods explained human qualities and life events

The Roman Gods Roman God Greek God Represents Jupiter Zeus God of light and sky Juno Hera Queen of the Gods Apollo God of healing Diana Artemis Goddess of Fertility Minerva Athena Goddess of wisdom Aphrodite Goddess of love and beauty Venus

Jupiter • God of light and sky • Supreme ruler of the gods

Roman Literature • Virgil – wrote the Aeneid –A Latin epic –legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans

Architecture • Romans brought many new ideas to architecture 3. Cement 2. Baked Brick 1. Arch

Roman Arch • A way to make a doorway or window with no beams Keystone

Aqueducts • River water was dirty with sewage • Aqueducts brought clean water to cities from far nearby hills

Pantheon • Temple built roman gods for the seven

Coliseum • An ancient sports arena in the shape of an oval stadium – Had mock battles where over 10, 000 slaves, prisoners or volunteers were killed • Could hold over 50, 000 spectators

• Civilizations need many things. Some of those things are: – Centralized Population – Surplus of Food – Government – Division of Labor – Money collected from the people

• If enough of these factors fail, things inevitably fall apart.

• If anything happens to the population, naturally that can lead to collapse of the civilization. • Examples? ? ?

• Possible examples: genocidal warfare, being conquered and expected to change under new rulers, disease, geological event

• Mayans: Faded after the Spanish brought disease, war, and their own culture • Sumerians: Kept being invaded, kept changing

• Environmental problems can also wipe out a civilization, especially if it impacts the food supply.

• A 300 -year drought destroyed the Akkadian empire. • Cooler temperatures can mess up agriculture as well (mini ice-age)

• Economic and Political problems can slowly, over time, lead to the fall of a civilization.

• It wasn’t just the attacks by barbarians that ended Rome. The economy depended on conquest and slavery. This was unsustainable (there are only so many places to conquer). Eventually this meant fewer human resources to keep industry and agriculture going.