The Roman Republic Takes Shape

The Roman Republic Designed to limit the power of the country’s ruler Three main branches – Consul Head of gov’t and military – Senate Patricians who made laws and supervised money – Assembly Represented the people by voting The Republic was not only revolutionary, but significant – First time lower-class citizens had power – Adopted by many other countries Specifically the US Constitution

Roman Society The family was the basic unit of Roman society – The male had power Women remained under the care of men Women’s roles changed – Women stayed home – Later on in Roman times, women gained more freedoms They made advancements in education – All citizens were educated in reading & writing Included girls and lower class citizens Romans were polytheistic – They had a complicated religion with a number of Gods and Goddesses – The roman calendar had many holidays celebrating the Gods

Expansion into Italy As Rome got stronger and more powerful, they needed more land The Roman military was made up of a legion – Legion = 5,000 common men These people fought without pay and supplied their own weapons – They were strong because they were brought up to value loyalty, courage, and respect for authority Rome treated their defeated enemies with justice – They had to acknowledge Roman leadership, pay taxes, and provide soldiers – Rome posted soldiers throughout its territories to protect its borders

The Punic Wars Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage – From 264 BCE – 146 CE At this time, these were the largest wars to ever take place The Roman Republic was continuing to grow – Carthaginian Empire stood in their way Carthage controlled Sicily – As the Roman Republic continued to expand, they looked to control Sicily Carthage and Rome battled for the territory Prior to the Punic Wars, Rome was never considered to be a threat to other nations

The 3 Punic Wars First Punic War (264 – 241 B.C.E.) – Lasted 23 years – Fought for control and supremacy over the island of Sicily and its surrounding waters – Carthage dominated at the beginning, but Rome ended up winning the territory They imposed strict treaty conditions and heavy taxes on Carthage Second Punic War – Carthage sought revenge, led by General Hannibal – He led his army, including dozens of war elephants, on an epic march over the Alps to Italy This surprised the Romans who expected an attack from the south – Carthage took many Italian provinces but never reached Rome The Romans pushed Carthage back into Africa and took over all of their territories not in Africa – The Romans clearly were the victors but wanted Carthage to pay for their destruction Third Punic War – Rome completely destroyed Carthage, and all of their African territories – Survivors were killed or sold into slavery They poured salt on the earth so nothing would grow their again – This ended the Carthaginian Empire and solidified Rome’s power in the world