1. Decline of the republic & roman empire and roman peace
p Prentice Hall World History Connections to Today

2. Decline of the republic
Rome enters a series of civil wars over who should hold power.
Who Should Hold Power?
Popular Political Leaders who wanted to create reforms
Senate

3. Decline of the republic
Slave uprisings & revolts took place among Rome’s allies.
Old legions of Roman citizen-soldiers became professional armies whose first loyalty was to their commanders.

4. Julius caesar’s rise to power
Out of this chaos emerged Julius Caesar, an ambitious military commander.

5. Julius caesar’s rise to power
For while- Caesar + Pompey dominated Roman politics together.
59 B.C.- Caesar goes off with his army to make new conquests.

6. Caesar’s rise to power
After 9 yrs of fighting, Caesar completed the conquest of Gaul (present day France.)
Veni, vidi, vici
Pompey- feared Caesar was becoming too powerful!
Senate- orders Caesar to disband his army & return to Rome.
Do you think Caesar follows the order?

7. Caesar’s rise to power Caesar did NOT follow the order.
Crossed the Rubicon River
Instead, Caesar returned to Rome with his legions and took charge of Rome!

8. Jan. 10, 49 BC

9. Caesar’s reforms Program to employ jobless
Gave public land to the poor
Granted Roman citizenship to more people
Introduced new calendar (Julian calendar) which is still our calendar today, w/some minor changes

11. Assassination & civil wars
Caesar’s enemies worried that he planned to make himself king of Rome…..so they plotted against him.
44 B.C.- Enemies stab Caesar to death.
New civil wars

13. Roman empire & roman peace
There’s a struggle for power and Octavian wins.
Octavian- receives title of Augustus from Senate. He exercises absolute power.
Under Augustus, 500 yr republic ends…..the age of the Roman empire is dawning.

14. augustus Known for creating the foundation for a stable government
Ordered a census (population count) to be taken in the empire
Government that Augustus organized functioned well for 200 yrs! But there was still a problem that kept returning……

15. Good, Caesar! Ruled from 31 BC-AD 14 Good contributions:
Allowed a good amount of self-governance
Regardless of class, the best man for the job
A fairer tax system (through the census)
Postal service
Jobless people given work on projects like roads and temples
PAX ROMANA (Peace of Rome)
Lasted 200 years, beginning with Caesar
Since Rome controlled all of the Mediterranean Sea and lands stretching from Britain to Mesopotamia, there were no official wars within the Empire and quality of life (for Roman citizens) was good

16. Bad, Caesar!
Limited the power of the Senate, taking power from the people
Eliminated his enemies, mercilessly
Set a precedent of absolute power to emperors, setting the stage for corruption
Ruled his empire with an iron fist

17. Gaining power? Who would rule after an emperor died?
Romans did not accept the idea of power passing automatically from father to son. As a result, the death of an emperor often led to intrigue and violence.
emperors.org/impindex.htm

18. Bad emperors Caligula & Nero
Considered downright evil & perhaps insane.
Successors of Augustus
Nero- infamous for persecuting Christians.
Nero goes insane

19. Good emperors between A.D. 96 and A.D. 180
Hadrian-
Good emperor who codified Roman law (made it the same for all provinces)
Had soldiers build a wall across Britain to hold back attackers from the non-Roman north
Marcus Aurelius-
Strong commitment to duty
Read philosophy while on military campaigns

20. Pax romana
200-yr span
Began with Augustus & ended with Marcus Aurelius
Pax Romana= “Roman Peace”
Golden Age because of stability in gov’t.
Romans ruled an area from Iraq to Britain

21. Bread and circuses Colosseum-
*Most famous amphitheater in Roman society where gladiatorial
shows took place. Seated 50,000. (Many gladiators were slaves who had been trained to fight.)
*Events held here:
-Served as entertainment.
-Kept Romans from thinking about political troubles in the society.
-Imitated the conditions of war when all others had been
conquered.
(Google earth)