1. The Roman Republic Takes Shape

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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