1. Chapter 10 The Roman Republic

2. Section 1 Geography and the Rise of Rome

3. Geography and the Rise of Rome
The Big Idea
Rome’s location and government helped it become a major power in the ancient world.
Main Ideas
The geography of Italy made land travel difficult but helped the Romans prosper.
Ancient historians were very interested in Rome’s legendary history.
Once a monarchy, the Romans created a republic.

4. Main Idea 1: The Geography of Italy
Italy is a boot shaped country in the Mediterranean.
The heel points toward Greece and the toe of the boot points toward the island of Sicily (sih*suh*lee)

5. Physical Features Italy has two major mountain ranges:
Alps – Europe’s highest mountains at Italy’s northern border
Apennines - (a-puh-nynz) is a mountain range that extends through Italy from north to south.

6. Physical Features
Most of Italy is covered with hills, and cities were built on these hills for protection/defense.
Rome was built on seven hills.
Many rivers flow out of the
mountains and people built cities
near them for a source of fresh water.
Rome lies on the Tiber (TY-buhr) River

7. Climate Most of Italy has warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.
The mild climate allowed people to grow a variety of crops including grains, citrus fruits, grapes, and olives.
A plentiful food supply was a key
factor in Rome’s early growth.

8. Main Idea 2: Rome’s Legendary Origins
There are two legends that describe how Rome began.
The first story comes from the epic Aeneid written by the Roman poet Virgil.
This is a story of a Trojan hero named Aeneas (ih*nee*uhs) who united the Trojans and a group called the Latins.
He became the “father” of the Romans.

9. The second is a traditional story of two twin brothers named Remus and Romulus, who were descendants of Aeneas.
They were abandoned as babies near the Tiber River, rescued by a wolf, and raised by a shepherd.

10. Remus and Romulus decided to build a city in 753 B. C
Remus and Romulus decided to build a city in 753 B.C., but quarreled over the city’s boundaries.
Romulus killed Remus and went on to become the first king of Rome and named the new city after himself.

11. Rome’s Early Kings Roman records list seven kings who ruled the city.
The last three kings were Etruscan, members of a people who lived north of Rome and thought to have lived in Italy before Rome was founded.
The Etruscans made many contributions to Roman society:
huge temples
first sewer
alphabet and numbers
a new style of dress featuring short cloaks and togas
army served as a model

12. The Tarquins (tahr*kwihnz) were leaders of the Etruscan-ruled Rome and were often cruel.
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the seventh and final king of Rome, said to have murdered his wife, elder brother, and predecessor (king before him) to gain the throne.
In 509 B.C., he was overthrown by nobles who wanted to create a new type of government.

13. Main Idea 3: The Early Republic
In 509 B.C., the Romans created a republic, where people elect leaders to govern them.
Elected officials only stayed in power for one year to protect against anyone from staying in power too long.
Rome was not a democracy, and nearly all of the officials were wealthy nobles.

14. Every dem is a rep, but not every rep is a dem
Rep = not a monarchy
Every country w/out a king/queen/emperor is a rep by definition

15. Challenges from the Outside
For about 50 years after the formation of the Republic, Rome found itself in many wars.
During times of war or emergency, Romans chose a dictator to lead them.
Dictators are rulers with almost absolute control, but could only stay in power for six months.

16. One of the most famous Roman dictators was a farmer named Cincinnatus.
Cincinnatus gained power in 458 B.C., and quickly defeated a powerful enemy that had surrounded Rome.
He immediately resigned and
went back to farming before
his six-month term was up.
Cincinnatus was greatly admired
and inspired many future leaders
such as George Washington.

17. Challenges within Rome
Early Romans were divided into two classes:
1) Patricians (pa*trih*shunz) - NOBLES = wealthy landowners and elected officials
2) Plebeians (plih*bee*uhnz) - COMMON PEOPLE = peasants, craftspeople, traders, and small farmers
Since only patricians could be elected officials they controlled ALL
aspects of government, even though plebeians outnumbered them.
In 494 B.C., the plebeians formed their own council and patricians feared Rome would fall apart if the two groups could not cooperate.

18. Government and Society
Section 2
Government and Society

19. Government and Society
The Big Idea
Rome’s tripartite government and written laws helped create a stable society.
Main Ideas
Roman government was made up of three parts that worked together to run the city.
Written laws helped keep order in Rome.
The Roman Forum was the heart of Roman society.

20. Main Idea 1: Roman Government
Plebeians were unhappy about having so little power
In 494 B.C. many plebeians went on strike:
a) they refused to serve in the army
b) they left the city to set up a republic of their own
In 471 B.C. the plebeians were
allowed to set up their own body
of representatives called the
Council of Plebs.
Rome developed a tripartite (try-PAHR-tyt) government – a government with three parts.

21. Magistrates Senate Assemblies & Tribunals
Led by 2 consuls – one year term
Could veto one another
Power over government, military, and judged cases
Magistrates
300 members – life term
Advised consuls
Created laws/controlled money
Senate
All adult citizens
Approved laws, wars, alliances, consuls, and elected magistrates
Represented the common people
Assemblies &
Tribunals

23. Civic Duty and Checks and Balances
Romans participated in government because they thought it was their civic duty – duty to the city.
Citizens:
- attended assembly meetings
- voted
- wealthy and powerful citizens held public office
To ensure that no one part of the government
had more power than the other, the Romans
developed checks and balances.

24. Main Idea 2: Written Laws Keep Order
One of Rome’s chief gifts to the world was its system of law.
The legal system of the United States owes much to the Roman system.
In the beginning, Rome’s laws were not written down
and people were being punished for breaking laws they
didn’t even know existed.

25. Rome’s first written law code was produced in 450 B. C
Rome’s first written law code was produced in 450 B.C. on twelve bronze tables, or tablets.
These tables were called the Law of the Twelve Tables and were displayed in the Forum – Rome’s public meeting place.

26. Main Idea 3: The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum was the heart of the city of Rome.
The Forum contained:
-government buildings
-temples
-shopping
-gossip
City leaders mingled with the common
people and often delivered speeches.
Public ceremonies and gladiator fights were sometimes held in the Forum.

27. Another collection of laws, the Law of Nations, were created to address the issue of conquered people
The idea that the law should apply to everyone equally is called the “rule of law”
It is the key idea that Romans gave to the world and is still the basis of our legal system today

28. Section 3 The Late Republic

29. The Late Republic The Big Idea
The later period of the Roman Republic was marked by wars of expansion and political crises.
Main Ideas
The late republic period saw the growth of territory and trade.
Through wars, Rome grew beyond Italy.
Several crises struck the republic in its later years.

30. Main Idea 1: Growth of Territory and Trade
After about 400 B.C, the Roman Republic grew quickly, both geographically and economically.
Within 200 years the Roman army had conquered nearly all of Italy.
As the army conquered new
lands, Roman traders moved in
and began shipping goods
around the Mediterranean.

31. Main Idea 1: Growth of Territory
Roman territory grew mainly in response to outside threats.
When Rome won battles w/neighboring cities, they would take over their lands.
The Romans soon
controlled all of the
Italian Peninsula except
far northern Italy.

32. Legions
The Romans were able to conquer Italy because they were excellent soldiers.
Soldiers were organized in groups of up to 6,000 soldiers called legions (soldiers called legionaries).
Each legion was divided into smaller groups of 100 soldiers, called centuries.
This arrangement allowed the army to very flexible.

33. Farming and Trade As the republic grew:
Small farmers left their farms for Rome
Wealthy farmers left farms in care of others
Trade increased – food had to be brought in to feed growing population
Merchants also brought metal goods and made coins
out of copper, silver, and other metals.

34. Main Idea 2: Rome Grows Beyond Italy
As Rome’s power grew, other countries came to see it as a threat to their own power and declared war.
After defeating its opponents, Rome gained territory throughout the Mediterranean.

35. The Punic Wars
Carthage, a state on the coast of North Africa, was a powerful enemy of Rome.
Both Rome and Carthage wanted to control the island of Sicily.
In 264 B.C. The First Punic War began and dragged on for more than 20 years.
Finally, in 241 B.C., Rome crushed
Carthage’s navy off the coast of Italy.

36. The Second Punic War began 218 B.C.
Carthage had expanded into Spain and Rome helped the people of Spain rebel.
To punish them, Carthage sent its greatest general, Hannibal (ha*nuh*buhl) to attack Rome.

37. Hannibal’s strategy was to take the fighting to Italy.
He took about 46,000 men and approximately 40 war elephants to Spain and marched east to attack Italy.

38. Hannibal lost almost half of his men before even reaching Italy due to crossing the steep and snowy Alps along with attacks from mountain tribes.
By the time he neared Rome, he reportedly only had one elephant left.
Although Hannibal won many decisive victories over the Romans, he was unable to ever capture Rome itself.
In 202 B.C., a Roman force led by a general named
Scipio (sih*pee*oh) invaded Carthage.
Hannibal had no choice but to leave Italy and return
home to defend his people.

39. In 146 B.C., Rome finally destroyed its great rival of
Carthage in the Third Punic War.
Roman soldiers burned Carthage and enslaved or killed
50,000 men, women, and children.
Rome also took all of Greece and Macedonia, parts of
Africa, and a province in Asia during
the Punic Wars.

40. Later Expansion
During the Punic Wars, Rome took control of Sicily, Corsica, Spain, and North Africa.
The Romans went on to conquer parts of Gaul and Greece.
Rome conquered Greece, but it adopted ideas about literature, art, philosophy, religion, and education from the Greeks.

41. Main Idea 3: Crises Strike the Republic
As the Romans’ territory grew, problems arose in the republic.
Government officials were dishonest, stole money, and the gap between rich and poor grew.
Displaced farmers made the cities dangerous and overcrowded.

42. Roman politicians worried about riots.
To win the votes of the poor, politicians created cheap food and entertainment called “bread and circuses.”

43. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Tiberius (ty-BIR-ee-us) and Gaius (GY-uhs) Gracchus (GRAK-uhs) were brothers who both served as tribunes.
The brothers tried to create farms for poor Romans to keep them happy and prevent rebellions.
In two separate events, wealthy citizens opposed
this idea and started riots, killing both brothers.
From this point on people saw violence as a
political weapon to use when they disagreed with leaders.

44. Marius and Sulla
Gaius Marius (MER-ee-uhs) was a military leader who became consul in 107 B.C. and encouraged poor people to join the army in order to make up for the shortage of troops.
The loyalty of his army gave him great
political power.
Following this example, Lucius
(LOO-shuhs) Cornelius Sulla (SUHL-uh)
sought his army’s support the same way Marius had.
The two leaders started a civil war (war between citizens of the same country) in which Sulla defeated Marius and became dictator.

45. Spartacus
Thousands of slaves led by a former gladiator named Spartacus rose up and demanded freedom.
They defeated an army sent to stop them and took over
most of southern Italy.
Spartacus was killed in battle and the revolt fell apart without his leadership.
6,000 rebellious slaves were killed as an example to others who thought about rebelling.

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