Notes on the Roman Empire
Today I am going to be taking notes on the Roman Empire and how it influenced other areas to shape their nations. Here are my notes that I would usually put in my notebook...
The Roman Empire
Main Idea: Creation of the empire transformed by Roman gov., society, economy, and culture.
Why It Matters Now: Roman Empire served throughout history as a model of political organization and control.
Terms and Names:
- Civil War: Conflict between groups within the same nation
- Julius Caesar: Military leader from 60 BC
- Triumvirate: Group of three leeaders/rulers
- Augustus: exalted one, Octavian changed his name to this when he became ruler of Rome
- Pax Romana: Roman peace
Setting the Stage: When Rome enlarged its territory, the rebuplic form of gov. grew unstable and eventually gave way to the formation of a mighty dictator-ruled empire that continued to spread Romes influence far and wide.
The Republic Collapses
Romes wealth and increasing boundries brought many issues including discontent among lower social classes and a breakdown in military order. These issues led to a shaken up republic and a new political system.
Economic Turmoil
When Rome grew, the gap between social classes did too. The rich people enjoyed their large estates and the poor people worked on the estates. By 100 B.C., ensleaved people made up 1/3 of romes population. Former soldiers who owned farms were forced to sell their land to the wealthy owners because their farms didn't stand a chance and they became homeless and jobless. Most stayed in the countryside and worked as seasonal migrant workers and others became part of the urban poor, a group that made up 1/4 of Romes society. The brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, tried to help Romes poor. They suggested to limit the size of estates and give land to the poor and they spoke very fondly of this idea. This made them enemies with many senators who felt threatened by them and the brothers both met violent deaths in 133 BC (Tiberius) and 121 BC (Gaius Gracchus). A period of civil war folled their deaths.
Military Upheaval
As Rome became more unstable, the military generals began to assign greater power to themselves. They recruited the poor by promising them land and they fought for their commander. These soldiers replaced the other ones whose loyalty was with the republic and it was now possible for a military leader supported by his group to take over by force.
Julius Caesar Takes Control
In 60 BC, Julius Caesar joined forces with Crassus and Pompey for his own benenfit. Caesar was elected into consul and the men ruled as a Triumvirate. Ceaser was a great leader and he appointed himself governor of Gaul (France). During 58-50 BC, Caesar dominated Gaul and took over his mens loyalty. This made him very popular and he and Pompey were now enemies. By 50 BC, Caesar was ordered to disband his legions and return home by Pompey and the senate. Caesar defied this order and marched his troops through his southern area that he commanded and they caused Pompey to flee the area. Caesars army would go on to defeate Pompeys armies in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt. In 46 BC, Caesar came home and was annointed dictator and in 44 BC he became dictator for life.
Caesar Reforms
Caesar governed with total power but created many reforms. He granted Roman citizenship to many provinces and he expanded the senate by adding friends from Italy and other regions. He helped the poor by creating jobs, created colonies where anyone could own property, and he increased pay for soldiers. Many senators feared him and Brutus and Cassius planned his death where he got stabbed (Ides of March).
Beginning of the Empire
Ceaser was gone and civil war destroyed the remains of the Roman republic. Lepidus, Octavian, and Marc Antony joined forces to destroy Brutus and Cassius. They controlled Rome as the second Triumvirate. The three men became rivals and they hated eachother. Octavian forced Lepidus out and he got jealous when Marc met Cleopatra and then Marc and Cleopatra commited suicide and it was a whole mess. Octavian became ruler of Rome and he accepted many titles. Rome was now ruled by one man again.
A Vast and Powerful Empire
From 27 BC to 180 AD, Rome had peace with the rules of Augustus (Octavian) and the 207 years had only fights between tribes along borders. During Pax Romana, the area was about 3 million sq miles, and had between 60 and 80 million people living there (about 1 million lived in the city).
A Sound Gov.
Rome Held their vast empire together through good rulers and efficiancy. Augustus was the balest and he did amny good things for Rome. While the senate still functioned, plebeians and slaves administered the empire. Augustus died in 14 AD and the gov. stayed stable because of his rules. By the second century AD, Rome contolled an empire that spended from Spain to Mesopotamia, and North Arica to Britain.
Agriculture and Trade
The most important industry in the empire because 90% of people were farmers. Only fancy things were obtained through trade and a denarius was used as a form of payment. Rome traded with Greece, Anatolia, Antioch, China, and India. The rodes throughout Rome built for the military were now being used for trade.
The Roman World
Rome demonstrated the values os discipline, strength, and loyalty and a person with those qualtities was said to have the virtue of gravitas. Romans were practical; Strength over Beauty, Power more than Grace, and Usefulness more than Elegance. In the smaller cities, merchants, soldiers, slaves, foreigners, and philosophers all shared noisy and busy streets. This created diversity.
Slaves and Captivity
The slaves in Rome were important and Rome used slaves more than any other previous nation did. Slaves even made up 1/3 of the population in Rome at one point. Same typical slave rules apply for the roman slaves. They wroked in the city and on the farms and the really strong men were forced to fight most of the time. Howeve, slaves who worked in households did get treated better but if you were a typical slave, you were treated poorly. Sometimes slaves would rebel, it wouldn't work (ever, none of the slave revolts did) , and they all died. More than 1 million slaves lost their lives to a revolt/ attempting to gain freedom.
Gods and Goddesses
Early Rome worshiped something called numina (powerful spririts) and lares (closely related to numina). These things became named gods and gonddesses. In Rome, gov. and religion were linked and the deities were the symbols of the state. Romans had to worship them not only in their at-home shrines, but in public areas such as temples. The most important gods and goddesses were Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. During the empire, worshiping the emperor became a ritual of the official religion of Rome.
Society and Culture
By the time of the empire, the social classes became stereotypical. The rich lived in riches and the poor lived in briches. However, while the rich were out partying with ther ostrich and parrat tongue, many Romans barely had the necessitites of life. during this time, much of the population was unemployed and the gov. supported these people with daily rations of grain. In the shadow of Romes greatness, the poor huddled together and created a fire hazard apparently. To control great crowds, Rome hosted many festivties and by 250 AD, had 150 holidays per year. The Colosseum housed people of all kinds one day year for one of these holidays and they watched animal fights (I know, it;s sad, but I guess they enjoyed it). Exotic animals form all over the world would fight to their death. Sometimes it was gladiators who fought to the death, not animals. During Pax Romana, Christianity emerged from somehwere and some Romans practiced it. They new followers would meet with much brutality and hardship for their beliefs, but soon the new religion would endure and spread throughout the emipire, and would eventually become one of the dominant faiths of the world.
That is all for notes today. Thank you for reading and have a good evening! (I just had to slip a rhyme in there).
- Karlee :)
The Roman Empire
Main Idea: Creation of the empire transformed by Roman gov., society, economy, and culture.
Why It Matters Now: Roman Empire served throughout history as a model of political organization and control.
Terms and Names:
- Civil War: Conflict between groups within the same nation
- Julius Caesar: Military leader from 60 BC
- Triumvirate: Group of three leeaders/rulers
- Augustus: exalted one, Octavian changed his name to this when he became ruler of Rome
- Pax Romana: Roman peace
Setting the Stage: When Rome enlarged its territory, the rebuplic form of gov. grew unstable and eventually gave way to the formation of a mighty dictator-ruled empire that continued to spread Romes influence far and wide.
The Republic Collapses
Romes wealth and increasing boundries brought many issues including discontent among lower social classes and a breakdown in military order. These issues led to a shaken up republic and a new political system.
Economic Turmoil
When Rome grew, the gap between social classes did too. The rich people enjoyed their large estates and the poor people worked on the estates. By 100 B.C., ensleaved people made up 1/3 of romes population. Former soldiers who owned farms were forced to sell their land to the wealthy owners because their farms didn't stand a chance and they became homeless and jobless. Most stayed in the countryside and worked as seasonal migrant workers and others became part of the urban poor, a group that made up 1/4 of Romes society. The brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, tried to help Romes poor. They suggested to limit the size of estates and give land to the poor and they spoke very fondly of this idea. This made them enemies with many senators who felt threatened by them and the brothers both met violent deaths in 133 BC (Tiberius) and 121 BC (Gaius Gracchus). A period of civil war folled their deaths.
Military Upheaval
As Rome became more unstable, the military generals began to assign greater power to themselves. They recruited the poor by promising them land and they fought for their commander. These soldiers replaced the other ones whose loyalty was with the republic and it was now possible for a military leader supported by his group to take over by force.
Julius Caesar Takes Control
In 60 BC, Julius Caesar joined forces with Crassus and Pompey for his own benenfit. Caesar was elected into consul and the men ruled as a Triumvirate. Ceaser was a great leader and he appointed himself governor of Gaul (France). During 58-50 BC, Caesar dominated Gaul and took over his mens loyalty. This made him very popular and he and Pompey were now enemies. By 50 BC, Caesar was ordered to disband his legions and return home by Pompey and the senate. Caesar defied this order and marched his troops through his southern area that he commanded and they caused Pompey to flee the area. Caesars army would go on to defeate Pompeys armies in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt. In 46 BC, Caesar came home and was annointed dictator and in 44 BC he became dictator for life.
Caesar Reforms
Caesar governed with total power but created many reforms. He granted Roman citizenship to many provinces and he expanded the senate by adding friends from Italy and other regions. He helped the poor by creating jobs, created colonies where anyone could own property, and he increased pay for soldiers. Many senators feared him and Brutus and Cassius planned his death where he got stabbed (Ides of March).
Beginning of the Empire
Ceaser was gone and civil war destroyed the remains of the Roman republic. Lepidus, Octavian, and Marc Antony joined forces to destroy Brutus and Cassius. They controlled Rome as the second Triumvirate. The three men became rivals and they hated eachother. Octavian forced Lepidus out and he got jealous when Marc met Cleopatra and then Marc and Cleopatra commited suicide and it was a whole mess. Octavian became ruler of Rome and he accepted many titles. Rome was now ruled by one man again.
A Vast and Powerful Empire
From 27 BC to 180 AD, Rome had peace with the rules of Augustus (Octavian) and the 207 years had only fights between tribes along borders. During Pax Romana, the area was about 3 million sq miles, and had between 60 and 80 million people living there (about 1 million lived in the city).
A Sound Gov.
Rome Held their vast empire together through good rulers and efficiancy. Augustus was the balest and he did amny good things for Rome. While the senate still functioned, plebeians and slaves administered the empire. Augustus died in 14 AD and the gov. stayed stable because of his rules. By the second century AD, Rome contolled an empire that spended from Spain to Mesopotamia, and North Arica to Britain.
Agriculture and Trade
The most important industry in the empire because 90% of people were farmers. Only fancy things were obtained through trade and a denarius was used as a form of payment. Rome traded with Greece, Anatolia, Antioch, China, and India. The rodes throughout Rome built for the military were now being used for trade.
The Roman World
Rome demonstrated the values os discipline, strength, and loyalty and a person with those qualtities was said to have the virtue of gravitas. Romans were practical; Strength over Beauty, Power more than Grace, and Usefulness more than Elegance. In the smaller cities, merchants, soldiers, slaves, foreigners, and philosophers all shared noisy and busy streets. This created diversity.
Slaves and Captivity
The slaves in Rome were important and Rome used slaves more than any other previous nation did. Slaves even made up 1/3 of the population in Rome at one point. Same typical slave rules apply for the roman slaves. They wroked in the city and on the farms and the really strong men were forced to fight most of the time. Howeve, slaves who worked in households did get treated better but if you were a typical slave, you were treated poorly. Sometimes slaves would rebel, it wouldn't work (ever, none of the slave revolts did) , and they all died. More than 1 million slaves lost their lives to a revolt/ attempting to gain freedom.
Gods and Goddesses
Early Rome worshiped something called numina (powerful spririts) and lares (closely related to numina). These things became named gods and gonddesses. In Rome, gov. and religion were linked and the deities were the symbols of the state. Romans had to worship them not only in their at-home shrines, but in public areas such as temples. The most important gods and goddesses were Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. During the empire, worshiping the emperor became a ritual of the official religion of Rome.
Society and Culture
By the time of the empire, the social classes became stereotypical. The rich lived in riches and the poor lived in briches. However, while the rich were out partying with ther ostrich and parrat tongue, many Romans barely had the necessitites of life. during this time, much of the population was unemployed and the gov. supported these people with daily rations of grain. In the shadow of Romes greatness, the poor huddled together and created a fire hazard apparently. To control great crowds, Rome hosted many festivties and by 250 AD, had 150 holidays per year. The Colosseum housed people of all kinds one day year for one of these holidays and they watched animal fights (I know, it;s sad, but I guess they enjoyed it). Exotic animals form all over the world would fight to their death. Sometimes it was gladiators who fought to the death, not animals. During Pax Romana, Christianity emerged from somehwere and some Romans practiced it. They new followers would meet with much brutality and hardship for their beliefs, but soon the new religion would endure and spread throughout the emipire, and would eventually become one of the dominant faiths of the world.
That is all for notes today. Thank you for reading and have a good evening! (I just had to slip a rhyme in there).
- Karlee :)
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