SOL 6 Part 2: Roman Empire

Virgil

*Wrote the Aenid an epic poem (The Homer of Rome)

Moral Decay

towards the end of the Pax Romana political curruption and moral decay led to the fall of the empire

Antonius Pius

*138 CE - 161 CE *4th Good Emperor *Adopted by Hadrian on the condition he would adopt Marcus Aurelius as his successor *Also a humanitarian *Invested in arts and education

Marcus Aurelius

*161 CE - 180 Ce *not only an emperor but also a philosopher who wrote "Meditations"

Jesus of Nazareth

*Born of the virgin Mary and Joseph *Believed by the Jews to be the savior and Messiah *Came to save his people *Had disciples which were his followers *His teachings became known as the gospels and were recorded in the first 4 books of the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John *Was Crucified *Believed to have risen 3 days later *Raised Hebrew *Lived a modest life *Profession was a carpenter

Dictator

*Caesar (being the last remaining member of the first Triumvirate) declared himself dictator of Rome for ten years and then for life (basically making himself king) *Once he is killed his power goes to his adopted son and nephew Octavian along with the second Triumvirate *After civil war destroys the second triumvirate Octavian becomes dictator and then emporer

Octavion/ Augustus Caesar

*Came into power shortly after Julius Caesar's death (named political succesor of Caesar before his death) *Julius' nephew and adopted son *Member of the second Triumvirate along with Marc Antony and Lepidus *Ruled parts of the Republic such as Gaul, Spain, and other parts of Western Europe *Stripped Lepidus of his land and power after a scandal *Eventually came to rule Rome unopposed *Ruled like an elected ruler *Eventually offered to return his power to the senators which insisted he stay ruler and then he took the name Augustus or "revered one" and the last name Caesar which meant "like a king" *Works for peace throughout the now "empire" since he is the first official emperor *Began the Pax Romana (Time of Peace) *Died in 13 CE *Named Tiberius as his heir

Forum

*Central area where trade, business and government occurred *Similar to the Agora in Greece *Contained many structures such as: *Temples (used for worship of various gods) *Basilicas (large judicial building in roman times) *Arches (stone structures used as decoration that stretched over *entrances ways and walkaways) *Some parts still remain today *Twelve Tables were housed there

Political Impact of the Pax Romana

*Civil Service Jobs were created to help with unemployment (umplynt. led to the decline of the republic) *this lessened the gap between the rich and poor *New uniform system of law which went more in depth than the twelve tables (this later became the same system of law for many European countries)

Civil War

*Civil wars caused the fall of the Roman Republic as well as the Rise of the Empire *Senators originally killed Julius Caesar *Second Triumvirate defeated the senate and their legions *Octavian and Marcus Antony wage war against one another after a scandal occurs *Octavian wins against Antony (Battle of Actium) and strips Lepidus of his rule and legions, naming himself emperor and thus beginning the Roman Empire

Theodosius

*Divided the Roman Empire into the The Rome Empire in the West The Byzantine Empire in the East *Made Christianity the only religion that you could be

Roman Roads

*During the Pax Romana Roads were improved expanding trade, providing safer transportation, and increasing manufacturing

Ides of March 44 BCE

*Julius Caesar (the only remaining member of the 1st Triumvirate) declared himself dictator for ten years and then for life *Senators did not want a king and pulled together forces and planned to kill Caesar by stabbing him to death on March 15th 44 BCE

Social Impact of the Pax Romana

*Life in general becomes more stable *Decrease in slavery which opened a door for the poor *Gap between poor and rich lessened and were at peace between each other *More focus on the family

Marc Antony

*Member of the 2nd Triumvirate *Ruled Greece, Macedonia, Asia Minor, and the Middle East *Lieutenant in Caesar's army and one of his friends *Had an affair with Cleopatra (mother of Caesar's child) has children with her and then begins splitting his land among them making Octavian jealous and causing civil war *Killed himself after realizing defeat

Julius Caesar

*Member of the first Triumvirate along with Pompey and Crassus *Proclaimed himself to be dictator of Rome for life *Was killed by senators because they feared his ambition to become king on March 15th 44 BCE

Christianity

*Monotheistic religion *People should love above all else *involved rituals giving reverence to god *Spread throughout Rome

Cleopatra

*Mother of Caesar's baby *Had an affair with Marc Antony and then had children with him *Ran away with Marc Antony to Egypt to avoid Ocativian *Killed herself by letting an Asp (poisonous snake) bite her after they were defeated by Octavian

27 BCE

*Octavian offers his powers back to the senate, which they kindly refuse, and names himself Augustus, making him the sole ruler of Rome *With the rise of this new emperor Rome is no longer a Republic it is now officially an Empire

5 Good Emporers

*Octavian was the first great emperor of the Pax Romana during which Rome experienced plenty of bad rulers but there were some good ones *The five good emperors were: *Nerva *Trajan *Hadrian *Antonius Pius *Marcus Aurelius

Arch

*Romans created the arch which is an incredibly stable structure *the design was applied to pretty much everything *Built from Concrete

Public Baths

*Romans discovered basic Hygiene and thus created public baths or pools, in which were fresh water where people could come to bathe *Were separated by sex *Some were hot and some were cold most were heated naturally by underground springs

Trajan

*Ruled from 98 CE to 117 CE *Second Good emperor *Adopted by Nerva *was well liked and expanded the empire east *adopted his cousin Hadrian to be his successor *died of heart failure

Aqueduct

*Systems for Rome to bring water into the city *using gravity water flowed down "bridges" supported by arches *this provided fresh drinking water and reduced disease and improved overall hygiene *Built from concrete

Latin

*The language of Ancient Rome, also the base language for all the Romance languages such as Spanish, French, Italian and Portugese

Pax Romana

*Time of peace and prosperity in Rome during which Octavian established the empire by: *instituting civil service *Rule by law *a common coinage *Secure travel and trade throughout the empire *Lasted 200 years

Triumvirate

*Triumvirate = three rulers working together as one political force *In ancient Rome, a group of three leaders sharing control of the government.

Economic Impact of the Pax Romana

*Uniform system of money *Silver coins called denarius which could be used in any part of the empire *trade expanded throughout the empire *improved roads *manufacturing increased

1st Triumvirate

*Was made up of Julius Caesar, Pompey (Caesar's son in law) and Crassus (Caesar's good friend) *Was distroyed by Civil war *Julius (the last remaining member) declared himself life long dictator of Rome and was then killed by senators

2nd Triumvirate

*Was made up of Octavian (Named successor), Marc Antony (Luitenant in Caesar's army and his close friend), and Lepidus (close friend of Marc Antony's) *Removed power from the senate *Broke into Civil war

Hadrian

*ruled from 117 CE to 138 CE *3rd Good ruler of the Pax Romana *Built Hadrian's wall marking the northern border of the Roman empire in Britain *Rebuilt the Pantheon *was considered a humanitarian *Adopted Antonius Pius as his successor on the condition that he adopt Marcus Aurelius as his successor

*Nerva

*ruled from 96 CE to 98 CE *the first good emperor *was well liked by the people but not the army *Adopted Trajan to be his successor *died of a stroke and fever

Pope

*the bishop of Rome and supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church

Caligula

37-41ce) fell ill and became crazy. Thought he was a god and tried to name his horse senator

Pantheon

A temple in Rome dedicated to all gods of Roman Mythology Built over 2000 years ago and still stands in present day Circular building with a porch connected to a rotunda Made of concrete with bronze doors plated with gold Has a central opening in the dome known as the "Great Eye"

Constantine

Adopted Christianity as the official religion of Rome in 337 CE

Colosseum

Amphitheater built in the center of Rome Built over 2000 years ago and took around 10 years to complete Originally capable of seating around 50,000 peopl Used for gladiator matches and other public spectacles such as dramas and executions Made of a stone material Still stands today although it has begun to show wear and tear

Diocletian

Became Emperor of Rome in 284 CE Tried to fix all problems facing the Roman Empire Divides the Empire into Dioceses (like countries) Split empire into two parts (292 CE) *2 Emporers and four Caesars would work to control the two parts of the Empire regained control of the military and effectively maintained rome's borders

Ptolemy

Egyptian astronomer, mathematician, geographer, and astrologer Further developed the geocentric theory—Earth is the center of the universe Wrote The Almagest, a book which blended mathematics and astronomy He lived in Roman Egypt; therefore, his discoveries benefited the Roman Empire

Odovacar/Odoacer

Germanic soldiers in the Roman military chose him as their king; he defeated the emperor and took power of western Rome; emperor of eastern Rome convinced another Germanic king to kill him and the germanic king did

Gladiator

Gladiators were slaves which were brought to the colosseum to fight with other gladiators and even other animals to the death for the entertainment of the people This was a form of brutal entertainment

Western Empire

It suffered from weak leaders and recurring attacks by Germanic tribes In 476 C.E. the last official Roman Emperor, Augustulus Romulus was overthrown by a Germanic General called Odovacar (also known as Odoacer)

Apostles

Jesus of Nazareth had twelve followers whom he taught and who were his friends after his "death" they spread his teachings

Devaluation

Led to the end of the Pax Romana Roman currency began to lose value, causing inflation and a failing economy

Plebians

Members of the lower class of Ancient Rome including farmers, merchants, artisans and traders

Paul

Originally named Saul, Paul was a persecuter of Jews and christians and urged their exectution, until transformed by christ after being blinded for three days he then began to preach the gospel and bring many to Christianity thought to be the most influential apostle

Constantinople

Previously known as Byzantium, Constantine changed the name of the city and moved the capitol of the Roman Empire here from Rome. in the east

Romance Language

Romance languages contained Latin and are identified as: *Spanish *Italian *French *Portugese

"Innocent until Proven Guilty"

Romans came up with idea of , a fundamental principle of law that means the state must prove guilt; the suspect does not have to prove innocence

Martyr

Someone who dies for a cause Many died before denouncing their faith in Christ the first recorded martyr is a man by the name of Stephen

Bible

The Holy Book of the Christian religion the first five books of the old testament are made up of the Holy book of the Jews the Torah the first four books of the New Testament are made up of the Gospels or the teachings of Jesus christ

476 BCE

The official end to the Roman empire

Patricians

Upper class men of Rome , A member of one of the noble families of the ancient Roman Republic, which before the third century B.C. had exclusive rights to the Senate and the magistracies *Land owners

12 Tables

Written Laws of Rome displayed in the Forum for all to see and later recodified during the Pax Romana (went deeper) established a written system of law and better justice among the people

Germanic Tribes

attacked Rome and as it began to weaken their attacks became more frequent and successful leading to the fall of the empire

Eastern Empire

now called the Byzantine Empire, was safe from the invasions of barbarian tribes. It was also situated in a great location for trade with eastern civilizations Remained successful until the 1400's

The Aenid

tells the story of the founding of Rome by Aeneas; it glorifies Roman virtues such as honor and bravery

Nero

terrible ruler of Rome (54-68ce) was hated for his vanity and cruelty. People believed he started the great fire of 68ad.