Vocabulary
Soothsayer Apostle
Omen Emperor
Catacomb Gentile
Necropolis Priest
Fasces Bishop
Republic Archbishop
Patricians Patriarch
Plebeians Census
Triumvirate Gladiator
Latifiindias
Notes
Rome was founded on one of the seven hills on the west coast of the peninsula known today as Italy.
The hill on which Rome is located is known as Paletine.
The settlement was located on the Tiber River.
According to a legend, Rome was founded by twin sons of a Latin princess.
The sons could not decide who should be king so they waited from a sign from the gods.
When Romulus claimed that the sign was shown to him,he and his brother, Remus
fought.
Remus was killed in the battle and Romulus became the king naming the settlement
Rome.
Experts have learned that Latins invaded the Mediterranean Sea area and settled on the
Palentine about 1000 BC.
Romans were a part of the Latin group.
A group of people known as the Etruscans settled north of the Latins on the Paletine
around 800 BC.
The Etruscans had a strong army that soon helped them conquer all of northern Italy.
Social order was an important component of Etruscan life.
The upper class was made of wealthy landowners, nobles, and priests.
The middle class was composed of farmers, traders, and city workers.
The lower class contained enslaved people.
The wealthy families owned the land and the enslaved people that worked it.
The Etruscans wanted to follow their gods' plans for them.
Soothsayers predicted the future and foretold the gods1 wishes for their followers.
The soothsayers read omens to communicate the gods' will for the people.
A big banquet was held for an Etruscan noble when he died.
The banquet included a fight of two of the noble s slaves.
The dead were buried in tombs called catacombs.
These tombs were filled with valuables for the dead to use in the afterlife.
Etruscan tombs are often called tombs of gold for this reason,
Each city had a necropolis near the outskirts of its land.
The Etruscans made many contributions to the Roman civilization.
They taught the Latins to build bridges using arches.
They started building Rome's sewer system.
They drained the swamp of the bottom of the Palentine so the Romans could later build
their public square called the Forum.
The Romans borrowed some of their customs from the Etruscans.
The Romans began the gladiatorial games based on the Etruscan funeral ritual of slave
battles.
The Romans also borrowed the Etruscan symbol of the fasces to stand for a Roman
ruler's power to triumph over other people.
The idea of soothsayers was also adopted from the Etruscans.
Soothsayers determined a city's boundaries.
In 509 BC, the Romans set up a republic.
The Romans had two classes of people.
The patricians served in government.
The plebeians were citizens who paid taxes but could not serve in government.
The Roman Republic was ruled by two consuls.
The Senate handled the daily business of the republic and advised the consuls.
Judges, assemblies, and tribunes protected plebeian rights.
All Roman citizens belonged to the assemblies which could declare war or agree to peace
treaties.
Roman laws were carved on 12 bronze tablets known as the Twelve Tablets that were
placed in the Forum for all citizens to see.
By 275 BC, Rome ruled the whole peninsula of present day Italy.
Rome was able to have a large empire due to its strong army.
They organized their army into groups of 5,000 soldiers called a legion.
The legions could move faster and attack from various directions.
In 264 BC, the Romans went to war with the Carthaginians.
The Romans felt threatened by the neighboring civilization because they had a strong
navy.
The Romans built naval ships based on abandoned Carthaginian ships.
The Romans won the First Punic War but lost many ships during the war.
The Second Punic War began in 218 BC.
General Hannibal Barca led the Carthaginians against the Romans.
Hannibal won all of the battles until he reached the capital.
He could not break down the city walls.
Hannibal roamed for 15 years trying to break down the walls.
Finally, the Romans attacked Carthage forcing Hannibal to return home to defend his
homeland.
The Carthaginians lost the Second Punic War and were forced to pay a large amount of
money to the Romans and give up all of their territories.
After 50 years of peace the Romans attacked the Carthaginians again.
They burned the city and plowed salt into the field so that they would never regain
power.
The Romans also gained power over Greece by attacking the city-state of Corinth.
During Hannibal�s invasion many small farmers burned their fields to prevent Hannibal from eating their crops.
Small farmers could not afford to repair their fields.
Thus, small farms were replaced with many latifundias which patricians owned and could afford to build.
Latifundias were worked by enslaved people.
Roman power declined as Rome became larger.
Small farmers became very poor.
Merchants and artisans lost business because people wanted goods available from Greece and Syria.
The government officials were too busy getting rich that they could not help solve the government�s problems.
Many different leaders tried to solve Rome�s problems.
Groups such as reformers tried techniques such as moving the poor to the countryside and provided them with free wheat.
A series of leaders known as the generals tried to solve Rome�s problems by organizing a strong army.
One group of generals created the first triumvirate to rule Rome.
Unfortunately the members in the triumvirate had different ideas about how Rome should be ruled.
Julius Caesar, a member of the first triumvirate, eventually took power.
He was later killed and one member of his family helped create the second triumvirate.
Eventually a fight broke out amongst these rulers.
One of the members, Octavian won and became the first Roman emperor.
Octavian took the name Augustus.
Augustus was a clever ruler.
He brought back tradition to the Roman Empire.
He made the army swear allegiance to him.
He chose government officials based on their talent rather than their social status.
This gave enslaved people and those who were poor the opportunity to serve in the government.
He also took a census to determine if people were paying enough taxes.
Augustus beautified Rome.
He created rules for people to follow when they were in public.
A police and firefighting force were created.
A library was also built.
Augustus� rule began a period of 200 years known as Pax Romana.
Trade increased during this time.
Laws and money were made consistent throughout the empire.
Rich Romans lived in a house called a domus.
Most Romans were not rich and lived in apartments.
The father was the head of Roman household.
He arranged marriages to help improve social status and increase wealth.
All boys and girls went to school together until age 12.
At age 12 poor boys went to work while rich boys continued their studies to prepare for a political career.
At age 12 all girls stopped their formal education.
Rich girls continued schooling with a private tutoring.
Romans liked to visit bathhouses to relax.
They could not only get a warm shower.
They also played games, exercised, and socialized.
Romans also enjoyed watching free games.
Gladiators fought animals and each other for the enjoyment of the crowd.
Pax Romana ended after 200 years and soon the empire did not exist.
One reason for the empire�s downfall was a lack of rules about who should assume the position of emperor once the emperor died.
Another reason was the lack of money to continue paying large salaries to government officials to keep them loyal.
Third, foreign enemies attacked Roman frontiers.
Christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus.
Jesus was a Hebrew who lived in Palestine during Augustus� rule.
Jesus studied scriptures and worked as a carpenter.
At age 30 he began preaching to people while traveling around Palestine.
Jesus taught the people that God loved them like a father.
Also, he taught them to love God and one another.
He told them that God would forgive their sins as long as they were truly sorry.
He spoke in parables, stories about things that were familiar to them that revealed God�s message.
Some Hebrews felt that Jesus was the Messiah.
Also, Hebrews were tired of the high Roman taxes.
These two differences caused much unrest between the Romans and the Hebrews.
After preaching for three years Jesus was put to death for treason.
Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
For this reason he is called the Son of God, Christ, and the Messiah.
After Jesus� death, the disciple Paul taught Christianity to gentiles.
Christianity spread quickly during Pax Romana due to missionaries.
Romans were angered by the Christians beliefs.
They refused to honor the emperor as god and did not wish to hold public office.
Romans blamed Christians for many problems.
They made Christianity illegal, killing many Christians.
Christianity continued spread despite the numerous problems.
Those who were poor and enslaved particularly like the religion because of its promise for a better life.
Finally, Constantine I accepted Christianity and gave the people religious freedom.
He built churches and Christian schools.
Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and outlawed other religions.
Apostles taught scriptures and gospels to churches of people that were only small groups of people in the beginning of the faith.
Later as the churches grew they came to be known as parishes.
Priests lead the parish in learning the scriptures and gospels.
Groups of parishes were known as a diocese.
Each diocese was lead by bishops.
The most important bishops were called archbishops.
Of all the archbishops, five were selected to be the patriarchs.
The archbishop of Rome soon claimed power over the other bishops.
He later became the pope.
Those who spoke Latin accepted him as the leader of the church while those who spoke Greek did not.
The two groups separated in 1054 AD.
Those who followed the pope were known as the Roman Catholic Church.
Those who did not follow the pope were known as the Eastern Orthodox Church.
As the Christian religion began, the Christian scriptures or New Testament was being written.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus� early followers, wrote accounts of Jesus� life and teachings.
Letters written by Paul and other disciples were also included.
Bishops met to decide on Christian doctrine or statements of faith.
Jerome, a scholar, translated the Bible to Latin.
This became the Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church.
St. Augustine also wrote a book defending Christianity against those who thought it caused the destruction of the Roman Empire.