Ancient Rome IES AL-QÁZERES susana gonzález prado

THE STAGES OF ROMAN

HISTORY

• Roman civilization lasted for

twelve centuries, from the eighth

century BC to the fifth century

AD. it is usually divided into three

stages:

• The Monarchy (753-509 BC)

• The Republic (509-27 BC)

• The Empire (27BC-AD 476)

Source:

http://es.museicapitolini.org/collezioni/percorsi_per_sale/appa

rtamento_dei_conservatori/sala_della_lupa/lupa_capitolina

THE MONARCHY

753 BC-509 BC

The Roman Monarchy

(753 BC-509BC)

• There was a Monarchy during the earliest period of Roman history: An elected king was chosen by patricians, who were important, wealthy people.

• A senate advised the king. This assembly was made up of senators from prominent families.

• In the sixth century BC, the Etruscans conquered Rome. However, The Romans resisted the Etruscans, and eventually defeated them. The last Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed in 509 BC. This was the end of the Monarchy.

Source: De Lucas Cranach el Viejo, Dominio público,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3584455

6

534-510 B.C. - L. Tarquinius Superbus

‘Tarquin the Proud (L. Tarquinius Superbus) was the last king of Rome.

During his tyrannical reign, Romans reached the end of their toleration for

arbitrary monarchs, and were ready to invent a remarkable form of

government: the Republic.

The story of the Rape of Lucretia was a popular Roman tale, which

explained the downfall of Tarquinius. The story goes like this: Roman men

spoke of their wives at home and decided to return and surprise them. Only

Lucretia, wife to Collatinus, was behaving in a chaste and modest fashion,

while her husband was gone. Overcome with desire, Tarquin's son, Sextus,

returned and raped Lucretia. She told her husband what had happened

and urged him to avenge her. She then took her own life. This incident

sparked a revolution. The revolt was led by Lucius Junius Brutus and

Collatinus, and the result was that Tarquin was exiled from Rome’.

Source : http://www.historywiz.com/tarquin.htm

THE REPUBLIC

509-27 BC

Image source:

https://cens30primercurso.blogspot.co

m.es/2012/05/roma-monarquia-

republica-imperio.html

image by Kasper Hol l wikipidia commons

The Republic and Roman expansion

A Republic was established after the expulsion of the Etruscans. It had three main

institutions:

The comitia were assemblies where Roman citizens voted laws and elected magistrates.

Magistrates were elected to hold political authority for one year. The leading magistrates

were two consuls, who were in charge of administration and the army.

The Senate was the most important institution. It directed the magistrates and decided

foreign policy.

Image source : Cesare Maccari [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Expansion across THE Mediterranean

Under the Republic, Rome acquired many new territories:

It conquered all the Italian Peninsula between 500 and 250 BC.

It fought against Carthage, the dominant power in North Africa. Rome was victorious in the

Punic Wars ( 264-146 BC)

In the second and first centuries BC, Rome conquered Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean.

It also expanded into other parts of Europe

IMAGE SOURCE http://www.ocesaronada.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/elefantes-cartago-600x350.jpg :

The consequences of expansion

The expansion had a great impact on the Roman Republic: Economy. The conquests created great wealth in products, slaves and taxes.

Politics. The Senate did not control the governors in the provinces very well, so corruption spread.

Society. A few people had nearly all the wealth. Inequality caused social discontent and revolts.

Image source : The Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. The Temple of Saturn.

Panorama taken in two shots and stitched together.

Photographer: Hans E C Johansson, 2004.

In the first century BC, the Republic was weakened by corruption and internal conflicts. The

power of the army grew. However, important generals opposed each other and civil wars

broke out.

The general Julius Caesar was victorious in one of these wars, and was proclaimed dictator..

But in 44 BC he was assassinated by senators who were sympathetic to the Republic.

His nephew Octavian won a new civil war. The Republic ended when Octavian became the

Emperor Augustus in 27 BC.

Image source :

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Karl_Theodor_von_Piloty_Murder_of_Caesar_1865.jpg

The end of the Republic

THE EMPIRE

(27 BC-AD 476)

The empire year 117 AD , image source De Roman Empire Trajan 117AD-pt.svg: Tataryn77 (Discusión ·

contribuciones)derivative work: rowanwindwhistler (Discusión) - Roman Empire Trajan 117AD-pt.svg, CC BY-SA 4.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41816456

Augustus, the

first emperor

In 27 BC, Augustus introduced a new

form of government: the Empire.

The emperor held the highest political,

military and religious authority. He

directed foreign policy, dictated laws

and decides taxes.

The Senate still existed, but could only

confirm the emperor’s decisions.

The position of emperor was not

hereditary. However, many emperors

were related to each other, so dynasties

were created.

Image source :

De Till Niermann - Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=

388210

PAX ROMANA

The empire was stable and prosperous in the first and second centuries AD.

There were several capable emperors like Vespasian, Trajan and Marcus Aurelius

Rome had a well-defended frontier, and there was little social unrest. The

Romans called this the Pax Romana (“Roman peace”).

Romanisation: the conquered peoples adopted the law, customs, beliefs and

language ( Latin) of the Romans. Many public works and buildings were

constructed throughout the empire.

At first, only the male inhabitants of Italy had full rights .But from AD 212 , all free men living in the empire became

citizens.

Image source : Detalle del arco de Constantino

Roma María J. Fuente (col. particular, 2001)

THE CRISIS OF THE THIRD

CENTURY

The Roman Empire faced a severe crisis in the third century:

Wars. Germanic tribes invade from the north, and the Persians attacked in the

east.

Political authority. Many emperors only ruled for a short time, and were then

deposes or assassinated.

Economic crisis. Trade declined because it was no longer safe to travel. But

taxation increased because the emperors needed to finance the wars.

Ruralisation. Cities were no longer safe, and urban residents had to pay high

taxes. Consequently, many people went to live in the countryside.

Image source :

De Adam Cuerden - Photograph, Dominio público,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2326105

PUBLIC BUILDINGS

Emerita Augusta plan. Image source

http://romeonrome.com/files/2015/11/emeritaCity.jpg

ROMAN TOWNS

• First the surveyors selected the place where the city would be built.

• They choose a flat but sloping site ( to insure good drainage) that was high enough to avoid future floods.

• A Roman priest examined the livers of a rabbit and a pheasant from the area to find out if it would be a healthy place in which to live

• When the animals were found to be without fault and an investigation of the land turned up no stagnant pools, the gods were thanked and the choice of the site was officially confirmed.

ROMAN TOWNS

• The soldiers and the slaves who traveled with them then set

up a military camp called a castrum.

• First they dug a protective ditch and erected a stockade

fence around a rectangular area. They were designed in the

form of a grid.

• Nest the two main streets were marked off- one running

from north to south , cardo, the other from east to west,

decumanus.

• They crossed a right angles above a long open space called

the forum where the soldiers would gather daily to receive

orders. Source : City: a story of Roman planning and construction. David Macaulay, Houghton Mifflin, 1983

ROMAN tOWNS

• The forum was used as a market place and for meetings. It had shops and offices on three sides and government offices on the other side.

• At one end of the forum was a large building called the basilica. There were temples too where the Roman gods were worshipped. Some towns had public baths, an open-air theatre and huge monumental arches.

• Many towns had running water and sewers. Aqueducts were bridges for bringing water to the towns.

• Only the rich had water piped to their houses; everyone else used water from public fountains. The only toilets were public lavatories, which were built around the town and connected to underground sewers.

• To learn more…

• http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/romans/towns.htm

• PBS - Roman City - David Macaulay

• https://youtu.be/9K7Yds8bWz4

ENTERTAIMENT

The roman circus •The building is long

and narrow.

• It did not have a

roof.

•The most popular

shows were chariot

races and horse

races. Image souce:

http://studyhallsuis.weebly.com/roman-

army--roman-empire.html

The AMPHITHEATRE

’It was a place where Roman citizens went to watch fights

between gladiators and wild animals, such as bears or lions. The bloodier the

battle, the more the crowd roared. The fighters were slaves or criminals whose

punishment was to risk a most gruesome death’.

Source : http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/romans/amplitheatre.htm

Image source : http://www.erepublik.com/hr/article/-moc-irish-community-

snapshot-2408370/1/20

PUBLIC BATHS

Roman Baths in BATH, ENGLAND

Image source :By Diliff - Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1231248

Guide to the Roman Baths

1. There are a separate entrances for women and men.

2. Get changed and leave your clothes in the apodyterium.

3. Go to the palaestra to do some exercise. You can play ball games or

wrestle.

4. Next, go to the tepiadarium, which is quite warm

5. Now get ready for the caldarium, which is really hot and sweaty

6. Then cool off with a swim in the frigidarium.

7. When you have finished, a salve will rub you with oil. Image source : https://infograph.venngage.com/p/23613/roman-baths

PUBLIC ROMAN BATHS

Public baths

All Roman towns have

public baths, whixh are

called thermae.

Since the bats are very

cheap, most men go once a

day.

People go to the bats to

wash, but also to do exercice

and to meet their friends. Hypocaustum from Vaison-la-

Romaine, Francia.

By No machine-readable author provided. Ohto Kokko assumed

(based on copyright claims). [GFDL

(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY 2.5

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia

Commons

The Legacy of the Romans

• spread of Latin

• foundations of Christianity

• influenced modern law and most of all

Constitutions in the World

• inventions included aqueducts, the Roman

baths, improved roads and sewage system,

use of concrete

Architecture

• Several of the most important themes in Roman architecture that we use today are:

• Attention to detail

• Domes

• Arches

• Columns

Attention to Detail

Source:http:// www.panoramio.com/photo/88386329

domes

BARREL VAULTS

Arches: Round arches

Aqueducts

The Romans built aqueducts and

dams to control the water and

bring it to their cities and towns.

They were reliable and lasted a long

time, some are still used today!

In Rome alone, there were 11 different aqueducts to provide

enough water for everyone.

Susana González Prado.