Grade 7-World History and Geography: The Roman Empire

1. The Roman Empire-Catherine Saullo

2. The Roman Empire

2.1. 30 BCE-476 CE- The term “Roman Empire” refers to the time period, beginning with Augustus, when Rome was ruled by emperors

2.2. Activity-Virtual Tour of Imperial Rome Digging through time (video) | Ancient Rome | Khan Academy

3. Octavian becomes Augustus, who said, “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.”

3.1. Octavian was sole ruler of Rome after his forces defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium

3.2. The Senate gave him the name “Augustus,” meaning “most high”

3.2.1. 23 BCE – Octavian, now referred to as Augustus, was made consul for life by the Senate .

3.2.1.1. He had the power to call the Senate, veto the Senate’s laws, and make laws himself

3.3. Rome under Augustus – a golden age

3.3.1. Attempted to reform public morals by promoting family life (largely unsuccessful). He began the practice of declaring emperors gods, and of picking their own successors. He called Haley’s Comet the spirit of Caesar. He built and maintained the empire’s infrastructure, roads. He encouraged the growth of business. He established fire and police departments for Rome. Established a strong money system. Finally, Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was born in the Roman province of Judea during the reign of Augustus.

3.4. Activity: Pass out Biography Graphic Organizer at the beginning of the lesson then break them up into groups of four (4) to compare and contrast

4. Constantine (312-337 CE)

4.1. Moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium

4.2. Constantine and Christianity

4.2.1. His mother, Helena, had converted to Christianity

4.2.2. Christianity started in the Roman province of Judea

4.2.2.1. Renamed the city Constantinople. Today the city is Istanbul (in modern Turkey)

4.2.2.2. Christianity legalized (religious toleration) Constantine converted to Christianity on his deathbed

4.2.2.3. Pax Romana and Roman infrastructure

4.2.2.3.1. Early Christians, as residents/citizens of the Roman Empire, could travel freely throughout the empire. There was a significant number of Christians in Rome by 64 CE, the year Nero blamed them for the fire (circa 30 years after Jesus died). According to tradition, Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul) used his Roman citizenship to have his criminal trial relocated to Rome from Caesarea (in Judea-Palestine) in the 60s CE

4.2.2.3.2. Christianity finally gained acceptance with the Edict of Milan (313 CE) and Constantine’s conversion

5. Justinian (527-565 CE)

5.1. Powerful emperor of the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire headquartered at Constantinople. Married Theodora, an intelligent courtesan

5.1.1. Managed to reunite the Eastern and Western empires for a time, but this did not last

5.1.1.1. Rewrote Roman law (Corpus Juris Civilis, or the Justinian Code). It is still the basis for civil law in several countries

5.1.1.1.1. Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE). The Bubonic plague severely hurt the Byzantine Empire. The Emperor Justinian became sick, but recovered. The recovery for the Byzantine Empire took hundreds of years

6. The two empires

6.1. Emperor Diocletian had believed that dividing the empire for administrative purposes would strengthen the empire. However, once Constantine set up Constantinople as a capital city, the east/west split deepened

6.2. The Western (Roman) Empire officially ended in 476 CE when the last emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed by a barbarian, Odoacer.

6.3. Eastern (Byzantine) Empire lasted until 1453 when the empire was conquered by the Ottoman Turks.

7. Everlasting contributions

7.1. The sculptures, bust, paintings and mosaic

7.2. Engineering

7.3. Colosseum

7.4. Roman baths

7.5. Roman numerals

7.6. Roman law

7.7. Literature

8. The Roman Republic

8.1. Rome first grew into power as a Republic

8.2. Rome's Leader's, such as senators, were elected officials that served fora limited amount of time, not kings, who were born into leadership and ruled for life.

8.3. Roman districts were divided into two distinct classes: the patricians and plebeian

8.3.1. Patricians were the wealthy and aristocratic

8.3.2. Plebeian were the rest

8.4. They had a complex government with written laws, a constitution, and a balance of powers. These concepts became very important in forming future democratic governments, like the United States.

9. Primus inter pares

9.1. “First among equals”

9.1.1. Being “first among equals” gave the illusion that an emperor was the most prestigious and important member of the Roman Senate, but that each senator was simultaneously equally important. In reality, the Roman emperors ruled with little input from anyone else

10. The Fall of the Roman Empire

10.1. Economic Reasons. A gap between rich and poor. Impoverished workers became tied to the land as coloni (sold as the land was sold). As fewer members of the lower classes could afford to buy goods (no purchasing power), manufacturing and trade declined. Lastly, a large estates became self-sufficient, further hurting manufacturing and trade

10.2. Military reasons. The Roman Republic: The armies were servants of Rome The Roman Empire: Armies made and unmade emperors, and reliance on barbarian troops. They were not ultimately loyal to Rome. In addition, they could not be counted on to fight their fellow barbarians. Lastly, interested in obtaining booty, not defending Rome or furthering Rome’s interests

10.3. Political reasons. A decline in patriotism: Democracy did not exist in reality. The citizens lost their tie (voting rights) to the state. Patriotism became based on loyalty to an emperor, not to Rome; most emperors did not inspire respect or have loyalty and the East/West were split.Two empires created problems regarding loyalty; no orderly succession. In addition, murders, forced suicides, and civil wars frequently accompanied the transition from one emperor to the next

10.4. Social reasons were population decline, hunger, plagues, and war

10.5. Religious divisions: Eastern and Egyptian cults took away the popularity and status of traditional Roman religion. The New faiths like Christianity directly questioned and challenged concepts such as imperial divinity

11. Geographic Boarders

11.1. The borders of the Roman Empire, which fluctuated throughout the empire's history, were a combination of natural frontiers (the Rhine and Danube rivers to the north and east, the Atlantic to the west, and deserts to the south) and man-made fortifications which separated the lands of the empire from the "barbarian" lands beyond.

11.2. The limes consisted of fortresses for legions or vexillations (e.g. Segedunum) as well as a system of roads for the rapid transit of troops and, in some places, extensive walls. Perhaps the most famous example of these is Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain, which was built across the entire width of the island to protect from attack from tribes located in modern-day Scotland.

11.3. Northern boarders: After conquering much of the modern landmass of Great Britain, the Romans halted their northern expansion at the southern fringe of Caledonia, what is now central Scotland. This left them with a border shared with a people who made repeated raids and insurrections against them. Unlike other borders throughout the empire, there was no natural border to fall back on such as desert or wide river that crossed the whole peninsula, so instead a series of defenses were built in southern to mid-Scotland in order to protect the province of Britannia from the Caledonians and later the Picts.

11.4. Eastern boarders: The eastern borders changed many times, of which the most enduring was the Euphrates river, bordering the Parthian Empire in modern Iran and western Iraq. Rome advanced beyond the Euphrates for a time upon defeating their rivals, the Parthians in 116 AD, when Trajan captured Ctesiphon, and established new provinces in Assyria and Babylonia. Later that year he took the Parthian capital, Susa, and deposed the Parthian King Osroes I.

11.5. Southern boarders: At its greatest extent, the southern borders were the deserts of Arabia and the Sahara, that represented a natural barrier to prevent expansion. The Empire controlled the Mediterranean shores and the mountains opposite. However the Romans attempted twice to occupy effectively the Siwa Oasis (and failed) and controlled the Nile many miles into Africa until the 1st Cataract near the modern border between Egypt and Sudan.

11.6. Western borders: The western borders were mainly protected by the Atlantic coast and unfortified.

12. Activity: Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/180338701/roman-empire-kahoot-flash-cards/