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Waldorf ~ 6th grade ~ Roman History ~ Roman Technology ~ main lesson book | Waldorf Steiner Class 6 | Pinterest | History classroom, 6th grade social studies and Ancient Rome

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Waldorf ~ 6th grade ~ Roman History ~ Roman Technology ~ main lesson book

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Teach a World History unit on Ancient Rome, all the resources, lessons, hand outs, and PowerPoints you need are right here! | Creative world History | Pinterest | Ancient Rome, Rome and Ancient world history

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Teach a World History unit on Ancient Rome, all the resources, lessons, hand outs, and PowerPoints you need are right here!

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Ancient Rome: Class Structure Simulation

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Ancient Rome: Class Structure Simulation

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Build a road to learn about ancient history!! The ancient Romans used roads for so much! Click to read more! Perfect for preschool through 5th garde!

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The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Social Order | PBS

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Traditionally, Roman society was extremely rigid. By the first century, however, the need for capable men to run Rome's vast empire was slowly eroding the old social barriers. The social structure of ancient Rome was based on heredity, property, wealth, citizenship and freedom.

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Busts of First Century Emperors

The story of Rome's Emperors in the first century AD has got it all – love, murder and revenge, fear and greed, envy and pride.

Their history is a rollercoaster that lurches from peace and prosperity to terror and tyranny.

Hereditary rule

Why was the first century so turbulent? The first answer is simple: hereditary rule. For most of this period, emperors were not chosen on the basis of their ability or honesty, but simply because they were born in the right family.

For every great leader, such as Augustus, there was a tyrant like Caligula. For every Claudius there was a Nero; for every Vespasian, a Domitian. Only at the end of the period did Rome take the succession into its own hands and select somebody who was reasonably sane, smart and honest.

Force and violence

What's more, the empire started through violence and depended on force. Emperors could only survive if their people believed they could outgun anyone and everyone else. If an army grew dissatisfied, the emperor was in trouble; if dissatisfaction spread further, he was finished.

Civil war had brought Caesar to power. Once emperor and without an obvious heir, he had adopted Augustus. He may have been the first to choose a successor and call it hereditary succession, but he was not the last – Claudius sidelined his own son in favor of Nero, while Nerva "adopted" Trajan to ensure a smooth succession.

With the Imperial throne offering such enormous power, and the rules of inheritance always open to interpretation, it's no wonder that members of the royal family jostled for position or used extreme methods to get the result they wanted.

Job for life

Finally, once on the throne, there was no easy exit. Emperors had no elections or term limits, no early retirement or pension plans. It was a job for life, so if an emperor was mad, bad or dangerous, the only solution was to cut that life short. Everybody knew it, so paranoia ruled.

For many, the sacrifices required to get the top job were enormous: Tiberius had to divorce the woman he loved for one he did not; Caligula saw most of his family executed or exiled; Claudius was betrayed and then poisoned by the women he loved.

Although the rewards of power were enormous, many smaller players – like Titus, Galba or Vitellius – barely had time to try on the imperial robes before they died. In the first century, politics could seriously damage your health.

Where to next:
The Social Order in Ancient Rome – Emperors and Patricians
Religion in Ancient Rome – Roman worship

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The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Emperors. Emperors | PBS

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Busts of First Century Emperors The story of Rome's Emperors in the first century AD has got it all - love, murder and revenge, fear and greed, envy and pride. Their history is a rollercoaster that lurches from peace and prosperity to terror and tyranny. Hereditary rule Why was the first century so turbulent?

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The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Relgion | PBS

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The Roman Empire Republic to Empire Age of Augustus Years of Trial Empire Reborn Emperors Social Order Life in Roman Times Writers Enemies and Rebels Religion - Mythology - Roman Gods - Worship - Jews in Roman Times - Early Christians - Augustus - Philo - Paul - Jesus

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Ancient Rome - Achievements and Inventions for Kids and Teachers - arches, concrete, mosaics, footwear, language, calendar, propaganda techniques, law and more - Ancient Rome for Kids

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The Romans were very good at copying other peoples ideas, but they rarely gave other civilizations credit for these ideas. According to the ancient Romans, everything was invented by Romans. They actually did invent or achieve some important things themselves, things we…

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The Horrible Life of an Average Roman Empire Slave

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Fall of The Roman Empire...in the 15th Century: Crash Course World History #12

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Interactive source when students act it out

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Kids learn about how Ancient Rome went from a republic to an empire including the First and Second Triumvirates, Julius Caesar, the Roman Civil War, Octavian, Mark Antony, and the beginning of the Roman Empire.

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Origins of Rome

As legend has it, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war. Left to drown in a basket on the Tiber by a king of nearby Alba Longa and rescued by a she-wolf, the twins lived to defeat that king and found their own city on the river's banks in 753 B.C. After killing his brother, Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named for him.

A line of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan (earlier Italian civilizations) kings followed in a non-hereditary succession. There are seven legendary kings of Rome: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud (534-510 B.C.). While they were referred to as "Rex," or "King" in Latin, all the kings after Romulus were elected by the senate.

Did you know? Four decades after Constantine made Christianity Rome's official religion, Emperor Julian-known as the Apostate-tried to revive the pagan cults and temples of the past, but the process was reversed after his death, and Julian was the last pagan emperor of Rome.

Rome's era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of its seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, whom ancient historians portrayed as cruel and tyrannical, compared to his benevolent predecessors. A popular uprising was said to have arisen over the rape of a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, by the king's son. Whatever the cause, Rome turned from a monarchy into a republic, a world derived from res publica, or "property of the people."

Rome was built on seven hills, known as "the seven hills of Rome"-Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Aventine Hill, Capitoline Hill, Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill and Caelian Hill.

The Early Republic

The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. They also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. Politics in the early republic was marked by the long struggle between patricians and plebeians (the common people), who eventually attained some political power through years of concessions from patricians, including their own political bodies, the tribunes, which could initiate or veto legislation.

In 450 B.C., the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets-known as the Twelve Tables-and publicly displayed in the Roman Forum. These laws included issues of legal procedure, civil rights and property rights and provided the basis for all future Roman civil law. By around 300 B.C., real political power in Rome was centered in the Senate, which at the time included only members of patrician and wealthy plebeian families.

Military Expansion

During the early republic, the Roman state grew exponentially in both size and power. Though the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in 390 B.C., the Romans rebounded under the leadership of the military hero Camillus, eventually gaining control of the entire Italian peninsula by 264 B.C. Rome then fought a series of wars known as the Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa.

The first two Punic Wars ended with Rome in full control of Sicily, the western Mediterranean and much of Spain. In the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.), the Romans captured and destroyed the city of Carthage and sold its surviving inhabitants into slavery, making a section of northern Africa a Roman province. At the same time, Rome also spread its influence east, defeating King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and turning his kingdom into another Roman province.

Rome's military conquests led directly to its cultural growth as a society, as the Romans benefited greatly from contact with such advanced cultures as the Greeks. The first Roman literature appeared around 240 B.C., with translations of Greek classics into Latin; Romans would eventually adopt much of Greek art, philosophy and religion.

Internal Struggles in the Late Republic

Rome's complex political institutions began to crumble under the weight of the growing empire, ushering in an era of internal turmoil and violence. The gap between rich and poor widened as wealthy landowners drove small farmers from public land, while access to government was increasingly limited to the more privileged classes. Attempts to address these social problems, such as the reform movements of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (in 133 B.C. and 123-22 B.C., respectively) ended in the reformers' deaths at the hands of their opponents.

Gaius Marius, a commoner whose military prowess elevated him to the position of consul (for the first of six terms) in 107 B.C., was the first of a series of warlords who would dominate Rome during the late republic. By 91 B.C., Marius was struggling against attacks by his opponents, including his fellow general Sulla, who emerged as military dictator around 82 B.C. After Sulla retired, one of his former supporters, Pompey, briefly served as consul before waging successful military campaigns against pirates in the Mediterranean and the forces of Mithridates in Asia. During this same period, Marcus Tullius Cicero, elected consul in 63 B.C., famously defeated the conspiracy of the patrician Cataline and won a reputation as one of Rome's greatest orators.

Julius Caesar's Rise

When the victorious Pompey returned to Rome, he formed an uneasy alliance known as the First Triumvirate with the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus (who suppressed a slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 B.C.) and another rising star in Roman politics: Gaius Julius Caesar. After earning military glory in Spain, Caesar returned to Rome to vie for the consulship in 59 B.C. From his alliance with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar received the governorship of three wealthy provinces in Gaul beginning in 58 B.C.; he then set about conquering the rest of the region for Rome.

After Pompey's wife Julia (Caesar's daughter) died in 54 B.C. and Crassus was killed in battle against Parthia (present-day Iran) the following year, the triumvirate was broken. With old-style Roman politics in disorder, Pompey stepped in as sole consul in 53 B.C. Caesar's military glory in Gaul and his increasing wealth had eclipsed Pompey's, and the latter teamed with his Senate allies to steadily undermine Caesar. In 49 B.C., Caesar and one of his legions crossed the Rubicon, a river on the border between Italy from Cisalpine Gaul. Caesar's invasion of Italy ignited a civil war from which he emerged as dictator of Rome for life in 45 B.C.

From Caesar to Augustus

Less than a year later, Julius Caesar was murdered on the ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.) by a group of his enemies (led by the republican nobles Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius). Consul Mark Antony and Caesar's great-nephew and adopted heir, Octavian, joined forces to crush Brutus and Cassius and divided power in Rome with ex-consul Lepidus in what was known as the Second Triumvirate. With Octavian leading the western provinces, Antony the east, and Lepidus Africa, tensions developed by 36 B.C. and the triumvirate soon dissolved. In 31 B.C., Octavian triumped over the forces of Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt (also rumored to be the onetime lover of Julius Caesar) in the Battle of Actium. In the wake of this devastating defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

By 29 B.C., Octavian was the sole leader of Rome and all its provinces. To avoid meeting Caesar's fate, he made sure to make his position as absolute ruler acceptable to the public by apparently restoring the political institutions of the Roman republic while in reality retaining all real power for himself. In 27 B.C., Octavian assumed the title of Augustus, becoming the first emperor of Rome.

Age of the Roman Emperors

Augustus' rule restored morale in Rome after a century of discord and corruption and ushered in the famous pax Romana -two full centuries of peace and prosperity. He instituted various social reforms, won numerous military victories and allowed Roman literature, art, architecture and religion to flourish. Augustus ruled for 56 years, supported by his great army and by a growing cult of devotion to the emperor. When he died, the Senate elevated Augustus to the status of a god, beginning a long-running tradition of deification for popular emperors.

Augustus' dynasty included the unpopular Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), the bloodthirsty and unstable Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), who was best remembered for his army's conquest of Britain. The line ended with Nero (54-68), whose excesses drained the Roman treasury and led to his downfall and eventual suicide.

Four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero's death; the fourth, Vespasian (69-79), and his successors, Titus and Domitian, were known as the Flavians; they attempted to temper the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. Titus (79-81) earned his people's devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii.

The reign of Nerva (96-98), who was selected by the Senate to succeed Domitian, began another golden age in Roman history, during which four emperors-Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius-took the throne peacefully, succeeding one another by adoption, as opposed to hereditary succession. Trajan (98-117) expanded Rome's borders to the greatest extent in history with victories over the kingdoms of Dacia (now northwestern Romania) and Parthia. His successor Hadrian (117-138) solidified the empire's frontiers (famously building Hadrian's Wall in present-day England) and continued his predecessor's work of establishing internal stability and instituting administrative reforms.

Under Antoninus Pius (138-161), Rome continued in peace and prosperity, but the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180) was dominated by conflict, including war against Parthia and Armenia and the invasion of Germanic tribes from the north. When Marcus fell ill and died near the battlefield at Vindobona (Vienna), he broke with the tradition of non-hereditary succession and named his 19-year-old son Commodus as his successor.

Decline and Disintegration

The decadence and incompetence of Commodus (180-192) brought the golden age of the Roman emperors to a disappointing end. His death at the hands of his own ministers sparked another period of civil war, from which Lucius Septimius Severus (193-211) emerged victorious. During the third century Rome suffered from a cycle of near-constant conflict. A total of 22 emperors took the throne, many of them meeting violent ends at the hands of the same soldiers who had propelled them to power. Meanwhile, threats from outside plagued the empire and depleted its riches, including continuing aggression from Germans and Parthians and raids by the Goths over the Aegean Sea.

The reign of Diocletian (284-305) temporarily restored peace and prosperity in Rome, but at a high cost to the unity of the empire. Diocletian divided power into the so-called tetrarchy (rule of four), sharing his title of Augustus (emperor) with Maximian. A pair of generals, Galerius and Constantius, were appointed as the assistants and chosen successors of Diocletian and Maximian; Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern Roman Empire, while Maximian and Constantius took power in the west.

The stability of this system suffered greatly after Diocletian and Maximian retired from office. Constantine (the son of Constantius) emerged from the ensuing power struggles as sole emperor of a reunified Rome in 324. He moved the Roman capital to the Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. At the Council of Nicaea in 325, Constantine made Christianity (once an obscure Jewish sect) Rome's official religion.

Roman unity under Constantine proved illusory, and 30 years after his death the eastern and western empires were again divided. Despite its continuing battle against Persian forces, the eastern Roman Empire-later known as the Byzantine Empire-would remain largely intact for centuries to come. An entirely different story played out in the west, where the empire was wracked by internal conflict as well as threats from abroad-particularly from the Germanic tribes now established within the empire's frontiers like the Vandals (their sack of Rome originated the phrase "vandalism")-and was steadily losing money due to constant warfare.

Rome eventually collapsed under the weight of its own bloated empire, losing its provinces one by one: Britain around 410; Spain and northern Africa by 430. Attila and his brutal Huns invaded Gaul and Italy around 450, further shaking the foundations of the empire. In September 476, a Germanic prince named Odovacar won control of the Roman army in Italy. After deposing the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, Odovacar's troops proclaimed him king of Italy, bringing an ignoble end to the long, tumultuous history of ancient Rome. The fall of the Roman Empire was complete.

Roman Architecture

Roman architecture and engineering innovations have had a lasting impact on the modern world. Roman aqueducts, first developed in 312 B.C., enabled the rise of cities by transporting water to urban areas, improving public health and sanitation. Some Roman aqueducts transported water up to 60 miles from its source and the Fountain of Trevi in Rome still relies on an updated version of an original Roman aqueduct.

Roman cement and concrete are part of the reason ancient buildings like the Colosseum and Roman Forum are still standing strong today. Roman arches, or segmented arches, improved upon earlier arches to build strong bridges and buildings, evenly distributing weight throughout the structure.

Roman roads, the most advanced roads in the ancient world, enabled the Roman Empire-which was over 1.7 million square miles at the pinnacle of its power-to stay connected. They included such modern-seeming innovations as mile markers and drainage. Over 50,000 miles of road were built by 200 B.C. and several are still in use today.

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Ancient Rome - Facts, Location, & Timeline

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The Roman Empire, founded in 27 B.C., was a vast and powerful domain that gave rise to the culture, laws, technologies and institutions that continue to define Western civilization.

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Class activity: students research one of the 10 events

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Rome was founded in 753 BCE by Romulus and Remus located along the Mediterranean Sea. Rome expanded vastly and became the largest empire of the ancient era with the population of 50 to 80 million population. Rome started as an Iron Age hunt village in the mid of 8th country BC. It had expanded into 6.5 million square kilometers, civilization shifted from a monarchy to a classical republic to an increasingly autocratic empire during its 12 centuries of existences. Rome history was divided into three different era -Before the rise of Rome, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire. In the list I have tried to covered most of the important events that occurred in Roman history before the beginning of A.D

10. Roman Empire Begun in 753 BCE brothers Romulus and Remus

Pic credit Roman empire

The twin brother Romulus and Remulus were abandoned by their parents. It was believed that they were tossed by their parents into the Tiber River. The basket ran aground and was found by the mother wolf, who was believed to be the mother of two legend. The wolf took care of both baby for a while before it was being found by the shepherd. The shepherd adopted the two baby. When both of them became adult they decided to found a city where they were adopted at their earliest childhood by the wolf. There was certain disagreement between Romulus and Remus about the site location of the city. Romulus killed Remus the city Rome was named after his name. The Archaeologist still provides the several view point about the existence of life before Rome was found. However, Romulus is taken as founder of Rome city with his brother Remulus.

9. Rome Became Republic 509 BCE

Pic Credit: committogrow

Roman was developed into the big city empire, ruled by king at the beginning. In 509 BCE Romans formed a new structure of government- The Republic. The roman structure was followed partly over centuries in the different countries. The Roman republic starts when the roman overthrew their Etruscan conqueror. Etruscan had ruled Romans for hundreds of years. They setup the new government once they were freed from Etruscan dominion. The new government allows the citizen to select the representative to rule on their behalf. The citizen of the Rome differenced themselves from non-citizen and slaves by wearing a toga. There were a variety of class between citizen as well with the different privileged and social status.

8. The Laws of the Twelve Tables 449 BCE

Pic Credit: crystalinks

The Law of Twelve Tables was one of the earliest surviving law codes. There was a struggle between Patricians (privileged class), Plebeians (common people) to protect the legal, social and civil rights. A commission of ten men was appointed called Decemviri at 433 BCE to write a code of law that is suitable for both parties. Before the Twelve law the private law comprised by the Roman civil law was applied to the Roman Citizen. The law of the twelve table can found here .

7. Hannibal invades Italy 218 BCE

Pic Credit: suits

Hannibal was a Carthaginian military commander who was popularly known as one of the best and most talented commander in the history. After the first Punic war there was a temporary peace between Carthage and Romans. Both economics was dependent in the Mediterranean Sea. The development of the commerce trade lanes from the Eastern countries like Greece and Lebanon was purely dependent on Mediterranean Sea. After the death of Hannibal father Hamilcar, Hannibal came into power. He started preparing to defeat Roman. After the years of preparation, Hannibal was ready. During the first engagement Hannibal's cavalry won a victory over Scipio's forces near the Ticinus River, followed by the victor at Trebia River. Hannibal planned to control northern Italy. Roman withdraw all its force from central Italy to prepared for the Hannibal attack.

6. The city of Roma expelled all non-Roman citizens (except slaves) 98 BCE

There was a drastic point in the Rome where non roman weren't allowed to stay in the Rome. All non-Romans expect slaves were expelled from the Rome.

5. Roma introduces the gold coin "aureus" 50 BCE

Pic Credit: Wikipedia

Roman introduced its first Gold coin name Aureus. It was valued at 25 silver denarii. The aureus was used in most of the trading from 1st Century BC to 4th Century AD which was later replaced by Solidus. The size of Aureus was like denarius but little be heavier due to the higher density of Gold.

4. Julius Caesar becomes the first dictator of Rome 45 BCE

Pic Credit: pbworks

Gaius Julius Caesar was born on 12 July 100 BC in Rome. He is considered as greatest military strategist and brilliant politicians of all time. Caesar conquest the Gaul by 51 BC. He was the first Romans General that built bridge across the Rhine and commenced the invasion of Britain. The achievement provided Caesar's the supreme military power. He implemented the reforms of government and roman society overthrewing already existing government and proclaimed as the Dictator of the Rome

3. Julius Caesar was assassinated 44 BCE

Pic Credit: Classic Wisdom

The Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15(Ides of March) 44 BC by his own senators. The plan was led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. They stabbed Caesar at the location next to the Theater of Pompey.

2. Roman Empire began 27 BCE

Roman civilization changed drastically over the period of the time. Gaius Octavian Thurinus (Julius Caesar's nephew) became the first emperor of the Rome and took the name Augustus Caesar. Although Julius Caesar ruled Rome as the emperor for a while he was never considered as Emperor. He was title as "dictator". Augustus ruled the Roman Empire from 31 BCE to 14 BCE. During his time he made many remarkable changes in the Rome. The Roman Empire faced predigest amount of stability and prosperity during its first two centuries which is also known as Pax Romana ("Roman Peace").

1. Augustus ended pontifex maximus 12 BCE

Pic Credit: durand-digitalgallery

Pontifex Maximus was the highest religious post in the Ancient Rome. It was only opened patricians until 254 BC. Later plebeian started occupying the post and suddenly it became politicized. When Augustus consolidated power. He had given the right to appoint other pontifices. The election of pontifices ended. The new Emperor was given all religious dignity and the responsibility for the entire Roman state
Final Conclusion
There are many notable events in the Rome before A.D. Rome surpassed the drastic change. The political and social structure had changed dramatically over the period since its foundation. There had been a lot of change in the religion and architecture of the Rome. It is still believed that Rome had the most advanced architecture, culture, social structure is greatly influenced and followed in the different part of the world.

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Top 10 important events in Ancient Rome history

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Top 10 important events in Ancient Rome history before A.D. The Drastic change in the Rome from turning Roman republic into empire and other several events

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Roman Religion - The Romans learned how to speak and write in the Greek language -The Romans were able to interpret vows and performances from the sacrifices to the gods - Rome's Gods and religious...

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Origins of Rome

As legend has it, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war. Left to drown in a basket on the Tiber by a king of nearby Alba Longa and rescued by a she-wolf, the twins lived to defeat that king and found their own city on the river's banks in 753 B.C. After killing his brother, Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named for him.

A line of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan (earlier Italian civilizations) kings followed in a non-hereditary succession. There are seven legendary kings of Rome: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud (534-510 B.C.). While they were referred to as "Rex," or "King" in Latin, all the kings after Romulus were elected by the senate.

Did you know? Four decades after Constantine made Christianity Rome's official religion, Emperor Julian-known as the Apostate-tried to revive the pagan cults and temples of the past, but the process was reversed after his death, and Julian was the last pagan emperor of Rome.

Rome's era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of its seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, whom ancient historians portrayed as cruel and tyrannical, compared to his benevolent predecessors. A popular uprising was said to have arisen over the rape of a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, by the king's son. Whatever the cause, Rome turned from a monarchy into a republic, a world derived from res publica, or "property of the people."

Rome was built on seven hills, known as "the seven hills of Rome"-Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Aventine Hill, Capitoline Hill, Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill and Caelian Hill.

The Early Republic

The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. They also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. Politics in the early republic was marked by the long struggle between patricians and plebeians (the common people), who eventually attained some political power through years of concessions from patricians, including their own political bodies, the tribunes, which could initiate or veto legislation.

In 450 B.C., the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets-known as the Twelve Tables-and publicly displayed in the Roman Forum. These laws included issues of legal procedure, civil rights and property rights and provided the basis for all future Roman civil law. By around 300 B.C., real political power in Rome was centered in the Senate, which at the time included only members of patrician and wealthy plebeian families.

Military Expansion

During the early republic, the Roman state grew exponentially in both size and power. Though the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in 390 B.C., the Romans rebounded under the leadership of the military hero Camillus, eventually gaining control of the entire Italian peninsula by 264 B.C. Rome then fought a series of wars known as the Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa.

The first two Punic Wars ended with Rome in full control of Sicily, the western Mediterranean and much of Spain. In the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.), the Romans captured and destroyed the city of Carthage and sold its surviving inhabitants into slavery, making a section of northern Africa a Roman province. At the same time, Rome also spread its influence east, defeating King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and turning his kingdom into another Roman province.

Rome's military conquests led directly to its cultural growth as a society, as the Romans benefited greatly from contact with such advanced cultures as the Greeks. The first Roman literature appeared around 240 B.C., with translations of Greek classics into Latin; Romans would eventually adopt much of Greek art, philosophy and religion.

Internal Struggles in the Late Republic

Rome's complex political institutions began to crumble under the weight of the growing empire, ushering in an era of internal turmoil and violence. The gap between rich and poor widened as wealthy landowners drove small farmers from public land, while access to government was increasingly limited to the more privileged classes. Attempts to address these social problems, such as the reform movements of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (in 133 B.C. and 123-22 B.C., respectively) ended in the reformers' deaths at the hands of their opponents.

Gaius Marius, a commoner whose military prowess elevated him to the position of consul (for the first of six terms) in 107 B.C., was the first of a series of warlords who would dominate Rome during the late republic. By 91 B.C., Marius was struggling against attacks by his opponents, including his fellow general Sulla, who emerged as military dictator around 82 B.C. After Sulla retired, one of his former supporters, Pompey, briefly served as consul before waging successful military campaigns against pirates in the Mediterranean and the forces of Mithridates in Asia. During this same period, Marcus Tullius Cicero, elected consul in 63 B.C., famously defeated the conspiracy of the patrician Cataline and won a reputation as one of Rome's greatest orators.

Julius Caesar's Rise

When the victorious Pompey returned to Rome, he formed an uneasy alliance known as the First Triumvirate with the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus (who suppressed a slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 B.C.) and another rising star in Roman politics: Gaius Julius Caesar. After earning military glory in Spain, Caesar returned to Rome to vie for the consulship in 59 B.C. From his alliance with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar received the governorship of three wealthy provinces in Gaul beginning in 58 B.C.; he then set about conquering the rest of the region for Rome.

After Pompey's wife Julia (Caesar's daughter) died in 54 B.C. and Crassus was killed in battle against Parthia (present-day Iran) the following year, the triumvirate was broken. With old-style Roman politics in disorder, Pompey stepped in as sole consul in 53 B.C. Caesar's military glory in Gaul and his increasing wealth had eclipsed Pompey's, and the latter teamed with his Senate allies to steadily undermine Caesar. In 49 B.C., Caesar and one of his legions crossed the Rubicon, a river on the border between Italy from Cisalpine Gaul. Caesar's invasion of Italy ignited a civil war from which he emerged as dictator of Rome for life in 45 B.C.

From Caesar to Augustus

Less than a year later, Julius Caesar was murdered on the ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.) by a group of his enemies (led by the republican nobles Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius). Consul Mark Antony and Caesar's great-nephew and adopted heir, Octavian, joined forces to crush Brutus and Cassius and divided power in Rome with ex-consul Lepidus in what was known as the Second Triumvirate. With Octavian leading the western provinces, Antony the east, and Lepidus Africa, tensions developed by 36 B.C. and the triumvirate soon dissolved. In 31 B.C., Octavian triumped over the forces of Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt (also rumored to be the onetime lover of Julius Caesar) in the Battle of Actium. In the wake of this devastating defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

By 29 B.C., Octavian was the sole leader of Rome and all its provinces. To avoid meeting Caesar's fate, he made sure to make his position as absolute ruler acceptable to the public by apparently restoring the political institutions of the Roman republic while in reality retaining all real power for himself. In 27 B.C., Octavian assumed the title of Augustus, becoming the first emperor of Rome.

Age of the Roman Emperors

Augustus' rule restored morale in Rome after a century of discord and corruption and ushered in the famous pax Romana -two full centuries of peace and prosperity. He instituted various social reforms, won numerous military victories and allowed Roman literature, art, architecture and religion to flourish. Augustus ruled for 56 years, supported by his great army and by a growing cult of devotion to the emperor. When he died, the Senate elevated Augustus to the status of a god, beginning a long-running tradition of deification for popular emperors.

Augustus' dynasty included the unpopular Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), the bloodthirsty and unstable Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), who was best remembered for his army's conquest of Britain. The line ended with Nero (54-68), whose excesses drained the Roman treasury and led to his downfall and eventual suicide.

Four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero's death; the fourth, Vespasian (69-79), and his successors, Titus and Domitian, were known as the Flavians; they attempted to temper the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. Titus (79-81) earned his people's devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii.

The reign of Nerva (96-98), who was selected by the Senate to succeed Domitian, began another golden age in Roman history, during which four emperors-Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius-took the throne peacefully, succeeding one another by adoption, as opposed to hereditary succession. Trajan (98-117) expanded Rome's borders to the greatest extent in history with victories over the kingdoms of Dacia (now northwestern Romania) and Parthia. His successor Hadrian (117-138) solidified the empire's frontiers (famously building Hadrian's Wall in present-day England) and continued his predecessor's work of establishing internal stability and instituting administrative reforms.

Under Antoninus Pius (138-161), Rome continued in peace and prosperity, but the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180) was dominated by conflict, including war against Parthia and Armenia and the invasion of Germanic tribes from the north. When Marcus fell ill and died near the battlefield at Vindobona (Vienna), he broke with the tradition of non-hereditary succession and named his 19-year-old son Commodus as his successor.

Decline and Disintegration

The decadence and incompetence of Commodus (180-192) brought the golden age of the Roman emperors to a disappointing end. His death at the hands of his own ministers sparked another period of civil war, from which Lucius Septimius Severus (193-211) emerged victorious. During the third century Rome suffered from a cycle of near-constant conflict. A total of 22 emperors took the throne, many of them meeting violent ends at the hands of the same soldiers who had propelled them to power. Meanwhile, threats from outside plagued the empire and depleted its riches, including continuing aggression from Germans and Parthians and raids by the Goths over the Aegean Sea.

The reign of Diocletian (284-305) temporarily restored peace and prosperity in Rome, but at a high cost to the unity of the empire. Diocletian divided power into the so-called tetrarchy (rule of four), sharing his title of Augustus (emperor) with Maximian. A pair of generals, Galerius and Constantius, were appointed as the assistants and chosen successors of Diocletian and Maximian; Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern Roman Empire, while Maximian and Constantius took power in the west.

The stability of this system suffered greatly after Diocletian and Maximian retired from office. Constantine (the son of Constantius) emerged from the ensuing power struggles as sole emperor of a reunified Rome in 324. He moved the Roman capital to the Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. At the Council of Nicaea in 325, Constantine made Christianity (once an obscure Jewish sect) Rome's official religion.

Roman unity under Constantine proved illusory, and 30 years after his death the eastern and western empires were again divided. Despite its continuing battle against Persian forces, the eastern Roman Empire-later known as the Byzantine Empire-would remain largely intact for centuries to come. An entirely different story played out in the west, where the empire was wracked by internal conflict as well as threats from abroad-particularly from the Germanic tribes now established within the empire's frontiers like the Vandals (their sack of Rome originated the phrase "vandalism")-and was steadily losing money due to constant warfare.

Rome eventually collapsed under the weight of its own bloated empire, losing its provinces one by one: Britain around 410; Spain and northern Africa by 430. Attila and his brutal Huns invaded Gaul and Italy around 450, further shaking the foundations of the empire. In September 476, a Germanic prince named Odovacar won control of the Roman army in Italy. After deposing the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, Odovacar's troops proclaimed him king of Italy, bringing an ignoble end to the long, tumultuous history of ancient Rome. The fall of the Roman Empire was complete.

Roman Architecture

Roman architecture and engineering innovations have had a lasting impact on the modern world. Roman aqueducts, first developed in 312 B.C., enabled the rise of cities by transporting water to urban areas, improving public health and sanitation. Some Roman aqueducts transported water up to 60 miles from its source and the Fountain of Trevi in Rome still relies on an updated version of an original Roman aqueduct.

Roman cement and concrete are part of the reason ancient buildings like the Colosseum and Roman Forum are still standing strong today. Roman arches, or segmented arches, improved upon earlier arches to build strong bridges and buildings, evenly distributing weight throughout the structure.

Roman roads, the most advanced roads in the ancient world, enabled the Roman Empire-which was over 1.7 million square miles at the pinnacle of its power-to stay connected. They included such modern-seeming innovations as mile markers and drainage. Over 50,000 miles of road were built by 200 B.C. and several are still in use today.

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Ancient Rome - Facts, Location, & Timeline

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The Roman Empire, founded in 27 B.C., was a vast and powerful domain that gave rise to the culture, laws, technologies and institutions that continue to define Western civilization.

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Class activity researching one of the ancient ruins

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Origins of Rome

As legend has it, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war. Left to drown in a basket on the Tiber by a king of nearby Alba Longa and rescued by a she-wolf, the twins lived to defeat that king and found their own city on the river's banks in 753 B.C. After killing his brother, Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named for him.

A line of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan (earlier Italian civilizations) kings followed in a non-hereditary succession. There are seven legendary kings of Rome: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud (534-510 B.C.). While they were referred to as "Rex," or "King" in Latin, all the kings after Romulus were elected by the senate.

Did you know? Four decades after Constantine made Christianity Rome's official religion, Emperor Julian-known as the Apostate-tried to revive the pagan cults and temples of the past, but the process was reversed after his death, and Julian was the last pagan emperor of Rome.

Rome's era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of its seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, whom ancient historians portrayed as cruel and tyrannical, compared to his benevolent predecessors. A popular uprising was said to have arisen over the rape of a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, by the king's son. Whatever the cause, Rome turned from a monarchy into a republic, a world derived from res publica, or "property of the people."

Rome was built on seven hills, known as "the seven hills of Rome"-Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Aventine Hill, Capitoline Hill, Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill and Caelian Hill.

The Early Republic

The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. They also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. Politics in the early republic was marked by the long struggle between patricians and plebeians (the common people), who eventually attained some political power through years of concessions from patricians, including their own political bodies, the tribunes, which could initiate or veto legislation.

In 450 B.C., the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets-known as the Twelve Tables-and publicly displayed in the Roman Forum. These laws included issues of legal procedure, civil rights and property rights and provided the basis for all future Roman civil law. By around 300 B.C., real political power in Rome was centered in the Senate, which at the time included only members of patrician and wealthy plebeian families.

Military Expansion

During the early republic, the Roman state grew exponentially in both size and power. Though the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in 390 B.C., the Romans rebounded under the leadership of the military hero Camillus, eventually gaining control of the entire Italian peninsula by 264 B.C. Rome then fought a series of wars known as the Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa.

The first two Punic Wars ended with Rome in full control of Sicily, the western Mediterranean and much of Spain. In the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.), the Romans captured and destroyed the city of Carthage and sold its surviving inhabitants into slavery, making a section of northern Africa a Roman province. At the same time, Rome also spread its influence east, defeating King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and turning his kingdom into another Roman province.

Rome's military conquests led directly to its cultural growth as a society, as the Romans benefited greatly from contact with such advanced cultures as the Greeks. The first Roman literature appeared around 240 B.C., with translations of Greek classics into Latin; Romans would eventually adopt much of Greek art, philosophy and religion.

Internal Struggles in the Late Republic

Rome's complex political institutions began to crumble under the weight of the growing empire, ushering in an era of internal turmoil and violence. The gap between rich and poor widened as wealthy landowners drove small farmers from public land, while access to government was increasingly limited to the more privileged classes. Attempts to address these social problems, such as the reform movements of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (in 133 B.C. and 123-22 B.C., respectively) ended in the reformers' deaths at the hands of their opponents.

Gaius Marius, a commoner whose military prowess elevated him to the position of consul (for the first of six terms) in 107 B.C., was the first of a series of warlords who would dominate Rome during the late republic. By 91 B.C., Marius was struggling against attacks by his opponents, including his fellow general Sulla, who emerged as military dictator around 82 B.C. After Sulla retired, one of his former supporters, Pompey, briefly served as consul before waging successful military campaigns against pirates in the Mediterranean and the forces of Mithridates in Asia. During this same period, Marcus Tullius Cicero, elected consul in 63 B.C., famously defeated the conspiracy of the patrician Cataline and won a reputation as one of Rome's greatest orators.

Julius Caesar's Rise

When the victorious Pompey returned to Rome, he formed an uneasy alliance known as the First Triumvirate with the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus (who suppressed a slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 B.C.) and another rising star in Roman politics: Gaius Julius Caesar. After earning military glory in Spain, Caesar returned to Rome to vie for the consulship in 59 B.C. From his alliance with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar received the governorship of three wealthy provinces in Gaul beginning in 58 B.C.; he then set about conquering the rest of the region for Rome.

After Pompey's wife Julia (Caesar's daughter) died in 54 B.C. and Crassus was killed in battle against Parthia (present-day Iran) the following year, the triumvirate was broken. With old-style Roman politics in disorder, Pompey stepped in as sole consul in 53 B.C. Caesar's military glory in Gaul and his increasing wealth had eclipsed Pompey's, and the latter teamed with his Senate allies to steadily undermine Caesar. In 49 B.C., Caesar and one of his legions crossed the Rubicon, a river on the border between Italy from Cisalpine Gaul. Caesar's invasion of Italy ignited a civil war from which he emerged as dictator of Rome for life in 45 B.C.

From Caesar to Augustus

Less than a year later, Julius Caesar was murdered on the ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.) by a group of his enemies (led by the republican nobles Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius). Consul Mark Antony and Caesar's great-nephew and adopted heir, Octavian, joined forces to crush Brutus and Cassius and divided power in Rome with ex-consul Lepidus in what was known as the Second Triumvirate. With Octavian leading the western provinces, Antony the east, and Lepidus Africa, tensions developed by 36 B.C. and the triumvirate soon dissolved. In 31 B.C., Octavian triumped over the forces of Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt (also rumored to be the onetime lover of Julius Caesar) in the Battle of Actium. In the wake of this devastating defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

By 29 B.C., Octavian was the sole leader of Rome and all its provinces. To avoid meeting Caesar's fate, he made sure to make his position as absolute ruler acceptable to the public by apparently restoring the political institutions of the Roman republic while in reality retaining all real power for himself. In 27 B.C., Octavian assumed the title of Augustus, becoming the first emperor of Rome.

Age of the Roman Emperors

Augustus' rule restored morale in Rome after a century of discord and corruption and ushered in the famous pax Romana -two full centuries of peace and prosperity. He instituted various social reforms, won numerous military victories and allowed Roman literature, art, architecture and religion to flourish. Augustus ruled for 56 years, supported by his great army and by a growing cult of devotion to the emperor. When he died, the Senate elevated Augustus to the status of a god, beginning a long-running tradition of deification for popular emperors.

Augustus' dynasty included the unpopular Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), the bloodthirsty and unstable Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), who was best remembered for his army's conquest of Britain. The line ended with Nero (54-68), whose excesses drained the Roman treasury and led to his downfall and eventual suicide.

Four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero's death; the fourth, Vespasian (69-79), and his successors, Titus and Domitian, were known as the Flavians; they attempted to temper the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. Titus (79-81) earned his people's devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii.

The reign of Nerva (96-98), who was selected by the Senate to succeed Domitian, began another golden age in Roman history, during which four emperors-Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius-took the throne peacefully, succeeding one another by adoption, as opposed to hereditary succession. Trajan (98-117) expanded Rome's borders to the greatest extent in history with victories over the kingdoms of Dacia (now northwestern Romania) and Parthia. His successor Hadrian (117-138) solidified the empire's frontiers (famously building Hadrian's Wall in present-day England) and continued his predecessor's work of establishing internal stability and instituting administrative reforms.

Under Antoninus Pius (138-161), Rome continued in peace and prosperity, but the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180) was dominated by conflict, including war against Parthia and Armenia and the invasion of Germanic tribes from the north. When Marcus fell ill and died near the battlefield at Vindobona (Vienna), he broke with the tradition of non-hereditary succession and named his 19-year-old son Commodus as his successor.

Decline and Disintegration

The decadence and incompetence of Commodus (180-192) brought the golden age of the Roman emperors to a disappointing end. His death at the hands of his own ministers sparked another period of civil war, from which Lucius Septimius Severus (193-211) emerged victorious. During the third century Rome suffered from a cycle of near-constant conflict. A total of 22 emperors took the throne, many of them meeting violent ends at the hands of the same soldiers who had propelled them to power. Meanwhile, threats from outside plagued the empire and depleted its riches, including continuing aggression from Germans and Parthians and raids by the Goths over the Aegean Sea.

The reign of Diocletian (284-305) temporarily restored peace and prosperity in Rome, but at a high cost to the unity of the empire. Diocletian divided power into the so-called tetrarchy (rule of four), sharing his title of Augustus (emperor) with Maximian. A pair of generals, Galerius and Constantius, were appointed as the assistants and chosen successors of Diocletian and Maximian; Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern Roman Empire, while Maximian and Constantius took power in the west.

The stability of this system suffered greatly after Diocletian and Maximian retired from office. Constantine (the son of Constantius) emerged from the ensuing power struggles as sole emperor of a reunified Rome in 324. He moved the Roman capital to the Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. At the Council of Nicaea in 325, Constantine made Christianity (once an obscure Jewish sect) Rome's official religion.

Roman unity under Constantine proved illusory, and 30 years after his death the eastern and western empires were again divided. Despite its continuing battle against Persian forces, the eastern Roman Empire-later known as the Byzantine Empire-would remain largely intact for centuries to come. An entirely different story played out in the west, where the empire was wracked by internal conflict as well as threats from abroad-particularly from the Germanic tribes now established within the empire's frontiers like the Vandals (their sack of Rome originated the phrase "vandalism")-and was steadily losing money due to constant warfare.

Rome eventually collapsed under the weight of its own bloated empire, losing its provinces one by one: Britain around 410; Spain and northern Africa by 430. Attila and his brutal Huns invaded Gaul and Italy around 450, further shaking the foundations of the empire. In September 476, a Germanic prince named Odovacar won control of the Roman army in Italy. After deposing the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, Odovacar's troops proclaimed him king of Italy, bringing an ignoble end to the long, tumultuous history of ancient Rome. The fall of the Roman Empire was complete.

Roman Architecture

Roman architecture and engineering innovations have had a lasting impact on the modern world. Roman aqueducts, first developed in 312 B.C., enabled the rise of cities by transporting water to urban areas, improving public health and sanitation. Some Roman aqueducts transported water up to 60 miles from its source and the Fountain of Trevi in Rome still relies on an updated version of an original Roman aqueduct.

Roman cement and concrete are part of the reason ancient buildings like the Colosseum and Roman Forum are still standing strong today. Roman arches, or segmented arches, improved upon earlier arches to build strong bridges and buildings, evenly distributing weight throughout the structure.

Roman roads, the most advanced roads in the ancient world, enabled the Roman Empire-which was over 1.7 million square miles at the pinnacle of its power-to stay connected. They included such modern-seeming innovations as mile markers and drainage. Over 50,000 miles of road were built by 200 B.C. and several are still in use today.

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Ancient Rome - Facts, Location, & Timeline

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Roman Empire, founded in 27 B.C., was a vast and powerful domain that gave rise to the culture, laws, technologies and institutions that continue to define Western civilization.

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