Chapter FiveAncient Rome and the Rise

of Christianity

509 B.C. - 476 A.D.

Section One

The Roman World Takes Shape

In a republic, power is held by the people. Their elected representatives run the government.

When Lincoln said that we “highly resolve” … “that

government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” he meant that our

republic must be preserved.

This is the only known photograph of Lincoln taken at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Ancient Romans spoke Latin.

In a republic, the people chose some of the officials. The ancient Romans hoped that a

republican form of government would prevent any individual from gaining too much power.

In Latin “res publica” means “that which belongs to the people.”

Vaishali is a small village in northern India. It is surrounded by mango groves and rice fields.

In the Sixth century B.C., King Vishal ruled there. The Vaishali

created what historians now believe was the world’s first

democratic republic. Vaishali had an elected assembly of

representatives.

Today Vaishali is an archeological site.

This is the lion atop the two thousand year old Vaishali Pillar of Asoka. The lion faces north,

the direction the Buddha took on his last voyage. This pillar was

discovered, with the lion capital still jutting out of the ground, in

1969.

Ancient Rome was a republic. It was not organized into

city-states.

Ancient Rome’s most important long-term contributions are found in our modern governments and laws.

This is The Oath of the Horatii, painted by Jacques-Louis David

in 1784. It shows a group of sons, triplets, swearing to their father that they will defend the Roman Republic to the death.

The Roman state lasted for a thousand years.

This global view shows the Roman Empire at its height, at about 117 A.D.

The Romans

established their

republic in 509 B.C.

In the early years of Rome’s Republic, the Senate made the laws and controlled the government.

This is Cesare Maccari’s Cicero Denounces

Catiline, a fresco from 1889. In this scene Cicero stands at left. Catiline, an

ambitious soldier and a senator, sits at far right.

Catiline had attempted to overthrow the Roman

Republic with an army of ten thousand.

In the beginning of the Roman Republic, the Senate had three hundred members. All of the members of the

Roman Senate were Patricians.

Patricians were Rome’s wealthy landowners.

According to an ancient Roman legend, the first one hundred men appointed as senators were referred to as “fathers,”

or “patres” in Latin. The descendants of those men became the patrician class.

This is a marble sculpture of a Roman man

holding the busts of his ancestors. It is from the late First century B.C. The importance

Romans attached to family is

evident in this sculpture.

Sometimes, when Rome was in danger, the senate would appoint a dictator. A dictator is a ruler who

has complete control over a government.

Each Roman dictator was granted power to rule for six months. After that time, he had to give up power.

This is Juan Antonio Ribera’s Cincinnatus Leaves the Plow for the Roman Dictatorship, from about 1806.

Romans particularly admired their dictator Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus organized an army, led the Romans to victory over the attacking enemy, attended victory celebrations,

and returned to his farmlands - all within fifteen days.

Plebeians were the farmers, merchants, and artisans who made up most of Rome’s population.

In the beginning of the Roman Republic, Plebeians had the rights of citizenship - but little influence. From 495 through 493 B.C. Rome’s Plebeians left the city in protest.

This is Barloccini’s engraving, Secession of the Plebeians to the Monte Sacro, from 1849.

They went to Monte Sacro (the sacred mountain), just outside of the city. The Patricians had to share political power with the Plebeians to bring them back.

In 180 B.C., the Romans enacted

a law that formalized the career path of

Roman officials. It was called the cursus honorum.

The cursus honorum was a great benefit to the ancient Romans. It allowed the most capable Romans to

become leaders in the government, even if

they did not have popularity or

influence.

The cursus honorum became the foundation of a Roman political

system.

and now…

some more final exam questions…

Which civilizations were organized into city-states?

a) Ancient Greece and Mayans

b) Rome and Egypt

c) Phoenicia and India

d) Ancient China and Ghana

Which civilizations were organized into city-states?

a) Ancient Greece and Mayans

b) Rome and Egypt

c) Phoenicia and India

d) Ancient China and Ghana

Important long-term contributions of Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations are primarily found

in the area of

a) government and law.

b) military technology.

c) religious doctrine.

d) economic policy.

Important long-term contributions of Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations are primarily found

in the area of

a) government and law.

b) military technology.

c) religious doctrine.

d) economic policy.