ROME“Friends, Romans,

countrymen, lend me your ears”

Julius Caesar

• Loved by the poor citizens of Rome

• Elected Consul

• First Triumvirate (group of 3 rulers)

– Caesar, Crassus, Pompey

Julius Caesar

• Governor of Gaul• Senate orders

Caesar home• Conquest of Egypt,

Cleopatra• Return to Rome,

becomes dictator • Stabbed 23 times in

the Senate

• Government under Caesar:– Dictatorship– Citizenship to many people– Land to veterans, grain to poor– Senate as advisory council,

increased membership– Solar based calendar

Reforms of Caesar

Red flag indicates where Caesar was killed

.

Julius Caesar's Tomb

His body was brought back by his people and burned so that the

conspirators couldn’t get to it.

The Second Triumvirate

• Octavian, Antony, Lepidus

• Civil war between conspirators and Caesar’s allies

• Rivals: Octavian and Marc Antony

• War between Octavian and Marc Antony, Cleopatra

• Defeat Egypt at the Battle of Actium• Suicide of Marc Antony and Cleopatra• Octavian:

– Unchallenged ruler of Rome– Accepted the title of Augustus (exalted one)– Rome was now an empire, ruled by one man

Battle of Actium

Pax Romana (Roman Peace)

• A period of peace, stability, and unity

• Vast trading network was protected by the Roman navy

• Cities grew wealthy

“All roads lead to Rome . . .”

• Roads– Military– Connections– Exchange

• Provinces– Spain, France,

England, Germany, Greece, Egypt

Decline and Fall of Rome

Fall of Rome

The last two good emperors

• Diocletian– Absolute ruler, limited

personal freedom– Claimed descent from the

gods – Persecuted Christians– Divided empire

• Got too big• Easier to govern

• Constantine– Reunited the empire– Moved the capitol to

Constantinople– Power shift: west → east– Christianity

• Legalized the Christian church in 313 CE and ended persecution – Edict of Milan

Political Causes

• Political office seen as burden

• Bad emperors• Military interference

in gov’t• Civil war• Division of Empire• Moved capital to

Byzantium

Social Causes

• Decline in interest in public affairs

• Low confidence in gov’t

• Disloyalty• Corruption• Gap between rich

and poor

Economic Causes

• Poor harvests• Disruption of trade

• Lack of war plunder• Gold and silver drain

• Inflation• High taxes

• Gap between rich and poor

Military Causes

• Threat from northern tribes

• Low funds for defense• Recruiting non-

Roman citizens• Lack of patriotism and

loyalty amongst troops

Immediate Causes

• Military pressure from Huns

• Invasion by Germans and Huns

• Sack of Rome• Conquest by invaders• 476ce – the end of the

western Roman Empire

• Alphabet and Language– Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian

(Romance languages)– Roman Numerals

• Calendar– Developed by Julius Caesar– July and August– Saturday

Legacy of Rome

• Aqueducts– Carried water into

the cities from long distances

– Used the arch

Engineering and Architecture

• Architecture-columns-dome-concrete

• Law– Twelve Tables – applied to everyone– Used witnesses, cross X, evidence– Lawyers– Civil and criminal