Social Studies Grade 6 Chapter 7 Notes - Powered By OnCourse Systems For Education

ANCIENT ROME CHAPTER NOTES

SECTION 1: THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

I. Introduction

A legend is told of how two brothers, Remus and Romulus founded the city of Rome.
They were the children of a princess and Mars, the Roman god of war.
A jealous king feared the twins would someday seize power from him, so he ordered that they be drowned.
However, a mother wolf rescued the infants.
Then a shepherd found the twins and raised them as his own.
The twins grew up, killed the king and went off to build their own city.
At a place where seven hills rise above the Tiber River, they founded the city of Rome.

II. Rome’s Geography

From Rome’s founding, we learn that the Romans valued loyalty and justice.
People who broke the law would be punished, just as the king in the legend was punished.
The Romans also believed that having the favor of the gods was very important.
The seven hills on which Rome was founded made the area easy to defend.
The soil was also fertile and the area had a good source of water.
From the mountains of central Italy, the Tiber River flowed through Rome before emptying into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Rome was also at the center of the long, narrow peninsula now called Italy. Italy was at the center of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea was at the center of the known Western world.
We know very little about the people who actually founded Rome, but we do know that their first settlements date from about the 900’s B.C.
About 600 B.C., a group of people called the Etruscans took power in Rome, but the Romans drove them out in 509 B.C.
Although the Romans defeated the Etruscans, they adopted Etruscan ideas.
Many of the Roman gods were originally Etruscan, the Romans borrowed the Greek alphabet the Etruscans used, and the Roman garment called the toga came from the Etruscans.

III. Romans Form a Republic

After defeating the Etruscans, the Romans vowed never to put so much trust in kings. They wanted a government that did not rely on the will of one ruler.
The Romans created a new form of government called a republic where citizens who have the right to vote select their leaders.
The leaders rule in the name of the people.
The Roman republic was led by two chief officials called consuls.
The most powerful part of the government, however, was a group called the Senate.
The Senate advised the consuls on foreign affairs, laws, and finances.
At first, the Senate was made up of only 300 wealthy, upper class men called patricians.
Ordinary citizens were known as plebeians.
In the early republic, plebeians could not hold office or be senators.
In 367 B.C., a new law said that at least one consul had to be plebeian.
From that point on, plebeians could also be senators.
The power of the consuls was limited. They could only rule for one year, and both had to agree before the government could take any action.
The Romans knew that their government might fail if the two consuls disagreed in an emergency.
For that reason, Roman law allowed that a dictator could be appointed for six months to handle an emergency.
Within about 250 years, Rome had conquered almost all of Italy.
As Rome grew wealthy from conquest, troubles arose between the patricians and the plebeians.
Many patricians increased their wealth by taking riches from conquered peoples. These riches helped them buy land from small farmers to create huge farms for themselves.
Slaves brought back from conquest worked on these farms.
As a result, plebeian farmers found themselves without work.
The cities, especially Rome, were filled with jobless plebeians.
Mistrustful of the patrician senate, plebeians formed groups to protect their own interests.
Eventually, angry plebeians refused to fight in the Roman army. It was then that the patricians gave in to one of the main demands of the plebeians-a written code of laws called the Laws of the Twelve Tablets. Despite the fact that these laws applied equally to all citizens, the plebeians never had as much power as the patricians.
While patricians and plebeians fought for power in Rome, Roman armies destroyed Carthage and its empire.
They also seized control of Spain and conquered Greece.

IV. The Decline of the Republic

By 120 B.C., Rome was in trouble.
Over the next 75 years, a number of generals gathered private armies and fought for power.
Consuls no longer respected each other’s veto power.
Rome fell into civil disorder, with private armies roaming the streets and murdering their enemies.
As Rome seemed about to break up, Julius Caesar arose as a strong leader.
Caesar was eager for power. From 58 to 51 B.C., he had led his army in conquering the people of Gaul who lived in present-day France and nearby lands.
In 49 B.C., Caesar returned to Italy.
War broke out between Caesar and the Senate.
Caesar won the war and became dictator of the Roman world in 48 B.C.
Caesar ignored the rule that a dictator could rule for only six months.
He ruled with great power and, in 45 B.C., he became the only consul.
In 44 B.C., he became dictator for life.
Caesar made many important governmental reforms, but many senators hated the idea that Rome seemed to be once again ruled by a king.
On March 15, 44 B.C. (the Ides of March), Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators who felt that he had gone too far, too fast, in gathering power.
Civil war followed soon after Caesar’s death.
When war ended thirteen years later, Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, held power.
In 27 B.C., the senate awarded Octavian the title Augustus, which means highly respected.
Octavian was Rome’s first emperor.
The Roman Republic had lasted nearly 500 years. It had grown from a city-state to a holder of vast territories.
Rome had the largest elected government the world had seen to that point.
But the Roman Republic finally faltered and died. With Augustus, the Roman Empire was born.

V. The Roman Soldier

The Roman soldier was a citizen and professional, committed to serving on the battlefield for at least twenty-five years.
Away from his homeland for years at a time and forbidden to marry during his service, he formed strong bonds of loyalty to his commander and comrades.
If he survived to complete his dangerous service, he could expect to be well rewarded with land or money.
Foot soldiers called legionaries sometimes marched twenty miles a day, weighed down by about seventy pounds of equipment.
The legionaries dug ramparts-banks of earth to protect them from attack-by digging trenches about ten feet deep and then using the dirt to form walls.

SECTION 2: THE ROMAN EMPIRE

I. Ruling an Empire

When Augustus came to power after Caesar’s death, Roman control had already spread far beyond Italy.
With the rule of Augustus, a period of stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana began. It lasted for about 200 years.
During the Pax Romana, people traveled easily within the empire, and trade with Asia and Africa thrived.
Augustus was an intelligent ruler. When he was struggling for power, he often ignored the Senate and its rules. But after he won control, he changed his manner and showed great respect for the Senate and was careful to avoid acting like a king.
The Roman rulers treated conquered peoples wisely. They took some slaves, but most of the conquered peoples remained free.
They divided their empire into provinces with a Roman governor supported by an army.
Generally, the Romans did not force their way of life on conquered peoples.
They allowed them to follow their own religions and run the daily affairs of government.
As long as there was peace, Roman governors did not interfere in conquered peoples’ lives; they just kept watch over them.
Rome wanted peaceful provinces in which the conquered people would supply the empire with the raw material it needed, buy Roman goods, and pay taxes.
Many of the conquered people adopted Roman ways, learned to speak Latin, and worship Roman gods.
In A.D. 14, Augustus died. Although the Pax Romana continued after his death, good, bad, and terrible emperors ruled for the next eighty-two years.
Two of the worst emperors during this time were Caligula and Nero.
Caligula was a cruel, unfair ruler.
Nero murdered his half-brother, his mother, and his wife among others.
In A.D. 96, Rome entered what is called the age of the “five good emperors.”
The five, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, gained the support of the Senate and ruled fairly.
Perhaps the greatest of these emperors was Hadrian, who ruled from A.D. 117- 138.
Hadrian issued a code of laws that made laws uniform throughout the empire and reorganized the army so that soldiers were allowed to defend their home provinces.
The last of the “good emperors,” Marcus Aurelius, chose his son Commodus to follow him, but Commodus ruled with such brutality that his reign ended the Pax Romana.

II. The Greek Influence on Rome

The Romans had long admired Greek achievements and many Romans visited Greece to study art, architecture, and ideas about government.
Greek religion influenced the Roman religion. Both practiced polytheism and offered prayers and sacrifices to their gods.
Many Roman gods had Greek counterparts. For example, the Roman god of the sky, Jupiter, shared characteristics with the Greek god Zeus.
The Romans also adopted heroes from Greek mythology such as Hercules.
Greeks and Romans both valued learning, but in different ways.
The Greeks were interested in ideas; they sought to learn truths about the world through reason.
The Romans were more interested in using the ideas of the Greeks to build things.
The Romans developed outstanding architecture and engineering skills, and with these skills, they built their empire.

III. The Roman Aqueduct

The Romans built aqueducts to bring water to the city.
Aqueduct is derived from two Latin words: aqua means “water” and ductere means “to lead.” Hence, an aqueduct leads water.
Sources of water had to be at elevations higher than the city so gravity would move the water along.
Engineers tunneled through mountains and bridged valleys to create a gradual, even slope.
About four out of every five miles of aqueduct ran underground. This kept the water fresh by keeping out dirt and animals.

IV. Architecture and Technology

Early Roman art and architecture copied the Etruscans.
Later, the Romans studied and copied Greek sculpture and architecture. They then developed their own style.
Roman statues and buildings were heavier and stronger than those of the Greeks.
Using arches, Romans were able to build larger structures.
Most large buildings were built of bricks covered with thin slabs of marble.
The development of concrete, which is a mix of stone, sand, cement, and water, helped the Romans construct buildings that were taller than any built before.
Possibly the greatest Roman building was the Colosseum, the site of contests and combats between people and animals.
The Colosseum held 50,000 people and the floor could be flooded for mock naval battles using real people in actual boats.
In Roman times, all major roads of the empire did lead to Rome.
The Roman road system covered a distance equal to twice the distance around earth at the equator.

V. The Laws of Rome

Like Roman roads, Roman laws spread throughout the empire.
A later ruler named Justinian used Roman laws to create a famous code of justice aptly named the Justinian Code.
Roman laws continued to be passed down to other cultures.
Other Roman ideas of justice are basic to our system of laws. For example, persons accused of crimes had the right to face their accusers.

SECTION 3: ROMAN DAILY LIFE

I. Roman Social Classes

Roman society was made up of a few rich people and many poor free people and slaves.
A majority of poor Romans were either slaves or jobless.
Most of Rome’s jobless survived only with the support of the government.
The rich often had elegant homes in the city as well as large country estates called villas.
Wealthy Romans were famous for their excesses.
In Rome, most people lived in poorly built, rundown housing.
Many lived in tall apartment houses with no running water, toilets, or kitchens.
Rubbish and human waste were often dumped out the windows.
Because most houses were made of wood, fires were frequent and often fatal.
The worst, during the reign of Nero in A.D. 64, destroyed most of the city.
Poor citizens needed wheat for bread to survive.
When harvests were bad, or when grain shipments from overseas were late, the poor often rioted.
To prevent this, emperors provided free grain to the poor.
Emperors also provided spectacular shows called circuses.
The circuses could be violent. Romans, rich and poor, packed the arenas to watch the events.
These events included animals fighting other animals, animals fighting humans, and humans fighting humans.
The highlights of the day were the fights between gladiators.
Before the battles, gladiators paraded onto the floor of the arena.
Battles ended when one gladiator was dead or dying or disarmed on the ground.
Not all Romans approved of these brutal sports.
Seneca noted, “It’s sheer murder. In the morning, men are thrown to the lions or bears. At noon, they are thrown to the spectators.”

II. The Roman Family

Despite these brutal sports, many Romans had strong traditional values.
Most of all they valued family.
The Roman government provided family support, usually to the upper classes, in various ways.
Under Julius Caesar, fathers of three or more children received land from the government.
Under Roman law, the father had absolute power over the entire household.
He owned his wife, children, slaves, and furniture.
In the early days, he could sell a son or daughter into slavery. Later, this power was limited.
The amount of freedom a woman in ancient Rome enjoyed depended on her husband’s wealth and status.
Wealthy women had a great deal of independence.
Slavery was common in ancient Rome. Almost every wealthy family owned slaves.
Even a poor family might own a slave.
While few owners paid their slaves for their work, they often took good care of their household slaves.
Slaves had almost no rights.
Household slaves received the best treatment. Other slaves often led short, brutal lives.
Slaves who worked on farms sometimes worked chained together during the day and slept in chains at night.
Slaves in copper, tin, and iron mines worked under terrible conditions.
Some slaves were able to save tips or wages and buy their freedom.

SECTION 4: CHRISTIANITY AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE

I. The Beginnings of Christianity

Christianity was one of many religions in the vast Roman Empire.
The empire contained many lands with different languages, customs, and religions.
The Romans were tolerant toward the people and allowed them to follow their own religions as long as they showed loyalty to Roman gods and the emperor.
The Romans conquered the Jewish homeland of Judea in 63 B.C., and, at first, they respected the Jews’ right to worship their God.
But many Jews resented foreign rule and some believed that the messiah or savior would come to bring justice and freedom to the land.
As opposition to Roman rule grew, the Roman Senate appointed a new ruler of Judea named Herod.
It was during Herod’s reign that Jesus was born in the Judean town of Bethlehem.
Stories about what Jesus taught and how he lived are found in the New Testament, a part of the Christian Bible.
After Jesus died, his disciples told stories about his life and teaching.
Between forty and seventy years after his death, four of these stories—believed to have been written by men named Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—came to be accepted by Christians as true descriptions of Jesus’ life and work.
These writings are known as the four Gospels.
According to the New Testament, Jesus grew up in Nazareth and began teaching when he was about thirty years old.
Like all Jewish teachers, Jesus preached that there is only one true God.
Jesus taught that God is loving and forgiving.
He promised that people who believe in him and follow his teachings will have everlasting life.
His followers believed that Jesus was their messiah.
Jesus’ teachings alarmed many people.
Some complained that Jesus was teaching that God was greater than the emperor.
Fearing that he might lead an armed revolt against the government, the Roman governor condemned Jesus to death.
He was crucified, but according to the Gospels, Jesus rose from the dead and spoke to his disciples, telling them to spread his teachings.

II. Christianity Spreads

The Greek equivalent of the word messiah was Christos.
Many educated people of the day spoke Greek, and as these people accepted Jesus’’ teachings, they began calling him Christ.
After his death, his followers called Christians, spread the new religion from Jerusalem to Antioch in Syria, and finally to Rome itself.
One of the most devoted followers of Jesus’ teachings was a Jew whose original name was Saul.
Saul was well educated and spoke Greek, the common language of the eastern Roman Empire.
According to the New Testament, Saul at first rejected the Christian message, one day, however, he believed he had a vision in which Jesus spoke to him.
After this experience, Saul changed his name to Paul and carried Christianity to the cities around the Mediterranean.
Paul’s writings helped turn the Christian faith into an organized religion.
Paul wrote many epistles to Christian groups in distant cities.
Because Christians refused to worship Roman gods or the emperor, many Roman officials began to view them as enemies of the empire.
Under the Emperor Nero, the first official campaign against Christians began in A.D. 64.
One night, a fire started in some shops in Rome.
The fire spread and burned for nine days, leaving much of the city in ruins.
According to some accounts, Nero blamed the Christians.
He ordered the arrest of Christians who were sent to their deaths.
According to tradition, Paul was imprisoned and then killed.
At times over the next 250 years, the Romans tormented Christians.
During these years, the Roman Empire began to lose power and the Romans sometimes blamed the Christians.
Still Christianity spread throughout the empire.
Its message of hope for a better life after death appealed to many.
The help that Christian communities gave to widows, orphans, and the poor also attracted followers.
Emperor Diocletian, who ruled from A.D. 284 to 305, outlawed Christian services and put many believers to death.
Nonetheless, many Romans admired the Christians because they saw them as martyrs and heroes.
By the A.D. 200’s, over 50,000 Romans had accepted the Christian faith.

SECTION 5: THE FALL OF ROME

I. Introduction

The Roman emperor and his troops paused on the banks of the Tiber River while the enemy waited on the other side.
Constantine, emperor of Rome from A.D. 312 to 337, looked up and saw a cross in the sky.
Written in Latin above the cross was the message, “In hoc signo vinco.” (By this sign you shall conquer.”
Constantine’s army went on to win an overwhelming victory.
Because Jesus had died on a cross, Constantine believed he owed his victory to the God of the Christians, and he vowed to become a Christian himself.
Historians today still debate whether he actually had this religious experience; however, Constantine is known for strongly encouraging the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

II. The Decline of the Empire

The Christian church provided comfort and authority at a time when the mighty Roman Empire was on the edge of disaster.
By the time Constantine took power, he could do little to stop the empire’s fall.
The decline had begun many years before when Marcus Aurelius died.
The emperor, known for his wisdom, had left his son Commodus in power in A.D. 180.
Commodus, though, was a savage ruler who loved the bloodshed of the gladiators.
To strengthen his position as ruler, he bribed the army to support him.
The decline of the Roman Empire began under Commodus.
After Commodus, Roman emperors were almost always successful generals and not politicians.
They often stole money from the treasury and used it to bribe the soldiers and make themselves rich.
Under these emperors, the government and economy lost stability and the Senate lost power.
Would-be rulers gained the throne by violence, and between A.D. 180 and A.D. 284, Rome had 29 emperors. Most were assassinated.
Once the Roman army had been made up of citizen soldiers willing to defend their land, but now the army was filled with mercenaries who were motivated by money and not by loyalty to any cause.
Rome’s strength depended on a strong army loyal to the nation, but such an army was now just a memory.
The Roman Empire had grown too big to be ruled from one place.
Tribes the Romans had conquered earlier now invaded the empire.
Many conquered territories regained their independence.
The Roman army now had to spend its time defending the empire instead of extending its authority into new areas.
The empire began to shrink.
After Rome stopped conquering new lands, no new sources of wealth were available.
The empire struggled to pay its mercenary army, one that often refused to fight.
To raise money, taxes were increased while people of the empire suffered unemployment.
Food was in short supply, so the price of food went up.
To pay for more food, the government decided to produce more coins.
The value of the coins depended on the amount of silver in them. But since the government did not have much silver, it put less in each coin.
This resulted in inflation. If inflation is not controlled, money will buy less and less.
Roman coins soon became worthless.
Some emperors such as Diocletian worked hard to stop the steady decline of the Roman Empire.
Diocletian enlarged the army and built new forts at the border.
He also improved the system of collecting taxes which brought in more money to pay the army.
Diocletian divided the empire into two parts to make it easier to control.
He ruled over the wealthier east, and he appointed a co-emperor who ruled over the west.

III. The Romans Accept Christianity

Diocletian and his co-emperor stepped down in A.D. 305.
For seven years, generals fought each other until one, Constantine, won the power to rule.
Constantine, who claimed that the Christian God had helped his army win the battle for control of Rome, proclaimed freedom of worship for people in the empire.
Under Constantine, Rome would no longer persecute Christians.
Christianity soon became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
During Constantine’s twenty-five years as emperor, he worked to strengthen the Christian church.
In A.D. 330, Constantine moved his capital to the city of Byzantium in present-day Turkey.
He renamed the city Constantinople.
The power of the empire was now firmly in the east.

IV. The Defeat of Rome

After Constantine’s death, northern invaders swept across Rome’s borders.
Today we call these people Germanic tribes, but the Romans called them barbarians.
In the past, the Roman army had been able to defeat these tribes, but now they could not stop them.
In the A.D. 400’s, Germanic tribes overwhelmed the empire.
One tribe, the Visigoths, captured and looted Rome in 410.
The Vandals, another Germanic tribe, took Rome in 455.
The Roman emperor was almost powerless.
The last Roman emperor was 14-year-old Romulus Augustulus.
In 476, a German general seized control of Rome and sent the boy to live with relatives in southern Italy.
After Romulus Augustulus, no emperor ruled over Rome and the western part of the empire.
However, even after Rome fell, the eastern part of the empire remained strong.
Its capital, Constantinople, remained the center of another empire, the Byzantine Empire, for another thousand years.