6.+Ancient+Rome

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Ancient Rome – capital of the Empire and home of the Roman emperors – was a city of huge contrasts. As well as splendid public buildings, there were plenty of rickety, overcrowded apartment blocks. Wealthy citizens enjoyed a life of incredible luxury, but many Romans were desperately poor.

__**City of Marble:**__

Rome was constantly changing, as each emperor tried to leave his mark on the city by putting up impressive new buildings and monuments. The Emperor Augustus completely transformed Rome, boasting proudly that he had found it a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.

At the heart of the city was the Roman Forum – a large open space used as a market square and meeting place. Around the Forum, there were basilicas – used as law courts – and grand temples. Near one end was the Curia – or Senate House. As Rome grew, the Roman Forum was no longer big enough for everyone to meet, so some emperors built their own larger forums (fora) nearby.

__**Walking the Streets:**__

Most streets in Rome were extremely narrow, unbearably crowded, and incredibly noisy. Carts were banned from the city during daylight hours, and shopkeepers displayed their goods in the streets. The main streets were swept clean, but the smaller alleys could be ankle-deep in trash. People often threw their trash out their windows – which could be a hazard for anyone passing by.

__**Night Life:**__

As soon as dusk fell, an endless stream of delivery carts began rumbling through the city. Rome had no street lights, so at night the city was plunged into darkness.

Thieves and murderers lurked on street corners, and wealthy citizens wouldn’t leave home without a group of slaves to guard them. The poet Juvenal joked that it would be foolish to go out after dark without first making a will.

__**On the Dole:**__

By the first century AD, there were over a million people living in Rome, and many of them were too poor to survive without help from the government. Rations of free grain – known as the corn dole – were handed out to the poorest 200,000 citizens and their families. Most of the grain came from Egypt, and if the grain ships were late, violent riots could break out.

__**Fire! Fire!:**__

Most Romans lived in flimsy apartment blocks heated by metal braziers (stoves) filled with burning wood. Fire was a constant danger, so the Emperor Augustus organized groups of firefighters called vigils to tackle blazes in the city. But, equipped only with buckets of water and basic hand pumps, the vigils couldn’t cope with the largest fires.

In AD64, Rome was devastated by the worst fire in its history. Only four of the city’s fourteen districts were left undamaged, and three were burned to the ground. At the time, many Romans blamed the Emperor Nero for starting the fire so he could build himself a vast palace in the ruins of the city. It was rumored that Nero sang and played his lyre as he watched Rome burned, but in fact he may have tried to help put out the fires.

Emperors of Rome
Augustus was the first in a series of emperors who ruled the Roman world for over 400 years. Most emperors made a show of consulting the Senate, but in fact they ruled exactly as they pleased. Even though the emperor controlled a huge empire, his life could be in danger if he became unpopular. Jealous rivals and assassins were never far away.

__**Brutal Bodyguards**__: Each emperor had a special group of soldiers called the Praetorian Guard, whose job was to protect the emperor and his family. However, these supposedly loyal bodyguards sometimes had their own ideas about who should rule Rome, and several emperors were murdered by their protectors. __**Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know:**__ After the death of Augustus in AD14, the imperial family was plunged into a turbulent time of scheming and betrayal, and some of the emperors from this period behaved extremely cruelly.

Augustus’s step-son, the Emperor //**Tiberius**// ruled from AD14 to AD37. He was a ruthless and corrupt man. He was always worried that people were plotting to assassinate him, so he executed dozens of important Romans and fled to the island of Capri. He stayed there for the last 11 years of his rule, and any visitor he didn’t like was thrown over the cliffs to his death.

The next emperor, //**Caligula**//, who ruled from AD37-41, may have been insane. He believed he was a god, and it was said that he tried to have his horse elected as consul. He once made his soldiers attack the sea, because he was angry with the sea god Neptune. The Emperor //**Nero**//, who ruled from AD54-68, was viciously cruel, and had his wife and mother murdered, as well as anyone who dared to oppose him. He also loved art, music and poetry, and shocked people by playing the lyre and singing in public. (Musicians weren’t considered respectable). Nero’s performances could be very long, and the audience was forbidden to leave before the end. Sometimes, people pretended to be dead so that they could be carried out. __**The Year of the Four Emperors:**__ After Nero’s death came a period of incredible turmoil. In AD69, Rome was ruled by 4 emperors in a single year. The last of these emperors, //**Vespasian**//, was a general in the Roman army. With the support of his soldiers, he finally brought stability back to the Empire.

__**Reasonable Rulers:**__ Many emperors were sensible, fair rulers who did their best to keep an enormous empire running smoothly.

Tiberius’s nephew //**Claudius**// had been left crippled by a childhood disease, and most people thought he wasn’t capable of ruling. In fact, he turned out to be an excellent emperor, and ruled from AD41-54. Even though he was a great ruler, he was eventually murdered. Some historians think his wife gave him poisoned mushrooms to eat.

In AD96, //**Nerva**// became emperor, and ruled wisely and fairly. After him came four capable emperors, and together these rulers are known as the five good emperors. They expanded the Empire, improved its organization, and won the support of senators by treating the Senate with respect. __**Passing on Power:**__ At first a man could only become emperor if he was related to the last ruler. But Nerva started a new tradition, when he chose and adopted the man he wanted to rule after him.

The Birth of the Roman Empire
After the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, his friend and top general Mark Antony seemed ready to become the next Roman ruler. Caesar’s adopted son and heir, Octavian, was only 18 and most people assumed he was too young to take power. But when Octavian heard of Caesar’s death, he rushed to Rome, where he was welcomed by many of Caesar’s supporters. Soon a chaotic struggle for power between Octavian and Mark Antony began. __**Early Battles**__: Mark Antony had many enemies in the Senate, and they persuaded the other senators to declare him an outlaw in order to stop him from gaining power. With the Senate’s support, Octavian led an army against Antony and his friend Lepidus and defeated them at Mutina, in northern Italy.

Octavian then demanded to be made a consul, but the senate refused. The senators wanted to keep the power of Rome to themselves and only use Octavian because he was popular with the people. So Octavian changed his plans. He joined forces with Antony and Lepidus, and the three men stormed into Rome with a huge army. They forced the senate to accept the three of them as rulers of Rome. They executed thousands of their opponents. Lepidus soon retired, leaving Octavian and Antony in charge.

__**The Two Rulers:**__ By 42 BC, Antony and Octavian had crushed all their enemies and were free to rule. But they disliked each other so much that they couldn’t work together. They decided to divide up Rome’s territory between them. Octavian ruled the western part of the empire, while Antony ruled the east.

For ten years, Antony lived in Egypt with Cleopatra, who was the Egyptian queen (she had also been Julius Caesar’s girlfriend for awhile, and had a son with him). Meanwhile, Octavian stayed in Rome and made himself popular with the Senate and the people of Rome. The two rulers became more and more suspicious of each other, and the situation became very tense. In 31 BC, war finally broke out between Octavian and Antony. Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra in the sea battle of Actium, off the western coast of Greece. The despairing lovers fled back to Egypt. When Octavian chased them there with his armies, they both committed suicide. __**Hail Augustus:**__ Octavian seized control of Antony’s lands in Egypt and became sole ruler of all the Roman lands. In 27 BC he offered to let the senate take over, but this was just for show. Octavian was supported by the whole Roman army, and everyone knew that only he could unite the Roman people. The Senate gave Octavian the new name Augustus, which means “deeply respected one” and he gradually gained total control over the Roman world.

The Romans called Augustus by the military title imperator, from which we get the word “emperor”. He was the first Emperor of Rome, and the part of Roman history that began with his rule as known as the Empire.

Augustus ruled wisely and efficiently, bringing peace after decades of civil war. By the time he died in AD14, most people had accepted the idea of being governed by a single powerful ruler. The Republic was over forever. media type="custom" key="17520388"

5/8/12

**The Life of Caesar **
Gaius Julius Caesar came from an old patrician family which claimed to be descended from the goddess Venus and the legendary hero Aeneas. He was a skilled politician, a talented public speaker, and an outstanding general. Today, he is regarded as one of the most remarkable figures in Roman history. In 60 BC, Caesar formed an alliance with Pompey and Crassus. With their support Caesar became consul the following year. After his year in office, he persuaded the Senate to give him command of Rome’s lands in southern Gaul. This gave him a chance to prove himself, and soon he conquered the rest of Gaul, extending Roman territory as far north as the English Channel. He became very popular in Rome.
 * A Rising Star: **

After the death of Caesar’s daughter Julia, who was married to Pompey, the bond between the two men began to weaken. The Senate was nervous about how much power Caesar was gaining, so they decided to support Pompey and turn the two men against each other. The Senate ordered Caesar to give up his command in Gaul and return home without his army. If he refused it would mean war.
 * Trouble Ahead: **

Caesar decided not to give up his command. In January 49 BC, Caesar defied the Senate and led his army from Gaul across the Rubicon River and into Italy. Pompey retreated to Greece, and Caesar took control of Rome. Caesar’s army followed Pompey and defeated him in 48BC. The Caesar crushed rebellions in North Africa and Spain. By 45 BC Caesar was the most powerful leader Rome had ever known. Once in power, Caesar passed new laws to help the poor and improve the way Rome’s lands were run. But he often made decisions with consulting the Senate. In 44 BC he declared himself dictator for life. Some politicians in the Senate were worried that Caesar had grown too powerful. On March 15, 44 BC, a group of senators stabbed Caesar to death on the floor of the senate. These senators then took control of Rome. But many loyal to Caesar, including his top general Mark Antony, rebelled, and civil war broke out in Rome. Soon Mark Antony’s forces prevailed, but it marked the end of Rome as a republic – the way the Empire was run and how Romans were ruled was about to change.
 * Triumph and Disaster: **

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5/2/12

The Republic in Crisis
By the 3rd century B.C. the plebeians had a much bigger part in the government of Rome. Some patrician senators began to feel threatened, and tensions grew. From the 2nd century B.C. one crisis followed another, plunging the Republic into a period of turmoil and bloodshed.

__**Land Matters:**__ As Rome began building its empire, men had to spend long periods of time overseas fighting in the army and they weren't able to farm their land. The farms fell into disrepair, and many of them were bought up by rich landowners who used slaves to do all the work. Without land or jobs, lots of country people moved into Rome, where they still could find no work and were desperately poor. Since only landowners were allowed to fight in the army, there was soon a shortage of soldiers too.

In 133 B.C., a tribune named Tiberius Gracchus suggested that any land that had been illegally taken by the rich should be given to poor city dwellers. But many senators were violently opposed to this, because a lot of the land belonged to them. Riots broke out, and Tiberius was clubbed to death. In 123 B.C. Tiberius's brother Gaius was elected tribune. He also planned to help the poor, but - like his brother - he was also murdered.

__**Marius and the Army:**__ In 107 B.C. one of Rome's greatest generals - Gaius Marius - took charge of a war that was raging in North Africa. Marius won the war and became a national hero when he also defeated some tribes from Gaul who were threatening Rome. But he wasn't very good at politics, and he made some senators angry because he supported land reform. Marius is famous for reorganizing the army, and allowing all citizens to enlist - not just those who owned land. These new soldiers were very poor and they relied on their generals to provide for them when they retired. This accidentally brought about a dramatic change in politics. Some generals began using their own loyal armies to win power for themselves.

Murder and Mayhem: In 88 B.C., Cornelius Sulla became consul and was asked to lead an army against the King of Pontus (Pontus is now a part of the country of Turkey). Marius thought he should have been chosen instead and he challenged Sulla. Sulla marched his army to Rome, took control of the city, and drove Marius out.

Sulla then set off for Pontus. As soon as he left, Marius reappeared in Rome with his own army, took over the city, and executed all of Sulla's supporters. Marius died in 86 B.C., but when Sulla returned to Rome he found Marius's army still in charge. He had all of them killed and ruled Rome as a dictator from 82 B.C. to 80 B.C.

__**Pompey the Great:**__ One oft he generals who had served under Sulla's command was Gnaeus Pompeius, also known as Pompey the Great. Pompey won victories in Spain in 72 B.C. and helped the senator Crassus to crush a slave rebellion led by a gladiator named Spartacus. In 70 B.C., Pompey and Crassus became consuls. Soon Pompey was a hero. In just three months, he cleared the seas of pirates who had been terrorizing the Italian coast. He then reorganized Rome's lands in the Middle East and conquered large areas of new territory. But when he returned to Rome, the Senate refused to support what he had done. Pompey was very frustrated, so he looked for new allies. One good ally he found was a very talented politician named Gaius Julius Caesar. media type="custom" key="16357422"

4/27/12

Rome Conquers the Mediterranean
While Rome was gaining control of Italy, the western Mediterranean was dominated by the great trading empire of Carthage on the coast of North Africa. As long as they weren't competing for trade, the Romans and the Carthaginians left each other in peace. But in 264 B.C., a series of wars broke out between them. These wars - called the Punic Wars - would decide who ruled the Mediterranean.

__//The First Punic War//__ The First Punic War began when both Rome and Carthage stepped in to sort out an argument on the island of Sicily, off the coast of Italy. To win the war, Rome would have to defeat the powerful Carthaginian navy, but the Romans had very few ships and no experience fighting at sea. Luckily they found a stranded Carthaginian warship and used it as a model to build a fleet of their own. The Romans won two early battles at sea - but two times they lost all of their ships in violent storms. After they rebuilt their fleet of ships, they finally defeated the Carthaginians in 241 B.C. Carthage was forced to pay a huge fine to Rome and also agreed to let Rome have control of Sicily. The romans later seized the islands of Sardinia and Corsica as well.

//__Hannibal__// Now the Carthaginians were in search of a new empire, so they invaded Spain. In 219 B.C. they attacked the Spanish city of Saguntum, which was one of Rome's allies. This started the Second Punic War. The next year, the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, set off with 35,000 men and 37 elephants to invade Italy.

Hannibal led his troops across two huge mountain ranges - the Pyrenees and the Alps - losing 10,000 men and all but one of the elephants on the way. But Hannibal was an outstanding general, and his men won battle after battle. At the battle at Cannae in 216 B.C. they wiped out an entire Roman legion. The Romans were unable to defeat Hannibal in Italy, so they invaded Spain, and then attacked Carthage. Hannibal had to return home, and in 202 B.C. he was finally defeated at Zama by the Roman general Scipio. Carthage was forced to pay another massive fine and had to give its Spanish lands back to Rome.

__//Carthage is Destroyed//__ Although the Carthaginians were no longer a threat, some Romans were suspicious of what they might do in the future. For four years, a senator named Cato ended every speech he made with the words: "Carthage must be destroyed." In 149 B.C. war broke out again and three years later Carthage was defeated and burned to the ground. The people of Carthage were sold as slaves, and the soil was covered with salt so that nothing could ever grow there again.

//__Rome Is In Charge__// Winning the Punic Wars gave the Romans large areas of land in Spain and North Africa. But during this time period they also conquered parts of southern Gaul (present day France), and were involved in more wars in the eastern Mediterranean.

In 168 B.C. the Romans took over the Greek city/state of Macedonia, and by 146 B.C. they controlled all of Greece. In 133 B.C., the King of Pergamum (which is now the country of Turkey) died and left his kingdom to Rome. When that happened the Romans had lands stretching from Spain to Asia.