Rise and Fall of Rome

Patricians

616 BCE

In 616-509 B.C.E., the Roman society was divided between Patricians and Plebeians. Patricians, upper-class citizens, are wealthy landowners. They controlled the most valuable land and held military and religious offices. The Patricians were the ones that made a republic in Rome. First they overthrew Etruscan leaders. Then they elected 300 men to represent them, but they also made a rule that only they could serve in the republic and not the Plebeians.

Plebeians

509 BCE

In 616-509 B.C.E., the Roman society was divided between Patricians and Plebeians. The Plebeians, lower-class citizens, were peasants, laborers, craftspeople, and shopkeepers. The Patricians made a rule that angered them. It was that only the Patricians could serve on the republic. They also made laws that they changed to benefit themselves. In protest of the Patricians actions, all the Plebeians left Rome and camped nearby. All of the work came to a sudden stop so the Patricians gave in.

First Period of Expansion

509 BCE

Rome was eventually able to take over the entire Italian peninsula through 509-264 B.C.E. The Patricians overthrew the last Etruscan leader in 509 B.C.E. Then, in 493 B.C.E., Rome made allies by signing a treaty with their southern Latin neighbors. Next, in 390 B.C.E., Gauls attacked and burned Rome.They decided to NOT give up and built their city back again. As they became stronger, they conquered more land, but the armies had to grow to defend the land and people were forced to serve.

Second Period of Expansion

264 BCE

Through 264-146 B.C.E., Rome battled with Carthage in three major wars, the Punic Wars. The first began in 264 B.C.E. and it was fought on the water. Rome won by using Carthage's ideas to build better ships. The next war was in 218 B.C.E. Carthage attacked Rome and surprised them, but they had to go back to defend their homeland. The last war was encouraged by Cato, a senator, and they went into battle one more time. Rome burned Carthage and killed many people. With the victory came a price.

Second Period of Expansion (Rewards and Prices)

146 BCE

After the Punic wars with Carthage, Rome gained many rewards, but the wars were also costly. Carthage was forced to give up land to the Romans along with great deals of money. Now the Romans controlled Spain, Sicily and various other islands. Although they gained all of this, there were many families mourning the loss of soldiers they knew and most of the farms had been turned into vineyards while farmers were away at war. More land also meant more people had to unwillingly serve in the army.

Third Period of Expansion

145 BCE

By 145 B.C.E., Rome was a very wealthy place with a lot of territory. Protecting all the land put great strain on the Roman republic. Rome's allies were tired of paying taxes without being citizens. Finally, Rome put a stop to their revolt by agreeing to let free Italians become Roman citizens. Slave revolts kept popping up everywhere too. With so many slaves working for Rome, other citizens couldn't find work anywhere. Things kept heading downhill causing the republic to collapse.

Fourth Period of Expansion

44 BCE

Octavian became the new leader after many civil wars. He fought with his rivals to gain power. The Senate named him Augustus, or honored one. He made many changes such as repairing over 80 temples, introducing police, firefighters, and a library, and he even encouraged education. To defend his empire better, Octavian expanded his borders out to natural landmarks. In order to provide better trade, Romans built harbors, canals, and roads. Life seemed enjoyable, but it went downhill later on.

Third Period of Expansion (cont.)

44 BCE

The Roman army grew so big, making it produce more leaders. These leaders wanted fame. This led to a civil war between Pompey and Julius Caesar. Pompey had the Senate on his side, so they forbade Caesar from going to Italy, but he went and fought for three years before victory. The Senate became nervous. They named Caesar dictator. He created more jobs by opening up projects and allowed gladiator fights for entertainment. He was murdered by enemies who thought they were saving the republic.

The End of Rome

500

The Roman Empire fell in around 500 C.E. Leaders would fight in order to become emperor causing political instability. If one did become emperor they would probably be murdered. Rome's citizens and allies had to pay high taxes causing many people going into poverty. All of the emperors were being threatened by tribes along their borders. The Germanic tribes started invading and many were able to loot and attack Rome. Finally Rome collapsed and the tribes split the land into different kingdoms.