ROMAN CIVILISATION

The founding of the city

771 BCE

Rome was founded by the brothers Romulus and Remus who were born in the union of Mars, god of war. They were raised by wolves, and as adults, the two brothers had an argumenrt which ended in Romulus´defeat of Remus and the founding of Rome. According to Etruscans and Latins founded the city in a strategy location near the sea.

Social evolution

500 BCE

From the period of the Monarchy onwards, Roman society was charactrised by social inequality.There were very distinct social groups:
Patricians
Slaves
Plebeians
Clients
REPUBLICAN PERIOD
Conquests of new territories increased number of slaves
Another social group emerged, knights or equites
IMPERIAL PERIOD
The nobilitas,knights and plebeians had Roman citizenship
Slaves and Freedmen were not citizens

Barbarian invasions

400 BCE

Up to the 800 d.C. The instability of the Empire made it easier for the barbarians to get past the limes. Several Germanic peoples crossed the border formed by the Rhine and Danube rivers to occupy Roman land.
The emperors were forced to sign pacts with certain Germanic peoples.

The origins of Rome

8 BCE

The city of Rome is located in the middle of the Italian Peninsula. The Romans conquered the territories sourrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The peoples inhabiting these teriitories became part of a common civilisation, whose cultural legacy is still felt today

Monarchy

8 BCE

Up to 6th century. Rome was governed by kings of Latin and Etruscan origin. It became the most powerful city in its region.

The Roman Monarchy

8 BCE

Was the first system of government in Rome. During this period, Rome took the form of a city-state. Rome had seven kings. After the reign of Romulus, there were three Sabine kings, three Etruscans kings. The kings were the highest authority in political,military and religious matters. There were two institutions:
-The Senate, made up of the heads of the city´s
- The comitia, made up of the rest of the citizens.
The last king was Lucius Tarquinius Suoerbus.

The Republic

6 BCE

It was a politicalsystem which lasted five centuries. After the kings were expelled,power was held by the patricians, the heads of the leading families. To prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of a single person.
* The magistracies were themain bodies of the government. They were elected each day
Two consuls (two years), the quaestors, the aediles, the praetors, the censors.
*The senate was themost important institution.
*The comitia were made up of free citizens.

Republic

6 BCE

Up to 1st century. Rome expanded around the Mediterranean, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Near East provinces

Mediterranean expansion

5 BCE

Up to 3rd century. Rome defeat all the remaining people in the Italian Peninsula.
Once they controlled it, the Romans began their conquest of the western Mediterranean. This led the conflict with Carthage, tghe other great great Mediterranean power, in the Punic Wars.

Mediterranean expansion

3 BCE

Up to 2nd century. the Punic Wars ended with Carthage´s defeat and the Roman conquest of Sicily,Corsica, North Africa and the most of the Iberian Peninsula. Then Rome expanded into the eastern Mediterranean, defeating the Greeks and Macedonians.

Consequences of expansion

2 BCE

The Mediteranean conquests brought the Romans money,slaves and land.However this caused instability in the Republic.
- Plebeian revolts.2nd century BC,the Gracchus brothers,tribunes of the plebs.They were assassinated.
-Slaves rebelion.It was led by Spartacus,a gladiator who fought to end slavery.The rebellion was suppressed in 71 BC.
Social instability increased the influence of the army and its generals, giving way to a period of civil wars.

Crisis of the 1st century BC

1 BCE

The Republic was weakened, leading to the creation of two triumvirates.
-The first triumvirate:formed by Pompeythe Great,Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus.Differences emerged.Julius Caesar,being named dictator in perpetuity.He was assassinated in 44BC
-The second triumvirate:Formed by the generals Octavian,Marcus Antonius and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.The victor was Octavian,who proclaimed himself emperor.This brought the Republic to an end and began the Imperial Period

Empire

1 BCE

Up to 5th century AD. Augustus was the first Roman emperor. Rome reached its greatest territorial entent. The Empire began to decline in the 3rd century AD

Mediterranean expansion

1 BCE

With the subsequent annexation of Syria and Egypt, the Mediterranean became the Roman Mare Nostrum. Finally romans occupied: Gaul, Great Britain and part of Central Europe

Roman army

1 BCE

It was made up of free men, who fought from the ages of sixteen to sixty. The army had powerful cavalry, but its true military force was the infantry, which was organised into legions. They were accompained by auxiliary troops made up of foreign mercenaries or those contributed by Rome´s allies.

The model of the Roman family

1 BCE

Women: did not participate inpolitics. they were responsible for taking care of tge children and household tasks.
Girls: received the same education as boys until adolescence.
Sons: of wealthy families were educated al home by Greek masters.
Pater Familias: was the family´s highest authority.

Te Pax Romana

1 CE

• The territory was organised in provinces. These was run by a governor with the help of officials soldiers.
• Roman customs, religion, laws, language and way of life were introduced into the conquered territories. This process is called Romanisation. In 212, the emperor Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire, who by the time had alredy adopted Roman laws and culture.

Birth and evolution of Christianity

1 CE

The Romans were polytheists, as they worshipped many gods. As Rome conquered territories and came into contact with new cultures, they incorpored other deities, especially those from Greece.
Christianity emerged in the 1st century AD in one of the Empire´s southern provinces, Palestine.
In the year 313, Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, allowing Christians to worship in public. Finally, in the year 380, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Empire.

Rome,an economic power

2

Rome enjoyed a very prosperous economy
-Agriculture was the most important activity. There were some small properties owned by free peasants.
The conquered areas were exploited economically by Rome.
-Livestock farming was essential, bt raising horses was crucial
-Mining was among the economic activities that brought the greatest prosperty.
-Artisanal activity also became very important, with workshops run by free men and slave labour.
-Trade also developed, especially during the Pax Romana.

The Roman diet

2

Diet varied depending on a person´s social class
Wealthier classes had a rich diet which includeed meat and fish. They held banquets where up to seven dishes might be served, and drank large quantities of wine.
Poorer classes primarily ate bread, soup and barley or wheat porridge. They were rarely able to get meat or fish

Crisis of the 3rd century

3

A large part of Roman prosperity was the result of territorial expansion.Through its conquests,Rome has appropriated the wealth of the annexed territories.The crisis has consequences
- The amount of slave labour decreased,causing a drop in pruduction
-Rome had to raise taxes to maintain its revenue
-Also had political effects.There was no system of succession in place for the emperor,the generals fought amongst themselves to gain the position, leading to assassinations of emperors and civil wars

Division of the empire

395

Facing crisis at all levels, Emperor Theodosius decided to divide the Empire between his two sons:
- Honorius received the western half, with Rome as its capital
-Arcadius received the eastern half, with Constantinople as its capital

Arrival of the Visigoths

410

However, the division did not improve the situation in the western half of the empire. The Visigoths were able to cross the limes and ransack Rome

Fall of the Empire: The Fall of Rome

476

The Heruli overthrew Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor in the West. For many historians, this event marks the end of Antiquity and the start of the Middle Ages.