Ancient
Rome
Rome was a city-state, a country, a region, and
an empire.
Geography
· Located
in the Mediterranean Sea – Italian Peninsula
· Experienced
a Mediterranean climate
· Apennine
Mountains run the length of the peninsula(backbone)
· Po
River in the north
· Rubicon
River in the north
· Tiber
River in the middle (Rome was founded on
the Tiber)
· Alps to
the north – protected Rome from harsh weather and harsh tribes located north of
the Alps
Groups that inhabited the peninsula together:
1)
Latins migrated to Italy ca. 800 BC
a)
Settled along the Tiber River on the seven hills
located there
b) Small
villages expanded until they joined together and became the one city Rome
c)
Mythology – Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus
2) Greeks
settled in the south and on the island of Sicily
a)
Probably colonists sent away from Greece during
the Dark Ages
3) Etruscans
lived in the region north of Rome
a)
Ruled much of central Italy, including Rome –
much of the later Roman culture was based on the Etruscans
b) Began
the use of the arch
c)
Adopted alphabet from the Greek
d) Developed
concept of engineering, which was used to drain marsh land for agricultural
purposes
e)
Some early Roman god and goddesses were Etruscan
509 BC – the Romans defeated the last Etruscan king to rule
Rome and established a respublica – “that which belongs to the people”
o
Today, called a Republic – people chose some of
the officials
o
Believed this would prevent any one individual
from gaining t00 much power
Society
§ Patricians
– members of the landholding upper class; controlled the government in early
Rome through the Senate
§ Plebeians
– farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders
- had little political influence early but fought for political rights
over the years
Government
v Early
Republic – the most powerful governing body was the Senate – 300 members – all
Patricians
v Each
year the Senate elected 2 Consuls – they supervised the business of government
and command of the armies; they served for 1 year
v The
Consuls were expected to approve one another’s decisions
v This
established a system of Checks and Balances by limiting time in office and
making them responsible to one another
v In
times of war or emergencies – the Senate could choice a dictator – a ruler who
has complete control over a government – for 6 months
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