LESSON 11

ROME

1.- THE GEOGRAPHY AND EVOLUTION OF ANCIENT ROME. THE MONARCHY

The territory of Ancient Rome
Roman civilisation was founded on the mountainous
Italian peninsula.
There were various peoples on the Italian peninsula
in the 8th century BCE: the Celts and Ligures lived in
the North, the Etruscans and Latins lived in the
centre, and the Greeks lived in the South (Magna
Graecia).
The founding of Rome and its history
Rome was founded in 753 BCE, when the Latin
tribes built settlements at the foot of seven hills near
the mouth of the river Tiber. The river and hills
provided protection, which made the location easy to defend. This geographical
position was also good for river and land trade.
According to the legend, Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus. They were
the twin sons of the god Mars and they were fed by a wolf until they grew up.
Romulus was the first king of Rome.
The founding of Rome marked the start of more than twelve centuries of history. It is
divided into three different periods:
 Monarchy (753 BCE – 509 BCE)
 Republic (509 BCE – 27 BCE)
 Empire (27 BCE – 476 CE)
During this time, Rome became the most powerful state in the west.
Monarchy (753 – 509 BCE)
In the beginning, Rome was a monarchy. The king had absolute power. However, he
was advised by a Senate in certain matters.
The Senate was formed by the patricians: a small group of powerful and wealthy
families. They were considered to be the descendants of the people who founded
Rome. The rest of the population were plebeians. They did not have any political
rights but they had to pay taxes and serve in the army.
During this period, Rome had a succession of seven kings.
Rome became a prosperous and powerful city under Etruscan rule. It gained more
territory and the number of inhabitants grew. However, people were increasingly
unhappy about Etruscan domination. This caused a major revolt in 509 BCE. As a
result, the last Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud, was exiled and a Republic was
declared.

2.- THE REPUBLIC (509 – 27 BCE)

Republican government
There were three main government institutions in the Republic:
 The legislative assemblies were made up of all citizens. They approved laws
and elected the magistrates
 The magistrates formed the main government. They each managed a specific
issue for one year. The most powerful magistrates were called consuls. They
led the army and presided over the assemblies and Senate
 The Senate consisted of 300 former magistrates. It controlled the magistrates,
took decisions on making peace or war with other peoples, and managed
foreign affairs. In practice, it approved all the important decisions
Territorial expansion
During the Republic, Rome expanded its territory greatly. This was thanks to its
highly organised army.
 In the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, Rome imposed its rule on the peoples of the
Italian peninsula, by conquering the Gauls, Latins and Greeks in the South
 Rome conquered the Western Mediterranean in the 3 rd and 2nd centuries BCE
 Finally, between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, Rome
conquered Macedonia, Greece and Syria in the Eastern Mediterranean

The consequences of conquest

Economic They provided wealth, such as war booty, slaves and new territories
Political The Senate couldn’t control so much territory and became corrupt
Generals and high-ranking officials created large estates where slaves
were forced to work and small farmers became poorer. By the 1st
Social century BCE, these events led to a peasants’ revolt. There was also a
slave revolt led by Spartacus to protest about the hard conditions of
slaves’ lives.

The end of the Republic

During the Republic, the army and army generals started to be given more and more
power. The most famous one was Julius Caesar.
Julius Caesar defeated his enemies and started a dictatorship until he was murdered
in 44 BCE, which caused a civil war. Caesar’s assassins were defeated by Octavian
(Caesar’s nephew) and Mark Antony. Octavian gained absolute power.
3.- THE EMPIRE (27 BCE – 476 CE)
The new government system
In 27 bC, the Senate awarded
Octavian the title Augustus and
emperor, marking the beggining of the
Roman Empire.
Emperors held all the political, military,
legislative and religious power.
The Empire was divided into
provinces to improve administration.
Each province paid taxes to Rome.
The conquests continued during the
period of the Empire and had its
greatest extension under the Emperor Trajan.
‘Pax romana’ and romanisation
In the 1st and 2nd centuries, there was a long peaceful period called the ‘Pax
Romana’.
As a result of this period of peace, the economy and culture developed and the cities
grew. It also enabled romanisation, that was a process through which the
conquered cities adopted Roman politics, economy, culture and social norms.
There were many different agents of romanisation. The main ones were: the army;
Latin, which was used as a common language; the emperors, who imposed Roman
rule; and the road network, which facilitated trade and military control.
The crisis of the 3rd century
Rome entered a period of great crisis in the 3rd century. There were many different
causes:
 An increase in civil wars and political instability increased because many
military leaders used their armies to gain power. Soldiers also became more
rebellious
 There were attacks from Germanic tribes, which made the borders less secure
 The end of the conquests reduced the amount of riches or slaves. As a result,
the economic activity and revenue fell, so taxes were increased
 People gradually abandoned cities and moved to the countryside. There was
more food there and taxes were lower.
In 395, to improve government and defence, Emperor Theodosius divided the
empire in two parts: East and West. The capital of the West was Rome and the
capital of the East was Constantinople. However, this did not stop the invasions of
the Germanic tribes. Romulus Augustulus, who was the last Western Roman
emperor, lost his throne in 476.
 Division of the Roman Empire in 395

4.- SOCIETY AND CIVIC LIFE

Social classes
Roman society was organised into different groups:
 Citizens had full political rights, for example the right to vote. They also had full
civil rights, such as the right to own property and get married. There was a
wealthy minority, consisting of the senators, magistrates, patricians and
soldiers. However, the majority were rural and urban plebeians who lived
modest lives
 Non-citizens did not have rights. This group included freeborn women, slaves
and freed slaves
The city
Cities underwent great
development under the
Roman Empire. They
became the centre of
political, administrative,
economic and cultural life.
Most were walled cities.
There were two main streets:
the cardo, from north to
south, and the decumanus,
from east to west.
The forum was a large
public square, located where
the two streets crossed. It
was the true heart of the city.
The most important public buildings were found there. In the surroundings there were
the market, shops and craft workshops.
Other public buildings included the theatre, amphitheatre and the circus. The city also
had public service installations, such as a water supply and sewage system.
Roman houses
 Domus
A domus was a type of
detached house, where
wealthy social classes
lived.
The front door led to an
entrance hall called the
vestibulum. This led to a
patio called the Atrium.
The bedrooms were
located around the atrium.
The office, dining room
and other rooms were
located on the other side.
 Insula
Insulas were a kind of
apartment building where groups of urban citizens lived, including the plebs and
upper middle class. The neighbourhoods were neglected and unsanitary.
The ground floor (1) included: front doors, stairs and tabernae (shops). The middle
classes lived on the first floorThe lower classes lived on the second and third floors.
5.- ROMAN CULTURE AND RELIGION
Roman Gods
The Romans were polytheists. Their religion
was divided into public and private worship.
They also had to worship the emperor.
The main gods (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva)
were worshipped in public. This activity took
place in the temples. The Romans adopted
the Greek gods and copied their temples.
They also accepted other polytheistic
religions and adopted their gods.
Christianity
Christianity began during the early Empire,
in the Roman province of Palestine. It was a
new religion preached by Jesus, a Jew born in Bethlehem. He was crucified and after
his death, Christianity was preached by his disciples.
Initially, Christianism was only followed by a minority, but it gradually attracted more
followers and the authorities considered it a threat for two main reasons:
 Christians were monotheists and they refused to worship the emperor
 They believed that all men were equal
At the start of the 4th century, they were
persecuted by Diocletian. During this time,
Christian ceremonies were carried out in
secret. People were buried secretly in
underground chambers called catacombs,
located on the outskirts of Rome.
The emperor Constantine stopped the
persecution of Christians in 313. He issued
the Edict of Milan, which granted religious
freedom. This allowed people to build
basilicas, the first Christian temples. In 380
CE, Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which declared Christianity as
the official religion of the Empire.

Year Emperor Importance

Christianism sttoped being
Edict of Milan 313 Constantine
persecuted
Edict of Christianism became the oficial
380 Theodosius
Thessalonica religion of the Empire
6.- ROMAN ART. ARCHITECTURE
Roman architecture had the following characteristics:
 It was practical: they built useful buildings that met the population’s needs
 They used different materials (bricks, stone, marble and cement)
 The architectural supports were walls and columns. They used Greek orders
Religious and civilian buildings
Temples were the main type of religious
building. Rectangular temples were the most
common. They had only stairways on the
main façade and were surrounded by
pilasters. Examples include the Maison Carré
in Nîmes (France) and the Temple of Fortuna
Virilis (Rome). The Pantheon in Rome is the
most well-known circular temple. It is also the
most spectacular and is covered with a large
dome.
Civic buildings were all very different. They
included:
 Basilicas, used for trade and to administer justice
 Bath houses
 Theatres, amphitheatres (for animal and gladiator fights), and circuses (for
chariot racing)
 Commemorative monuments, used to remember significant historical
events. The triumphal arches and victory columns were the most important
The Romans were also great engineers. They constructed paved or cobbled roads,
and built bridges and aqueducts to transport water to cities.
7.- ROMAN ART. SCULPTURE, MURALS AND MOSAICS
Sculpture
Roman sculpture was inspired by Greek art. However, it was more realistic.
Sculptures were made from bronze or marble. Most were portraits or historical
engravings.
During the Republican period, During the Empire, features were idealised.
portraiture was very realistic. People Sculptors began to create portrait statues,
began to make wax masks of the to show how powerful the emperors were,
deceased to remember their features and also equestrian portraits, like the
and for family worship statue of Marcus Aurelius

Historical engravings were made to record significant political and military events.
They usually represented battles or ceremonies. They were often found on triumphal
arches, for example, the Arch of Titus, commemorative columns such as Trajan’s
column, and on altars, for example, the Ara Pacis Augustae.

The Ara Pacis was built by

the Senate in the Campus
Martius (Rome) to
commemorate the start of
the Pax Romana
established by Augustus.
Its artistic relevance comes
from the engravings on its
walls: a procession
including the emperor as
well as decorative plant
motifs.
Murals and mosaics
Paintings were used to decorate the walls of the homes of upperclass Romans. They
were made in fresco with bright colours. The best preserved frescoes are found in
the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Mosaics were made from small pieces of colourful tiles, also called tesserae. They
were used to decorate the floor in wealthy homes.

8.- THE GERMANIC TRIBES. THE END OF AN ERA

The origins and expansion of the Germanic tribes
As all the tribes outside the limits of the Roman civilisation, the Germanic tribes were
called ‘barbarians’ by the Romans. They lived in the countryside, raised livestock and
worked with metal.
In the 3rd century, they crossed the border into Rome and settled in different
provinces across the Empire. Sometimes they did this by force and, other times, they
made pacts with Rome.
In the 5th century, they overthrew the Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire
and established independent kingdoms in his territory. These included the Franks in
Gaul and the Visigoths in Hispania.
The Germanic kingdoms
The Germanic kingdoms were governed by a monarch. The king had all the political
and military power. He was helped by trustworthy men who had sworn an oath of
loyalty to him in exchange of land.
The economy was based around agricultural activities.
The Germanic tribes were pagans. Later, the majority converted to Catholicism.
Art and culture underwent a period of decline because there was not enough money.