Ancient Rome

1. John P. McKay Bennett ● D. Hill ● John Buckler
Patricia Buckley Ebrey ● Roger B. Beck
Clare Haru Crowston ● Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
A History of World Societies
Ninth Edition
CHAPTER 6
The World of Rome,
750 B.C.E.–400 C.E.
Copyright © 2011 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

2. I. The Romans in Italy
A. The Etruscans and Rome
• 1. The Etruscans were the Italian peninsula’s first permanent
settlers, and they traded with the Greeks. Small settlements
located on the Tiber River became the foundation of Rome
and were influenced by the Etruscan culture, alphabet, and
symbols.

4. I. The Romans in Italy
B. The Roman Conquest of Italy
• 1. There are several myths about the founding of Rome. The
most popular myth centers on Romulus and Remus, twin
brothers who were descended from a god. Later historians
told of an Etruscan king’s son who raped a virtuous Roman
wife; the woman killed herself out of shame, and her suicide
caused the Romans to rise up and overthrow their Etruscan
ruler.
• 2. The removal of the last Etruscan king allowed the Romans
to establish the Roman republic. A series of wars allowed the
Romans to dominate the Italian peninsula.

6. I. The Romans in Italy
C. The Distribution of Power in the Roman Republic
• 1. Early Roman social divisions consisted of the patricians,
who were the landowning aristocracy, and the plebeians,
free citizens with a voice in political affairs. The patricians
held most of the social and political advantages.
• 2. The senate was an important part of the Roman
government. Two elected government executives, identified
as consuls, were advised by the senators, but over time, the
senate became the real force behind the law.
• 3. Roman civil law consisted of statutes, customs, and
regulations placed on Roman society. Later, a “natural law”
based partly on Stoic beliefs came to govern Roman
behavior.

8. I. The Romans in Italy
D. Social Conflict in Rome
• 1. Inequality between plebeians and patricians led to the
Struggle of the Orders. A main complaint was that only
patricians knew the law and only they could argue cases in
court. Plebeians wanted the law codified and published.
According to tradition, the plebeians walked out of Rome
and refused to serve in the army.
• 2. The strike worked. The patricians offered a number of
concessions. They extended new political rights to the
plebeians, and they agreed to codify and publish the Laws of
the Twelve Tables.

9. II. Roman Expansion and Its Repercussions
A. Overseas Conquests and the Punic Wars, 264–133 B.C.E.
• 1. Carthage, a powerful city-state on the northern African
coast, was a Mediterranean trading empire now challenged
by Roman power. The tensions between Rome and Carthage
led to the First Punic War, which ended in Carthaginian
defeat.
• 2. In a second attempt to defeat Rome, Hannibal led
Carthaginian troops through the Alps to attack Rome.
Roman forces under Scipio Africanus later advanced on
Carthage, forcing Hannibal to abandon the siege of Rome.
The two forces confronted each other at Zama, where
Hannibal was defeated, and Rome became the victor of the
Second Punic War.
• 3. Finally, after a third and final war with Carthage, Rome
became the power to control the Mediterranean Sea routes.

11. II. Roman Expansion and Its Repercussions
B. New Influences and Old Values in Roman Culture
• 1. Roman cities included many comforts of life, such as
public baths, theaters, and other places of amusement.
Roman leisure was influenced by the old Hellenistic
culture. Greek literature was popular, while many Romans
spoke Latin and Greek.
• 2. Roman social organization was based on traditional
family structures. The oldest male of the family remained
the paterfamilias and had nearly absolute authority over
the household.
• 3. To the Romans slavery was not based on racial
identification but rather was a misfortune that some
people suffered.
• 4. Roman religion was polytheistic and similar to the
classic Greek tradition. Romans also believed in spirits that
haunted society.

12. II. Roman Expansion and Its Repercussions
• 1. The republic suffered numerous power struggles, which led
to the First Triumvirate, an alliance of three leaders: Pompey,
Crassus, and Julius Caesar. The First Triumvirate collapsed,
and Caesar ultimately gained sole power.
• 2. Julius Caesar enacted basic reforms and moved to expand
Rome into new regions, including Gaul, Spain, and North
Africa. Following Caesar’s assassination, another civil war
developed.
• 3. A Second Triumvirate was organized with Marc Antony,
Lepidus, and Octavian in power. Again, the leaders began to
compete for power. Octavian and Marc Antony waged war
against each other after Octavian forced Lepidus out of office.
• 4. Following in Caesar’s footsteps, Marc Antony formed an
alliance with Cleopatra, the Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt. Their
forces were defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium.

13. D. The Successes of Augustus
• 1. Augustus formed the new Roman
government as an empire, initiating a new
era for Rome. Emperor in fact if not in name,
Augustus promoted new ideals in most
aspects of society and created a stable
government.
• 2. Augustus pushed for Roman expansion into
Europe and established a network of roads
that linked Roman settlements together.

15. 1. What aspects of peace does this panel
express?
2. Based on this image, can you speculate
about what the Romans believed
necessary to maintain peace?

16. III. The Pax Romana
A. Political and Military Changes in the Empire
• 1. Some of the emperors that followed Augustus maintained a stable
bureaucracy. Others were ruthless and unbalanced, and on occasion
their rule led to military rebellion.
• 2. Protection and fortifications were established to maintain military
security, while the network of Roman roads was expanded to supply
military outposts.
B. Life in Rome
• 1. Classic Roman construction included palaces and elaborate buildings,
an elaborate sewage system, and aqueducts to serve all citizens.
• 2. Roman emperors entertained the public with gladiatorial contests and
chariot races.

17. III. The Pax Romana
• C. Prosperity in the Roman Provinces
• 1. Western Roman territories included regions of Britain, Gaul, and
Germany. Eastern territories included Syria, Greece, and Anatolia.
• 2. Expansion of trade throughout the empire made Rome an economic
force. Trade included exotic products such as olive oil from Syria and
raw materials from Mesopotamia.
• D. Eastward Expansion and Contacts Between Rome and China
• 1. Expansion eastward brought Rome into conflict with the Parthians,
but the Romans could not remove the Parthian kingdom from
Afghanistan.
• 2. The Sassanids conquered the Parthian kingdom, but Rome could not
defeat the Sassanid rulers.
• 3. In spite of the military defeats in the east, Rome maintained trade
with China using the Parthian population as middlemen. Chinese silk
remained a strong commodity of trade from east to west.

19. IV. The Coming of Christianity
• A. Factors Behind the Rise of Christianity
• 1. The Jews began to organize opposition to Rome’s authority. A group identified as
the Zealots fought to rid Judaea of Roman control.
• 2. The failure of pagan religions to satisfy many people’s spiritual needs helped pave
the way for the rise of Christianity.
• B. The Life and Teachings of Jesus
• 1. The Gospels are records of Jesus’s life and teachings. Jesus spoke of obtaining
eternal life after death through a devotion to God. His message was based on Jewish
moral traditions.
• 2. Jesus departed from Jewish orthodoxy when he identified himself as the Messiah,
or the Christ. Jesus preached that he would establish a heavenly kingdom rather than
an earthly one. His teachings aroused the Jewish population, which caused Roman
concern.
• 3. Roman authorities were concerned about insurrection throughout the empire.
Pontius Pilate was in charge of maintaining peace in Jerusalem. Pilate condemned
Jesus to death in an effort to avoid outbreaks of violence.
• 4. According to Jesus’s followers, on the third day after his crucifixion Jesus rose from
the dead. The resurrection became the cornerstone for the newly developing faith
recognized as Christianity.

21. IV. The Coming of Christianity
C. The Spread of Christianity
• 1. Paul of Tarsus initially persecuted Christians but then was converted and
began to promote Jesus’s teachings. Paul wrote numerous letters to various
communities informing them about Jesus. Many of Paul’s letters were included in
the New Testament.
• 2. Among Paul’s main targets in his effort to spread Christianity were non-Jewish
populations, identified as Gentiles. Christian teachings became popular in part
because they offered to many the possibility of eternal life and the prospect of
forgiveness.
D. The Growing Acceptance and Evolution of Christianity
• 1. Pagans in the Roman Empire viewed Christianity as a threat because there was
the chance its followers would consider Jesus a rival to Caesar. Christians
experienced some persecution, though they exaggerated the extent of pagan
hostility. The emperor Trajan finally began the end of the persecution of
Christians.
• 2. Organization of the religion began as the numbers of converts increased.
Churches were established, and a hierarchy of official leadership was fashioned
after the system of Roman government.

22. V. Turmoil and Reform
A. Diocletian’s Reforms
• 1. The Roman Empire became difficult to maintain due to its
size. Competing claims to leadership led to civil war.
Barbarian invasions created instability as Rome lost territory
to Sassanid armies and barbarian groups.
• 2. Due to the empire’s size, Diocletian created a new system
of government called the Tetrarchy, which had four rulers
throughout the empire. The government system quickly
failed.

24. V. Turmoil and Reform
B. Economic Hardship and Its Consequences
• 1. Instability impacted Roman economic production, causing
the devaluation of Roman currency, which sparked inflation.
Diocletian invoked government controls and taxes to
confront the economic crisis, but this compounded the
problem.
• 2. Due to constant attacks by barbarian groups, Roman
farmers fled the countryside, leaving vast tracts of
agricultural land deserted. The abandoned land was claimed
by great landlords, and their huge estates became stable and
self-sufficient. Free people began to work the land for the
estate owners, laying the foundation for serfdom.

25. V. Turmoil and Reform
C. Constantine, Christianity, and the Rise of Constantinople
• 1. Constantine supported the Christian church throughout
his reign as emperor. He legalized Christianity and was
baptized as a Christian, and he declared Sunday a public
holiday. A later emperor, Theodosius, allowed the church to
establish its own court system and law.
• 2. Constantine built a new capital city, Constantinople, which
was considered to be the New Rome. Located in the east,
the city was easier to defend. However, the eastern and
western halves of Rome began to drift apart.