THE RISE OF ROME

Global Studies I
The Land and the People of
Italy
 Rome
 located about 18 miles inland on the Tiber
River, giving it access to the sea
 far enough inland to be safe from pirates

 built on seven hills, so it was easily defended

 situated where the Tiber could be easily

crossed
The Land and the People of
Italy
 Influences on Rome:
 Greeks
 Imitated their sculpture, architecture, literature, and
alphabet
 learned how to grow olives and grapes from them

 Etruscans
 adopted their clothing—the toga and short cloak
 organization of the Roman army was also borrowed
from them
The Roman Republic
 republic a form of government in which
the leader is not a monarch and certain
citizens have the right to vote
 Roman diplomacy
 granted Roman citizenship to conquered
people
 allowed conquered people to run their own
affairs as long as they followed Roman laws
The Roman Republic
 Excellent Military
 accomplished soldiers
 as they conquered, they built colonies

 built roads to move troops quickly

 Practical in law and politics

 Created laws as problems arose
The Roman State
 Two groups of citizens
 patricians- Rome’s wealthy landowners,
who became Rome’s ruling class
 plebeians - second and larger group of
Roman citizens, who were less wealthy
landowners, craftspeople, merchants, and
small farmers
The Roman State
 Resentment between the classes
 Patricians did not treat the plebeians as
equals.
 Plebeians could not hold government offices
initially
 their children could not marry the children of
the patricians
 The Roman State
 Roman Government

Patricians Plebeians

Consuls (officer of the Roman Council of the Plebs (after

Republic who ran the 471 BC)
government and led the
Roman army into battle)

Praetors (officer of the Tribunes (protected the

Roman Republic who was in plebeians)
charge of civil law )

Senate (300 men who served Consuls (from 4th century BC)
for life)
Centuriate Assembly (elected
officials and passed laws)
The Roman State
 Roman Law
 Twelve Tables
 Rome’s first code of laws
 Applied to Roman citizens only

 Law of Nations
 Applied to all people
 Innocent until proven guilty

 Due process – judge hears case and makes

decision based on evidence
First Punic War
 Cause
 Romans sent an army to Sicily. Carthage
thought Sicily was theirs and saw this as an
act of war.
 Results
 Rome defeated Carthage
 Sicily became the first Roman province
Second Punic War
 Cause
 Hannibal,the greatest Carthaginian general,
led a revolt against the Romans
 Results
 Rome crushed Hannibal at the Battle of
Zama and the war ended
 Spain became a Roman province

 Rome became the dominant power in the

Mediterranean
 Review
o Write short explanations of how each of
the following terms relates to this period
in Roman history:
 Etruscans
 Greeks
 Consuls
 Praetors
 Plebeians
 Patricians
 Carthaginians