SS Ancient Rome

• Rome began as a small village of the Latins in central Italy, near the Tiber River
• During the Regal Period, Rome was headed by a Rex, a king
• Etruscans were in the North and Greeks in the South, influencing the Latins through trade
• The Romans had 7 kings, with the last one, Tarquin the Proud, being overthrown by the people
• The Roman Republic elected two Consuls governed by the Senate
• Patricians were rich, nobles, and landowners, holding most political power, while Plebeians were common folk with limited rights
• The Plebeians fought for equality, leading to the creation of the office of the Tribune of the Plebs
• The Twelve Tables were laws inscribed on twelve bronze tablets displayed publicly in the Roman Forum
• Rome rapidly expanded its borders, successfully conquering the entire Italian Peninsula by 265 B.C.E.
• After dominating the Peninsula, Rome sought to control the Mediterranean, leading to conflicts with the Carthaginian Empire
• The First Punic War lasted 23 years with Rome winning and taking control over Sicily
• In the Second Punic War, Hannibal Barca launched a preemptive strike from the north, crossing the Alps and striking fear into the Romans
• The Battle of Zama was the decisive turning point against Hannibal, leading to Carthage's defeat
• Rome attacked and destroyed Carthage in 146 BCE, turning it into a Roman province
• An agricultural crisis led to the expansion of Latifundia, influx of slaves, and economic instability
• The Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, were killed by their political opponents
• Military generals rose in Roman politics through conquests, challenging the traditional Republic
• The First Triumvirate consisted of Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, creating laws favorable to their interests
• Caesar's dictatorship brought reforms benefiting the people, leading to his assassination on the Ides of March
• The Second Triumvirate, formed after Caesar's death, included Octavian, Marcus Antonius, and Lepidus
• The Pax Romana was a Golden Age characterized by peace, stability, a thriving economy, and Roman artistry
• Roman literature thrived during Pax Romana with authors like Virgil and Tacitus
• Roman entertainment included the Colosseum and Circus Maximus, central to public life in ancient Rome
• The decline of the Roman Empire was marked by civil war, civil unrest, and the Germanic Migration Period
• Under Emperor Diocletian, the Empire was divided into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires
• Emperor Constantine transferred the imperial court to the East, weakening the Western Roman Empire
• The Western Roman Empire collapsed when Germanic tribes attacked in 300 CE, leading to Rome's fall in 476 CE
• The Eastern Roman Empire continued as the Byzantine Empire until 1453 CE