Chapter 11 Notes

Rome
Italyis a boot-shaped country in the
Mediterranean. The toe of the boot points
toward the island of sicily
The Alps are mountains at Italys northern
border, and the Apennines is a mountain
range that extends through Italy from
north to south.

Section 1
Physical features influenced Rome's
development. Rome was founded about 15 miles
up the Tiber from the Mediterranean Sea. People
used the river to move goods easily between
northern and southern Italy. Merchants could
also ship their goods out to the Mediterranean
Sea using the river. In addition, Rome was far
enough up the Tiber River to escape raids by
sea-going pirates. Rome's location across seven
steep hills made it easy to defend against enemy
attacks.
Another legend describes the founding of
Rome much differently. This tale involves
twin brothers, Romulus and Remus.
Littleis known about the first people to
settle in Italy. Latin-speaking people,
called Latins, settled on the plain of
Latium in central Italy.

One group of Latins built straw-roofed

huts on Romes hills. The people living
there became known as Latins
The Etruscans were skilled metalworkers
who helped shape Roman civilization. The
Etruscan army was the model for the
Roman army.

The Greeks and Etruscans

The Romans greatly benefited from the
contributions of the Etruscans. However,
they grew weary of Etruscan rulers.
According to Roman tradition, in 509 B.C.,
the Romans overthrew Tarquin the Proud,
the Etruscan king, and established a republic
. By 267 b.c. the Romans contolled Italy.A
republic is a form of government in which
citizens elect their leaders.
. Over the next 200 years, the Romans
fought many wars against these
neighbors. By 267 B.C., Rome controlled
almost all of Italy. The Roman Republic
was able to 8.___________ land because
of its strong army.
The Romans also developed new battle
strategies. In the early days of the
republic, the Romans fought like the
Greeks. Rows of soldiers moved in a single
large group. They attacked from only one
direction. Roman generals realized that this
way of fighting was slow and hard to
control. They reorganized their soldiers into
smaller groups, called 9.____________.
The Romans stressed the need to treat
conquered people 11.____________.
Not everyone was treated fairly in the Roman
Republic. Rome's government reflected divisions within
its society. Patricians and plebeians were the two
classes of people in Rome. Early Romans were divided
into two classes: patricians and plebeians. The
patricians were Rome's ruling class. Patricians were
wealthy landowners. They came from Rome's oldest
and most prominent families. Most Romans, however,
were plebeians. Plebeians were not as wealthy as the
patricians. In some cases, they were very poor.
Plebeians included artisans, shopkeepers, and owners
of small farms.

Sect.2
Patrician and plebeian men were Roman citizens and
had the right to vote.Both groups were required to
pay taxes and serve in the army. Plebeians, however,
had a lower social position than the patricians. For
example, it was illegal for a patrician and a plebeian
to marry each other. Plebeians also lacked important
basic rights. They could not hold public office or lead
the public ceremonies that honored the gods of
Rome. Rome's republic would be shaped by a
struggle between the patricians and the plebeians
over the right to govern.
The government of the Roman Republic was
organized into three branches. One branch made
laws; another ran the daily affairs of government;
a third branch acted as judges. The republic had
a system of checks and balances. This system
was designed to prevent one branch from
becoming too strong. It did not separate powers
like the United States government does today,
however. Judges helped run the government and
could lead armies. Some leaders who ran the
government also helped make laws.
Top government officials were called consuls.The
consuls were administrators and army leaders.
Each consul served one year in office. Their terms
of office were short so that they would not
become too powerful. Each consul could veto, or
reject, the other's decision. Another important
group of officials were the praetors. They
interpreted the law and served as judges in court.
They could also lead armies. The senate was the
most important lawmaking body. The Senate was
a group of 300 patrician men.
 These senators served the republic for life. During the
early republic, the Senate only advised the consuls.
By the 200s B.C., however, senators debated foreign
policy, proposed laws, and approved the construction
of roads and temples. Another important legislative
body was the 18._______________________. It
elected consuls and praetors and passed laws. The
Assembly of Centuries was, like the Senate,
controlled by patricians.
Plebeians challenged the class system by going
on strike.The Romans then allowed the plebeians
to set up their own legislative group called the
Council of the Plebes. he Council of the Plebs
elected officials called tribunes. Tribunes voiced
plebeian concerns to the government. Tribunes
could also veto government decisions. Later,
plebeians were even allowed to become consuls,
and marriages between plebeians and patricians
were made legal.
In 287 b.c. the Council
of Plebs was given the
right to pass laws for all
Romans.
In the Roman Republic, a
dictator was a person who
served the people and
ruled temporarily during
emergencies.
Cincinnatus, the best-known early Roman
dictator, led an army of men to defeat a
powerful enemy threatened to destroy the
Roman army. The Senate appointed
Cincinnatus as dictator to handle this
emergency. Messengers were sent to his
farm to tell him about his appointment. They
found him plowing his fields. Cincinnatus
accepted the role of dictator, and he
immediately created an army.
Then, he led it into battle, easily defeating
the enemy. Next, Cincinnatus marched his
army back to Rome and resigned as
dictator. Just 16 days after taking control of
the republic, Cincinnatus returned to his
farm.
The Twelve Tables were Romes first code of laws.
These laws served as the foundation for all future
Roman laws. The Twelve Tables supported the
ideal that all free citizenspatrician and plebeian
alikehad the right to be treated equally in the
Roman legal system.
The law of nations were created to address issues
of conquered peoples. These laws applied to
people who were not Roman citizens.
The rule of law is the idea that laws should apply
to everyone equally.
Carthage, a state on the coast of North Africa,
was a powerful enemy of Rome. Each wanted to
control the entire Mediterranean world. In 264
b.c., their rivalry intensified. It grew into a
series of wars that took place over a period of
nearly 120 years.
The First Punic War began as a dispute between
Rome and Carthage over the island of Sicily.
The Second Punic War began after Carthage
expanded into Spain.
Hannibal was a great Carthaginian general who
fought in the Second Punic War. The Romans
bitterly opposed Carthage's attempt to establish
territory so near to Rome. So the Romans
encouraged the Spanish to rebel against Carthage.
In response, Carthage sent its greatest general,
Hannibal, to attack Rome. This event, in 218 b.c.,
started the Second Punic War.
Rome destroyed Carthage in the Third Punic War.
Rome also took all of Greece and Macedonia and
parts of Africa during the Punic Wars.
In the 100s b.c., farmers began to fall into
poverty and debt. Why? Many small
farmers had neglected their fields while
fighting in Roman wars. Others had their
farms destroyed by the Carthaginians.
Now, the farmers did not have crops to
harvest. As a result, they could not pay
back loans they owed.

Sect.3
Latufundias were large farming estates
created when wealthy Romans bought small
farms. Farmers could not even find jobs on
these huge farms. Those jobs went to a new
source of laborthe thousands of prisoners
captured in the Roman wars. Wealthy
landowners did not have to pay wages to
enslaved workers. Instead, they bought more
land for their latifundia. Small farms were
pushed out of business.
Desperate economic conditions created mounting
anger among the poor. Roman leaders worried about a
rebellion. To prevent a revolt, Roman leaders began
offering cheap food and free entertainment to the
poor. Numerous Roman rulers used this policy of
"bread and circuses" to acquire or stay in power.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were two wealthy
brothers who tried to reform government. he brothers
wanted to stop the wealthy from taking over small
farms to create their latifundia. They urged the Senate
to take some land from the latifundia and return it to
the poor.
The Senate was made up of wealthy Romans, some of
whom owned the latifundia. They fought the Gracchus
brothers' proposals. A group of senators even killed Tiberius
in 133 B.C. Gaius was also murdered 12 years later. Dark
days had fallen on the Roman Republic. The people charged
with making and upholding the laws repeatedly broke them.
Marius was a former military leader, was appointed counsel
and promised land to poor men if they became soldiers. The
plan that Marius put into action weakened the republican
form of government. Military generals grew enormously
powerful. Some generals sought political office. This allowed
them to pass laws that gave land to their soldiersand
increased their power.
Sulla drove Marius out of Rome,
declared himself dictator, and
spent three years reforming
government before resigning from
office. He reduced the power of
the tribunes and gave the senators
more responsibilities.
A triumvirate is a political alliance of three
people.
Julius Caesar, Crassus, and
Pompey formed a triumvirate
after Sulla left office.
 Each Triumvirate member commanded a military post in an
outlying area of the Roman Republic. Pompey led in Spain,
Crassus in Syria, and Caesar in Gaul. Gaul was made up
mostly of what are now France and Belgium. While serving
in Gaul, Caesar fought the Celts and invaded Britain. He
won the admiration and support of the poorer classes.
Roman senators grew uneasy with Caesar, however. They
feared that he was becoming too popular and would seek
power as Sulla had. By 50 b.c., the First Triumvirate no
longer existed. Crassus had died in battle, and Pompey
emerged as Caesar's main rival. In 49 b.c., the Senate gave
its support to Pompey Julius Caesar marched on Rome and
defeated Pompeys forces after Crassus died in battle.
Caesar declared himself dictator of Rome for life
and made many changes to Rome. He gave
citizenship to many people living in Roman
territories. He created jobs for the unemployed. In
the countryside, he organized new settlements for
landless laborers. He ordered landowners using
slave labor to hire more free workers.
The Julian calendar was created during Caesars
rule and still in use today.
Caesar enemies plotted to kill him and succeeded
on March 15, called the Ides of March.
Octavian was Caesars grandnephew, who had
inherited Caesars wealth.
Antony and Lepidus were two of Caesars top
generals.
Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the
Second Triumvirate,
Antony fell in love with Cleopatra VII and formed
an alliance with her. Octavian declared war on
Antony to keep him from taking over the republic.

 Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatras forces at

the Battle of Actium.
Cicero was a political leader, writer, and public
speaker who favored representative government and
supported Octavian.
Octavian restored the republic with some reforms and
took the title Augustus, meaning revered one. This
began the Roman Empire.
Pax Romana is the long era of peace that
began with Augustus.
Augustus built a permanent, professional
army and created a special guard called
the Praetorian Guard who guarded him.
Augustus appointed a proconsul, or
governor, for each province, replacing
politicians appointed by the Senate.

Sect.4
Before Augustus, tax collectors paid the government
for the right to collect taxes. Tax collectors could keep
some of what they collected from the people. Many tax
collectors, however, were dishonest and took too much
from the people. To solve this problem, Augustus made
tax collectors permanent government officials and paid
them regular wages. He created a code of laws for
people living in the provinces who were not Roman
citizens. As time passed, most of these people became
citizens, so eventually, the laws were applied to
everyone. However, the legal system often favored the
authority of the empire over individual citizens' rights.
 The Julio-Claudian emperors were the rulers who
followed Augustus: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and
Nero. Caligula and Nero were cruel leaders, and
Tiberius and Claudius were competent rulers.
After Nero died, violence erupted throughout the
Roman Empire. Then, in a.d. 69, a general named
Vespasian, became emperor. Vespasian restored order,
but he treated harshly anyone who opposed Roman
rule. Vespasian crushed several uprisings throughout
the empire. One such uprising was the Jewish revolt in
the eastern province of Judaea. Vespasian's son, Titus,
commanded troops that defeated the Jewish rebels.
The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was
destroyed by Vespasians armies in the effort
to put down a Jewish rebellion.
Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the
city of Pompeii in A.D. 79.
The rulers known as the good emperors were
Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian ,Antoninus Pius, and
Marcus Aurelius. The Roman Empire
flourished under their rule. Hadrians wall was
built to help defend Rome.
Aqueducts are human-made water channels for
carrying water long distances. They were created
during the prosperous times of the good emperors.
The Emperor Trajan expanded the Roman Empire to its
maximum size. The empire's borders extended to
Britain in the northwest and Mesopotamia in the east.
The Roman Empire became one of the largest empires
in history during the reign of the good emperors.
The different people of the Roman Empire were united
by Roman law, Roman rule, and their shared identity
as Romans.
Roads and currencya system of money
were important to the prosperous trade
that developed.