WHAT AM I GOING TO LEARN?
1. The natural environment in which the Roman civilization emerged
2. History of Rome
3. Life in Roma cities and society, religion, christianity, culture and art
WHAT DO I HAVE TO STUDY?
●Unit from your book.
● English handouts and worksheets.
● Spanish and English vocabulary (use your glossary book and vocabulary organizer)
●Activities from your book.
● The outline you made.
This unit is about the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the first great European empire. Many Roman aqueducts, bridges, public baths and amphitheatres can still be seen today. How have the Romans influenced us?
– Many European languages are based on Latin
– The Romans admired Greek culture, so they spread Greek culture across Europe
– Our laws are based on Roman laws
– Christianity appeared in the Roman Empire
1.1 The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was at its biggest in 177 AD. This huge empire included Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Turkey and North Africa, so it surrounded the whole of the Mediterranean.
•Earlier civilisations like Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece were just provinces.
•As Rome controlled the Mediterranean, it was safe to transport goods by sea. This was quicker and cheaper than using roads, so trade prospered.
•Rome was the biggest and richest city in the world; it had a population of over 1 million people.
2. HISTORY OF ROME
THE LEGEND OF ROMULUS AND REMUS:
•The twins Romulus and Remus are put in a basket in the River Tiber. A she-wolf finds the babies, and feeds them her milk. Later a shepherd adopts the boys.
•When the boys grow up, they decide to build a city by the River Tiber. One day they argue, and Romulus kills Remus. Romulus names the city after himself – Rome
HISTORY OF ROME:
Roman history is divided into three periods: the Roman Kingdom, the Republic and the Empire.
2.1 ROMAN KINGDOM (753 – 509 BC)
In the Roman Kingdom, people elect their kings. Once a king is elected, he has absolute power. There is a council* called the senate* which helps the king, but the senate is weak*. Tarquin the Proud is the last king of Rome. He is a very bad king, so the people of Rome overthrow* him in 509 BC
2.2 THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (509 – 27 BC) Now the people of Rome decide that they don ́t want a new king. Instead, they create a kind of democracy called a republic. This is how the republic is governed: The magistrates always follow the advice of the senate, so really the senate takes the most important decisions.
Roman expansionFor a long time, this system of government works very well, so Rome becomes more and more powerful. First it takes control of all of Italy; then it defeats Carthage (264 – 146 BC) and the Hellenistic kingdoms (214 – 30 BC). Rome therefore controls the whole Mediterranean
Crisis and civil warIn the 1st century BC, Rome suffers a political crisis. There is a lot of corruption and people think taxes are too high. The generals become too powerful, and they fight each other in several civil wars
JULIUS CAESAR AND THE CIVIL WARSIn 100BC, Julius Caesar is born in Rome. He is from an important family, so in 61 BC he becomes governor of Spain. Next Caesar goes to fight the Gauls in France. He is a brilliant general, and he conquers all of France. Caesar’s soldiers love him, but the senator Pompey thinks he is too powerful, so he orders him to return to Rome. Caesar goes to Rome, but he brings his army with him, and starts a civil war* with Pompey. Caesar wins, and Pompey is killed. Caesar is now the most powerful man in Rome, and he makes himself consul* and dictator* for life. The senators are afraid that Caesar wants to be king, so they murder him in 44 BC. After Caesar is killed, the civil wars continue for 14 more years.
2.3 THE ROMAN EMPIRE (27 BC – 476 AD)In 28 BC Augustus* becomes the first Roman emperor*. The emperor commands the army and he is the chief priest. There is still a senate, but it is very weak. Augustus brings stability to Rome. The first 200 years of the Roman Empire are known as the Pax Romana* – the Roman peace. During this period, the Empire is safe and prosperous. This is when the Romans build the Coliseum* in Rome and many other great buildings. The Roman Empire is at its biggest under the emperor Trajan.ns build the Coliseum* in Rome and many other great buildings. The Roman Empire is at its biggest under the emperor Trajan.
AUGUSTUS, The first EmperorThe general Octavius is Julius Caesar’s adopted son, so, when Caesar is killed, he wants revenge. After a long civil war he defeats his enemies and he becomes the most powerful man in Rome. In 27 BC the senate give him the title Augustus, and he becomes the first emperor of Rome. After that, he takes all of the most important decisions, so some people think that he has too much power. But, as the empire is peaceful and stable, most people are happy.
Crisis and civil war – again!In the 3rd century, the Roman Empire has another crisis*:
– Lots of Roman generals want to be emperor, so there is constant civil war
– Germanic tribes* attack Roman towns, and the Roman people escape to the countryside It is dangerous to transport goods, so there is less trade. Prices therefore go up, and people become much poorer Finally the civil wars end, and the Romans defeat their enemies. The emperors Diocletian and Constantine bring stability, and the 4th century is quite peaceful again.
The fall of the Western Roman EmpireIn 395 AD, Theodosius divides the Roman Empire into two parts: west and east. What happens next is very different in the two parts:
– Germanic tribes invade the western part. Romulus Augustus, the last Roman Emperor, surrenders in 476 AD.
– The eastern part of the Roman Empire becomes the Byzantine Empire, which survives for another 1000 years.
3. What was Roman society like?
CITIZENS AND NON-CITIZENS
In Rome there is a big difference between being a citizen and a non-citizen:
Roman citizens have more rights than non-citizens: only citizens can vote, be magistrates or own property.
•Women and slaves are not citizens
PATRICIANS & PLEBEIANS:
In Rome you don’t just have citizens and non-citizens, you also have two types of citizens – patricians and plebeians:•The patricians are the richest and most powerful families •The plebeians are the rest of the citizensThe patricians have more rights than the plebeians. For example, only the patricians are allowed to be magistrates and senators
THE ROMAN ARMY
One of the reasons that Rome became so powerful was that it had a very good army. The soldiers were well-trained and disciplined, so they often defeated enemies with bigger armies. The army was made up of legions, and the soldiers were called legionaries. There were 25-30 legions in the Roman army, with around 5000 men in each legion
4. ROMAN GODS
The Romans believe that there are very many gods. The most important Roman gods are:
The Greek gods, although their names are different in Rome
Local gods in new provinces, who become Roman gods as well. An example is the Egyptian goddes Isis
Emperors, like Augustus
The Romans believe in two kinds of gods: state gods and household gods
STATE GODS – THE OFFICIAL GODS:
The government builds temples to the official gods of Rome. During relogious ceremonies, priests pray and sacrifice animals outside the temples
HOUSEHOLD GODS – THE FAMILY GODS: Household gods protect the family and the home. Families make sacrificies to the household gods at home. They have a small altar called lararium
5. CHRISTIANITY
While Augustus is emperor, a new religion appears in the Roman province of Judea: Christianity. A jew called Jesus teaches that:
There is only one God
•all people are equal
PERSECUTION:
The Christians refuse to worship the Roman emperor, so the emperor persecute them:
Nero crucifies Christians because he blames
•Diocletian makes them fight as gladiators
CHRISTIANITY IS THE OFFICIAL RELIGION
In 313 AD, the emperor Constantine issues the Edict of Milan, which recognises Christianity as a religion. Then, in 380 AD, Theodosius the Great makes Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Now people who refuse to worship the Christian God are persecuted.
6. PUBLIC BATHS
All Roman towns have public baths, which are called thermae. Since the baths are very cheap, most men go once a day. People go to the baths to wash, but also to do exercise and to meet friends
7. Entertainment at religious festivals
There are no weekends in Anctient Rome, but they have lots of religious festivals: during the religious festivals, the Romans like to go to chariot races, gladiator fights and the theatre
THE CIRCUS: The Roman circus is very different to a modern circus: – The building is long and narrow, and it does not have a roof – The most popular shows are chariot races and horse races
THE AMPHITHEATRE The amphitheatre is where gladiators fight. Gladiators are normally slaves or criminals, and they are almost always men. Sometimes they fight each other, and sometimes they fight wild animals like lions and tigers Being a gladiator is obviously very dangerous, but there are some advantages: –
Gladiators are fed well to make them strong
– Gladiators are allowed to keep the money they win in fights
– A few gladiators become very famous
– Some really good gladiators are freed from slavery
8. What were Roman towns and roads like?
TOWNS As the Romans were very well organised, they planned their towns carefully. There was a main road that went from north to south called the cardo. The main road from east to west was called the decumanus. The rest of the roads were parallel to these two main roads, so they made a grid
THE FORUM Where the cardo crossed the decumanus, there was a big square, called the forum.
– The forum was the centre of political, cultural and social life.
– The most important buildings, like the temples and government buildings, were built around the forum.
– In the forum there were statues of the Roman emperors and of important local people
WATER SUPPLY
Aqueducts supplied fresh water to Roman towns. The water was used for drinking, and for public baths and fountains. Rome was such a big city that it had 11 aqueducts
VIGILES – FIREMEN AND POLICEMEN
Fires and crime were big problems in the city of Rome. Rome therefore had vigiles, who were both firemen and policemen.
ROMAN ROADS
There were good roads between all of the important cities in the Roman Empire. The Romans built the roads so that their army could move quickly, so they made them as straight as possible. The roads weren’t only useful for the army: they also made trade easier
9. ROMAN ARQUITECTURE
The Romans were great architects and engineers, and they built many big public buildings that we can still see today. The Romans used some important new techniques in their buildings.
The Romans also used concrete and mortar in their buildings. This made the buildings really strong, so many of them are still standing.
USEFUL WORDS:
CONCRETE: Mixture of small stones, sand, cement and water
MORTAR: mixture of sand, cement and water
THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TYPES OF ROMAN BUILDINGS:
TRIUMPHAL ARCHS: were built to commemorate an important victory. This one (next page) was built to celebrate Constantine the Great’s over Maxentius in 312 AD
BRIDGE: The Romans used arches in their bridges. This meant they could build bigger bridges, with longer spans
BASILICA: A basilica was a large building with one main room. It was used for business
AQUEDUCT: carried water to the Roman cities. They had one or more rows arches.
THEATRE: Roman theatres were semi-circular. They were very similar to Greek theatres.
AMPHITHEATRE: were round. They were used for fights between gladiators and wild animals (see the next page)
CIRCUS: Circuses were used for chariot races and horse races. There was space for 150.000 people in the Circus Maximus in Rome
TEMPLES: were houses for the gods. There was an altar inside the temple, but religious ceremonies took place in front of the temple. Roman temples were either rectangular or round
10. What were roman houses like?
In Roman towns, there are two main types of houses:
– A domus is a big family house. Only rich people live in a domus
– An insula is a block of flats. Most Roman people live in flats In the countryside
– Rich people have big farmhouses called villas
A VISIT TO A DOMUS: Imagine that you are invited to dinner at a domus. The front door is between two shops. A slave lets you into the hallway, which is called the vestibulum. At the end of the vestibulum you reach the atrium (patio) which is decorated with statues and paintings on the walls. Here your host is waiting for you. You and the other guests chat until it is time for cena (dinner)
You now go into the triclinium, where you lie down on a couch to eat. At home you don’t normally eat meat, but it is a special occasion, so your host serves pork and boar. There is lots of wine to drink. After seven hoursyou finally go home
THE INSULA The Romans are the first people to build blocks of flats.
– An insula is made of wood, brick or concrete
– The quality of the buildings is often very bad, so they sometimes collapse
– It is very crowded, noisy and smelly in an insula
– The most expensive flats are downstairs, and the cheapest flats are on the top floor (the don’t have lifts!)
– If there is a fire, it is very difficult to escape
THE VILLA Villas are big country estates. The owner and his family live in a big house, and there are simple rooms for the workers and slaves. There are also farm buildings, storerooms, stables and mills to grind cereals into flour
11. R O M A N A R T
The Romans decorated their houses and public buildings with all kind of art. Some of the most important kinds of art were sculptures, paintings and mosaics
SCULPTURE: Many Roman sculptures were copies of Greek ones, but they also made original sculptures
Portraits: Roman portraits were very realistic. Look at the lines of Caesar’s face.
Sculptures: The romans put sculptures of emperors and other famous people in the forum
Relief: told the story of Rome’s military victories
PAINTINGS: The Romans painted portraits, scenes from everyday life, animals and scenes from myths and legends
Murals: (paintings on walls) were used to decorate private houses and public buildings like baths. The Romans were the first people to paint landscapes
Small paintings: were done on wooden panels. Wood doesn’t last forever, so very few of these paintings have survived
MOSAICS: Mosaics were used to decorate the walls and floors of buildings. The Romans used small pieces of stone, glass or ceramic of different colours to make pictures
VOCABULARY
aqueduct: a channel for carrying the main water supply to a Roman town, usually built above ground and supported by stone arches.
auditorium: a Latin word meaning «a place for listening.
barbarian: the word used by Romans when referring to all foreigners not part of the empire. Later, this came to refer to uncivilized, violent, mostly Germanic and Asian tribes that attacked the empire.
Britannia: the Roman province of Britain, today’s England; first conquered by the emperor Claudius in 43 A.D.and abandoned in 410 A.D.
Caesar: a Latin word meaning «hairy one» that was the family name of Julius Caesar. The title Caesar was adopted by emperors from Augustus in 27 B.C., up until Hadrian in 117 A.D. The word Caesar was modified by the Russians to «czar,» a title for their king, and by the Germans and Austrians to «kaiser» for some of their rulers.
cauldarium: the hot room of Roman baths with the hottest bathing pools.circus: a racetrack or a circle.
civilized: a word taken from the Roman word «civitas» meaning the citizens of Rome.
centurion: an army officer in charge of a century.
century: a unit of the Roman army made up of 60-80 men.
cloaca: a large underground drain. Rome’s Cloaca Maxima is still in use today.cohort: an army unit of 600-800 men.
consul: one or two supreme heads of state during the Roman Republic that were elected each year.
colosseum: a large amphitheater where gladiator contests were held.emperor: a supreme ruler of the Roman Empire.
forum: a large, open square. The Roman Forum and the Imperial Forum were the locations of ancient Rome’s main buildings of government, greatest monuments and most important temples.
frigidarium: the cold room of Roman baths that contained the cold pools.gladiator: an armed man who fought to the death with other gladiators and with animals. Most gladiators were slaves or criminals.hypocaust: an underfloor heating chamber through which hot air from the furnace passed to warm a Roman building.
insula: a block in a Roman town or a block of apartments for the common citizens of Roman towns.Imperator: the Latin word for emperor.
Latin:the language of the ancient Romans that gave rise to the French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian languages and contributed many words to the English language.
legion: the largest division of the Roman army consisting of 4000-6000 men.
magistrate: certain elected officials who governed Rome during the Republic.
monotheism: a religion, such as Christianity, that recognizes only a single, all-powerful god.
orchestra: the semi-circular area in front of the stage of a Roman theater.
Patricians: wealthy and powerful Roman noblemen.
Pax Romana:The «Roman Peace.» The term of peace imposed by Rome on any of its dominions; a general term referring to roughly 200 years of Roman peace and prosperity from about 27 B.C. to 180 A.D.
Plebians: the common people of Rome.
province: a conquered territory of Rome; from the Latin word «provincia» meaning area of command.polytheism: a religion based on many gods and goddesses, such as the ancient Roman religion.
senate: a council of 300 important citizens whose task was to advise the consuls during the Roman Republic, but who, in fact, practically ruled Rome during most of this period.
stadium: another Latin world for racecourse.
tepidarium: the warm room of the Roman baths containing the warm pools.
thermae: Latin word for baths.
toga: the flowing garment worn by Roman men.
tribunes: government representatives of the common Roman people.
SOCIAL SCIENCE SANTÍSIMA TRINIDAD EL TIEMBLO 