The Rise of Rome – Flashcards

the leader of a republic is not a monarch, and some citizens have the right to vote

-Italy had large fertile plains that were ideal for farming -the Apennines are less rugged than the mountain ranges of Greece and did not divide the Italian peninsula like Greece -located about 18 miles inland on the tiber river, rome had a route to sea -it was far enough inland to be relatively safe from pirates -it could be easily defended due to it's position on seven hills -rome had a good central location from which to expand -Estruscans turned Rome from a village to a city - Romans used the Etruscan dress and military organization

-The Senate and political offices were increasingly controlled by a small circle of wealthy and powerful families. The backbone of the Roman state and army had always been the small farmers. Small farmers were unable to compete with large wealthy landowners and lost their lands. When some aristocrats tried to fix this, the large landowners were furious. These conflicts led to civil wars

wealthy land owners who became rome's ruling class. Could be elected for governmental office

less wealthy land owners, craftspeople, merchants, and small farmers

a government by three people with equal power

absolute ruler

commander in chief

-the backbone of the roman state and army had always been the small farmers -Gracchus brothers came to believe that the basic cause of rome's problems was the decline if the small farmers -senators were furious at the idea of land being taken from them and given to the landless poor.

after Antony and Cleopatra fled and died, Octavian stop supreme over the roman world -the civil war had ended and so had the republic

-Caesar gained fame and military knowledge during his time in Gual -senators thought rule by only Pompey would be least harmful to their cause and asked Caesar to step down -stepping down for caesar was not an option because then he would be completely vulnerable to his enemies

-Antony and Cleopatra died/lost battle like Pompey and Crassus -Octavian stood supreme over the roman world -proclaimed the Restoration of the Republic - Octavian was the first Roman emperor -Fall of the republic and end of civil war

-Octavian stood supreme over the roman world -proclaimed the Restoration of the Republic - Octavian was the first Roman emperor -Fall of the republic and end of civil war

-by adapting greek styles, the romans spread greco-roman civilization throughout their empire. greeks had a giant empire (thanks to alexander the great) so when the romans adopted greek styles they naturally spread the greco-roman art and literature -romans developed a taste for greek statues -romas excelled in architecture and were the first people in antiquity to use concrete on massive scale -romans had remarkable engineering skills constructing roads bridges and aqueducts

-fire was a big problem because candles lamps strives and fire were used for heat and light -cart and wagon traffic was banned from the streets during the day because of congestion so people had to drive at night which made it hard to sleep -it was overpopulated and noisy -you shouldn't walk at night because you could get robbed or assaulted or soaked by the filth dumped from apartment buildings -poor people lived in apartment buildings called insulae which were made of steel beams and wood floors. they were poorly built and often collapsed -grim conditions for poor -cities were overcrowded and had a big gulf separating the rich and poor. rich lived in luxurious villas and the poor lived in apartments that were built poorly and often collapsed.

at the heart of the roman social structure stood the family -dominant male, wife, sons with their wife's and children, unmarried daughters, and slaves. -all upperclass roman children - boys and girls - were expected to learn to read and their teachers were often slaves -roman boys learned reading and writing, moral principles, family values, law, physical training -some upperclass parents provided education for their daughter by hiring private tutors or sending girls to primary schools -at age when when boys went to secondary school, girls were entering into marriage - romans believed weakness of female made male guardian necessary -legal minimum marriage age for girls was 12 and boys was 14 -divorce was introduced in the third in the third century B.C. -

-romans believed that their success in creating an empire meant that they earned the favor of the gods - romans were tolerant of other religions. they allowed worship of native god and goddesses throughout their provinces and even adopted some of the local gods -believed that the observance of proper ritual by state priests brought them into a right relationship with the gods echo guaranteed peace and prosperity.