Ch. 11: Rome - Republic to Empire
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"I came. I saw. I conquered." - Julius Caesar
The Story Matters:
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When the volcano Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, it covered the Roman city of Pompeii with a thick layer of burning ash. As many as 20,000 people were killed, and the buried city was lost for centuries. When explorers dug into its remains in the early 1700's, they discovered a time capsule of Roman times, with buildings, art, and everyday objects all perfectly preserved.
This mosaic, which is an image of a woman created out of small stones and glass, was discovered in one of the homes of Pompeii. Historians have learned much about the daily life of Romans from artifacts unearthed at Pompeii and other archaeological sites.
Like the Greeks, ancient Roman culture included the worship of many different gods. Ancient Romans tried to please their many deities by offering sacrifices at shrines or temples. Some deities were based on those of the Greeks. Families also worshiped their ancestors in their homes. The earliest Roman gods were the sky god, Jupiter, and the war god, Mars. Goddesses included Diana, Minerva, Juno, and Vesta.
This mosaic, which is an image of a woman created out of small stones and glass, was discovered in one of the homes of Pompeii. Historians have learned much about the daily life of Romans from artifacts unearthed at Pompeii and other archaeological sites.
Like the Greeks, ancient Roman culture included the worship of many different gods. Ancient Romans tried to please their many deities by offering sacrifices at shrines or temples. Some deities were based on those of the Greeks. Families also worshiped their ancestors in their homes. The earliest Roman gods were the sky god, Jupiter, and the war god, Mars. Goddesses included Diana, Minerva, Juno, and Vesta.
It Matters Because:
Lesson 1: The Founding of Rome - Rome's location, especially its nearby farmlands and easy access to the Mediterranean Sea, enabled it to grow and influence the world.
Lesson 2: Rome as a Republic - Rome's ideas about democracy would greatly influence the people who founded the United States many centuries later.
Lesson 3: The End of the Republic - Without a strong system of checks and balances, a powerful individual or group can easily take control of a representative government.
Lesson 4: Rome Builds an Empire - The achievements of the Roman Empire influenced the Western world for centuries and continued to affect the modern world today.
Lesson 1: The Founding of Rome - Rome's location, especially its nearby farmlands and easy access to the Mediterranean Sea, enabled it to grow and influence the world.
Lesson 2: Rome as a Republic - Rome's ideas about democracy would greatly influence the people who founded the United States many centuries later.
Lesson 3: The End of the Republic - Without a strong system of checks and balances, a powerful individual or group can easily take control of a representative government.
Lesson 4: Rome Builds an Empire - The achievements of the Roman Empire influenced the Western world for centuries and continued to affect the modern world today.
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- Students will understand the different elements/factors that encouraged the growth of the Ancient Roman civilization and their contributions to other civilizations by integrating visual information with corresponding evidence, data, and facts found within print and digital text.
Learning Scale:
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4.0: Students will be able to: compare and contrast the Ancient Roman civilization to the Ancient Greek civilization.
3.0: Students will be able to:
3.0: Students will be able to:
- explain the key achievements and contributions of the Roman Empire and why it eventually collapsed
- explain 3 characteristics of the Roman Republic
- cite evidence describing how life was different in the Roman Empire compared to when it was a Republic.
- cite evidence describing the problems that led to the collapse of the Roman Empire
- summarize the major achievements and contributions of the Roman Empire
- identify key figures from the Roman empire, such as: Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and Caesar Augustus)
- explain the benefits of Rome expanding into an empire
- explain the problems Rome faced as it expanded into an empire
Content Vocabulary:
Academic Vocabulary:
Short History: Julius Caesar and the Rise of the Roman Empire
Far to the west of China, yet another superpower was growing. At the time of Alexander the Great, Rome had not been important enough for Alexander to even consider taking over. But the Romans were impressed, fascinated, and influenced by Greek culture—and they deeply admired Alexander and his conquests. They wanted the empire and glory that Alexander had achieved.
When Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC, Rome was a republic. It was ruled by senators who were elected by the citizens of Rome. The senators argued, made speeches, passed new laws, and picked military leaders when Rome was at war with its neighbors. Having a representative government was very unusual at that time in history. But the system was far from perfect. Lots of people—women and slaves—didn’t have the right to vote or become senators. And some of Rome’s laws seem extreme by today’s standards. For example, if you lied in court, the punishment was being hurled off a cliff to your death. Plus, the government had become corrupt. Laws were not applied fairly and taxes varied, depending on whether or not you were friends with the tax collector.
When Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC, Rome was a republic. It was ruled by senators who were elected by the citizens of Rome. The senators argued, made speeches, passed new laws, and picked military leaders when Rome was at war with its neighbors. Having a representative government was very unusual at that time in history. But the system was far from perfect. Lots of people—women and slaves—didn’t have the right to vote or become senators. And some of Rome’s laws seem extreme by today’s standards. For example, if you lied in court, the punishment was being hurled off a cliff to your death. Plus, the government had become corrupt. Laws were not applied fairly and taxes varied, depending on whether or not you were friends with the tax collector.
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Julius Caesar was no ordinary Roman citizen. He was a powerful general and politician who greatly expanded Rome’s territory. With an army of 50,000 Roman soldiers in 52 BC, he took over and subdued Gaul (modern-day France and Belgium). Caesar turned thousands of prisoners of war into slaves. And he paraded Gaul’s defeated leader through the streets of Rome, where he was executed.
In Rome, some of the senators thought Caesar was getting too powerful—and they tried to reduce his influence. In response, Caesar marched his army through the streets of Rome and got himself declared temporary dictator, the supreme ruler of Rome. He then chased his chief opponent all the way to Egypt. There, when he wasn’t engaged in street battles, Caesar fell in love with Cleopatra.
Caption: Before the rise of the Roman emperors, the Roman Republic’s territory already extended beyond Italy into Greece and western Asia. Heavy taxes were often imposed on these outer provinces. Built in 117 BC in Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey), the Celsus Library served as both the tomb for a governor of Rome’s Asian province and as an actual library, containing 12,000 scrolls. (Serhat Akavci/ Shutterstock)
In Rome, some of the senators thought Caesar was getting too powerful—and they tried to reduce his influence. In response, Caesar marched his army through the streets of Rome and got himself declared temporary dictator, the supreme ruler of Rome. He then chased his chief opponent all the way to Egypt. There, when he wasn’t engaged in street battles, Caesar fell in love with Cleopatra.
Caption: Before the rise of the Roman emperors, the Roman Republic’s territory already extended beyond Italy into Greece and western Asia. Heavy taxes were often imposed on these outer provinces. Built in 117 BC in Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey), the Celsus Library served as both the tomb for a governor of Rome’s Asian province and as an actual library, containing 12,000 scrolls. (Serhat Akavci/ Shutterstock)
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When Caesar got back to Rome, he gave the right of citizenship to more people, pardoned many of his former enemies, made the tax laws fairer, and started a public building program. Although his dictatorship was supposed to be temporary, some senators thought he was going to declare himself king and maybe even try to have Caesarion, his son by Cleopatra, named as his successor. Caesar’s enemies plotted his murder. They lured him to a back room of the senate building to “sign some papers.” On March 15 in 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated. It’s said he was stabbed 23 times.
Caption: This 19th-century painting, The Death of Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini, depicts Caesar’s assassination. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
Caption: This 19th-century painting, The Death of Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini, depicts Caesar’s assassination. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
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Following Caesar’s death, there was a huge struggle for power in the Roman republic. In the end, the senate declared Caesar’s adopted son Octavius to be the leader of Rome—for life. He was given the title Caesar Augustus, and he became the first Roman emperor.
At its peak, Rome ruled the lands all around the Mediterranean Sea, plus what later became England. The Roman emperors launched massive construction projects, building roads throughout their empire, aqueducts for carrying water to cities, and amphitheaters and stadiums where the public could watch plays and sports.
Caption: This bronze statue of Julius Caesar stands in Rome today. (Shaun Jeffers/ Shutterstock)
At its peak, Rome ruled the lands all around the Mediterranean Sea, plus what later became England. The Roman emperors launched massive construction projects, building roads throughout their empire, aqueducts for carrying water to cities, and amphitheaters and stadiums where the public could watch plays and sports.
Caption: This bronze statue of Julius Caesar stands in Rome today. (Shaun Jeffers/ Shutterstock)
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Of course, the fears of the senate about having a king or emperor in charge were justified. Some of Rome’s rulers were brilliant and quite fair. Others were tyrants and basically nuts. Nearly unlimited power allowed Rome’s emperors to do both great and terrible things.
Rome ruled supreme for hundreds of years, but like other empires before and after, its grip on power eventually weakened. The last Roman emperor was forced into early retirement in AD 476 (kidsdiscover.com).
Caption: In the once-great Roman city of Thysdrus (now El Djem in Tunisia), this amphitheater, built in AD 238, seated 35,000 people who came to see gladiators fight against each other and wild lions. (Marques/ Shutterstock)
Rome ruled supreme for hundreds of years, but like other empires before and after, its grip on power eventually weakened. The last Roman emperor was forced into early retirement in AD 476 (kidsdiscover.com).
Caption: In the once-great Roman city of Thysdrus (now El Djem in Tunisia), this amphitheater, built in AD 238, seated 35,000 people who came to see gladiators fight against each other and wild lions. (Marques/ Shutterstock)
Bet You Didn't Know:
- At the height of the empire, 50 percent of ancient Rome's revenue was used to pay for its military.
- In 408 A.D. the Roman senate paid the Visgoth king Alaric a massive tribute to prevent an invasion: 35,000 pounds of gold and silver, 4,000 silk tunics and 3,000 pounds of pepper.
- The infamous Roman emperor Caligula lavished attention upon his horse Incitatus, giving the animal his own house with a marble stall and ivory manger. Caligula planned to appoint the horse to the high office of consul, but he was assassinated before he could do so.
- Three of the first five Roman emperors—Caligula, Claudius and Nero—were direct descendants of famed general and politician Mark Antony.
- When a Visigoth army led by King Alaric I sacked Rome on August 24, 410, it marked the first invasion of the city in almost 800 years. The Gauls had launched the last successful attack in 387 B.C.
- Famed warrior Attila the Hun was only defeated once in battle. The loss came at the hands of a joint Roman-Visigoth army in the Battle of Châlons, located in present-day France, in June 451.
Comprehension and Study Guides:
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Ch. 11 Comprehension Guide | |
File Size: | 20 kb |
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wh_ch._11_test_study_guide.docx | |
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Vocabulary:
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Ch. 11 Who Am I Vocab | |
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Ch. 11 Who Am I People & Places | |
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Progress Checks:
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Ch. 11 Progress Checks | |
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Primary Source Worksheets:
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Caesar Augustus Worksheet | |
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A New Power Rises | |
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Patrician vs. Plebeian | |
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Punic Wars | |
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Spartacus | |
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Roman Empire After Caesar Augustus | |
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Cleopatra | |
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Julius Caesar | |
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Word Scatter:
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Rome Word Scatter | |
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Senate Word Scatter | |
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Julius Caesar Word Scatte | |
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Graphic Novel:
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Ch. 11 Rome Graphic Novel | |
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Chapter Summary:
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Ch. 11 Rome Summary | |
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Ch. 11 Chapter Summary Spanish | |
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Julius Caesar:
The Fall of Rome:
Roman Colosseum:
Ancient Rome Aqueducts:
Aqueducts:
Pompeii:
Deconstructing History: Pompeii
Games in the Colosseum:
Cleopatra:
Evolution of the Roman Forum:
Ancient Roman Super Highway:
Roman Roads:
Rome Falls: