The Roman Empire
Rome
Grew between 700 BC and AD’s 100
Population of over one million
A republic- run by elected leaders
Over time, control put in hands of individuals -
emperors
Cesar Augustus
Rome’s first emperor
Set powers that later
leaders would use:
Declare war
Raise taxes
Punish lawbreakers
Nominate public officials
Lead religious festivals
Influence the Senate,
elected council that ruled
Rome
Laws and Citizenship
Laws written down and placed on public display
Helped protect Roman’s from unfair treatment
Protected the rights of citizens, the people who could
participate in the government
Citizens had to pay taxes and male citizens had
to serve in the army when needed
Only citizens could hold public office
Roman Engineering
Aqueducts – human-made
channels that carried
water
Roman Art
Borrowed from earlier Greek art
Realistic life like poses
Portraits became popular
Roman Philosophy
Focused on how to improve people’s lives
Stoics taught people should not be concerned with
possessions
Influenced civic duty – people concerned with the good of
the city, not personal gain
Christianity
Spread to Rome in the first
century AD
Became the official religion in the
third century
The church became a major
figure in Rome
The Pope, head of the church,
had much power
Fall of the Roman Empire
By the 400’s Rome was too large to rule efficiently
Made communication difficult
Corruption – the decay of people’s values was widespread
and common
This made the government ineffective
Slaves were being used to work land
Landowners created their own armies to take power
Rich landowners left Rome for the country
Fall of the Roman Empire
Taxes and prices rose
Barbarian leaders overthrew the last emperor of
Rome in 476 and took power
Review
• What powers did the Roman emperor hold?
• What past culture influenced Roman art and
architecture?
• What is an aqueduct?
• Why were laws posted in public?
• Who could hold public office?
• Who is the head of the church?
• What group taught that possessions should be forsaken?
• Name the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire.