The City of Rome Was Founded on a Group of Hills About Fourteen Miles from the Sea on The

The city of Rome was founded on a group of hills about fourteen miles from the sea on the Italian peninsula. The hills sat on a plateau above a plain. The Tiber River flowed down from the Apennine Mountains. This mountain range ran north and south through nearly the entire length of the peninsula. Rome was not right on the sea, but the Romans had easy access to the sea. This helped them develop trade with merchants from Greece and Carthage. The earliest Romans were shepherds and farmers. They lived on the plain just east of the Tiber River and in the nearby hills. Their land was known as Latium, and they were called Latin’s. Their language came to be known as Latin.

From 600s BCE to 509BCE, Rome was ruled by the Etruscans, a people that lived across the Tiber River. In 509 BCE the Etruscans were driven from Rome and the people established a republic. Italy was a dangerous place during this period. Rome created an alliance of cities in Latiumwhich became known as the Latin League. Latium was peaceful until 390 BCE when the Gaul’s (warriors from present day France) swept into Italy destroying Etruscan cities in the north and burning Rome in 390 BCE.

Rome was quickly rebuilt and a new army was raised. The Gaul’s had weakened the Etruscans, presenting the Romans with an opportunity conquer central and northern Italy. In addition, Rome defeated Greek colonies established in the south giving them control of all Italy.

Carthage (located on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea) was Rome's only competition at this time. They had many of the same resources, and both dominated their respective trade powers. Rome and Carthage knew that in order to be the most powerful, one would have to defeat the other. The battles between them were known as the Punic Wars.

Rome had a strong army. Carthagewas best known as a sea power. Its ships dominated the waters of the Mediterranean. Rome built a large fleet of advanced warships equal to those of Carthage and won the first war, gaining the island of Sicily as a province.

The Second Punic War started a Carthaginian general named Hannibal launched a surprise invasion of Italy. Hannibal and his army, which included over thirty elephants, started out from Spain. They marched eastward around the Mediterranean coast, over the Pyrenees and Alps, and into northern Italy. Hannibal nearly captured Rome. Finally, the Romans drove him out of Italy ending the Second Punic War. Rome laid siege to Carthage during the Third Punic War and destroyed the city, making them the dominant power in the Mediterranean region. The Roman Republic grew during the Punic Wars and continued to expand once they were over.

In 509 BCE the Etruscans were driven from Rome and the people established a republic. The Roman Republic was different from direct democracy. In a direct democracy the citizens could vote on all issues. In Rome they chose a group of people who voted on all decisions. This is known as representative democracy.

The Romans also set up a separation of powers so one person or branch of government would not have too much control. It was a tripartite system. There were three different parts or branches of the government: the Senate and the Assemblies (Legislative), the Consuls (President), and the Judges (Judicial).

The US government is also based on a written Constitution. The Constitution is a blue print for our government and is considered to be the highest law of the land. Roman law was written down in the Twelve Tablets. The Twelve Tablets covered important subjects such as debt, injury, marriage, and land rights. The TwelveTablets spelled out the rights and privileges of all citizens, reducing conflict between plebeians and patricians.

In the second and first century BCE, many changes took place in Rome. Four men helped turn the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

The Romans of the Republic had a very strict social structure. There was a clear line between the rich and the poor and the powerful and the weak.

There was also a difference in the way men and women were treated. Woman where not viewed as citizens and were limited to managing the household.

The ending of the Punic Wars began an age of expansion for the Romans. Roman would use conquest and war to gain new territory and access to new trade goods and natural resources. The Romans built roads, improving trade and encouraging growth, through the area the conquered and were generally tolerant of different religious practices.

The Roman Republic developed many new technologies and trading relationships during this period. This helped make the Roman Empire very wealthy and created a larger merchant class. Trade with India and China increased after the conquest of Egypt. By the end of Augustus’s reign, over 120 ships were making the voyage from Egypt to the Far East every year. Silk for women’s clothing became more popular than ever. Other precious cargo included cinnamon and ivory. Many of the territories conquered by Rome had rich resources. They were especially rich in metals like iron, lead, and copper. Hundreds of thousands of tons of these metals were mined each year. Roman’s economy also benefitted from the taxes they collected each year from their conquered territories.

The way food was grown changed during the Roman Republic period. During the Punic Wars and the expansion that followed, Rome forced many farmers to leave their land andbecome soldiers. Wealthy landowners turned farming into a business. Small farmers were not able to compete with the larger farms during this period. Many small farmers ended up selling their land to the wealthy landowners.

Politics in the Roman Empire were very different from the Roman Republic. In the Roman Empire, the emperor held all the power. He controlled the entire government. The Senate could no longer make laws without the emperor’s approval. The Empire was divided into provinces. The Senate chose the governor for areas that were once part of the original Roman Republic (Senatorial Provinces). Imperial provinces were located around the borders of the Empire and under the control of the emperor. He selected the governors for Imperial Provinces.

The first Roman emperor was Augustus. The last emperor was Romulus. He was forced to step down after the Roman Empire was finally defeated. Between these two leaders, over 80 emperors ruled in Rome.

During the reign of Augustus, the Roman Empire entered into a period of peace called the Pax Romana. The Pax Romana lasted for 200 years. Power struggles led to the murder of many emperors in the century following the Pax Romana. The Empire suffered from political and economic instability during this period.

As the Roman Empire grew, it became difficult to control the people in distant provinces. In 293 CE, Diocletian split Rome into two separate, but not equal, parts. The Eastern Roman Empire would include Roman–controlled areas in what is now Turkey and parts of Asia. The Western Roman Empire would include parts of Europe and North Africa. The division weakened the empire and contributed to its decline.

The Western Empire had trouble raising money to maintain and protect its borders. Slavery, which had always been a part of Roman society, was also making it harder for Western Romans to make a living and pay their taxes. More soldiers were needed to protect the Western Empire, but the people could not pay the required taxes. This left the Empire open for invasion from various barbarian tribes. Western Emperors hired German mercenaries to supplement the Roman army; however the German mercenaries were not always loyal.

The Roman Empire no longer exists, however it left a lasting legacy. Many roads and aqueducts built before the fall are still used today. Christianity is a prominent religion. Early Christian’s were persecuted for refusing to worship the emperor as a god. Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and he issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and ordered the destruction of many pagan temples in Rome, Greece, and Egypt. Paul, a Christian missionary, would later use Roman roads to travel throughout the empire and share his message.

The Romans borrowed many aspects of Greek culture and implemented them into their own. Today aspects of Roman culture can still be found. Perhaps the best example is in our language. The use of Latin spread across Europe and became the common language of many universities. Many of the world's most commonly spoken languages are based on letters and sounds of Latin, making the Latin alphabet the most recognized alphabetin the world today. Latin is also the basis for many legal and medical terms commonly used today.