From Republic to Empire

Around 800 B.C. a Latin princess gave birth to twins fathered by the god Mars. Her sons Romulus and Remus, were taken from her and left to die on the banks of the Tiber River. They were found by a she-wolf which fed and cared for them.

One day a shepherd killed the she-wolf and took the babies home to his wife. They raised the boys as their own sons. When they got older the brothers decided to build a city on the Tiber, but the brothers couldn’t agree on who should rule the city.

The brothers decided to let the gods choose between them. Each brother climbed to the top of a hill to watch for a sign. When the sign came, Romulus claimed to be king. He and Remus fought, Romulus won and became king. He named the city Rome.

What does this story tell you about Rome or the Roman people?

The city of Rome was lucky enough to be located near a major river (Tiber), had good farm land, had access to the Mediterranean Sea, and was surrounded by mountains that kept it safe from foreign invasion.

The ancient people of Rome were ruled by a series of Kings from around 800b.c. to 510b.c. Most of these kings were Etruscans - an advanced group of ancient Italians. Many of Rome’s traditions came from the Etruscans.

The last king to rule was a man named Tarquin the Proud. He was a very harsh king. The people of Rome, sick of his cruelty, kicked him out and decided to make a new type of government.

509 B.C. This new government was based on the will of the people, and was known as a republic. All free-born men could vote for who they wanted to represent them in the government.

Most importantly, the Romans created laws that protected basic liberties and freedoms. They also put limits on how long people could serve in the government and had two people in charge (consuls) so that no one person had total control. The senate also checked the power of the two.

The Romans also took a lot of pride in their military - which they used to expand their territory throughout the Mediterranean. However, this expansion also made the republic harder to govern.

Expansion of the Roman RepublicAs Rome expanded and conquered surrounding

areas, they came into contact with a powerful and wealthy culture from the northern coast of Africa called Carthage. Carthage controlled parts of Sicily and Spain. Rome felt threatened by Carthage…plus they wanted granaries in Sicily that were controlled by the Carthaginians. The two powers would begin to fight each other over Sicily, and eventually became involved in the Punic Wars – which lasted about 120 years. The Punic Wars would determine which culture would rule the Mediterranean world.

HannibalA young Carthaginian

general named Hannibal Barca, attacked Rome by coming over the Alps – something nobody thought could be done. He actually was at the outer walls of the city, but couldn’t get all the way in to defeat the Romans. He stayed on the Italian peninsula for 15 years waiting for the perfect time to end the war. Unfortunately for him, the Romans attacked his city instead and he was forced to defend it.

The Battle of Zama – 202 B.C.

As the republic grew larger, keeping order became more difficult. Also, disagreements between the rich and poor, and fights between the powerful sent Rome into a civil war.

Julius Caesar, a great Roman general, had conquered Gaul (France), and invaded Britain. He was told to disband his troops, but instead he crossed the Rubicon River, eventually defeated and killed his rivals, and named himself dictator of Rome.

Senators, who had enjoyed having the power in Rome, decided to kill Caesar. Upon his death, a power struggle began and a man named Octavian won. He named himself Augustus – which means “divine one”.

What happened as the republic grew larger?

How did the Romans make sure that no one person had too much power? Did it work – why or why not?

Why did the republic turn into an empire?

Would you have tried to save the republic? What would you have done?