The Roman Empire Chapter 9 Lesson 3
Intro Pax Romana (Roman Peace) - Rome was to enjoy a Pax Romana during the rule of Octavian (Augustus) and long after his death. Lasted for more than 200 years. Roman Empire continued to expand to include lands all around the Mediterranean Sea.
Governing the Empire Millions of people speaking many languages and following different customs lived in the empire. Octavian carefully chose people to serve as governors for the provinces. Octavian issued decrees that gave Roman citizenship to all the people living in the provinces. Citizenship gave people special protection.
Governing the Empire: Census Romans were the first to take a census. This census helped to make sure that Roman citizens paid any taxes or gave any military service that they owed.
Governing the Empire: Army Under the early republic the Roman army had been made up of only citizens who owned land. As the borders of Rome grew, more soldiers were needed, so the army was opened to volunteers. Most of the soldiers were well-trained professionals whose skills made the Roman army one of the most successful military forces in history. The army s main job was to defend the empire s borders.
Governing the Empire: Army Many soldiers were sent to regions in central and eastern Europe. Other important army posts were in Britain, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and northern Africa. Roman soldiers built army posts throughout the empire. They also build about 80,000 km of roadways. The roads allowed the Roman army to move quickly and made the exchange of goods and ideas possible all over the empire. This lead to cultural diffusion, or spread of idea, among the province.
The Splendor of Rome Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire. Octavian ordered new government offices, libraries, temples, and public baths to be built, and existing building to be repaired. Also, some of the new buildings were theaters and sports arenas, where Romans could enjoy entertainment.
The Splendor of Rome: Basilicas In the city s center stood huge government buildings called basilicas
The Splendor of Rome: Forums On a stretch of level ground near the Tiber River was the forum, a public place where people could meet for business or recreation.
The Splendor of Rome: Colosseum At the colosseum was a huge arena, which could hold 50,000 people. At the colosseum, Romans watched battles between gladiators. Gladiators were slaves or prisoners who fought often to the death for the entertainment of the citizens.
The Splendor of Rome: Aqueducts All across the empire the Romans also built aqueducts. An aqueduct is a system of bridges and canals used to carry water to a city. The Roman aqueducts carried water from faraway rivers and mountain streams to the cities.
The Splendor of Rome Ideas from Greek Architecture could be seen in many buildings. Roman builders admired the beauty of Greek architecture and used Greek styles of columns in their own buildings. They also used arches, as the Etruscans had. Roman architects later added ideas of their own, such as domes.
The Splendor of Rome Because of its splendor, the leaders of provinces in different parts of the empire wanted to remodel their cities after Rome. As far as Britain and Syria, people built arenas, basilicas, baths, forums, libraries, and temples.
Rome s Cultural Life Romans often looked to Greece for other cultural ideas besides architecture. Roman artists, sculptors, and writers adopted the Greek styles. The ideas of Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates also spread to Rome. Many wealthy Romans hired Greek scholars to teach their children.
Rome s Cultural Life Roman artist and writers created works that brought out feelings of patriotism among the Roman people. Even Octavian wanted an epic that would tell the story of Rome s historic past. A poet named Virgil was asked to write this epic and it was called Aeneid. The Aeneid stirred the patriotic feelings of Romans everywhere. Because of this it was used for many years as a textbook in Roman school.
Rome s Cultural Life: Language The language of the Romans also helped bring together the diverse people of the empire. As soldiers traveled through the provinces, they spoke and wrote in the Latin Language. Latin came to be used in government and education in all the Roman provinces. The Latin alphabet came from the one used by the Etruscans. English is partly based on Latin. The Latin alphabet is used to write in English and many other languages today.