THE RISE AND
EXPANSION OF
ROME
CHAPTER 2
FROM CITY,
TO KINGDOM,
TO REPUBLIC,
TO EMPIRE
THE RISE AND EXPANSION OF ROME
Lesson 1
HOMEWORK REVIEW QUESTIONS
① Define & use in example: republic, Augustus, empire,
emperor, Pax Romana, Christianity
② Timeline: rise & expansion of Roman Empire +
important dates
③ Main Idea: why was Rome’s geography favorable?
④ Main Idea: describe the Roman Republic.
⑤ Main Idea: describe the Pax Romana.
⑥ Main Idea: describe the beliefs of Christianity.
⑦ Critical Thinking: What challenges do you think came
with governing an empire as large and diverse as
Rome?
WORDS TO KNOW
Series (n.)
Acre (n.)
Def: unit of area
equal to 4,840
square yards; ¾ of
football field
Ex: He had 16 acres
of farmland.
Establish
(v.)
Ex: They
established a
new set of
classroom
rules
Def: to
begin or set
up; to create
Def: a number
of similar
people or
things in a row
or following
one another
Ex: Education
is a long series
of failures and
successes.
Contain (v.)
Ex: They contained
the lion in a cage.
Def: to hold back;
restrain
THE ORIGINS OF ROME
 Rome = modern-day Italy
 500-700 BC: home to the Latins,
Greeks, Etruscans
 Latins built Rome along Tiber
River: Seven Hills of Rome
ENVIRONMENT
 “Favorable” = cool, rainy winters =
acres of productive farmland
 Apennines Mt. range =
1) Protection from harsh weather
2) Protection from foreign invaders
 Tiber River = busy & prosperous
trade network
ROME AS KINGDOM
 8th century BC: Rome
became a kingdom
 Early kings related to
Etruscans (powerful
group from North)
 Last King = Tarquin the
Proud
 Ruled harshly
 Effect: Romans
revolted in 510 BC
 Refused to be ruled by
King again
 Instead, decided to
based government on
“will of the people”
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
500 YEARS OF REPUBLIC
① Republic: citizens have
voice (all free-born
males); wealth & noble
families have louder
voice; women had no
voice and few rights
② Laws to protect basic
liberties
③ Two leaders: consuls 
limited power by Senate
(lawmaking body): act as
check to consul power
④ Well-organized, powerful
army = more territory
Senatus Populusque Romanus
(The Senate and People of Rome)
ROMAN EXPANSION
OVER THE ITALIAN
PENINSULA
From 500 BC –
218 BC
THE PUNIC WARS
•First Punic War (264-241
BC) defeated Carthage
(North African
civilization, called by the
Romans Punici
[Phoenecians])
•Outcome = Rome gains
control of Sicily and the
Mediterranean,
Carthiginian General
Hamilcar swears revenge
THE PUNIC WARS
•Second Punic War (218201 BC)
•The son of Hamilcar,
Hannibal, is a brilliant
military leader
•Defeats Roman armies
again, and again… but
can’t force Rome to
surrender (he defeats its
armies, they raise another
army)
•Outcome = Roman leader
Scipio Africanus invades
Iberia (Spain), then Africa.
Carthage is forced to lose
Iberia, and pay a huge
amount of $ for 50 years
THE PUNIC WARS
•Third Punic War (149146 BC)
•Rome finishes the job
and destroys Carthage
once and for all.
The ruins of Carthage
DECLINE OF THE REPUBLIC
 Rome grows larger & more
populated = problems
maintaining order &
stability
 Class tensions (lower vs.
middle vs. upper)
 = Civil War
 45 BC  General Julius
Caesar took power,
becomes sole ruler
(dictator) = end of Roman
Republic
 44 BC: Caesar assassinated
= power struggle
“Et tu, Brute?”
END OF REPUBLIC, BEGINNING
OF EMPIRE
• Caesar’s adopted son
Octavian takes power,
takes title Augustus or
“divine one.”
• Other names for this
new office: Imperator,
Princeps, Caesar … in
English, all mean
Emperor
• But never king!
• Reigned from 27 BC to
14 AD (41 years)
 Pax Romana: new era of
great growth
ROME AS EMPIRE
(IMPERIUM ROMANUM)
 Empire: group of different cultures/territories led by
a single all-powerful Emperor (or ruler)
 Augustus: careful, brilliant leader; created a strong
govn’t
 Pax Romana: period of peace and prosperity
 AD 14: Augusts died
 2nd century AD: Roman Empire reached largest size
 Two million square miles
 50,000 miles or roads: connect Spain to
Mesopotamia
 60-100 million people under Roman rule; Germans,
Africans, Greeks, Jews, Egyptians, and more
THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
 Big empire = hard to control
 Christianity: based on the teachings
of Jesus (believed to be son of God)
 Jesus: born in Judea (6-4BC);
was a Jew (religion: Judaism)
 Judaism and Christianity:
monotheistic (belief in one god)
 Rome up to this point had been
polytheistic (believing in many
gods)
 Teachings:
 Love thy neighbor
 Love your enemies
 Idea of heaven
 Jesus had many followers = threat
to power and authority of Roman &
Jewish leaders
 They arrested and executed
Jesus
 Followers spread Jesus’
teachings across Roman empire;
refused to worship Roman gods
ROME DIVIDES INTO
EAST AND WEST
 Despite difficulties, Rome continued for 200 years
 Diocletian; 51st Emperor A.D 284-305
 Restored order; ruled with “iron fist”
 Divided Rome into East & West = easier to govern
 Called the Tetrarchy – the rule of four
 There would be 2 Emperors, and 2 Caesars (subEmperors)
 Diocletian: Emperor of the East
 Maximian: Emperor of the West
 Constantius: Caesar of Gaul and Britannia
 Galerius: Caesar of Dalmatia and Thrace
INVASION & CONQUEST
 Late 300s: Germanic peoples and other groups begin pushing
into Roman lands
Reasons for invasion:
① Looking for better land
② Join in Rome’s wealth
③ Some groups fleeing Huns, fierce invaders from Asia (who
would later invade Rome themselves)
476: Germanic tribes conquer Rome; this date marks the fall of
the Western Roman Empire
CONSTANTINE AND
CHRISTIANITY
 Next: Constantine
 A.D 313: declared end of Christian persecution
 Effect: Christianity grows
 A.D 330: moved capital of Rome to Greek city of
Byzantium, later renamed: Constantinople
 Effect: shift in power from the western part of the empire to
the east
END OF THE EMPIRE
486: Clovis, king of Franks,
conquered Gaul (modern-day
France)  founds large and
powerful kingdom
Western Rome = dead
Eastern Empire (Byzantine Empire)
continues for another 1,000 years