Roman Trade/Roads

All Roads Lead to Rome

How did this help the Empire succeed?

Increase in Trade

• One important aspect of Roman expansion were the economic reasons

• Certain areas, especially in the east of the empire were resource rich

• Rome needed resources that they couldn't produce themselves

• Most of these resources could be found in other Roman provinces

Roman Provinces

• These were the regions outside of Italy under the control of Rome

• The modern use of province comes from the Latin word, provincia

• Each province was governed by an appointed Roman

• By 68CE, there were around 25 pronices throughout the Empire

Open Ended

Why would splitting the Empire up into provinces be beneficial?

You can notice certain provinces have familiar name like Hispania and Britannia

Trade is Made Easier

• Many traders from Africa and Asia would trade with Rome

• From Africa, traders would bring animals

• From Asia, traders would bring exotic goods like spices

• Roman traders would send goods like jewelry, glass, clothing

• Traders would often travel outside Roman borders, using the mediterranean as an access to Asia and Africa

• The Roman Navy would protect trader ships

Poll

One of the main trade routes was the Silk Road. What is the Silk Road?

• A road made of silk

• A trade route that only sold silk

• A trade route that linked the East, like China, to the West

• A trade route that linked Africa to the Americas

What are some of the goods that were traded throughout the Empire?

Open Ended

Why would this increase in trade allow for the Roman Empire to expand?

Roman Religion

They Allow Many Religions

Romans would connect leaders to Gods

• To celebrate, Romans would have festivals to honor every god of theirs

• Because of their diversity, celebrations would vary from city to city

Lares and Penates

• Lares were household gods that were spirits of the dead that would protect your house

• Penates were gods responsible for wealth and prosperity

• Most Romans would have shrines of Lares and Penates in their homes

This would be a typical shrine of the Lares and Penates

Open Ended

With such a diverse set of citizens, can you guess why the Romans had such a diverse and wide variety of Gods in their Pantheon?

Roman Deities

• Romans didn't want to offend any gods so they paid respect to all gods

• Their most popular gods were from lands they conquered

• Most came from the Greek Pantheon and became their main gods

Poll

Can you guess which of these gods is NOT one of the Roman gods

• Neptune

• Jupiter

• Hermes

• Mars

Roman vs Greek Gods

• Zeus = Jupiter aka the main god. God of the sky

• Ares = Mars aka the god of war. The second most important god

• Poseidon = Neptune aka the god of the sea

• Aphrodite = Venus aka the goddess of love and beauty

Cicero Denounces Catiline

Multiple Choice

Last Question. Why did Romans pray to so many different gods?

• To be more inclusive of their neighbors

• To avoid offending any gods who may exist

• To have more holidays

• To bring more harvest before the winter