Beginnings of the Empire

Beginnings of the
Empire

Chapter 11, Lesson 4

Review From Before Break

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would make the best title for this timeline?

• The Fall of the Roman Empire

• The Rise of the Roman Empire

• The Beginning of the Roman Republic

• The Strengthening of the Roman Republic

From Republic to Empire

●Civil war broke out after Caesar’s death

●Caesar’s grandnephew Octavian joined generals Mark
Antony and Marcus Lepidus

○Defeated the assassinators of Caesar

●Formed the Second Triumvirate in 43 B.C.E.

○Octavian controlled Italy and the West

○Antony ruled Greece and the East

○Lepidus took North Africa

Antony and Cleopatra

●Lepidus retired

●Antony fell in love with Egyptian queen Cleopatra

●Octavian felt Antony with Cleopatra were trying to take
over Rome

○Octavian declared war on Antony

●At Battle of Actium Octavian’s forces defeated Antony
and Cleopatra

●Antony killed himself and Cleopatra in response

●Octavian became sole ruler of Rome and ended the
Republic

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was responsible for the destruction of the relationship shown in the

diagram?

• Octavian’s desire to rule Greece

• Antony’s relationship with the queen of Egypt

• Cleopatra’s desire to become the sole leader of Rome

• Lepidus’s relationship with the former dictator of Rome

A New Direction

●Cicero

○Well known political leader and writer in Rome

○Argued representative government should be restored

○Influenced writers of United State’s constitution

●Octavian was declared consul, tribune, and
commander-in-chief for life

●In 27 B.C.E. Octavian took the title Augustus

○“The majestic one”

○Became Caesar Augustus, Rome’s first Emperor

Early Roman Empire

Rule of Augustus

●Under Caesar Augustus Rome entered a time period of
peace

●Lasted until 180 C.E.

●Known as Pax Romana

Reforms of Augustus

●

Permanent professional army

●

Praetorian Guard

○9000 men that guarded the emperor

●

Established borders of empire with natural
defenses

○Rhine and Danube River

○Atlantic Ocean

○Sahara

○Euphrates River

●

Large public works

Open Ended

What reforms did Augustus make to protect Rome?

●

Proconsul
○Governor that oversaw the provinces

○Inspected frequently by Augustus

●

Made tax collectors government officials
○They could not steal taxes now

●

Code of laws that applied to non-Roman citizens
living in the provinces of the Empire

●

Imported grain from Africa to keep his people
fed

Emperors After Augustus

●

Augustus died in 14 C.E.

●

Son Tiberius became Emperor

●

Three other emperor’s ruled after Tiberius

○Caligula

■Killed many people

■Overspent

■Appointed his horse as Consul

■Murdered by Praetorian Guard

○Claudius

■Ruled effectively

○Nero

■Killed many

●Including mother and wives

■Killed himself after Senate sentenced him to death
for treason

Multiple Choice

Of the four Emperors after Augustus, who was seen as the worst?

• Tiberius

• Caligula

• Claudius

• Nero

The Roman Peace

●

Violence erupted in Rome after Nero’s death

●

Vespasian restored order
○Treated people harshly

○Crushed Jewish revolt in province of Judea
■Destroyed Jewish temple in Jerusalem

○Began construction of Colosseum

●

Titus (Vespasian’s son) took over
○Pompeii disaster occurred during his rule

○A great fire destroyed Rome

Five Good
Emperors

●Nerva (96 C.E. - 98 C.E.)

○Revised taxes

○Land reforms to help the poor

●Trajan (98 C.E. - 117 C.E.)

○Greatly expanded empire

○Gave money for education, especially of poor children

●Hadrian (117 C.E. - 138 C.E.)

○Made Roman law easier to understand and apply

●Antonius Plus (138 C.E. - 161 C.E.)

○Enacted laws that assisted orphans

●Marcus Aurelius (161 C.E. - 180 C.E.)

○Reformed Roman law

○Assisted in uniting empire’s economy

●Built arches, monuments, bridges, roads, and harbors using tax
money

●Extensive aqueducts

○Brought water from country to city

●By 100s C.E. Roman Empire was around the size of the United States

Multiple Choice

Which describes how aqueducts contributed to Roman civilization?

• They diverted the Tiber River into the city of Rome.

• They were used to flood the Colosseum for naval gladiatorial battles.

• They brought water into the cities to be used for drinking and public baths.

• They acted as a sewage system which provided hygienic relief for Roman cities.

The Empire’s Economy

●Heavily reliant on agriculture

●Artisans produced large amounts of goods

○Exported throughout Mediterranean

●Trade boomed

●Standardized system of money

●Poor farmers and slavery was still very apparent

Multiple Choice

What other similarity between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire completes the Venn

diagram?

• Farmers were treated unfairly.

• Soldiers were highly respected.

• Plebeians were given no political power.

• Wealthy people and elected leaders shared power.

Multiple Choice

Which generalization about the Roman Empire can be made based on the information shown in

this chart?

• Roman merchants traded only within the empire.

• Marble was traded at a higher value than other products.

• The Roman Empire had more imported than exported materials.

• Expansion of the road networks provided access to varied trade goods.