Roman Achievements & Fall of the Empire

1. Roman Achievements

2. Roman Achievements
In early days, Romans borrowed heavily from
Greek culture. The blending of Greek,
Hellenistic and Roman traditions produced
what is known as the Greco-Roman civilization.
 Architecture
 Medicine
 Art
 Science
 Language
 Literature
 Law

3. Architecture
Pantheon
The Colosseum
Forum
Circus Maximus
Roads
Roman Arch
Aqueducts

4. Pantheon
 It was originally built as a Roman temple
to all the gods.
 Pan = all, theo = god
 The dome of the Pantheon influenced
buildings for thousands of years including
our nation’s capital building.

10. The Colosseum
 First permanent amphitheater built in
Rome which used 30,000 slaves and
500,000 tons of rock.
 Seated 50,000 people
 Entertain the masses including chariot
races, bloody gladiator fights, mock animal
hunts, and even naval battles.
 One of the greatest architectural
achievements in history.

15. The Forum
 The Forum is located between Palatine Hill and
Capitoline Hill in Rome. It is the central area
around which ancient Roman civilization
developed.
 Public meetings, markets, religious ceremonies,
and burials were held here.
 The Romans also constructed temples and some
houses in the Forum, as well as an impressive
drainage system, which is still visible where the
main sewer empties into the Tiber River.

18. Circus Maximus
 The Circus Maximus was the largest
stadium in ancient Rome. At one point
the Circus could seat 250,000 people
 Mostly held chariot races
A chariot is a cart pulled by
horses and could race up to 45
miles per hour!
The races were very dangerous.

20. Those guys were CRAZY!
We’d NEVER do something
like that?
Or would we?

22. Roads – The Appian Way
More than 300 miles long, it was the main
route between Rome and Greece

23. Roman Roads

24. The Arch

25. The Arch
 The Romans used arches in their
buildings and especially in their
bridges.
 Arches are very strong and can hold
more weight than rectangles.
 Many Roman bridges still stand
because of the arches.

26. Roman Arch

27. Arch
The Romans
perfected the
Etruscan arch with
the use of the
keystone.
The arch is one of
the strongest
methods for building
any large structure.
The arch distributes
weight more evenly.
Weight actually
strengthens an arch.

28. Arch
The arch also made buildings cheaper
to build because less building material
was required.

29. Arch

30. Aqueducts
 Waterways that were engineered to bring
water into the cities from the mountains,
often over hundreds of miles!
 Some are still in use today, supplying water
to Rome’s many fountains.

31. Aqueducts
Rome itself was supplied by more
than ten aqueducts which provided
more than 38 million gallons of
water per day!!

32. Aqueducts
Not only brought in fresh water, but Rome was
equipped with an elaborate sewer system which
washed away the waste and sewage into the
Tiber River.
Rome was a very clean city especially when
compared to some places we’ve studied!

33. And here it is….
THE SPONGE
STICK!!!

34. Medicine
Emphasis on public health
Public baths
 Keep germs at bay, better hygiene
Public water system
 Limited diseases associated with
standing water
Established a medical school
Eye Surgeries
 http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/medi
a/action/yt/watch?

35. Public Baths

36. Art
Romans were famous for their
Mosaics
Mosaics - Images made from small bits
of tile, stone, or glass
Mosaics decorated the walls and floors
of many wealthy Romans

37. Inscription: Beware of Dog

38. Science
 Ptolemy
 Astronomer
 Mathematician
 Geographer
 He wrote down the
Greek geocentric
(earth-centered) view
of the universe.

39. Mt. Vesusius erupts in 79CE in the town ofMt. Vesusius erupts in 79CE in the town of PompeiiPompeii
 A giant explosion ripped off the top of theA giant explosion ripped off the top of the
mountain and within 2 hours the town ofmountain and within 2 hours the town of
Pompeii hadPompeii had disappeareddisappeared..
 As ash fell, people tried to flee. MostAs ash fell, people tried to flee. Most
suffocated and weresuffocated and were buried in ashburied in ash..
 Rain hardened the ash forming molds of peopleRain hardened the ash forming molds of people
andand preserving artifactspreserving artifacts..
Science – Reviewing the PastScience – Reviewing the Past

40. ““History is not the accumulation of events of everyHistory is not the accumulation of events of every
kind which happened in the past.kind which happened in the past.
It is the science of human societies.”It is the science of human societies.”
Fustel de CoulangesFustel de Coulanges

41. Language
Latin
Romance Languages
(also referred to as Romanic Language)
French
Spanish
Italian
Portuguese

42. Literature
 Poetry
 Virgil
 The Aeneid
 Story of the origins of Rome in
the style of Homer.
 Horace
 Satires
 Histories
 Livy
 Patriotic – recounted tales of
great heroes like Cincinnatus.
 Philosophy
 Borrowed philosophy from
Greeks.
 Stoicism (duty/fate)

43. Law - Review
Twelve Tables
Once a law was made public, the
law was known to everyone.
Protection of certain rights
The principle of “innocent until
proven guilty”

44. Quick Check
Name the building in this picture.
a. Pantheon
b. Partheneon
c. Forum
d. Colosseum
What engineering feat provided water to Rome?
a. Arches
b. Aqueducts
c. Forums
d. Public Baths

45. Weird Romans
 http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/medi
a/action/yt/watch?videoId=TFo4-
N3EwsU

46. Decline and Division of the
Western Roman Empire

47. Slow Decline
Over a 300-year period, the western part of the
Roman Empire steadily declined because
of internal and external problems. By 284,
the empire was split into 2 parts each with
a co-emperor responsible to the Emperor.
There were 5 main reasons for the decline:
 Economic
 Military
 Social
 Political
 Invasion

48. Economic Reasons
 High Taxes: Cost to defend the empire =
big $$$
Government Costs = Taxes
 Geographic size – difficulty of defense and
administration
 Devaluation of Roman currency = inflation

49. Inflation

50. Military Reasons
 Army membership starting to include
non-Romans, resulting in decline of
discipline
 Rome was forced to hire mercenaries (non-
Romans) to defend their borders…little
loyalty!!!

51. Social Reasons
 Moral Decay - Decline in values
 Patriotism
 devotion to duty
 Discipline
 People’s lost of faith in Rome and family

52. Political Reasons
 Civil Wars
 Remember that Augustus (Octavian)
Caesar failed to provide for the peaceful
succession of emperors?
 This often led to civil wars which led to a
loss of support of the people.
 Long line of weak emperors left the
government impoverished and unable
to fix the problems of the empire.

53. Invasions
 ATTACKS ON BORDERS!!!
 The Huns were a nomadic tribe from Asia
who loved to fight
 Many Germanic peoples were displaced by
fierce battles with the Huns
 Ultimately, invasion and displacement put
pressure on Roman borders, often which
could not be defended with mercenary armies.
 Under pressure from attacks, Rome
surrendered territories in Britain, Gaul
(France), and Spain.

54. Invaders
 http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/medi
a/action/yt/watch?
videoId=IOnkc0xFDW4

55. Quick Check
Name the 5 reasons for the decline of the Roman
Empire.
a. Economic, Social, Psychological, Military,
Invasion
b. Military, Psychological, Social, Medical, Political
c. Economic, Political, Social, Military, Invasion
d. Social, Economic, Political, Medical, Military

56. Division of the Empire
 In CE 284, Emperor Diocletian divided
the empire into western and eastern
halves in order to make the large
empire easier to govern.
 He kept the wealthier eastern part for
himself to rule but appointed a co-
emperor to rule the western half
 The eastern half thrived while the
western Roman empire continued to
decline.

57. Division of the Empire
In CE 330, Emperor Constantine moved
the capital of the empire from Rome to
Byzantium and named it after himself,
Constantinople…Became known as the
2nd
Rome!

58. Fading Power & Invasions
 Roman Power fading
 378 Roman army suffered a defeat at
Adrianople by Visigoths
 410 Visigoth general Alaric overran Italy and
plundered Rome
 More and more Germanic peoples occupied
the western Roman Empire.
 434 Attacks by Attilla the Hun.
 Called the “Scourge of God” because people
believed his attacks were punishment for the sins
of humankind.
 476 Odoacer, a Germanic leader, ousted the
emperor in Rome. NO ROMAN EMPEROR

59. End of the Empire
 The final end of the western portion of
the empire came in CE 476 when
Odoacer, a Germanic leader, overthrew
the last western Roman emperor.
 476 is considered the official date of the
“fall of Rome.”
 The Eastern Roman Empire continued
as the Byzantine Empire.