roman geography
Rome began as a small city-state on the Italian peninsula, but ended up ruling the entire Mediterranean world. Similar to the city-states of Ancient Greece, the Roman city-state was a self-governing state consisting of a city and its surrounding lands. The story of the Romans and how they built a world empire starts with the land where they lived.
The Italian peninsula looks like a boot, jutting into the Mediterranean Sea. The peninsula is centrally located in the Mediterranean Sea, and the city of Rome is in the center of Italy. That location helped the Romans as they expanded, first in Italy, and then into lands around the Mediterranean.
Because of its geography, Italy was much easier to unify than Greece. Unlike Greece, Italy is not broken up into small, isolated valleys. In addition, the Apennine Mountains, which run like a backbone down the length of the Italian peninsula, are less rugged than the mountains of Greece. Finally, Italy has the advantage of broad, fertile plains, both in the north under the shadow of the Alps, and in the west, where the Romans settled. These plains supported a growing population.
The ancestors of the Romans, the Latins, migrated into Italy by about 800 BCE. The Latins settled along the Tiber River in small villages scattered over seven low-lying hills where they herded and farmed. Those villages would in time grow into Rome, the "city on seven hills."
The Romans shared the Italian peninsula with other peoples. Among them were Greek colonists whose city-states dotted southern Italy and the Etruscans who lived north of Rome. For a time, the Etruscans ruled much of central Italy, including Rome itself. The Romans learned much from Etruscan civilization. They adapted the alphabet that the Etruscans had earlier acquired from the Greeks. They also learned to use the arch in building and adapted Etruscan engineering techniques to drain the marshy lands along the Tiber. Etruscan gods and goddesses merged with Roman deities (gods).
The Italian peninsula looks like a boot, jutting into the Mediterranean Sea. The peninsula is centrally located in the Mediterranean Sea, and the city of Rome is in the center of Italy. That location helped the Romans as they expanded, first in Italy, and then into lands around the Mediterranean.
Because of its geography, Italy was much easier to unify than Greece. Unlike Greece, Italy is not broken up into small, isolated valleys. In addition, the Apennine Mountains, which run like a backbone down the length of the Italian peninsula, are less rugged than the mountains of Greece. Finally, Italy has the advantage of broad, fertile plains, both in the north under the shadow of the Alps, and in the west, where the Romans settled. These plains supported a growing population.
The ancestors of the Romans, the Latins, migrated into Italy by about 800 BCE. The Latins settled along the Tiber River in small villages scattered over seven low-lying hills where they herded and farmed. Those villages would in time grow into Rome, the "city on seven hills."
The Romans shared the Italian peninsula with other peoples. Among them were Greek colonists whose city-states dotted southern Italy and the Etruscans who lived north of Rome. For a time, the Etruscans ruled much of central Italy, including Rome itself. The Romans learned much from Etruscan civilization. They adapted the alphabet that the Etruscans had earlier acquired from the Greeks. They also learned to use the arch in building and adapted Etruscan engineering techniques to drain the marshy lands along the Tiber. Etruscan gods and goddesses merged with Roman deities (gods).
roman republic
The Romans drove out their Etruscan ruler in 509 BCE. This date is traditionally considered to mark the founding of the Roman state. The Romans set up a new government in which some officials were chosen by the people to make the laws for them, known as a republic. A republic, or representative democracy, is a form of government in which the people elect, or choose, their leaders. A republic, Romans thought, would keep any individual from gaining too much power and prevent tyranny.
In the early republic, the most powerful governing body was the Senate. Its 300 members were all patricians, members of the landholding upper class. Senators, who served for life, made the laws.
Each year, the senators elected from the patrician class two consuls. Their job was to supervise the business of government and command the armies. Consuls, however, could serve only one term. They were also expected to consult with the Senate. By limiting their time in office and making them responsible to the senate, Rome had a system of checks on the power of government.
In the event of war, the senate might choose a dictator, or ruler who has complete control over a government. Each Roman dictator was granted power to rule for six months. Then, he had to give up power. Romans admired Cincinnatus as a model dictator. Cincinnatus organized an army, led the Romans to victory over the attacking enemy, attended victory celebrations, and returned to his farmlands—all within 16 days.
At first, all government officials were patricians. Plebeians, the farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders who made up the bulk of the population, had little influence. The efforts of the plebeians to gain power shaped politics in the early republic. The plebeians' first breakthrough came in 450 BCE, when the government had the laws of Rome inscribed on 12 tablets, known as the Twelve Tables, and set up in the Forum, or marketplace. Plebeians had protested that citizens could not know what the laws were, because they were not written down. The Laws of the Twelve Tables made it possible for the first time for plebeians to appeal a judgment handed down by a patrician judge.
More than 2,000 years later, the framers of the United States Constitution would adapt such Roman ideas as the senate, the veto, and checks on political power.
In the early republic, the most powerful governing body was the Senate. Its 300 members were all patricians, members of the landholding upper class. Senators, who served for life, made the laws.
Each year, the senators elected from the patrician class two consuls. Their job was to supervise the business of government and command the armies. Consuls, however, could serve only one term. They were also expected to consult with the Senate. By limiting their time in office and making them responsible to the senate, Rome had a system of checks on the power of government.
In the event of war, the senate might choose a dictator, or ruler who has complete control over a government. Each Roman dictator was granted power to rule for six months. Then, he had to give up power. Romans admired Cincinnatus as a model dictator. Cincinnatus organized an army, led the Romans to victory over the attacking enemy, attended victory celebrations, and returned to his farmlands—all within 16 days.
At first, all government officials were patricians. Plebeians, the farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders who made up the bulk of the population, had little influence. The efforts of the plebeians to gain power shaped politics in the early republic. The plebeians' first breakthrough came in 450 BCE, when the government had the laws of Rome inscribed on 12 tablets, known as the Twelve Tables, and set up in the Forum, or marketplace. Plebeians had protested that citizens could not know what the laws were, because they were not written down. The Laws of the Twelve Tables made it possible for the first time for plebeians to appeal a judgment handed down by a patrician judge.
More than 2,000 years later, the framers of the United States Constitution would adapt such Roman ideas as the senate, the veto, and checks on political power.