Course is Western Art: choose 2 short questions to answer and write 2-3 pages(provide picture examples)
Ancient Rome
Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands.
Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion.
They then instead had a council known as the 'senate' which ruled over them. From this point on one speaks of the 'Roman Republic'.
Early Rome was governed by kings, but after only seven of them had ruled, the Romans took power over their own city and ruled themselves
The word 'Republic' itself comes from the Latin (the language of the Romans) words 'res publica' which mean 'public matters' or 'matters of state'.
The senate under the kings had only been there to advise the king. Now the senate appointed a consul, who ruled Rome like a king, but only for one year. - This was a wise idea, as like that, the consul ruled carefully and not as a tyrant, for he knew that otherwise he could be punished by the next consul, once his year was up.
Rome knew four classes of people. This division was very important to the Romans.
The lowest class were the slaves. They were owned by other people. They had no rights at all. The next class were the plebeians. They were free people. But they had little say at all.
The second highest class were the equestrians (sometimes they are called the 'knights'). Their name means the 'riders', as they were given a horse to ride if they were called to fight for Rome. To be an equestrian you had to be rich.
The highest class were the nobles of Rome. They were called 'patricians'. All the real power in Rome lay with them.
The greatest challenge the Roman Republic faced was that of the Carthaginians. Carthage was a very powerful city in North Africa which, much like Rome, controlled its own empire. The fight between the two sides was a long one and took place on land and on sea.
The most famous incident came when the great Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the mountain chain of the Alps to the north of Italy with all his troops, including his war-elephants, and invaded Italy. Though Rome in the end won and Carthage was completely destroyed in the year 146 BC.
Rome's most famous citizen was no doubt Julius Caesar. He was a Roman politician and general who, without having any orders to do so, conquered the vast territory of the Gauls to the north of his province in France.
In the year 49 BC Caesar crossed the small river between his province and Italy, called the river Rubicon, and conquered Rome itself which he then ruled as a dictator.
His military campaigns also took him to Egypt where he met the famous Cleopatra.
His life though was ended as he was infamously murdered in the senate in Rome.
So famous and respected was Caesar that a month of the year is still named after him and his heirs today, July (after Julius Caesar). Also the great English poet Shakespeare wrote a famous play called Julius Caesar about his famous murder.
Caesar Augustus - The first Emperor, Augustus, set a good example for future leaders. After years of civil war in Rome, his rule was a time of peace called the Pax Romana (Roman peace). He established a standing Roman army, a network of roads, and rebuilt much of the city of Rome.
Claudius - Claudius conquered several new areas for Rome and started the conquest of Britain. He also built many roads, canals, and aqueducts.
Trajan - Trajan is considered by many historians to be the greatest of Rome's Emperors. He ruled for 19 years. During that time, he conquered many lands increasing the wealth and size of the empire. He also was an ambitious builder, constructing many lasting buildings throughout Rome.
Marcus Aurelius - Aurelius is called the Philosopher-King. Not only was he Emperor of Rome, but he is also considered one of history's foremost stoic philosophers. Aurelius was the last of the "Five Good Emperors".
Diocletian - He was perhaps both a good and bad emperor. With the Roman Empire growing too large to manage from Rome, Diocletian split the Roman Empire into two sections; the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. This enabled the huge Empire to be ruled more easily and to defend its borders. However, he also was one of the worst emperors when it came to human rights, persecuting and killing many people, especially Christians, because of their religion.
Constantine the Great ruled over the Eastern Roman Empire. He was the first Emperor to convert to Christianity and started the Roman conversion to Christianity. He also changed the city of Byzantium to Constantinople, which would be capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for over 1000 years.
The two halves of the Roman Empire ended at different times. The Western Roman Empire ended in 476 AD when the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, was defeated by the German, Odoacer. The Eastern Roman Empire ended with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD.
Beginning with Emperor Nero in the first century AD, the Roman government did not like Christianity. At certain points in history, people could be put to death because they were Christians. Under Emperor Diocletian, the persecution of Christians became the strongest. However, Christianity became an officially supported religion in the Roman Empire under Constantine I, who was the next Emperor. With the signing of the Edict of Milan in 313, it quickly became the biggest religion. Then in 391 AD by an edict of Emperor Theodosius I made Christianity Rome's official religion.
Religion
The early Romans adopted culture from their neighbors, the Greeks and Etruscans, in particular, but imprinted their unique stamp on their borrowings. The Roman Empire then spread this culture far and wide, affecting diverse areas of the modern world. For instance, we still have colosseums and satire, for entertainment, aqueducts to supply water, and sewers to drain it. Roman-built bridges still span rivers, while distant cities are located along remnants of actual Roman roads.
Roman roads in Britain
The Colosseum in Rome is an amphitheater. It was developed as an improvement over the Circus Maximus for gladiatorial combats, wild beast fights, and mock naval battles.
In ancient Rome, gladiators fought, often to the death, to entertain crowds of spectators. Gladiators were trained in ludi to fight well in circuses (or the Colosseum) where the ground surface was covered with blood-absorbing harena 'sand.’
Roman theater began as a translation of Greek forms, in combination with native song and dance, farce and improv. In Roman (well... Italian) hands, the materials of Greek masters were converted to stock characters, plots, and situations that we can recognize in Shakespeare and even modern sit-coms.
The Romans are renowned for engineering marvels, among which is the aqueduct that carried water for many miles in order to provide a crowded urban population with relatively safe, potable water and water for latrines. Latrines served 12-60 people at once with no dividers for privacy or toilet paper. The main sewer of Rome was the Cloaca Maxima, which emptied into the Tiber River.
In ancient Rome, if you planned to run for office, you could increase your chances of winning by creating a political alliance through the marriage of your children. Parents arranged marriages to produce descendants to tend the ancestral spirits.
Pompeii