Rome

Rome

OVERVIEW

Although Rome existed around the same time as Greece, it adopted and adapted many aspects of Hellenistic culture, including religion, social structure, and government. Rome had a huge impact on world history.

**Interaction between Humans and the Environment ** – Demography and disease, Migration, Patterns of settlement, Technology

The Alps to the north of the Roman Empire and the water surrounding the Italian peninsula provided protection from attack by both land and sea, while easy access to North Africa, the Middle East, Greece, and Iberia gave Rome incredible opportunities for trade on a global scale. **Development and Interaction of Cultures** – Religions, Belief systems, Science and technology, The arts and architecture

The Roman religion was polytheistic, with many of the Roman gods derived from Greek ones.

**State-building, Expansion, and Conflict** – Political structures and forms of governance, Empires, Nations and nationalism, Revolts and revolutions, Regional, trans-regional, and global structures and organizations

Rome's government was a representative republic. A Senate, made up of patricians, and an Assembly, also made up of patricians but eventually including plebeians, were given authority to make decisions about the empire. However, two consuls, who headed the Assembly, possessed ultimate veto power over these decisions. This system was adapted from the Greeks' democracy, in which all male citizens had to vote on every issue. The Roman system of representatives was a much more practical version. The Roman republic served as a model for the modern U.S. government. In addition, the Twelve Tables of Rome, a system of codified laws, provided an example for the United States' Bill of Rights.

**Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems** – Agricultural and pastoral production, Trade and commerce, Labor systems, Industrialization, Capitalism and socialism

At one point, slaves made up one third of the Roman population. The vast majority of the slaves were peoples from the regions Rome had conquered.


 * Development and Transformation of Social Structures** – Gender roles and relations, Family and kinship, Racial and ethnic constructions, Social and economic classes

The basic social structure in Rome consisted of patricians (land-owning nobles), plebeians (free men), and slaves. This was derived from the Greek social system. At home, families were led by the eldest male in the household (called the pater familias). Woman were allowed to supervise a family business or estate, and they could own land, but were still considered inferior to men.