Lesson 5: Roman city-states and the Roman Empire

Roman city-states

The Italian peninsula is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, with a long coastline on three sides and the Apennine Mountains running through the peninsula. The Apennine Mountains run through the peninsula. There are many mountains on the island, which are conducive to the development of animal husbandry. The western part of the island is crisscrossed by rivers and the land is fertile for growing crops. Since 1000 B.C., many ethnic groups have migrated to the area, living together and forming many city-states. It was during this period that Roman city-states gradually emerged from the central part of the Italian peninsula on the banks of the Tiber River.

In 509 B.C., Rome was established as a republic. The decision-making power of the state was in the hands of the Senate, which consisted of 300 nobles, two consuls with equal power presided over the daily affairs, and the People's Assembly, in which the plebeians participated, was the formal supreme authority. The plebeians fought against the nobility for a long time and gained many political rights. In Rome, there were two tribunes elected by the plebeians themselves, who had the power to veto the resolutions of the consuls and senate that were unfavorable to the plebeians. In 450-449 B.C., Rome promulgated the statute law, which is called the "Twelve Bronze Tablets" because it was engraved on twelve bronze plates. The statute law covered procedural matters, ownership and debt rights, religious law, criminal law, civil law, and more. The Twelve Bronze Tables provided a written basis for sentencing and conviction, and to a certain extent curbed the misinterpretation and abuse of the law by the nobility. The Twelve Bronze Tables was an important milestone in the development of Roman law.

In the early 3rd century B.C., Rome conquered the entire Italian peninsula, and later, Rome defeated the North African power of Carthage and took control of the Western Mediterranean.

In the 2nd century B.C., Rome conquered the Eastern Mediterranean region and became the hegemon of the entire Mediterranean. In the process of expansion, a large number of prisoners of war and people from the conquered areas were taken into slavery, and slaves became the main producers of the Roman Republic. Slave revolts occurred, the most influential of which was the Spartacus Revolt. Spartacus was a gladiator slave. Slaves, especially gladiators, had an extremely low status in Rome. In the gladiatorial arena, they either dueled with each other or sparred with lions and other fierce animals, and spectators were entertained by their struggle for life and death. In 73 B.C., Spartacus started a slave revolt. The revolt grew rapidly and was so powerful that it defeated the Roman legions several times, but was eventually put down in blood. The Spartacist revolt dealt a heavy blow to slavery and hastened the fall of the Roman Republic.

Roman Empire

In 49 BC, Julius Caesar, who had been a Roman consul and local governor, led an army to attack the city of Rome, defeated his opponents and took control of the Senate. Later, the Senate appointed him as dictator for life. Soon, Caesar was murdered and civil war broke out again. In 29 B.C., Octavian became the final victor. He created the first political form of "patriarchy" and assumed the supreme power of rule. In 27 B.C., the Roman Republic evolved into the Roman Empire. Octavian took many measures to resolve conflicts and consolidate his monopoly, and the Roman Empire entered an era of peace and development.

In the 2nd century, the Roman Empire entered its golden age. The territory of the empire spanned Europe, Asia and Africa, and the Mediterranean Sea became the "inner lake" of the Roman Empire.

Decline of the Roman Empire

In the 3rd century, Rome fell into a long period of great political and economic crisis. The rulers were constantly fighting and fighting, the people were revolting, agriculture was shrinking, industry and commerce were declining, the financial crisis was over, and people's livelihood was withering.

At the end of the 4th century, the Roman Empire split into two empires, the Eastern and Western. At the end of the 4th century, the Roman Empire was divided into two empires, the Western Roman Empire and the Germanic Empire, and in 476, the Western Roman Empire was destroyed by the Germans.

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