25/05/07

Today in Western Civilization class Mr. Schick's computer didn't work so we watched a video, which named "The Rise and Fall of an Empire". Suky didn't take her computer so we share, and i have my headphones with me (So luck!!!)

15/05/06

Roman legion

• 5000 soldier, not in it for pay
• - the Roman army's elite heavy infantry 
• - recruited exclusively from Roman citizens 
• group of eight's a century 
• on horseback is the cavalry 
• shield sword dagger, and armor and tunic 

The Punic War

• 264 - 146 BCE
• Rome vs. Carthage
• Three war

First Punic War

• 264 - 241 BCE (23 year)
• naval battles for control of the strategically located island of Sicily 
• Rome wins this one

Second Punic War 

• 218 - 201 BCE (17 years)
• 29 - year - old Carthaginian general Hannibal almost does the impossible: taking Rome 
• attack Rome from the North after crossing Iberia (Spain) and the Alps
• lays siege to much of peninsula for 15 years, but he never can get to Rome

Third (and final) Punic War

• 149 - 149 BCE (only 3 year)
• Rome wanted ti finally remove the treat of Carthage
• Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and others mercilessly attacked the city
• Carthage was burned for 17 days; the city's walls and building are utterly destroyed
• when the war ended the last 50,000 people in the city were sold into slavery
• the rest of Carthage's territories were annexed and made into the Roman province of Africa

Economic change

• slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)
• by the end of the second century BCE there were over a million slaves in Italy
• small farmers lost their land to aristocrats (for little or no money) if they couldn’t pay their debts, sometimes because the men of the farm were fighting battles
• slaves did the work on the farms for the rich
• the big farms became massive estates called latifundia

15/05/04

Three government rolled into one Patricians 

• Rule of Kings is replaced by rule of the consuls 
• consuls are elected officials
• term of office: one year
• always aristocrats (patricians)
• patricians traced their descent from a famous ancestor or pater ("father")
• duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army
• one consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual)

a challenge from the "regular folks"

• fifth century BCE - patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs ("people")
• plebs were 98% of the population 
• how did the patricians dominate?
• - plebs had to serve in the army, but could not hold office
• - plebs were threatened with debt slavery
• plebs had no legal rights

no legal rights

• plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials
• Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs
• patricians could interpret these to their own advantage 
• plebs refused to serve in the military until ...
• - laws were written out [The Law of the Twelve Tables]
• - these laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE)
• - tribunes ("tribal leaders") were elected 

SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanum 

res publica - the people's affairs

• democracy (the people's assembly and the tribunes)
• aristocracy (the Senate - approx. 300 members)
• plus monarchy (the consuls)
• not a tyranny

Government: ancient Roman/USA

• the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient Romans
• not exactly same
• both have three branches of government
• - executive
• - legislative 
• - judicial
• both have a legal code 

Three branches [1]

Executive (Rome)

• two consuls
• one year terms
• each has veto power
• controls the military
• could appoint a dictator in a crisis for six - month term

Executive (USA)

• president (and VP)
• four year terms
• can veto proposed laws
• commander - in - Chief

Three branches [2]

legislative (Rome)

• Senate - 300 people - aristocrats - members for life
• Assemblies 

legislative (USA)

• Senate - 100 senators (two from each state) - six-year terms
• House of Representative - 435 members  - two-year terms

Three branches [3]

Judicial (Rome)

• Praetors
• chosen by the Centuriate Assembly 
• one - year terms

Judicial (USA)

• Supreme Court
• nine members
• appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate
• lifetime terms

Legal code

Twelve Tables （Rome）

• publically displayed 
• gave rights to plebeians, not just aristocrats
• only protected freeborn male citizens (not women)

Bill of Rights (USA)

• first ten amendments to the Constitution 

 

15/04/30

Etruscans 

• came from the north - central part of peninsula
• metalworkers, artists, architects
• two foundation myths: Virgil's Aeneid (Where Aeneas escapes from Troy - Sound familiar) Plus the story of Remus and Romulus 

Greek

• they had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea
• Romans borrowed ideas from then
• - religious beliefs
• - alphabet
• - much of their art
• - military technique and weaponry

The Latin 

• descendants of Indo - Europeans
• settled on the banks of Tiber
• situated so trading ships - but not war fleets 
• - could navigate as far as Rome, but not further
• a commercial port, but not susceptible to attack
• build on seven hill

They drained a swamp

• many steams flowed into the Tiber
• there was a marshy area called the Forum, between Palatine and Capitoline Hills
• Tarquin the Proud's grandfather built the Cloca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into Tiber

Tarquin the Proud 

• Lucius Tarquinias Superbus
• the seventh and final king of Rome
• known as Tarquin the Proud (sometimes referred to as Tarquin the Arrogant)
• a true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the word

15/04/29

I wasn't at school today because I went to UMBC today.

15/04/27

Colosseum

• The Colosseum was built in  70 AD, located just east of the Roman Forum.
• Rome's Colosseum has beedshed the site of celebration, sporting events and bloodshed.
• The Colosseum was a gift to the Roman people from Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty around 70 - 72 AD.
• In 80 AD, Vespasion's son, Titus, opened the Colosseum officially known as "Flavian Amphitheater", with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights.
• Measuring some 620 by 513 feet (190 by 155 meters), the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. Each story contained columns of a different order (or style): At the bottom were columns of the relatively simple Doric order, followed by Ionic and topped by the ornate Corinthian order.
• the Colosseum had seating for more than 50,000 spectators,
• Gladiators were generally slaves, condemned criminals or prisoners of war.
• web: http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/colosseum

Aqueducts 

• the Aqueducts is the greatest achievements in the ancient world.
• The Aqueducts not only provided drinking water for the Romans but indoor sewer systems
• 260 miles of rock, and about 30 miles of above ground bridges and crossways 
• The entire system relied on various gradients and gravity to maintain a continuous flow.The water rushed from higher ground via the ducts and emptied into giant cisterns in the city.
• 11 separate aqueducts supplied the city of Rome and were built over a span of 500 years.
• web: http://www.unrv.com/culture/roman-aqueducts.php

Circus Maximus 

• was the first and largest circus in Rome
• it existed as least as early as 4th century. 
•  621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width. It could accommodate about 150,000 spectators.
• the circus is free for all level of Roman society. it is really popular in Roman to watch the circus. 
• the last race at Circus Maximus was in 549 AD
• web: http://romancolosseum.org/circus-maximus-in-rome/

Roman Foram

• The Forum Romanum was the center of life in Imperial Rome, evidenced by the many remains of triumphal arches, temples and basilicas.
• started as a market. Then it became a the economic, political, and religious hub, town square, and center of all Rome.
• was ancient Rome's showpiece centre, a grandiose district of temples, basilicas and vibrant public spaces.
  
• was originally an Etruscan burial ground, was first developed in the 7th century BC, growing over time to become the social, political and commercial hub of the Roman empire.
  

15/04/24

We spent time to do our project in Western Civilization class. My partner is Suky. I can't tell what we are going to do because this is a secret o(^▽^)o