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The Roman Empire
Romans in Britain
*In 55 B.C. Caesar
investigated Britain. At that time, Caesar was the military governor of Gaul.
*In A.D. 43 the emperor
Claudius led an army into Britain and 'made his presence known' to say the least.
*In A.D. 122, Emperor
Hadrian again went into Britain because Britain revolted in the north. Hadrian built "Hadrian's Wall"
in the north.
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Caesar and the Senate struggled for power over Rome.
The Senate was concerned about Caesar gaining too much power and demanded him to come back to Rome (without his army)!
Caesar didn't hear that demand. Instead he and his army crossed the Rubicon River into Italy, starting a civil war.
Caesar teamed up with Cleopatra to obtain the money he needed to continue fighting for control of Rome. To pay
back Cleopatra for her assistance, Caesar helped defeat Cleopatra's brother because he was her rival for the Egyptian
throne.
 
*Caesar made important changes in Roman life while he was dictator.
-He gave land to soldiers and
free grain to poor citizens.
-Caesar added more people in the Senate.
-He permitted immigration into Rome.
-He upgraded the accuracy of the Roman calendar.
*Caesar even named the month of his birth "July".
:)
After Caesar's death a civil war took place simply because different groups wanted to control Rome.
(of course)
When Augustus became emperor he was able to veto any law, control the army, and even rule all Roman
provinces!
 (Augustus)
The Pax Romana was very important! The term "Pax Romana" is Latin for "Roman
peace" and was named after a period of time when there was prosperity and peace that lasted in Rome for about 2 centuries!
During the Pax Romana the Roman government became a better government. It ran smoothly from top to bottom.
New roads were constructed. In addition, buildings and water systems were built.
Roman Monuments
During all of this prosperity many great things were built such as the following:
*10,000 statues
*700 public pools
*37 monumental gates
The Colosseum opened in A.D. 80 and to celebrate that opening chariot
races were held there for 100 days in a row!
Circus Maximus, which was an oval racetrack, held even more chariot
races! Circus Maximus was larger than that of the Colosseum. Circus Maximus was 656 yards long and 95 yards
wide.
*EC->How many feet do the yards listed above equate to?
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Thanks [again] to archaeologists and their excavations we know a decent amount of information about Pompeii.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79 and caught people off guard. The city was buried in ash.
Archaeologists
are also able to identify a house of a rich family from that of a poor family. Based on the size of the house, the materials
used to build it, the amount of land around the house, the objects found in the house, and even the food eaten, archaeologists
can decipher wealth from poverty.
 (an archaeology dig in Pompeii)
*****Clearly, based on the construction of Roman roads, we can see that Romans
are organized, disciplined, and intelligent.
Page song-Lazy Mary-Lou Monte
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