From Monarchy to Republic

What is a republic, and when, how, and why did Rome turn into one?

A republic is a form of government in which the affairs of a state are public, not private among the rulers. Between 509 and 510 B.C.E. Rome became a republic. This happened when Sextus, the son of Superbus, raped a noble woman name Lucrettia. She commited suicide shortly after this incident occured because she was ashamed. Her family members were enraged about this, and sent an army to Rome to get rid of Superbus and Sextus. They fled. Superbus survived and made it away safely; however, Sextus was murdered. Both Brutus and Collatinus were elected to be the first consults of Rome. 

In the Beginning

Rome was founded in 753 BC along the Tiber River. Romulus and Remus, who were twins born from Rhea Silvia, were abandoned by the Tiber River to die because they were a potential threat to the king. "She-wolf" found them while getting a drink, and took care of them until they were found which led to the discovery of Rome. Romulus and Remus were both eligible to rule; however, Remus was killed by his brother, leaving Romulus to lead.
In early Rome, they had many problems. One of these was that they had no women, which meant there would be no children for future generations. They threw a party, and the Roman men then began to steal the women.

Geography of Rome

Rome would have been a good place because it was on top seven hills, which made it easy to defend themselves. Also, the Tiber River was near them, so they were able to trade easily and were protected.

The Italian Peninsula would have been good to begin an empire because they were surrounded by water and plenty of mountains which provided protection against invaders.

Rome Pretest

My personal learning goal is to learn about the Romans art such as who got to do art, what types of art do they do, and when did they make art?

1. When, where and how was Rome founded? Rome was founded in the 8th century BC
2. How was the government of the Roman Republic organized? The government was a 
3. When and how did the Republic turn into an Empire? Julius Ceaser was killed, and then another ruler came into power. 
4. How was the government of the Empire organized? Not very organized. There were many emperors. 
5. When, where, why, and how did the Romans expand?The Romans expanded throughout 
6. What are Rome's greatest architectural and technological developments?
7. What was important in Roman culture? I think that their religion was important to them.
8. Who were important Roman leaders? Julius Ceaser, i don't remember the names of the other leaders.
9. What caused the collapse of the Roman Empire?
10. How did Rome alter history?
11. How does Rome affect us today?
12. What lessons can be learned from Roman history?

Primary Source Analysis: History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides, a wealthy Athenian General, survived through the Peloponnesian War and wrote about it. The Peloponnesian War was caused by Athens and Sparta both trying to gain power. They had worked together to defeat the Persian invasion but Greece was just too small for them both to stay in. During this war, the Athenian leader Pericles, decided to build a wall from Piraeus and Athens, to act like an island. This seemed like a good idea to stay away from the Spartans; however, the close-quarters of the Athenian people caused sickness. A plague broke out, killing over 30,000 people, including Pericles. Athens fought for another 27 years, before they were destroyed at Aegospotami.

Peloponnesian War

Greco-Persian Wars

In 499 BC, a great war broke out between the Greek city-states. Darius sent a large army of foot soldiers and calvary across the Aegean Sea by boat to Greece, where they assembled on the plain of Marathon. The Athenians stretched out and surrounded the Persians. King Darius tricked the Persian army by sending a runner to Sparta. The Athenian army won this war. Ten years later, Xerxes, the Persian kings son, organized an attack on Greece with more than 180,000 soldiers. Sparta and Athens decided to work together after seeing that many city-states were overwhelmed. The Spartan soldiers stood by the Thermapylae. All the Persian soldiers that went through this pass died. Most city-states were left defenseless, and Athens was burned to the ground. The Greek fleet defeated the Persian Army in Salamis. The war ended in Plataea, where the Greeks once again, defeated the Persians. 

King Darius

Persian War