While Nero fiddles....

1. Classical Rome Foundations of democracy, republicanism

2. Fou nding of Rome The legend credits brothers Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she wolf, with founding the city. After a quarrel, Romulus slew his brother. According to legend, the city of Rome began in 753 B.C.E., and Romulus was the first of seven kings. He was believed to be a warrior-king who started Rome’s first army and its first government.

3. Roman Republic Established around 509 BCE, when the last of the seven kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed. The system was based on annually-elected magistrates and various representative assemblies.

4. Carthage Africa’s great northern power

5. Hannibal The Second Punic War (218-202 BCE) began when Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca when the great Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca guided an army of 46,000 men and 37 war elephants through Spain's Pyrenees Mountains, rafted his men and elephants across the Rhone River in southern France, and crossed the Alps into Italy.

6. Though losing an estimated 20,000 men during this grueling, 5-month, 900-mile march, Hannibal's depleted ranks were swelled by ferocious Gauls (Celtic natives of what is modern day France and Belgium) who shared his hatred of Rome.

7. Cannae An estimated 60,000–70,000 Romans were killed or captured By Hannibal’s somewhat smaller army at Cannae (including the Roman general and 80 Roman senators). In terms of the number of lives lost in a single day, Cannae is estimated to be within the thirty costliest battles in all of recorded human history.

8. Carthage defeated Unable to defeat Hannibal’s army on the Italian peninsula, the Roman fleet took an army to Carthage, forcing Hannibal’s retreat to his homeland. The Roman general Scipio Africanus then defeated a hastily-assembled Carthaginian force at Zama, ending the Punic threat for 50 years (Third Punic War).

9. The last days of Pompeii – 79 BCE The skeleton called the "Ring Lady" unearthed in Herculaneum.

10. Julius Caesar Marlon Brando gives a stunning rendition of Marc Antony’s oration in this version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar based on actual events. Gaius Julius Caesar was a celebrated Roman general and statesman who conquered Gaul (modern France and Belgium - 58-50 BC). He won a victory in the Civil War of 49-46 BC, and was dictator from 46-44 BC.

11. Beware The Ides of March Julius Caesar changed the Roman Republic into a monarchy. He was assassinated by a group of Nobles while on his way to Pompey's Theater where the Senate convened. The day was March 15, 44 B.C. which is known as 'The Ides of March'.

12. The Roman Empire was created by means of assimilation through treaties and alliances and the ultimate threat of conquest. This was the first professional army, responsible for the spread the empire and its culture through out Europe and parts of Africa.

13. At the heart of this great army was the Legionnaire (the common soldier) and his commander, the Centurion. Centurions demanded extreme loyalty and discipline from their men and enforced it with a stick made from vine.

14. Roman Army From early times to the 3rd century C.E., the Roman army was based on its legions of from 4,000 to 6,000 men, and subdivided onto ten cohorts . Its leader used the title of legatus , his staff officers were called tribuni, and senior non-commissioned officers were called centurions , who varied greatly in rank.

15. Standard bearers One of the most striking visual aspects of the Roman army were the standards, tall poles topped with various insignia and symbols, including many types of animals. During the Empire, the image of the Emperor was also added to many standards. The Standards were not just for show; they served important practical functions as well.

16. Roman Empire Roman Empire 14 C.E.

17. was constructed over 2200 years ago as the route from Rome to is southern colonies. The Appian Way

18. Rome In some ways, the Romans were a highly civilized people with schools and magnificent public buildings, fine temples and palaces .

19. Rome Ancient Rome had 11 major aqueducts built between 312 B.C.E. and 226 C.E. It has been calculated that in imperial times, when the city's population was well over a million, the distribution system was able to provide over one cubic meter of water per day for each inhabitant: more than we are accustomed to use nowadays.

22. Model of Ancient Rome: (1) Flavian Amphitheater (2) Circus Maximus

23. Gladiators These gladiators were generally men from tribes which had fought against Rome. They had been captured and brought to that city, where they were trained to use certain weapons. Then on holidays, with all the people of Rome packed into big amphitheaters, these captives were forced to fight with each other until one man of each pair was killed. It occasionally happened that one gladiator might be wounded, and lie helpless on the sand, The spectators would then shout to the victorious fighter to take his knife and finish what he had begun. In this way what would seem to us like cold-blooded murder was committed hundreds of times each year, while the fairest ladies and young girls of Rome sat and watched with eager interest. Thus, although the Romans had all the outward appearance of being civilized, they were savages at heart, and had no sympathy for any people who were not of their own race.

24. Colosseum Its monumental size as well as its practical and efficient organization for producing spectacles and controlling the large crowds make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans .

25. Roman Pantheon dedicated to the gods

26. Pax Romana “Roman Peace” A major factor in bringing about the Pax Romana was trade. Egypt was the richest province in the Empire, and the money it brought in helped Augustus to build up vast numbers of clients. The Pax Romana was the only time in history when the whole Mediterranean and the lands around it were at peace under a united government, living under Roman law, and speaking mostly Latin.

27. 2 nd Century CE

28. Roman amphitheatre at Tarragona, Spain

29. Roman bath Soon after the arrival of the Romans in England in 43 AD, the Celtic shrine was taken over and the goddess Sulis was identified with the Roman goddess Minerva as a healing deity. Beginning sometime around 65 AD, and continuing for nearly four centuries, the Romans constructed increasingly elaborate bathing and temple complexes at the springs. The hot springs of the Roman temple of Aquae Sulis and the Abbey of Bath, England (pg. 302)

30. Roman baths of Bath, England (pg. 302)

31. Roman Invasion of Britain Britain was originally invaded not for its wealth, not for strategic reasons, not even for ideology, but for the plain and simple reason that it furthered a politician's career. It has been said that Rome conquered an empire in a fit of absent- mindedness.

33. Fall of Rome According to Edward Gibbon, the Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian invasions because of a loss of civic virtue among its citizens. They had become lazy and soft, outsourcing their duties to defend their Empire to barbarian mercenaries, who then became so numerous and ingrained that they were then able to easily take over the Empire. Romans, he believed, had become effeminate, unwilling to live the military lifestyle.

34. Germanic tribes To the north and east of the Roman Empire dwelt a people who were to become the leaders of the new nations of Europe. These were the free German tribes, which occupied the part of Europe bounded, roughly, by the rivers Danube and Rhine, the Baltic Sea, and the Carpathian Mountains.

35. Goths The Goths first encountered Christianity through prisoners taken during warfare in Cappadocia. Widespread evangelization occurred through the work of Ulfilas, the son of a Cappadocian mother and Gothic father. Ulfilas spent forty years as an evangelist among the Goths propagating an Arian form of Christianity.