Volume 1, Issue 1

Newsletter Date

The Roman Republic

F a l l
The Fall of the Roman Empire, what a fall it was. Barbarian groups start invading Rome and the Romans cant defend themselves. The Vandals go and vandalize Rome. The Huns push the Visigoths into Rome and the Romans and Visigoths agree to help each other defend themselves against Atilla the Hun, but the Romans treat them horribly. What a so called agreement. Alaric attacks the Romans and defeats them at the Battle of Adrianople. The Romans hand over Spain to the Visigoths and Alaric. Diocletion splits the

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weak against the Barbarians. Constantine moves the capital to Constantinople. German Barbarians like Odoacer conquer and take over Rome. The Western Roman Empire falls into the Dark Ages and everyone in the Western Roman empire become uncivilized and ignorant, while the Eastern Roman Empire become the Byzantine Empire and continues with science, math, thinking, and advances of the Greeks and Romans. As you can see the Eastern side was the smarter side while the

Roman Empire in order to save it but focuses on the Eastern side of the Roman Empire (Greece, Egypt,

Mesopotamia, which leaves the city of Roman and the Western Roman Empire

News
J u l i u s C a e s a r s

A s s a s s i n a t i o n

In January of 49 BC, Julius Caesar led his army across the Rubicon River in Northern Italy and plunged the Roman Republic into civil war. Caesar's rival, Pompey, fled to Greece. Within three months Caesar controlled the entire Italian peninsula and in Spain had defeated the legions loyal to Pompey. Caesar now pursued Pompey to Greece. Although outnumbered, Caesar crushed the forces of his enemy but not before Pompey escaped to Egypt. Following Pompey to Egypt, Caesar was presented with his rival's severed head as a token of friendship. Before leaving the region, Caesar established Cleopatra as his surrogate ruler of Egypt. Caesar defeated his remaining rivals in North Africa in 47 BC and returned to Rome with his authority firmly established. Caesar continued to consolidate his power and in February 44 BC, he declared himself dictator for life. This act, along with his continual effort to adorn himself with the trappings of power, turned many in the Senate against him. Those members of the Senate concluded that the only resolution to the problem was to assassinate Caesar. For they be-

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After the First Triumvirate ended, the senate supported Pompey, who became sole consul in 52 B.C. Meanwhile, Caesar had become a military hero as well as a champion of the people. The senate feared him and wanted him to give up his army, knowing that he hoped to be consul when his term in Gaul expired. In Dec., 50 B.C., Caesar wrote the senate that he would give up his army if Pompey would give up his. The senate heard the letter with fury and demanded that Caesar disband his army at once or be declared an enemy of the people. Two tribunes faithful to Caesar, Marc Antony and Cassius vetoed the bill and were quickly expelled from the senate. They fled to Caesar, who assembled his army and asked for the support of the soldiers against the senate. The army called for action, and on Jan. 19, 49 B.C., Caesar with the words "Iacta alea est" (the die is cast) crossed the Rubicon, the stream bounding his province, to enter Italy. Civil war had begun. Caesar's march to Rome was a triumphal progress. The senate fled to Capua. Caesar proceeded to Brundisium, where he besieged Pompey until Pompey fled with his fleet to Greece. Caesar set out at once for Spain, which Pompey's legates were holding, and pacified that province. Returning to Rome, Caesar held the dictatorship for 11 days in early December; long enough to get himself elected consul, and then set out for Greece in pursuit of Pompey. Caesar collected at Brundisium a small army and fleet and slipped across the strait. He met Pompey at Dyrrhachium but was forced to fall back and begin a long retreat southward, with Pompey in pursuit. Near Pharsalus, Caesar camped in a very strategic location. Pompey, who had a far larger army, attacked Caesar but was routed and fled to Egypt, where he was

People
T i b e r i u s Tiberius, 2nd Emperor, was the step-son of Caesar Augustus (Octavian). He was a successful general
and used the great general Germanicus to conquer Germany. However; he became increasingly paranoid, killed Germanicus, and all people who might oppose him and isolated himself on the island of Capri. On

C a l i g u l a Caligula, the 3rd Emperor, was raised by Tiberius after Tiberius killed his whole family. Caligula was
raised to be mean, cruel, and decadent. He ruled with violence and did extremely insulting and insane things to the senate such as appointing his horse emperor. His personal guards conspired to kill him and his whole family to save the republic, but his elderly uncle Claudius survived and became Emperor.

Nero Nero was accused of burning much of Rome to make fore building project such as the Coliseum. He was
against the Hebrews and made the persecution of Christians the law of the Roman Empire to punish their mono-

Government
Roman Government: Republic: Rome was ruled by laws no citizen was above the law and the rulers were under the law. Modern America is the same. We are under a republic government so the citizen aren't above the law and

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In 264 B.C., Rome decided to intervene in a dispute on the western coast of the island of Sicily (then a Carthaginian province) involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of Messina. While Carthage supported Syracuse, Rome supported Messina, and the struggle soon exploded into a direct conflict between the two pow-

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in 241 B.C. the Roman fleet was able to win a decisive victory against the Carthaginians at sea, breaking their legendary naval superiority. At the end of the First Punic War, Sicily became Rome's first overseas province.

ers, with control of Sicily at stake. Over the course of nearly 20 years, Rome rebuilt its entire fleet in order to confront Carthage's powerful navy, scoring its first sea victory at Mylae in 260 B.C. and a major victory in the Battle of Ecnomus in 256 B.C. Though its invasion of North Africa that same year ended in defeat, Rome refused to give up, and

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Hannibal took command of Carthaginian forces in Spain. Two years later, he marched his army across the Ebro River into Saguntum, an Iberian city under Roman protec on, eec vely declaring war on Rome. The Second Punic War saw Hannibal and his troopsincluding as many as 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry and a number of elephantsmarch from Spain across the Alps

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following year Scipio's army routed the Carthaginians at Zama. Hanni-

and into Italy, where they scored a string of victories over Roman troops at Ticinus, Trebia and Trasimene. Hannibal's daring invasion of Rome reached its height at Cannae in 216 B.C., where he used his superior cavalry to surround a Roman army twice the size of his own and inict massive casual es.
A er this disastrous defeat,

however, the Romans managed to rebound, and the

Carthaginians lost hold in Italy bal's losses in the Second Punic War eec vely put an end to Caras Rome won victories in Spain and North Africa under the rising young general Publius Cornelius Scipio (later thages empire in the western Mediterranean, leaving Rome in control of Spain and allowing Car-

known as Scipio Africanus). In thage to retain only its territory in North Africa. Carthage was also 203 B.C., Hannibal's forces were forced to abandon the struggle in Italy in order to defend North Africa, and the forced to give up its eet and pay a large indemnity to Rome in silver.

T h e
The Romans sent an army to North Africa, beginning the Third Punic War. Carthage withstood the Roman siege for two years before a change of Roman command put the young general Scipio Aemilianus (later known as Scipio the Younger) in charge of the North Africa campaign in 147 B.C.

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between Greece and Asia Minor (now Turkey).

A er ghtening the Roman posi ons around Carthage, Aemilianus launched a forceful a ack on its harbor side in the spring of 146 B.C., pushing into the city and destroying house a er house while pushing enemy troops towards their citadel. A er seven days of horric bloodshed, the Carthaginians surrendered, oblitera ng an

ancient city that had survived for some 700 years. The surviving 50,000 ci zens of Carthage were sold into slavery. Also in 146 B.C., Roman troops moved east to defeat King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars, and by year's end Rome reigned supreme over an empire stretching from the Atlan c coast of Spain to the border

Art
Roman art did not get a start until 500 B. C. Before this the Romans copied the art of the Etruscans. About 200 B. C. the Romans conquered the Greeks and began copying their art style. During their conquest of Greece, the Romans looted the towns. They brought the art home. They also captured sculptors and brought them to Rome as slaves. Beginning with the Roman Republic the Romans started making statues that really looked like one particular person. The Romans were far more realistic than the Greeks with their statues. The Greeks tried to build statues to illustrate the "ideal" person. The Romans believed that having a good image of somebody's face kept its ghost happy. Colors were applied to the top layer while it was wet. This made the fresco durable and able to hold up well over a long period of time. The Romans also painted on canvas. They often painted battle scenes. These were displayed in temples or in public buildings. Unfortunately none of these have withstood time. The Romans painted murals. These depicted everyday scenes around Rome. They also painted mythological scenes such as the heroic deeds of Hercules, Achilles, Ulysses, and Theseus. As the Roman Empire became larger the Britons, Spanish, Carthaginians, Phoenicians, etc. mixed their art styles with the Romans styles to form many different styles throughout the Mediterranean area. Around 200 A. D. the German influence was first seen in the Roman art. At this time the art showed people suffering such as having their head cut off or their insides ripped out. The drill was invented making sculpting easier and faster. This gave the art a little different look. By the 300's A. D. Christianity influence began to show up in Roman art. The artwork had less blood and gore. Some figures were sculpted with the eyes looking towards heaven. At this time the body was less important. Sculptors took less time with the body and at times the body was not in the correct proportions.