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Mr. Sedivy's
History
Classes:

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Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

World
History
Rise and Fall of
the Roman Empire

Augustus Caesar

Rise of the Roman Empire

Rome was no longer a republic; Augustus was a dictator.
(Augustus means honored and majestic.) Augustus restored order to Rome.
During the Pax Romana period there were 200 years of peace within Rome -
27 BC to 180 AD. The Empire extended from Britain to Asia Minor. Many
aspects of Rome changed and the Romans expanded on Greek Culture. Augustus
died in 14 AD. (During his time Jesus was born.)

The Successors of Augustus

Tiberius (14 - 37 AD)
During
the time of Tiberius a religious prophet was crucified in the province of
Judea. His people assured him it was no big deal - At the time of the
crucifixion, the sky darkened. This unexplained phenomenon was reported by
contemporary historians to have occurred in all known parts of the
world.

Caligula (37 - 41 AD)
Caius
Caesar Germaniccus, Caligula (means "little boots") was mean and crazy.
Caligula gave his horse a government position, had many killed - even some
of his own family members. A year after taking over, Caligula began
thinking he was a god and justified his incest with his sisters by citing
Jupiter's liaison with his sister Juno. He threw wild banquets.

Caligula also became increasingly obsessed with killing for
pleasure. He would feed slaves to his twelve pet lions when lion food was
short, and he would have his guards kill people for the smallest reasons -
like not smiling at him. Caligula would close down the granaries just for
fun so the people would starve, and then would laugh as they rioted. Then
he would set the army after them to beat them to death. "Let them hate me,
as long as they fear me."

Arch Dedicated to Caligula, in
Pompeii

Caligula was killed by his own soldiers when he had stopped
to watch a theater group practice. He needed the diversion because of a
stomachache he had gotten from a night of banqueting. Caligula was
surrounded by a group of assassins. The first one hit him across the jaw
with a club. As he fell to the ground, he taunted them by saying he was
still alive, Strike again! They did, with an entire group of
swordsmen.

Claudius (41 - 54 AD)
Claudius
restored order in the Roman Empire.

Nero

Nero (54 - 68 AD)
Nero was a
mean lunatic. He was second in line to the throne. Nero poisoned the first
in line to the throne, murdered his mother (after having an affair with
her), and murdered his wife. He would have night chariot races in which he
would cover slaves with tar and light them on fire to be torches. Nero did
do some nice things such as provide food and shelter after the fire had
destroyed Rome.

Nero blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians and
started persecuting them. Probably, the persecution started because the
Jews and Christians did not get along because the Christians kept trying
to get the Jews to convert. The Romans hated "Disturbances of the Peace,"
and went after those who caused them. Nero killed himself in 68 AD.

Military Leaders (after a year of chaos)

Vespasian (69 - 79
AD)
Vespasian restored order and built the Colosseum. He fought
a Jewish uprising. (The Jews wanted to reestablish their ancient kingdom.)
In 70 AD the Romans captured Jeruselum and destroyed the temple. The Jews
went to Masada (Mt. Fortress - it still stands) and fought for two years.
Eventually, most committed suicide rather than give up.

The Good Emperors (after Titus and Domitian)

Nerva (96 AD)
In 96 AD Nerva
took over and set up a system of choosing the successor to avoid violence.
Trajan (98 - 117 AD) Trajan ruled during the biggest time of the empire.
He added Mesopotamia to the Roman Empire. Trajan was a benevolent ruler
cutting taxes, and helping the poor.

Hadrian

Hadrian (117 - 138 AD)
Hadrian
secured the empire and built a wall in Britain. (They messed up and put a
moat on both sides of the wall!) Hadrian put down a Jewish revolt and gave
harsh punishments to the rebels. He renamed the area "Syria Palestina"
which made the Jews mad. Hadrian only let Jews come to Jeruselum once a
year. He wanted to let non-Jews settle there. Most Jews either left or
became slaves.

Roman Emperor Hadrian; Hadrian's
Wall

Marcus Aurelius (161 -
180 AD)
Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher. He broke the
old system and chose his son, Commodus, a megalomaniac, to rule.

Marcus Aurelius

Back to the
Top

I - The
Etruscans / Romulus and Remus

II -
The Roman Republic

III
- Augustus Caesar

IV -
Rise of the Roman Empire

V -
Roman Life and the Spread of Christianity

VI - The
Pax Romana and Roman Culture

VII -
Decline of the Roman Empire

Class Activity
Roman Aqueduct
Project

Further Topical Reading
Historical Jesus

More
Information

The Emperors of Rome

Malaria May Have
Hastened the Fall of Rome

Virtual Tour of Ancient
Rome - Past & Present

The Ancient City of
Pompeii

Historical Periods of
World History
Class Study

| Prehistory | Mesopotamia &
Phoenicians |
| Ancient Egypt | Greece | Rome |
| Medieval History | Renaissance and
Reformation |
| Exploration | National Monarchies
|
| The Scientific
Revolution and the Enlightenment |
| Colonial America and
American Revolution |
| The French Revolution and
the Napoleonic Era |

Highlands Ranch High School 9375 South Cresthill Lane
Highlands Ranch, Colorado 80126 303-471-7000

Mr. Sedivy's History Classes
| Colorado History | American Government | Advanced Placement Modern
European History | Rise
of Nation State England | World History |
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