Chapter 20 – Rome from its origins to the end of the Republic

Chapter Summary

Roman history is divided into two main periods. After the initial settlement and a century of rule by Etruscan kings, the Romans organized themselves as a republic. The Roman Republic lasted for nearly 500 years, from 509 to 27 BC. After decades of civil war, Octavian, later called Augustus, brought peace to the Roman state, transforming it into a new unity, the empire. The Roman Empire would last until, conventionally, AD 476 in its western half, and until AD 1453 in its eastern, Byzantine half. This book will track Roman cities until the fourth century AD only, the end of pagan antiquity. This chapter traces Rome from its origins to the end of the Republic.

Flashcards

Study guide

What geographical features attracted settlers to Rome?
Describe the appearance of early Rome, ca. 753-509 BC.
What were the civic institutions of the Roman Republic? What buildings, or spaces, served these institutions?
Describe the typical Roman road, army camp, and colony. How did they serve to integrate the far-flung territories of the Republic and Empire?
Describe the city plan of Cosa. Why do these remains illustrate well a small city of the Republic?
What types of buildings are represented in the Roman Forum during the Republican period?

Useful websites

Roman art (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art): www.metmuseum.org/toah
The Gabii Project (investigation of an ancient city 18km east of Rome). http://sitemaker.umich.edu/gabiiproject/home, http://lapisgabinus.blogspot.com

Images

Figure 20.1

Figure 20.1

City plan, Rome, Republican period.

Figure 20.2

Figure 20.2

Plan (reconstruction), Temple of Jupiter Optiumus Maximus, Rome.

Figure 20.3

Figure 20.3

Diagram, Legionary Fort, Novaesium, on the Rhine Frontier in Lower Germany.

Figure 20.4

Figure 20.4

City plan, Cosa.

Figure 20.5

Figure 20.5

Arx Temples: Capitolium and Mater Matuta (reconstruction), from Cosa.

Figure 20.6

Figure 20.6

Forum, sixth phase (reconstruction), Cosa.

Figure 20.7

Figure 20.7

Three types of Roman wall facing: Opus incertum, Opus reticulatum, and Opus testaceum.

Figure 20.8

Figure 20.8

Multi-period plan (through the early fourth century AD), Forum Romanum, Rome.

Figure 20.9

Figure 20.9

Temple of Portunus, Rome.

Figure 20.10

Figure 20.10

Pont du Gard, France.

Figure 20.11

Figure 20.11

Theater of Pompey, shown on the Forma Urbis Romae.