Hello, my name is Kylie and welcome to ancient history the ancient Romans part 1
in this video
We will take a look at the basic events in ancient Roman history from its founding to its end in
Part 2 of this series. We will look at ancient Roman culture art and religion
Are you ready to take a journey through time and learn about ancient Roman history?
Let's get ready to travel
The ancient Romans were one of the most powerful cultures that have ever existed
Their Empire lasted from
753 BC to 476 ad
The Romans ruled over an empire which is a group of lands that they took by force and then strictly controlled
The Roman Empire began in the city of Rome in the central part of what is today, Italy
Rome is today one of the most famous and beautiful cities in the world both the city and the entire empire were called Rome
Rome was founded by a man named Romulus in
753 BC and the city was originally called Roma
Romulus was the first of seven Roman Kings that would later be replaced by senators. We'll talk more about them in a minute
The last of the Roman Kings was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Also known as Tarquin ruled from
534 to 509 BC
He was a very mean dictator and at the end of his rule his family was exiled
This means he along with all of his family were forced to leave Rome and never returned
After this Rome was ruled by senators and a constitution was written
senators were men from prominent families who were not elected but rather served in the government because of their wealth and being part of an
important family that owned a lot of land
Only male wealthy land owners could be in the Senate
The Roman Constitution at this time was a largely unwritten set of rules and guidelines meant to keep the senators in power
This set of rules and guidelines changed quite often to suit the needs of the Senators at that time in other words
They changed it to keep themselves wealthy and in power
One famous ruler of Rome was Julius Caesar. In fact, he was so famous. William Shakespeare wrote a play about him
He ruled for only one year
45 BC to 44 BC
remember when we talk about time BC or before the birth of Christ the years follow a number line heading towards the year 0
Caesar took power after a civil war and was a very very powerful leader
He entered the Senate and became a dictator which means he was totally in charge
No one could question him and he maintained power with his own army
One interesting thing he did was to hire sosigenes an
Egyptian astronomer to work out a new 12-month calendar. It is the same calendar system most countries used today
Julius Caesar was assassinated by three Roman senators who wish to end his dictatorship and restore the Senate
after
Julius Caesar was killed several leaders in the Roman government and military made themselves
emperors of the Roman Empire a
Man named Octavius who renamed himself
Augustus which means first emperor
appointed himself emperor of the Roman Empire in 27, BC
Jesus was born under the reign of Emperor Augustus
Perhaps you remember this from the Christmas story?
During this time Rome also began to become increasingly intolerant of the new Christian religion
The Romans didn't accept any attempts of people in their empire to regain their independence
Once under Roman rule they had no choice, but to follow the rules of the Empire
Nero
Roman Emperor in 64 AD blamed a huge fire that destroyed much of Rome on the Christians
Many Christians were persecuted at this time
In the year 66 AD the Jews of Judah rebelled against their Roman masters in response
Nero dispatched an army under the generalship of this fashion to restore order and destroyed the city of
Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in 70 AD
between the years 80 BC and 122 AD
The Roman Empire spread far and many different lands and cultures were made part of this Empire at the peak of Roman power
They controlled over 2 million square miles of land
It stretched from the tip of what is today Italy Egypt Great Britain Asia and more
The Hadrian's Wall was built in 122 AD in an effort to keep the barbarians out
Barbarians were groups of tribes of people Rome wish to conquer
The Romans believe that these people were uncivilized by their standards
These particular barbarians came from today's Scotland and Northern England
It was a stone wall 73 miles long and built entirely by hand as
the acceptance of Christianity in Rome grew by
313 ad the Roman Emperor Constantine
wrote and edict or an official letter stating a new rule that
Christianity is to be accepted and tolerated
It was called the Edict of Milan
74 years later in 380 ad
Theodosius the first makes Christianity the official and only religion of the Roman Empire
Theodosius the first also split Rome into two halves
the Western and the eastern Roman Empire
Each half had its own ruler
Rome was known as always having a very powerful army
however
In 410 AD the Visigoths who were from what is now modern Portugal Spain and part of southern France invaded
The capital of Rome it was the first time in over 800 years that Rome had fallen to an enemy
It was a horrible and disastrous time for the Roman Empire
the end of Rome was near in
476 ad the Goths defeated the last emperor of Rome
Romulus Augustus
The Goths were a nomadic people
They child around much Europe at the time moving from place to place in order to find food trade and wage war
The Western Roman Empire fell and soon the entire Empire fell as well
This time is known as the beginning of the Dark Ages in European history
The journey from the beginning to the end of the Roman Empire is an amazing one full of incredible people and events
remember, this is only a small overview of ancient Rome story in the second part of this series ancient history the
Roman Empire part 2
We will learn all about some of Rome's most famous myths their art and culture
Remember to practice what you've learned in our fun online games and quizzes
Until our next travel through history remember to always be clever