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Samenvatting in het Engels over het Roman empire en de middle ages.
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Summary history Roman empire/middle agesParagraph 1, From village to empire
Very little is known of the early history of Rome. The River Tiber close to a main trade route
to the south if Italy→ expanded into a large city in the 7 th century. It was run by a group of
rich families→ patricians. All other free Romans→ plebeians. Whether you were a patrician
or a plebeian dependent on the circumstances of your birth. Third group→ slaves. The
poorer plebeians became unhappy as many of them had debts didn’t have enough money to
live on.
Rome conquers the Italian mainland
Between 500 and 275 BC the Romans took control of the territory of the other peoples who
lived in Italy, ending with the Greeks. In 280 BC the Greeks received support from Pyrrhus,
king of Epirus. He brought along 25000 soldiers and 20 elephants. The first time Pyrrhus
stormed in with the elephants, the soldiers ran off. They had never seen an elephant before.
Rome conquers the territory around the Mediterranean
After conquering Italy, Rome came into conflict with Cartage. People who lived there→
Carthaginians of Punicians. The first Punic War (264-241BC) was won by the Romans. In the
second Punic War (218-201BC) the Carthaginian general Hannibal rose to fame. Hannibal led
his army from Spain through France and across the Alps. He stayed in Italy for 14 years and
defeated the Romans time and again.
Under terms of the treaty:
-Carthage lost all its territory outside Africa
-Carthage had to destroy its war fleet and was prohibited from waging war without the
consent of Rome.
In the last two centuries BC the Romans expanded their power around he Mediterranean.
The Romans called their empire Imperium Romanum.
Paragraph 2, The consequences of the conquests
The introduction of provinces
The conquered territory outside Italy was split into provinces.
Stronger influence of the Greek culture
The Romans adopter many parts of the Greek culture and spread it through the Roman
empire. People started referring to the Graeco-Roman culture.
, A new, lower layer of the population emerges: the proletarians
The Roman army consisted of farmers who were obliged to do military service. The families
who were left behind could not cope with all the work and were forces to sell their land, but
they soon spent the proceeds because they had no other income. Poor plebeians and ex-
farmers who owned only their children→ proletarians. Patricians and rich plebeians
together→ nobles.
Professional soldiers replace military service
The men in the Roman army had to be able to pay for their own armour.
Increase in the number of rich people
Every military campaign brought huge booty, especially for the Roman commanders: gold,
silver, jewellery and other precious goods.
Increase in the number of slaves
The Romans brought back many slaves from their conquests. Between 200 and 150 BC the
Romans brought around 250000 prisoners of war to Italy to serve as slaves. The slaves took
over the work of the farmers who had migrated to the cities and now belong to the
proletariat.
Paragraph 3, Julius Caesar
Around 130 BC the Roman Empire was plagued by an outbreak of civil wars. Population
groups and army commanders fought against each other for power. On of these
commanders was Julius Caesar. In 58 BC Julius Caesar became commander of the Roman
army in Gaul. Within nine years the whole of Gaul was under Roman control. After all, a
successful commander could distribute a lot of war booty between his men. According to
Roman sources, the soldiers used to say: ‘We are not citizens of Rome but soldier of Caesar’.
In 49 BC Caesar and his army set out for Rome, where he intended to stand for election as
consul. He and his soldiers crossed the Rubicon and headed for Rome. Caesar defeated his
opponents throughout he Roman Empire. He spent several months in Egypt. Cleopatra
persuaded Caesar to set hr on the throne of Egypt. After his return to Rome, Caesar lived for
only seven months. Here are a few of the many reforms Caesar introduced:
He enabled many for the poor people in Rome to find work as a farmer elsewhere.
He gave people in the provinces the chance to become a Roman citizen.
He changed the calendar
Caesar was a strong leader with a tight grip on the reins of power. He didn’t eliminate his
opponents.
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