Rome pages 88-94 Notes 4/8

• Imitated Greek civilization but improved on warfare and government 
• Had a Republic style government for centuries that was better than the Greek government 
• Battle techniques were more successful than the Greeks 
• Rome treated captured enemies better then Greece did 
• Over 5 centuries Rome was an empire that expanded from Mesopotamia to the Atlantic Ocean 
• The expansion led to social conflicts, political crisis, civil war, and unstable rule by army commanders 
• The ruler problem ended when Augustus Caesar(military commander) took charge and turned military rule in to a manageable system that one man could control

ITALY AND ITS PEOPLE

• Tribes moved into Italy, in a Mediterranean land 
• the land had similar farming resources to Greece or Palestine, but could support more people and armies 
• Settlers formed into groups, one of them the Latins of central Italy 
• Some Latins settled towards the mouth of the Tiber river and built small civilization on the small hills, getting the known name of "Seven Hills"
• in 750 B.C. the small settlements came together and formed a city-state know as Rome 
• The Latins being already settled there had influence on Roman Civilization 
• Roman's learned the alphabet and about Greek city states from their neighboring city-states
• Etruscan's 
• non Indo-European immigrants 
• Arrived in Italy from somewhere East around 9th century 
• Got control of lands north of the Latins called Etruria 
• They established city-states with ruling Kings 
• Created a civilization with influences from eastern areas and Greece 
• in 7th century they conquered Latium 
• At one point Etruscan Kings ruled Rome 
• Romans adopted a gridiron street plan, gladiatorial combats, and the masonry arch 
• Notes continued on 4/9 post