3.3 The Roman Empire (PRESENTATION)

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 2. The Time of Greeks and Romans

3.3 The Roman Empire

What is this lesson about?

Look at the map of the Roman Empire. This was the Empire at its peak in 117 AD. Look at those long borders. Difficult to defend, don’t you think? How could the Romans do this?

What you can explain /  do after this lesson/week

• What was the size of the Roman Empire?
• How did the Romans defend the borders of their Empire?
• Was our country part of the Roman Empire?

Word Duty

Germania: area north of the River Rhine, not a Roman province.

limes: Roman borders in the north. (spreek uit als lie-mès)

barbarians: primitive people who lived outside the Roman Empire (like the Germans)

KEY WORDS

TIMELINE of this CHAPTER

B: From Republic to Empire

Rome was ruled by emperors after Augustus took power.

Some emperors were great leaders, others were weak and corrupt.

Famous Emperors:

    Caligula – Cruel and absurd, even made his horse a senator.
    Nero – Suspected of setting fire to Rome.
    Vespasian – Built the Colosseum.
    Hadrian – Built Hadrian’s Wall in Britain.

C. Border protection

Under the first emperors, Rome expanded across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Conquered lands became provinces of the Empire.

Borders followed natural features: rivers, seas, mountains, deserts.

Romans built fortresses at key points for defense.
Their professional army had advanced weapons and tactics, making them nearly unbeatable.

D1. Limes

Some borders needed extra protection, like in northern England.

Hadrian’s Wall (built around 120 AD) marked the northern limit of the Empire.
It was more than just a wall – it had fortresses along the border.
The northern border also ran through what is now the Netherlands.
The Roman name for these borders was limes.

D2. Limes

The northern border of the Roman Empire followed the Rhine River.

Only the southern part of the Netherlands was under Roman control.

Why?

    The Rhine was a natural border—easy to defend.
    Julius Caesar stopped his conquest at the Rhine.
    Germanic tribes north of the Rhine struggled to cross it.

D. The English words ‘Germany’ and ‘Germans’ originally come from the Latin word Germania that was introduced by the Romans

C3. Limes

The area south of the Rhine became the Roman province Gallia Belgica.
Large parts of present-day Germany and the northern Netherlands were not part of the Empire.
The Romans saw the people there as wild barbarians.
The region was cold, wet, and not valuable to the Romans.

Romans

Germans

barbarians

Who were the barbarians? The Romans referred to people groups outside the Roman Empire as barbarians. The barbarians had different cultures than the Romans. They dressed differently, ate different foods, and had different religions. They did not have the same level of government, education, or engineering as the Romans.

F. Roman roads

The Romans built a vast network of roads.

Main roads: 100,000 km long; with smaller roads: 300,000 km!

Roads were essential for trade and military movement.

Milestones marked distances, like modern traffic signs.

Many Roman roads still exist today!

G. The modern word mile comes from the Latin milia passuum (‘one thousand steps’), which amounted to 1,480 m.

3.3 The Roman Empire (summary)

Ever since Augustus took power, Rome was ruled by an ___________________. This means that Rome was no longer a republic, but a ________________ again.

The Roman empire got bigger. Conquered territories became _______________ of the empire.

The borders of the empire were _____________ borders, such as __________, _____________, ______________ and ______________. Such borders are easily _______________. 

Places where there were no natural borders, the Romans built  walls and _______________. 

The Romans had the best army in the world. 

The borders in the north had to be _______________. In England this was __________ Wall. 

The northern border also ran across the ___________________. We call this the ______________.

Only the ____________ part of the Netherlands was part of the empire. The border was the river ______________.

North of the Rhine lived ________________ tribes. They were enemies of Rome. The Romans called them _________________. 

South of the Rhine became the province ______________________. 

The Romans had a vast network of ________________. They were built by _______________.

The roads were very important:

1. good and safe roads promoted _______________.

2. _________ could move quickly through the empire.

Copy the answes in your notebook.slide.

3.3 The Roman Empire (summary)

Ever since Augustus took power, Rome was ruled by an EMPEROR. This means that Rome was no longer a republic, but a MONARCHY again.

The Roman empire got bigger. Conquered territories became PROVINCES of the empire.

The borders of the empire were NATURAL borders, such as RIVERS, SEAS, MOUNTAIN RANGES and DESERTS. Such borders are easily DEFENDED. 

Places where there were no natural borders, the Romans built  walls and FORTRESSES. 

The Romans had the best army in the world. 

The borders in the north had to be STRENGTHENED. In England this was HADRIAN'S Wall. 

The northern border also ran across the NETHERLANDS. We call this the LIMES.

Only the NORTHERN part of the Netherlands was part of the empire. The border was the river RHINE.

North of the Rhine lived GERMANIC tribes. They were enemies of Rome. The Romans called them BARBARIANS. 

South of the Rhine became the province GALLIA BELGICA. 

The Romans had a vast network of ROADS. They were built by SOLDIERS.

The roads were very important:

1. good and safe roads promoted TRADE.

2. ARMIES could move quickly through the empire.

Word Duty

Assignments  4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 of 3.3 

+ 

Study

Word list 3.1 + 3.2 + 3.3

Weekly task