Ancient Rome

They represent the highest sophistication of the High Renaissance. They also show that people of the Renaissance have improved when painting perspective.

Initially over Carthage's expansion in Spain, but overall it became a struggle for control of the Western Mediterranean.

A consequence of the Second Punic war and the enslavement of 50,000 Carthaginians when Rome destroyed Carthage in the Third Punic War (146 BC) and of 150,000 Epirotes after the Third Macedonian War (168 BC) was that many small farmers lost their land.

The Roman army was a levy of small farmers who returned to their farms after a military campaigning season. Prolonged military service beyond a single campaigning season in the Second Punic War caused many of these farmers to have to neglect their farms. The owners of large landed estates took advantage of this to buy land on the cheap. The flood of slaves on the slave market in Rome provided these large landowners with an ample supply of labour. The greater number of slaves were bought by them. Abundant salve labour made the expansion of their estates easier. As a result, many small farmers lost their land. This had two ramifications. One was that the dispossessed farmers flocked to Rome to eke out a living, swelling the masses on unemployed or underemployed poor. The other were shortages of recruits for the army because soldiers had to own land. These problems were tackled by Tiberius Gracchus who introduced a land reform to redistribute land to the landless poor (133 BC) and Gaius Gracchus, who in 122 BC introduced a grain dole in which the state distributed grain to the poor at subsidised prices (later it was given for free). The land reform was insufficient. Eventually, in 107 BC Gaius Marius abolished the property threshold for the military levy, made joining the army voluntary and open to the landless poor to overcome the mentioned shortages. The poor flocked to the army for a career, a pay and the grant of a plot of land to farm on discharge.

Another problem was in Spain. After the Romans defeated the Carthaginians in Spain during the Second Punic War they took over their territories in the south and much of the east coast. After the war Rome decided to remain in Spain and created two Roman provinces there. This caused continuous resistance against the Roman presence in Spain by the local tribes. The Romans had to fight countless battles and lost many thousands of men. Because of this many soldiers stayed in Spain for six years and after this they had to be resettled. The high death toll also made many young men reluctant to join the levy. At times they found excuses to dodge it. This made the recruitment shortages worse.

He was cruel and selfish. He turned out be a monster and resulted to tyranny after killing his mother and first wife. But he wasn't all bad. The public loved him because he gave them gifts (to bribe) and money, when it was needed, from his private funds.

I believe that Sicily is approximately 150 miles away from the edge of the Cap Bon Peninsula.

Rome and Carthage fought each other three times in three Punic Wars. The causes of each war were different.

The First Punic War was precipitated by the Mamertines, southern Italian mercenaries who had seized the city of Messana, on Sicily's east coast and had been attacked by the Greek city of Syracuse, (also on the east coast) the most powerful city in the island. The Mamertines asked both Carthage (which had five ports on the western coast) and Rome for help. Carthage helped first, but established a garrison in the city. The Mamertines were not happy with this and asked Rome for help again. The Roman senate was reluctant to get involved., but the popular assembly voted for war. Rome evicted the Carthaginian garrison in Messana and besieged Syracuse, which became Rome's ally. At this point Carthage mobilised for war. Ancient historian Polybius said that there were concerns in Rome that Carthage's presence in Messana might lead to a clash with Syracuse. If Carthage defeated Syracuse she would take over the whole of Sicily. The Carthaginians, in their turn, were concerned about Rome's alliance with Syracuse.

Regarding the Second Punic War, Polybius said that Hannibal wanted this war in revenge for Rome fraudulently seizing Corsica and Sardinia from Carthage by taking advantage of a military rebellion in Carthage after the first war. Cities on the northern part of the coast of Spain allied with Rome for protection because they felt threatened by Carthaginian expansion along that coast. Rome negotiated a treaty that set the river Ebro as the boundary between the two areas. Hannibal broke the treaty by seizing a city just north of this river. Rome tried to negotiate, but these failed. Rome was forced to declare war. Hannibal had already made preparations for a military expedition to Italy and set off very quickly. Hannibal's provocation and the speed of his mobilisation indicate that he did want war.

In the Third Punic War Rome wanted to destroy Carthage because the latter had recovered in economic prosperity and because she raised an army to defend herself from territorial encroachments by her Numidian neighbours. Under the term of the peace treaty Carthage was not allowed to raise an army without Rome's permission. The war faction in Rome used this to push for a declaration of war. This faction did not want an economically and possibly militarily resurgent Carthage and wanted to eliminate this foe.

To make the Roman Coliseum out of cardboard, cut a shape that looks like a crown. Then cut holes in the cardboard that look like windows and arched doorways. Staple the two ends together into a round figure. This can also be painted white and gray for a more dramatic effect.

Hannibal did not march on Italy from Carthage. He marched from southern Spain, which his family had conquered. He marched along the eastern coast of Spain and inland from the southern coast of France. He then crossed the Alps to reach Italy. He took an army with some 58,000 men, the majority of which were cavalry, siege machines and war elephants.

The Third Punic war was the only instance of Rome having the destruction of an enemy and the obliteration of a state as her war aim. Rome did destroy other cities in some of her wars. However, this was an outcome of military engagement and was not part of the initial war aim. Moreover, they did not involve the destruction of an enemy state. For example, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem after a long siege. However, this was not the initial intention and did not involve the destruction of the whole of Judea.

There was a similarity with Corinth. Rome destroyed Corinth, which was one of the cities of the Achaean League (an alliance of Greek city-states in southern Greece) which fought Rome. Both cities were destroyed in the same year (146 BC). Julius Caesar ordered the rebuilding of both cities as Roman colonies in 44 BC. However, again, destruction had not been the war aim in the case of Corinth.

The destruction of Carthage was advocated by a war party which won the day in Rome's politics. Their advocates argued that Carthage returned to prosperity and that there was a danger that she might rebuild her military might. This was not the case. Despite peace terms imposed by Rome after the Second Punic War which were meant to be economically crippling, Carthage did well. Her land was very fertile. It was one of the breadbaskets of the Mediterranean. Moreover, with the demilitarisation imposed by Rome she saved enormous amounts of money by not incurring military expenses. Later Carthage levied a military force to fend off attacks by her Numidian neighbours. However, she would not have been able to be a match for Rome's military prowess ever again. This policy was driven by resentment and fear due to the tens of thousands of Roman and Italian allies who lost their lives when Hannibal invaded. Carthage was destroyed and the 50,000 survivors of the siege were sold into slavery.

Carthage did not dominate the Mediterranean. Her trading network was in the western basin of this sea. Trade in the eastern Mediterranean was dominated by the Greeks and her Phoenician cousins. In the western Mediterranean Carthage's hegemony was in the southern part: the North African coast from northern Morocco to western Libya (Tripolitania), southern Spain, Ibiza, Western Sicily and Sardinia. Trade in the northern part (the coast of France and Spain's eastern coast) was controlled by Greek cities headed by Massalia (Marseille). Trade in Eastern Sicily and southern Italy was controlled by the Greek cities there, especially Syracuse, the most powerful city in Sicily (eastern and southern Sicily were Greek). Trade on the coast of central Italy was shared between the Etruscans, the Greeks and Carthage.

Carthage may have dominated the western Mediterranean in the early days, but there is very little historical record for this period. The expansion of the Greeks into the western Mediterranean led to the situation described above. Carthage developed as a military power from about 550 BC. She fought a war against Massalia in the 530s BC and three Sicilian Wars against the Greeks in Sicily (480 BC, 410-340 BC, and 315-307 BC) but more of these changed the described balance. A combined Carthaginian and Etruscan fleet (the Etruscans became allies at this time) defeated a Greek fleet off the coast of Corsica sometime between 540 and 535 BC. The allies agreed that Corsica was to become Etruscan and Sardinia Carthaginian. This was the only significant gain Carthage made. She lost Sardinia, Corsica (she had gained this island with the decline of the Etruscans) and her possessions in western Sicily at the end of the Frist Punic War (241 BC). She lost her possessions in southern Spain and her allies in Algeria at the end of the Second Punic War (202 BC). She was destroyed in the Third Punic War.

== == Notre Dame de Paris was built atop the sacred groves of the Celts, who held their services on the island on the Seine, by the Romans. A basilica dedicated to St. Etienne was constructed there around 528 by Childebert. A Romanesque church replaced the basilica and it stood until 1163 when work began on the structure which stands today. Although commenced during the reign of Louis VII, Bishop Maurice de Sully was the architect and had his vision in 1160; the work began in 1163 and the foundation stone was laid by Pope Alexander III. It took 200 years to complete (in about 1345). There were some restoration programs in 1845 carried out by Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc; and in 1991, a 10 year program of general maintenance and restoration was begun.

Jai Johanny Johanson was born on July 8, 1944.

Flavius is a character in William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar." He is a tribune who opposes the celebration of Caesar's triumph and expresses disdain for the common people celebrating Caesar's rise to power. Flavius, along with Marullus, attempts to disperse the crowd and criticizes them for their fickleness in shifting loyalties from Pompey to Caesar. His actions reflect the tension between the ruling class and the populace in the play.

If you mean Ludi, held at the Circus Maximus, it ranged in duration and scope from half-day events to spectacular multi-venue celebrations held over several days. There were public feasts, religious ceremonies and public feasts, horse and chariot racing, athletics, plays and recitals, beast-hunts (venatio), and gladiator fights. Sometimes there were public executions. The greater ludi at the Circus began with a flamboyant parade (pompa circensis), much like the triumphal procession (triumphus), which marked the purpose of the games and introduced the participants.

Hannibal set off from southern Spain, which his family had conquered. He marched on the east coast of Spain and inland from the coast of southern France. He reached Italy by crossing the Alps.

Depends on your definition of "good".

He was well acclaimed and popular in Rome, the Empire was economicly prosperous and and he kept the Empire at peace through much of his reign.

On the other hand was a typical dictator, killed many political rivals, invaded Dacia and enslaved the entire population, but this was considered normal business for Roman Emperors.

The Romans built domes in concrete. The greatest example is the dome of the pantheon, a temple which has been converted into a church. It is still the larges unreinforced concrete dome in the world.

The dome was built on top of a rotunda (round chamber) in concrete and was supported by a sophisticated system of relieving arches. Its downward thrust rests on eight vaults in the drum wall (which is 6.4 metres 21 ft. thick) which are supported by eight piers. The structure had a symmetrical order. The height from the floor to the oculus is the same as the diameter of the inner circle of the rotunda, 43.3 metres (142 ft.). The height of both the wall of the rotunda and the dome are the same of the radius of the rotunda (half its dimension). Thus, the structure could contain a sphere 43.3 metre in diameter and could fit into a cube with 43.33x43.33 m sides.

Despite its large size (43.43x2.67m) the dome weight is only 5 metric tons. This was achieved with a number of weight-saving strategies. Its thickness of 6.4 metres (21 ft.) at the base narrows to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft.) around the oculus. Successively less dense (and thus lighter) aggregates were used as the dome went upwards. To make concrete, the Romans mixed a volcanic rock called pozzolana with lime and added rubble aggregate to make it solid. Tuff and/or travertine stone was used for the lower layers, bricks for the middle ones and pumice and/or pottery shreds for the higher ones. If the same concrete had been used throughout, the downwards stress would have been 80% higher. Having the empty space of the oculus instead of an apex also reduced weight. This could be achieved only with Roman concrete. Modern concrete is fluid. Roman concrete was less fluid and had to be layered by hand. This allowed the use of different aggregates.

The interior of the dome has five rings of 28 evenly spaced coffers (sunken panels). This is a decorative technique and this specific kind of layout is difficult to achieve. In the case of the dome, it also reduces weight because of the empty spaces in the squares. The arrangement of the coffers forms a honeycomb structure, which has a high strength-to-weight ratio. Thus, despite being hollow, it provides structural strength. The weight of the dome around the oculus (which is 9.1 metre, 30 ft., in diameter) is carried by as ring arches which form it.

The Spartans won the Peloponnesian war, the only war between the Athenians and the Spartans.

The plebeian tribunes were created to protect the plebeians (the commoners).

The carriage is still stuck in the ditch. The Cornelius', were going to the inn by the way, which is not far away. Cornelia, who was no longer crying, walked with Eucleide. The boys, who had run ahead, called Cornelius again and again. Aurelia, though she still did not want to spend the night in the tavern, went slowly, with Cornelius.

Soon they came closer to the inn. Nobody saw, however, they heard the voices of men.

Suddenly two dogs barking furiously came out of the door, and the Cornelius' hurl themselves into the inn. Sextus immediately fled. Marcus did not move. Aurelia exclaimed in alarm. Cornelius, he does nothing. Cornelia, however, does not escape the dogs, but she stretches out her hand.

"Look, Marce!" he says. "These dogs only bark. They are not dangerous. Look, Sexte! Their tails are moving."

At the very time at the door to the inn appeared a fat man, who brought back the dogs.

"Hello, guests!" he says. "Do you wish to stay the night in my inn? Many distinguished citizens have stayed here. Once ambassadors even spent the night here."

"Hello, my Apollodore!" interrupted Eucleides. "How are you?"

"By Hercules!" responds the innkeeper. "Unless I am mistaken, I recognize my friend Eucleides."

"No, you are wrong," said Eucleidus, "Happy to see you. The carriage of my master, hangs motionless in a ditch, it is necessary spend the night here, in the inn."


"That is sad," said the innkeeper, " that the carriage is in a ditch, but I am glad that now you come to my the inn. Come, come all! "

The Latin word aqueduct is composed by two words Latin words aqua (water) and duct. The Aqueducts were water conduits which brought fresh water from the mountains to the cities. It is thought that the Romans built some 770 aqueducts around the Roman Empire. Most of them were underground conduits. When a valley had to be crossed, or when a gradient needed to be kept (the water was moved by gravity) the ducts were on top of bridgeworks.

Plebeian tribunes were elected leaders of ancient Rome who represented plebeians.

Similarities: The Byzantine Empire had an emperor and a Senate, had many of the same laws, building styles, and architecture (bath houses, aquaducts, roads, et cetera), and the people enjoyed chariot racing.

Differences: The largest difference was that the Byzantine empire was a Christian one, and not a pagan one. Thus, there were no gladitorial combats, and the emperor acted as both head of church and head of state.