My Notes Vs. Chi Cago's Rap PowerPoint

My Notes: Legends say that Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of the god Mars and a Latin princess. They were abandoned as infants on the Tiber River, and were raised by a she-wolf. They decided to build a city near the spot. But it was in fact men who built the city, not immortals. Rome was built on seven rolling hills at a curve on the Tiber River near the center of the Italian peninsula. It is midway between the Alps and Italy's southern tip and near the midpoint of the Mediterranean Sea. The earliest settlers settled on the Italian peninsula during prehistoric times. From about 1000 - 5000 B.C., three groups inhabited the region. They battled for control of the region. They were the Latins, the Greeks, and the Etruscans. The Latins built the original settlement for Rome on the Palatine Hill where they were considered to be the first Romans. Between 750 - 600 B.C., the Greeks established colonies along southern Italy and Sicily. They brought all of Italy, including Rome, into closer contact with Greek civilization. The Etruscans were native to northern Italy in which they were skilled metalworkers and engineers. They boasted a system of writing in which the Romans adopted their alphabet from. They also influenced Roman architecture. Around 600 B.C., an Etruscan became king of Rome in which the collection of hilltop villages grew to a city that covered nearly 500 square miles. Various kings ordered constructions of Rome's first temples and public centers, the most famous was the Forum, which was at the heart of Roman political life. The final king of Rome was a man named Tarquin the Proud, who was a harsh tyrant driven from power in 509 B.C., in which Romans declared they would never again be ruled by a king. So they established a republic. In this republic, citizenship with voting rights was granted only to free-born male citizens. In the early republic, different groups of Romans struggled for power. The patricians and the plebeians were the important groups. Patricians inherited their power and social status and believed that their ancestry gave them the authority to make laws for Rome. Rome's leaders allowed the plebeians to form their own assembly and elect representatives called tribunes to protect their rights from unfair acts of patrician officials. In 451 B.C., a group of ten officials began writing down Rome's laws. They were carved on twelve tablets and became known as the twelve tables and set the basis for later Roman laws. Rome had two officials in their government during the first century B.C. called consuls. Their power was limited and could only serve one term which was one year and could not be elected again for ten years. The senate consisted of 300 members from the upper class. The assemblies represented the more democratic side of the government. In times of crisis, the republic could appoint a dictator to lead who had absolute power. The power only lasted for six months. Romans placed great values in their military. All citizens who owned land were required to serve in the military. Seekers of certain public offices had to perform ten years of military service. Roman soldiers were organized in legions which were large military units. It consisted of 5,000 heavily armed for soldiers (infantry) and a group of soldiers on horseback (cavalry) supported each legion.  The legions were divided into smaller groups if 80 men, which were called centuries. By the fourth century B.C., the Romans dominated central Italy. By 265 B.C., the Romans were master of nearly all Italy. They had different laws and treatment for different parts of its conquered territory. The Latins became full citizens of Rome and farther territories from Rome that were conquered, enjoyed all the rights of Roman citizenship except the vote. All other conquered groups fell into the third category which was allies of Rome. Rome's location gave it easy access to the riches of the lands ringing the Mediterranean Sea. Carthage interfered with Rome's access to the Mediterranean Sea and its rise soon put them in direct opposition with Rome. In 264 B.C., Rome and Carthage went to war; the Punic Wars. Between 264 and 146 B.C., they fought three wars which each other. The first was for control of Sicily in which Rome won. During the second war, a Carthage general, Hannibal, who was only 29 was in charge. Rome defeated his army nonetheless. Rome found a daring military leader to match Hannibal's boldness. Scipio devised a plan to attack Carthage in which it forced Hannibal to return and defend his native city. In 202 B.C, the Romans finally defeated Hannibal. During the third war, Rome laid siege to Carthage and in 146 B.C., the city was set afire. Rome's dominance gave them control over the western Mediterranean. The Romans went to conquer the eastern half, and by about 70 B.C., Rome's Mediterranean empire stretched from Anatolia in the east to Spain in the west. Chi Cago's Rap PowerPoint: Etruscans came from north-central part of the peninsula and were metalworkers, artists, and and architects. The Greeks had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea and the Romans borrowed ideas from them, including religious beliefs, alphabet, much of their art, military techniques and weaponry. The Latins settled in Rome first. They were descendants of the Indo-Europeans and settled on the banks of the Tiber River, situated so trading ships - but not war fleets - could navigate as far as Rome, but no further. It was a commercial port, but not susceptible to attack and was built on the seven hills (Palatine). Many streams flowed into the Tiber River and there was a marshy area called the Forum, between the Palatine and the Capitoline Hills. Tarquin the Proud's grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima which was a drain that channelled water into the Tiber River. Lucius Tarquinias Superbus was the seventh and final king of Rome. Known as Tarquin the Proud (sometimes referred to as Tarquin the Arrogant). A true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the word. Tarquin seized power like an old school tyrant (see if you can follow this horrible story...) ...Tarquin’s grandfather (the fifth king) dies… his widow names Servius Tullias king, since she liked him more than her own sons… S.T.’s daughters marry two brothers (one is Tarquin)… one of the daughters (Tullia) kills her husband and her own sister… this leaves her free to marry Tarquin. Tullia persuades Tarquin to seize the throne from her father… he sits on the throne and declares himself king… S.T. objects, and Tarquin throws him down the steps and into the street, then has him assassinated… Tullia hails Tarquin as the new king, but he sends her home for safety… on her way home she sees the body of her father in the street, seizes the reins, and drives her chariot over his corpse...Tarquin refuses to bury his body, and assassinates senators who object. Years later, Tarquin’s son Sextus and his friends are drinking when Sextus tries to force himself on a matron, Lucretia… she refuses, and he threatens to kill her and says he will say he found her in the arms of a slave… she gives in to the blackmail, then confesses the ordeal to her family, and commits suicide… Tarquin tried to sweep it all under the rug, but the people rose up against the son, the father, and had the whole family expelled from Rome. The people’s shock at this horrible family and their terrible behavior made them NEVER want to be subject to the rule of kings EVER again - this was an attitude that lasted for centuries. So, both that really famous guy Chi Cago and I have roughly the same things in our notes, only he has that story in there about Tarquin the Proud's life and how mess-up his times were along with him.