Day 4

Well, you got the Etruscans and the Greeks

But the Latins came first

To the shores of the River Tiber

They drained a swamp

Next thing you know

Livin’ in Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome

Now Tarquin’s kinda proud

But he got a little loud

They turned around and ran that tyrant outta town

Next thing you know

No kings no more

Happened in Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome

 

Hey, we got three governments rolled into one

Patricians and plebeians havin’ some fun

Two consuls gotta be better than one

Brand new republic ready to run

Democracy

Aristocracy

Plus monarchy

Not a tyranny

Ho-o-o-old up, wait a minute, do I see what I think I… hey!

That’s a Roman legion clear as day

5000 soldiers (not in it for pay)

Group of eighty’s a century

On horseback is the cavalry

Shield, sword, dagger, and armor and tunic

Fightin ’gainst Carthage in wars that are Punic

Hannibal riding on elephant back

Crossing the Alps just to launch his attack

So now you get the picture

All the rich are getting richer

And they’re livin’ on the latifundia

Farmers can’t cope

They’re low on hope

They moved to Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome

I can hear the brothers Gracchus

Sayin, “Rich, please don’t attack us!”

“We got a feeling that the senators will whack us”

They hit the floor

Next thing you know

It’s civil war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war

Hey, let me take you back to 60 BC

It’s the start of the rise of Julius C

He grabbed two dudes and he formed a team

It’s a triumvirate -- that’s a group of three

“Crassus (come on), Pompey (come on), I’m JC! (come on)

We three will rule!

What you think I'm playin, baby girl?  I'm the man!

I'm conquering Gaul!”

All of his soldiers gave him their devotion

That’s why he swept over Gaul just like an ocean

Pompey couldn’t understand all the commotion

When he crossed the Rubicon, he kept up motion

It’s just like a potion

Caesar had self-locomotion

Power’s an ambitious emotion

Dictator is not a demotion

It’s a promotion

But in 44 BC

On a day called March 15 (Ides of March)

Brutus and the Senate murdered Julius C

He hit the floor

Next thing you know

Caesar’s no more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more

You know he’s so depressed

23 stab wounds in his chest

He saw his friend and he raised one last protest

“Et tu, Brute?” (Et tu, Brute?)

That’s what he say

Cuz he felt low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low

 

Only eighteen, Octavian makin’ the scene

He says, “I tell you what,

Got a new triumvirate

Here’s my boy Lepidus

And Mark Antony I trust”

(‘Til Marky met this chick

Cleopatra from Egypt)

Octavian was freakin’

Lust for power started peakin’

“Don’t try to play me or my navy,

At Actium you won’t slay me”

“O” won that game

Did explain

Now Augustus was his name

All his subjects did proclaim

He’s in the Roman Hall of Fame

Twenty-seven BC

For a couple hundred years (207)

Pax Romana is the word that brings the cheers

They’re on a roll

They built some roads

Leading to Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome

Slaves don’t have many rights and

Then there’s gladiator fightin’ (Ow!)

People find the Circus Maximus excitin’

Blood on the floor (knee-deep in gore)

And now you know

All about Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome

(C'mon!)

Above is the rap about Rome. Compared to the textbook information, this provides much of the information needed to learn about Rome. The textbook does go into more detail about Pax Romana thoug the raps information about Romes government exceeds the information of the textbook. Caesars reign over Rome as well as the 2 triumvirates don't show as much information as the textbook but they both show a lot about the rulers. The PowerPoint explains Romes first inhabitants in more depth then the textbook does, as well as the beginnings of Rome. Overall, the information of the rap focuses on the beginnings of Rome and government, while the textbook focuses on the end and Pax Romana period of Rome.

Also, here's the rest of the notes:

• slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)
• by the end of the second century BCE there were over a million slaves in Italy
• small farmers lost their land to aristocrats (for little or no money) if they couldn’t pay their debts, sometimes because the men of the farm were fighting battles
• slaves did the work on the farms for the rich

the big farms became massive estates called latifundia

• Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful)
• military generals worked that angle - lead an army that conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils
• soldiers’ loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic

• Octavians (Ruled for 40 years during Pax Romana) accomplishments
• Expanded the Roman Empire further into Africa
• He set up civil service to run the government/empire
• Building a network of roads
• Collecting taxes
• Establishing a postal service
• Administering the grain supply
• Building awesome public facilities
• Buildings, aqueducts
• • Setting up a police department
  • Running a fire-fighting organization
  Finally died of natural causes