An Empire Across Three Continents- [History] class 11th 'Humanities'

HANDWRITTEN NOTES

CLASS 11TH - HUMANITIES

HISTORY

Chapter - 3

An Empine Across Three continents

Q) Name the three continents where Roman empire was expanded?

Ans- Europe, West Asia, North Africa.

Q) Explain about the geographical location of Romans empire?

Ans - 1) Northern frontiers of Romam empire was marked by two rivers - Danube, Rhine

2) Sahara desert in the south have huge expansion.

3) The Roman empire was dominated by mediterranean sea and the region around it (in both directions North as well as south)

4) Mediterranean sea was also known as the heart of Roman civilization.

5) Two powerful empires - Rome and Iran ruled over most of Europe, N. Africa and middle east in the period between birth of christ and early part of 4th century.

6) These empires are separated by a narrow strip of land that ran along the river euphrates.

Q) Write a short note on Roman political system?

Ans - The emperor, aristocracy and the Army were three main players in the Roman political system.

- The emperor

- Senate

- Army

2) All in the empire were subjects of a single suler, but they followed various cultures, religion, langauge and races.

3) The regime established by Augustus, the first in 27 BCE was called as 'principate'. Principate means- 'princep' - a latin word - leading citizen.

Although Augustus was sole ruler and the real source of authority, but the fiction was kept alive of principate, it was was done out of respect for the senate.

4) Senate existed in Rome for centuries when it was Republic, had been remained a body representing the aristocracy.

5) Roman's had a professional army where soldiers had to put in minimum of 25 years of service. The Army was largest singlw organised body in the empire with 600000 soldiers in 4th century.

6) Many languages mere spoken in the empire, but for the purpose of administration- Latin and Greek were most widely used as official language.

7) The Roman empire had two type of territories -

-dependent's Kingdom

-provincial territory

8) The external warfare was common in first two centuries. The empire inherited by tiberius from Augustus was already so vast that further expansion was felt to be unnecessary.

9) Public baths were a striking feature of Roman Urban life.

Q) What was the third-century crisis in Europe-

1) The third-century brought the first major sign of internal strain.

2) From 230s, the empire found itself fighting on several fronts simultaneously.

3) In 225, an aggressive dynasty emerged in Iran called "sasanians" and within just 15 years it expanded rapidly in the direction of euphrates.

4) Shapur I, the Iranian ruler claimed he had annihilated a Roman Army of 60,000 and captured eastern capital of Antioch.

5) Many of the germanic tribes began to move against Rhine and Danub frontiers.

6) The whole period from 233 to 280 saw repeated invasions.

7) If the rapid succession of emperors in 3rd century (25 emperors in 47 years) is an obvious symptom of strains faced by empire in the period.

• Describe the Role of woman in Roman Society?

1) One of the important feature of Roman society was widespread prevalance of nuclear family.

2) Typical form of marriage: After marriage, the wife did not transfer to her husband's authority but retained full rights in the property of her family.

3) Women's dowry went to husband at the time of marriage, the woman remained heir of her father and became an independent property owner after father's death.

4) The Roman women enjoyed considerable legal rights in owning and managing property.

5) Divorce was relatively easy and needed no more than a notice of intent to dissolve the marriage by either husband or wife.

6) Marriage were generally arranged and there is no doubt that momen were often subject to domination by their husband.

7) Often males married in their late twenties or often early thirties, women were often married off in late teens or early twenties. So there was an age gap between husband and wife. It encouraged certain inequality.

8) Finally father had substantial legal control over their children - sometimes to a shocking degree.

Literacy

1) Casual literacy varied greatly between different parts of the empire.

2) Pompeli which was buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 CE, there is strong evidence of wide spread causal literary. Walls contained different advertisements.

3)Literacy was certainly more widespread among certain categories such as soldiers, army officers and estate managers.

Culture: There was cultural diversity many at levels -

1) Vast diversity of religious cults and local dieties.

2) Plurality of language was found.

3) The styles of dress and costume.

4) The food people ate.

5) Their forms of social organisation.

• Write a note on Roman economy.

1) The empire had a substantial economic infrastructure of harbours, mines, brickyards, olive oil factories etc.

2) wheat, wine and olive oil were traded and consumed in huge quantities. They mainly come from spain, egypt. etc.

3) Liquids like olive oil and wine were transported in containers called "Amphorae".

4) Spanish olive oil was a vast commercial enterprise. The spanish olive oil of the period was mainly carried in a container called Dressel 20.

5) Spanish producers succeded in capturing markets for olive oil from Italian counterparts. This happened as spanish producers supplied better quality at lower prices.

6) The big landowners from different regions competed with each other for the contract of main markets for the goods they produced.

7) Transhumance mas widespread in the countryside of Numidia (modern Algeria). These pastrols moved from place to place carrying their huts named 'mapalia'.

8) In spain, North wass less developed and inhabited largely by Celtic-speaking peasantry that lined in Hilltop villages called 'Castella'.

9) Diversified application of water power around the mediterranean as well advances in water powered willing technology in spanish were worked.

•Write some important features of slavery system in Roman empire.

1) Slavery was an institution deeply rooted in ancient world.

2) Bulk of labour in Roman was performed by slaves: Roman economy was performed by slaves.

3) Roman upper classes were brutal towards slaves, ordinary people showed much more

compassion.

4) Slaves had to be fed and maintained throughout the year, which increased the cost of holding this kind a labour.

5) Slaves who had been set free by their mastere were extensively used as business managers.

6) Slaves who worked in gangs were usually chained together by their feet.

7) The Roman agricultural writers paid a great deal attention to the management of labour like elder pliny etc.

8) A law of 398 referred to workers being branded so they could be recognized if they run away and try to hide.

9) Many parents sometimes sold their children into servitude for periods of 25 years.

10) Rural indebtedness was even more widespread.

• Describe the Roman society as described by Tacitus.

→ the social structures of the empire follows-

1) Senators: senators included Aristocrates, richest class and more reputative people.

2) Equestrian class: this class used to provide military services to the country and king.

3) Middle class: This class is mainly involved in the bureaucracy, army, rich business man and farmers.

4) Unkempt lower class: These were workers, peasants, labourers and these also known as Humiliores.

5) Slaves- These were the labourers which used to work their complete life wlithout talking of wages. These work in industries, in grain and olive harvests.

6) In Roman society, there was there was of course great deal of corruption, especially in judicial systems and in administration of military.

7) There was monetary syster of silver-based currencies in first-three centuries because. spanish silver mines were exhausted.

8) The late Roman bureaucracy, both the higher and middle echelons was comparatively affluent group because it drew the bulk of its salary in gold and invested much this in buying assests like land.