9781422285862

ECHOES OF THE ETRUSCANS Since the Etruscans left very few texts—mostly inscriptions on pottery or tombstones—scholars still have great difficulty comprehending their vocabulary. This period was the height of Etruscan civilization. By the end of the century, Rome had grown in power, and in 509 bc the Romans overthrew the Etruscan leader- ship. This event marked the beginning of the Roman Republic. A republic is a form of government in which citizens elect representatives to govern for them. Polit- ical principles developed during the Roman Republic, such as the separation of powers between branches of government, have had lasting influence on Western societies. Even the U.S. Constitution is partly modeled on the Roman model. The Roman Republic spanned

One type of Etruscan pottery, such as this replica of an amphora (vase), was influenced by ancient Greek ceramic work originating in Athens, known as the “black figure” style.

over 450 years, gradually widening its influence over places as far away as North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and present-day France. Such growing power abroad paved the way for the transition from a republic to the Roman Empire. Perhaps no political entity has shaped the history and culture of Western civilization so much as the Roman Empire. Most historians agree that the empire began when the Roman Senate appointed Julius Caesar “perpetual dictator” in 44 bc Thirteen years later, Caesar’s nephew Augustus became the first official emperor of Rome. During his rule he oversaw a vast building program, construct- ing or restoring over eighty temples in a single year. The arts, agriculture, and the economy began to flourish, leading to a two-hundred-year period known as the Pax Romana, or “Roman peace.” By the second century ce , the empire had peaked in size: it covered well over 2 million square miles, encircling the Mediter- ranean Sea, and had a population of 60 to 70 million citizens. The empire grew so unwieldy that Emperor Diocletian divided it in half in 285 ce , This led to the creation of the Eastern Roman Empire and the West- ern Roman Empire. The differences in traditions between the two halves of the empire would give each a unique identity over time. The Western Roman Empire would remain Latin speaking, while the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire

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MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: ITALY