Changes

'''Two ingredients made Rome a great empire:  Roman law and Roman legions.'''  Your instructor emphasizes a third ingredient:  Latin, the Roman language, was a very powerful, effective means of communicating.  This language enabled powerful concepts to be expressed succinctly, and often Latin phrases are used today in the legal system, science, and elsewhere.  Concepts that require sentences to be described in English can be expressed in just a few words in Latin, such as "caveat emptor" (meaning "the burden of examining a product or service is on the buyer before he pays his money, and it is up to him alone to make sure that he gets as much in value as he pays"; more literally, "caveat emptor" means "let the buyer beware").

'''Two ingredients made Rome a great empire:  Roman law and Roman legions.'''  Your instructor emphasizes a third ingredient:  Latin, the Roman language, was a very powerful, effective means of communicating.  This language enabled powerful concepts to be expressed succinctly, and often Latin phrases are used today in the legal system, science, and elsewhere.  Concepts that require sentences to be described in English can be expressed in just a few words in Latin, such as "caveat emptor" (meaning "the burden of examining a product or service is on the buyer before he pays his money, and it is up to him alone to make sure that he gets as much in value as he pays"; more literally, "caveat emptor" means "let the buyer beware").

'''Roman Law''' developed in a rational and flexible manner, though obviously it failed to provide justice during the trial of Jesus, who was not a Roman citizen.  Roman Law began with a code of laws inscribed in the Twelve Tables around 450 B.C.  "Twelve" is an easy number to remember:  it's the same number of ancient tribes in Israel, though there is no obvious connection.

'''Roman Law''' developed in a rational and flexible manner, though obviously it failed to provide justice during the trial of Jesus, who was not a Roman citizen.  Roman Law began with a code of laws inscribed in the '''Twelve Tables''' around 450 B.C.  "Twelve" is an easy number to remember:  it's the same number of ancient tribes in Israel, though there is no obvious connection.

Judges (elected "praetors") interpreted and applied the Twelve Tables in various locations, using local customs and precedents.  This was the origin of the concept of "civil law," expressed in Latin as "jus civile."  Roman law thereby became flexible and powerful in a way never seen before.  The concept of "justice" developed whereby laws, not whim, governed society.  Judgments were to be entered based only on evidence presented pursuant to established procedures, and people learned to respected the law through use of a symbol representing notions of justice (Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice, who wore a blindfold and held scales in one hand and a sword in the other).  Rights were established for citizens and also for women and slaves.  Foreign law was addressed through "jus gentium," or "law of nations," which handled conflicts between Rome and distant locations.  Often judges would invoke the concept of universal law, or "jus naturale," to decide controversies.  Roman law valued private property and the central role played by families, and these priorities helped hold the vast empire together.  Influence of Roman law is seen in many instances in America today, from the concept that all citizens are equal under the law to the principle of "innocent until proven guilty."  A great body of law that helped protect the underprivileged was codified as "Justinian's Code" in the A.D. 500s.  Along with the benefits of a single currency (coins) for commercial transactions, a common legal system was a major factor contributing to the Roman empire's success.

Judges (elected "praetors") interpreted and applied the Twelve Tables in various locations, using local customs and precedents.  This was the origin of the concept of "civil law," expressed in Latin as "jus civile."  Roman law thereby became flexible and powerful in a way never seen before.  The concept of "justice" developed whereby laws, not whim, governed society.  Judgments were to be entered based only on evidence presented pursuant to established procedures, and people learned to respected the law through use of a symbol representing notions of justice (Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice, who wore a blindfold and held scales in one hand and a sword in the other).  Rights were established for citizens and also for women and slaves.  Foreign law was addressed through "jus gentium," or "law of nations," which handled conflicts between Rome and distant locations.  Often judges would invoke the concept of universal law, or "jus naturale," to decide controversies.  Roman law valued private property and the central role played by families, and these priorities helped hold the vast empire together.  Influence of Roman law is seen in many instances in America today, from the concept that all citizens are equal under the law to the principle of "innocent until proven guilty."  A great body of law that helped protect the underprivileged was codified as "Justinian's Code" in the A.D. 500s.  Along with the benefits of a single currency (coins) for commercial transactions, a common legal system was a major factor contributing to the Roman empire's success.

Rome fought and won a series of important wars known as the Punic (PYOO-nik) Wars between 264 and 146 B.C. against the Phoenician city of Carthage on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  This enabled the Roman Republic to gain control of the Mediterranean Sea and exclusive control over the trade of wine, olive oil, food and many other goods.  There were three Punic Wars in all, named "Punic" after the Roman term for Phoenician.   

Rome fought and won a series of important wars known as the Punic (PYOO-nik) Wars between 264 and 146 B.C. against the Phoenician city of Carthage on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  This enabled the Roman Republic to gain control of the Mediterranean Sea and exclusive control over the trade of wine, olive oil, food and many other goods.  There were three Punic Wars in all, named "Punic" after the Roman term for Phoenician.   

In the First Punic War (264-241 B.C.), Rome conquered the island of Sicily and acquired its grain-producing territory.  Rome developed a navy as a result of this war.  With no previous knowledge of shipbuilding, the Roman ships were at first no match for the powerful Carthaginian navy.  But the invention of the "corvus" (a hook-like device by which the Romans could attach their ships to Carthaginian ships) allowed the Romans to board enemy ships, gaining the advantage with their superior hand-to-hand combat and effectively winning the war.

In the '''First Punic War (264-241 B.C.)''', Rome conquered the island of Sicily and acquired its grain-producing territory.  Rome developed a navy as a result of this war.  With no previous knowledge of shipbuilding, the Roman ships were at first no match for the powerful Carthaginian navy.  But the invention of the "corvus" (a hook-like device by which the Romans could attach their ships to Carthaginian ships) allowed the Romans to board enemy ships, gaining the advantage with their superior hand-to-hand combat and effectively winning the war.

In the Second Punic War (218-202 B.C.), Rome fought against the military genius named Hannibal.  Hannibal, the leader of Carthage, took his entire army through Spain and then, in a preemptive move, crossed the Italian Alps in merely 15 days to the great surprise of the Romans.  Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with 30,000 men and some elephants is considered one of the greatest military feats of the ancient world.  He then beat the Romans in a series of battles lasting 16 years but could not conquer Rome itself.  Hannibal had to retreat to Africa when the Romans attacked Carthage.  Rome acquired Spain as a result of the Second Punic War.   

In the '''Second Punic War (218-202 B.C.)''', Rome fought against the military genius named Hannibal.  Hannibal, the leader of Carthage, took his entire army through Spain and then, in a preemptive move, crossed the Italian Alps in merely 15 days to the great surprise of the Romans.  '''Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with 30,000 men and some elephants is considered one of the greatest military feats of the ancient world'''.  He then beat the Romans in a series of battles lasting 16 years but could not conquer Rome itself.  Hannibal had to retreat to Africa when the Romans attacked Carthage.  Rome acquired Spain as a result of the Second Punic War.   

In the Third Punic War, the Romans destroyed Carthage (146 B.C.), killing its inhabitants or taking them as slaves.  Then the vicious Romans spread salt over all the Cathaginian farms to make it impossible to grow crops.  The Romans then went into Macedonia and Greece to defeat the region in revenge for having helped Hannibal.  By the end, Rome controlled all the land around the Mediterranean Sea, which was the entire western civilized world.  The Roman senator Cato the Elder encouraged Rome's terrible revenge by ending every speech with the conclusion, ''Carthago delenda est'': "Carthage must be destroyed."  The Roman soldiers returned home with their winnings, and with Greek knowledge.  Rome itself became Hellenistic, fascinated by the culture of the Greeks, including their architecture, their language, and their system of justice.  The Roman empire helped spread Greek knowledge further than the Greeks themselves could.

In the '''Third Punic War, the Romans destroyed Carthage (146 B.C.)''', killing its inhabitants or taking them as slaves.  Then the vicious Romans spread salt over all the Cathaginian farms to make it impossible to grow crops.  The Romans then went into Macedonia and Greece to defeat the region in revenge for having helped Hannibal.  By the end, Rome controlled all the land around the Mediterranean Sea, which was the entire western civilized world.  The Roman senator Cato the Elder encouraged Rome's terrible revenge by ending every speech with the conclusion, ''Carthago delenda est'': "Carthage must be destroyed."  The Roman soldiers returned home with their winnings, and with Greek knowledge.  Rome itself became Hellenistic, fascinated by the culture of the Greeks, including their architecture, their language, and their system of justice.  The Roman empire helped spread Greek knowledge further than the Greeks themselves could.

===Leading up to an Empire===

===Leading up to an Empire===