constitution with checks and balances from Cicero’s description of politics in the Roman Republic (p. 167). Checks and balances were intended to prevent any one branch of the government from becoming too powerful.
10 Roman law
Rome developed its legal system over many centuries. The Twelve Tables were the basis of the Roman system. These laid down certain rights and procedures. Later, all of Rome’s laws were gathered together into the Body of Civil Law (Corpus Juris Civilis). This included the concept that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. ● Roman law became the basis for the law in Western European countries. ● Some of the legal terms used today are derived from the Roman system, for example, subpoena (summons) and habeas corpus (a protection against illegal imprisonment).
11 Religion
In its early years, Christianity was persecuted (badly treated) by the Roman Empire. But once it was legalised by Emperor Constantine (313 AD), it spread rapidly throughout the Empire. The Bishop of Rome became the leader of the Roman Catholic Church or Pope. ● For the next almost 2,000 years, Catholicism was the dominant religion in Europe. It was spread to other parts of the world, especially to countries in South America, when Portugal and Spain conquered and colonised them (Chapter 7).
● Latin was the language of church ceremonies until the 1960s.
12 Calendar
The modern calendar is based on the calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. This divided the year into 365 days over 12 months. The Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century when the Julian calendar was too much out of line with the movements of the sun.
Assessing Your Learning
1. Name two features of Roman architecture. 2. Name one modern building influenced by Roman architecture. 3. What were aqueducts used for? 4. Why were Roman roads important? 5. Name two European languages based on Latin. 6. List two words in English that have their roots in Latin. 7. What is the Corpus Juris Civilis? 8. Who became the head of the Catholic Church? 9. What was the Julian calendar?
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Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, the main church of the Catholic Church