Transcript From Empire to Republic

FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC
OBJECTIVES

The student will
demonstrate knowledge of
ancient Rome from about
700 B.C.E. to 500 C.E. in
terms of its impact on
Western civilization by
Assessing the impact of
military conquests on the
army, economy, and social
structure or Rome
 Assessing the roles of Julius
and Augustus Caesar in the
collapse of the Republic and
rise of imperial monarchs


Essential Questions:
Why did the Roman
Republic fail to survive
challenges by Julius
Caesar?
 How did military
conquests alter economic
and social life in Rome?
 How did an imperial
monarchy come to rule
Rome?

GROWING INEQUALITY AND UNREST
By 200 B.C. the senate was most powerful ruling
body in Rome
 Most senators were aristocracy (Patricians)
 Directed wars of 3rd and 2nd centuries and took
control of foreign affairs (consuls job)
 Senate really controlled by a small number of
wealthy families.

GROWING INEQUALITY AND UNREST

Small farmers were angry at losing land

A large number of landless poor in Rome
Brothers Tiberius and Gaius Grachhus tried to
fix the problem
 They urged the senate to pass a law to give land
back to farmers
 The brothers were killed by the senators and the
law was never passed

A NEW ROLE FOR THE ARMY
 107
B.C. a new
general named
Marius recruited new
soldiers
Promised poor land in
return for service
 Army was know not
under government
control
 This created a new
system that put power
in the hands of
Generals, not the
government
 82
B.C. Lucius
Cornelius Sulla


was given power by the
senate to command the
army in Asia Minor.

The council of Plebs
wanted Marius to have
power.
A civil war broke out
 Sulla won control of
the Army
 Was an example for
future leaders of
how to take power

REASONS FOR DECLINE OF THE REPUBLIC


Use of slaves in the
production of
agriculture led to food
shortages

caused unemployment
rates to increase
 caused food production
to decrease

Roman currency
became devalued

resulted in inflation
Small farmers moved
to the cities

Civil war initiated by
Julius Caesar
COLLAPSE OF THE REPUBLIC

For 50 years, Rome was
in civil war

Three men emerged
with power:

richest man in Rome
Pompey


60 B.C.E. the three
joined forces to create
the first triumvirate.

Crassus




Division of power
Crassus ruled Spain (where
he died in battle in 53 B.C)
 Pompey ruled Syria
 Julius Caesar ruled Gaul
(where he won several
military campaigns)

powerful and popular
general
Julius Caesar

A government with three
people who have equal
power
military leader

After Crassus death, Senate
voted for only Pompey to
rule, Caesar refused.

He took his army and
crossed into Italy crossing
the Rubicon River.
THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE
CRASSUS
POMPEY
CAESAR
RISE AND FALL OF JULIUS CAESAR


Caesar and Pompey
armies fought a civil war.
Caesar was victorious
Caesar returned to Rome
and became a dictator in
45 B.C.
He reformed the economy
by giving land to the poor
 Increased the Senate to
900 members, which
weakened its power
 Planned several building
projects
 In 44 B.C. he was
assassinated by the
senators

THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE

After Caesar’s death
three men fought for
power.
Octavian (Caesar’s
nephew)
 Marc Antony (Caesar’s
friend)
 Lepidus (Commander of
Calvary)


Triumvirate never
worked well
Lepidus died
 Antony and Octavian
split empire


New Conflict


Antony allied with
Cleopatra, the Egyptian
Queen
Octavian and Antony
fought at the Battle of
Actium in 31 B.C.


Antony and Cleopatra’s
armies were crushed and
both committed suicide
Octavian at age 32
became the only leader of
Rome
LEPIDUS
ANTONY
OCTAVIAN
MARC
AGE OF AUGUSTUS


The end of the civil war
between Octavian and
Antony lead to the end of
the Roman Republic.
Octavian renamed
himself “Augustus
Caesar”
1st true Emperor of Rome
 He restored power to
Senate


Was very popular and
the Senate gave him the
title “Imperator”
(commander in chief of
army)
AGE OF AUGUSTUS

Maintained a standing
army of 150,000

Only Roman citizens
could be legionnaires
Set up a praetorian
guard of 9,000 men to
guard the emperor
 Expanded and unified
the empire
 Was defeated in
Germany


Proved that Rome’s
power was limited
EARLY EMPIRE
Augustus allowed
future emperors to
choose a successor
 1st four emperors came
from his family






Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero
These emperors took
more power from the
senate for themselves
and became greedy and
corrupt
EMPERORS OF THE EARLY EMPIRE

Nero



Finally, the Roman
legions revolted


Had people killed if he
didn’t like them (mom)
Took more power away
from senators
Nero committed
suicide
Which led to the 5
“good” emperors
EMPERORS OF EARLY EMPIRE

“Good” Emperors:

Nerva
 Trajan
 Hadrian
 Antonius Pius
 Marcus Aurelius



Created a period of
peace and prosperity
called the “Pax Romana”
(Roman Peace)
Lasted for almost 100
years
Emperors were fair,
created new programs
for the public, peaceful,
created public works,
but also took more
power from senate.
EXTENT OF EMPIRE
Rome expanded during
early empire
 While the empire
expanded into Dacia,
Mesopotamia, and the
Sinai peninsula the
emperors knew it was
too large

Hadrian withdrew
forces and strengthened
defenses
 Built a wall across
Britain and connected
the Rhine and Danube
Rivers

EXTENT OF EMPIRE

Empire largest during
this time

Covered 3 ½ million
miles
Population of 50
million
 Cities spread Roman
culture, law, and the
Latin language


Roman culture mixed
with existing Greek
culture to created
“Greco-Roman”
civilization
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS

Empire was extremely
wealthy from trade

Rome participated in
the Silk Road and
traded with places as
far as China
Still most people were
farmers
 Large estates called
Latifundia controlled
farming in south and
central Italy

Used mainly slave labor
 Raised sheep and cattle


Big gap between rich and
poor

Small farmers became
dependent on latifundia
Thousands of
unemployed poor were
starving in Rome
 Wealthy lived lives of
leisure and luxury

IMPACT OF THE PAX ROMANA
Political
Economic
Created many
government jobs for
the unemployed
called “civil service
jobs”
Uniform system of
Life more stable
money helped expand
trade
Developed uniform
system of law to
make justice equal
throughout the
empire
Safer roads helped
improve and increase
travel and trade
throughout the
empire
Prosperity and
stability increased for
most people in the
empire
Social
Increased emphasis
on the family
OBJECTIVES

The student will
demonstrate knowledge of
ancient Rome from about
700 B.C.E. to 500 C.E. in
terms of its impact on
Western civilization by
Assessing the impact of
military conquests on the
army, economy, and social
structure or Rome
 Assessing the roles of Julius
and Augustus Caesar in the
collapse of the Republic and
rise of imperial monarchs


Essential Questions:
Why did the Roman
Republic fail to survive
challenges by Julius
Caesar?
 How did military
conquests alter economic
and social life in Rome?
 How did an imperial
monarchy come to rule
Rome?
