Transcript Rome: Republic and Empire - room203-Rome

Rome: Republic and
Empire
A Precursor to the Medieval Era
Introduction
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A classic civilization in its own right, but in
different ways.
A model of government of law, of military
strategy—and the roads
The gods were inherited from the Greeks
Art: Realism
Architecture: The arch, the vault, and the dome
Provided the organizational framework of the
church that bore its name: the Roman Catholic
Church
Overview of Rome
Its rise
 Its Republican phase
 The Imperial phase
 Demise and Transformation
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Rome: Its Location
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Rome: Republican Phase: 750-500 BC
Rome: Maximum Extent of Empire, AD 63
Rise of Rome
Latins invaded the peninsula in 1000 BCE
 By 800 BCE, founded Rome at the lower
valley of the Tiber River, central locus for
control of the rest of Italy
 Other ethnicities migrated to the region:
Etruscans, Phoenicians, Greeks
 Unlike the other villages, Rome
encouraged other ethnic groups to
migrate there
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Multiethnic Contributions to Rome
Phoenicians contributed maritime and
commercial skills and phonetic alphabet
 Etruscans brought urban planning,
chariot racing, the toga, bronze and gold
crafting—and the arch
 Greeks: the pantheon of gods and
goddesses, linguistic and literary
principles, and aesthetic
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Roman Republic: Roots
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Etruscans ruled the Latins but were overthrown
in 509 BC
Gradually, monarchy gave way to government
by the people (res publica)
Predominately comprised the patricians
(aristocrats) and the plebians (farmers,
artisans, and other common folk.
Slaves formed a third category as the empire
expanded
The rise of the republic was a slow process
Structure of the Roman Republic
Patricians through the Senate controlled
the lawmaking process
 However, plebians filled the ranks of the
Roman army and exercised veto power
over the decisions of the Senate
 Eventually, through their leaders, the
tribunes, acquired the right to hold
executive office and lawmaking power
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The Centrality of the Roman State
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Expectations of the citizen
Obedience to the state
Service in the military—which
could be profitable (left)
The soldier had to finance his
own spear, shield, armor and
helmet (left)
Both were essential to the rise
of the Roman emporium, the
empire
From Republic to Empire I
Rome then began to build an empire
 Conquest of the known world was the extension
of conquest of the Italian peninsula by the Latins
 War with the Phoenicians of Carthage (Punic
Wars) was the first phase of Roman expansion
 Other expeditions led to Roman control of the
entire Mediterranean (Mare Nostrum, “Our Sea”)
and much of Europe: Hispania (now Spain),
Gallia (France) Britannia (England) and part of
Germania (Germany)
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From Republic to Empire
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Led by military dictators, of which Julius
Caesar was the best known
He expanded the empire to include
western and central Europe
He directed the construction of a wooden
bridge to enable the troop to invade and
conquer Germania (central Europe)
Under Caesar Augustus, the empire
entered into a pax romana (peace under
Rome)
This, which brought in a long era of high
culture and stability
Military Organization
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The army was the tool of imperial expansion
The Roman army was a highly disciplined
force and the backbone of Rome
Initially, all free men served two-years
Later, professional soldiers filled the ranks
As the empire expanded, non-Romans joined
to gain Roman citizenship
The phalanx was the basic unit (left)
Later it would be divided into smaller units
These units could combine to form a legion if
necessary.
See pp. 133-134, Fiero, for the Jewish scholar
Josephus’s description of an army regiment
Roman Law
Formed the model of legal systems
throughout European countries except
England, which relied on common law
 The term jus meant both the law and
justice
 The system of customary law (ius) was
written down as codes (lex)
 These were displayed as the Twelve
Tables of Law at the Forum.
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Twelve Tables of Roman Law
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The Twelve Tables of Law formed the
basis of all Roman law
These tenets were engraved in stone
and mounted at the speakers’ forum
near the Temple of Saturn (left)
The Tables were destroyed by the Celts
in AD 700
The Tables summarized such tenets as
civil procedure, parents and children,
debts, constitutional law, and crime
Other Concepts of Roman Law
The Romans also:
 Invented and evolved case law, focusing on
bringing commonsense solutions to private
disputes
 Invented the concept of equity, putting the
spirit of the law above the letter of the law
 After the fall of Rome and the rise of
Christianity, Justinian codified the law into jus
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juris civilis
Roman Philosophy
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Much of philosophy was derived from the Stoics
of the Hellenistic empire, who saw life as
adversity to be endured
Happiness lies in acceptance of things as they
are\
Seneca (left) was a proponent of Stoicism
Lucretius in The Nature of Things saw the world
in a purely materialistic light and denied the
existence of gods or a spiritual dimension
This belief system encouraged the sense of duty
and also the equality of all, which had a
humanizing effect on Roman law
This world view anticipated the beliefs of the
early Christians, emphasizing personal
responsibility and the equality of all
Roman Literature
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Best known for prose, writing as a vehicle for
providing information
Provided the first geographies and
encyclopedias
Other media: instruction manuals, histories,
and biographies
Titus Livius (Livy) provided a detailed history of
Rome from the 8th century BCE to his own day
(1st century BCE) (upper left)
Also masters of oratory, exemplified by Tullius
Cicero (106-41 BCE); read his “On Duty” on pp.
138-139, Fiero text
Cornelius Tacitus was both historian and
orator; see his “On Oratory” on pp. 139-140
(lower left)
Roman Literature: Epic Poetry
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Under sponsorship of Octavian, produced
a golden age of poetry
Virgil (Publius Vergilius Mato) wrote the
epic poem Aeneid, on Aeneas, the
mythical Trojan founder of Rome (left)
Virgil accompanies Dante in the Purgatorio
and Inferno in the Divine Comedy
Catullus, a Sicilian, wrote lyric poetry,
some of it inspired by his adulterous affair
with Clodia, wife of a Roman consul, and
the collapse of the affair
Publius Ovidus Naso (Ovid) covers the art
of seduction, work which earned him exile
Horace was the master of satire that
addresses Stoic themes, such as Carpe
Diem (Seize the Day)
Roman Drama
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Mostly modeled after the comedies of Greece;
unlike Greek tragedies, designed purely for
entertainment
Romans preferred comedy to tragedy; mostly
obscene themes
Horace (depicted right with Caesar Augustus,
left) wrote numerous satirical plays
Roman Architecture
Noted for the paved roads, still used today
 They extended from Tigris and Euphrates
to the Atlantic Ocean
 Tenements (8 or 9 stories) to
accommodate thousands of people in
Rome were also built
 Constructed 18 aqueducts to supply Rome
with water
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The Arch
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Rome built on the arch,
contributed by the Etruscans
The principle appears left; weight
is evenly distributed from the
keystone to the sides
It could provide so much strength
that other structures could be
built above it
This aqueduct in Nimes, France,
is one example (lower left)
Notice that the lower row of
arches support the upper row and
the canal at the top.
The Vault
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They also contributed the vault, a
three-dimensional extension of the
arch
Notice how a wider surface supports
the weight (upper left)
It formed the basic architecture of
medieval
This Gothic cathedral in Pamplona,
Spain, includes a row of vaults
(lower left)
Architectural and Engineering
Professions
Roman architecture and engineering were
considered to be one discipline
 The most influential manuals were Vitruvius’s
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Ten Books on Architecture
Function to the Roman architecture determined
design
 Classic architecture emphasized size to
accommodate 1 million people of Rome: the
coliseum, the amphitheaters, all designed for
entertainment, whether gladiators, drama, or
circuses
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Roman Roads
“All roads lead to Rome” is an
apt description of Roman roads
 The network on this map show
how the Roman army could go
anywhere (upper left)
 Later, it also indirectly
contributed to the spread of
Christianity throughout the
empire
 The paving was basic to the
rapids transport of troops (lower
left)
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Roman Sculpture
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Emphasized Roman victories: triumphal
arches and victory columns (obelisks
redesigned in Roman style)
Sculptures of Roman emperors, in
realistically detailed Roman breastplate and
idealized faces and proportions (Caesar
Augustus, upper left
Equestrian statues were added in the 2nd
Century BCE
Emphasis on realism was evident in balding
senators
Fig leafs in nude male statues such as
Mercury (left) were a Roman invention after
conversion to Christianity;
Roman Painting
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Paintings depicted realistic
representations of mythical themes,
historical events, and landscapes
Murals in atria (sing. Atrium), large
airy rooms, were commonplace
Mosaics were commonly used
Frescos gave the impression that
viewers were looking out into actual
gardens (trompe l’oeil, or “fool the
eye”)
Still life styles were also common
Conclusion
Romans were imperialists first and republicans second
 Even the Republican era was one of conquests in the
Italian peninsula—much like manifest destiny in the
United States during the 19th century
 Much of the themes emphasize war and conquest
 The arts mostly had a practical side
 Toward the end of the era, wealth mattered more than
duty that had marked Rome’s earlier years
 The insecurity of the latter years also opened the
populace to new ideologies: mystical cults, revivals of
older beliefs from Egypt—and Christianity
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