Transcript The Roman Revolution

The Roman Revolution
The end of the Republic
146 BC – 27 BC
Consequences of expansion…
• The Hellenization of Rome
• Most benefits of expansion went to the wealthy,
patrician class
• Citizen-soldiers returned home to find their lands
ravaged and unproductive and in debt• Increase in slave population displaced small,
independent farmer…
• Ruined farmers, on the brink of bankruptcy
joined the ranks of unemployed in Rome
• By 150 BC, a revolution was brewing: The
Gracchus Revolution
TIBERIUS GRACCHUS (c.168 -133 BC) & GAIUS GRACCHUS (c.159 -121 BC)
Tiberius Gracchus, Tribune in133 BC
• Challenged traditional
political practices by rallying
the poor…
• Enforce an old law limiting
latifundia-estates to 500
acres ...
• Sell/rent public lands to the
poor
• Distribute lands of
deceased king of
Pergamum to the poor
Reaction to the plans of Tiberius:
• The Senate said no,
but was overridden by
the Assembly
• Senate feared its loss
of power
• His mistake- sought
2nd term as tribune...
landowners provoked
a riot; Tiberius was
clubbed to death
• **-1st time ever that a
tribune was attacked
and killed.
Gaius Gracchus, tribune in 123 BC
• Resurrect brother’s land
reform plans
• Give colonial lands to
retired soldiers
• Establish price controlscheap grain subsidized
by the government
• Initiate public works
projects
• Extend citizenship
Gaius meets fate of his brother…
• He and 250
followers were
killed but he
created
75,000 new
landowners
• Gracchi
legacy...last
true reformers
The beginning of the end…
• After the Gracchus Revolution, the next
100 years was dominated by a series of
rival generals who engulfed Rome in civil
wars, using their troops as personal
possessions to further their own political
ambitions, undermining the constitution,
and leading to the collapse of the
Republic.
Gaius Marius 157-86 BC • Early fame:
defeated the
Numidians in
North Africa
• Later, defeated a
Germanic force of
300,000 (The Cimbri,
and Teutones)
• Won an
unprecedented
(and illegal) 6 terms
as consul…
Marius as innovator …terrible consequences
• Enlisted landless poor into
his army, supplied them
and rewarded them with
his own money-loyalty was
to him.
•
“Marius’ mules” -army
was streamlined-improved
training, had to carry their
own equipment-no
followers/hangers-on.
• The army, no longer an
instrument of the
government, became a
private possession of
generals
Lucius Sulla, 138-78 BC
• Emerged during the
so-called “War with
the Italians” 91-88 BC
• Italians demanded citizenship
and rebelled
• Sulla put down the rebellion (by
granting all Italians citizenship!)
The First Civil War :
Marius and Sulla:
• In 88 BC, King
Mithradates of Pontus
incited the massacre of
80,000 Italians in Asia.
•
The Senate chose
Sulla to deal with the
rogue king
• Marius, through intrigue
and violence, had the
order rescinded and
given to himself
• Sulla refused to accept
his loss of command marched on Rome –a
fateful day in the
Republic’s history!
In the civil war which followed,
Sulla defeated the forces loyal to
Marius, re-took control of Rome,
and then left to fight King
Mithradates
Meanwhile, Marius’ supporters
went on a killing spree and
butchered supporters of Sulla.
Also, while Sulla was away,
Marius died.
• When Sulla returned, he defeated
Marius’ supporters,
Sulla declared himself dictator
without a term limit-”dictator
for life” and initiated a terror that
far surpassed Marius’ violence:
proscriptions.
Lucius Sulla as dictator:
• Increased Senate to
600
• Restored Senate veto
over plebeian
assembly
• Forbid tribunes from
offering legislation not
approved by the
Senate
• Denied Tribunes any
other office
• Set minimum age to
hold office at 42
• Reduced military
power of provincial
governors
Gnaeus Pompeii
106-48 BC
• Gained recognition in
Spain, 77 BC then during
the insurgency of
Spartacus (73-71 BC).
• He joined with Marcus
Crassus, the richest man
in Rome, In 79 bc, they
marched to the gates of
Rome and demanded
consulships (he was 36!)
• As Consuls, they
canceled Sulla’s
“reforms” and retired.
Pompey returns...
• In 67 BC, the Senate asked
Pompey to deal with Pirates
in the Med Sea and renewed
fighting with King Mithradates
• In 62 BC after defeating
Mithradates, he returned to
Rome - Pompey asked for
land grants to his soldiers,
which was rejected by the
Senate.
• Such shortsightedness
drove Pompey into an
alliance with Julius
Caesar.
Julius Caesar, 100-44 BC • Governor of Spain, returned to
Rome in 60 BC- intending to run
for consul-Senate said no!
• Teamed up with Pompey and
Crassus to form the 1st
Triumverate and became a
consul
• After his term as Consul, he
became governor of two northern
territories (Gaul) and initiated
the Gallic Wars
• Legacy: brought western Europe
into the mainstream of civilization
Caesar’s Gallic Wars
• Fearing his rising power, the
Senate recalled Caesar without
his army!
• When he crossed the Rubicon
river in 49 BC, he started a the
second civil war
• Pompey was convinced by
Senate leaders to come out of
retirement and defend the
Senate
• Caesar chased Pompey to
Thessaly/Egypt
• Caesar returned to Rome in 46
BC
Caesar: “dictator for life”
• Pardoned Senators
but raised members
to 900
• Gave public land to
his soldiers and the
poor
• Granted citizenship
to provinces
• Raised pay of
soldiers
• Reorganized town
governments and
the courts
• Lowered taxes on
provinces
• Started building
projects
Caesar’s assassination and the 2nd Triumverate
• March 15, 44 BC
• Marc Antony joined
with Octavian
(Ceasar’s nephew)
and Lepidus to
defeat assassins &
other conspirators
• Both Antony and
Octavian wanted to
be number 1 – thus
ending the 2nd
Triumverate!
• 13 years of civil
war between
Marc Antony and
• Octavian Caesar
• The Battle of
Actium 31 BC
• Cleopatra and
Antony fled to
Egypt where
they committed
suicide
Augustus, 27 BC
• Octavian became
Augustus by Senate
decree
• Created a bureaucracy
to oversee grain supply
and distribution, water
supply, public buildings,
tax collection, city watch
among many other
things
• His policies laid the
foundation for 200
years of peace and
prosperity-”the Pax
Romana.”
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