Transcript Fall of the Roman Republic

Fall of the Roman Republic
1
The empire expands
2
Wealth and Slaves
flood into Rome
5
The unemployed mob cause
increased corruption
& military commanders
become too influential as the army
becomes dependent on
the spoils of war
3
Senators buy up vast properties
4
Smallholders move
to Rome to try
and find work
Characteristics of the Period
• Increasing factionalism in Senate between Populares
and Optimates
• Rise of popular tribunes and use by generals
• Rise of client armies and powerful generals.” The rise
of the professional army was probably the most
important of the problems besetting the Republic
with which the Senate failed to deal “ Goldsworthy
• Increasing violence in the streets and forum
• Undermining of Cursus Honorum. Use of non
traditional paths to power
• Use of amicitae to overpower Senate
Problems and Solutions
Wars of Expansion
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Punic Wars
Jugurtha
Mithridates
Brought great wealth but raised the
importance of army and generals to the most
powerful position.
• The path to power lay, not with the Cursus
Honorum but the ability to raise an army.
88-83
Sulla in East against Mithradates; Rome
controlled by Marius and Cinna. Italians
evenly distributed throughout tribes; map
Clear division in state. Senate not functional.
83-80
Sulla returns to Italy; marches on Rome and
restores senatorial control.* Proscriptions
follow
Sulla becomes dictator for restructuring the
constitution. New constitution favors
Senate. Proscriptions escalate level of state
violence.
80-79
Sulla resigns, retires and dies
78-77
Lepidus challenges Sullan order, but defeated
Pressure is building to restore "popular" power.
78-70
Pirates active and threaten eastern
Mediterranean; Roman renegade
Sertorius active in Spain; Spartacus
revolts in Italy
Pressure at many points. Pompeius sells himself
as the man to restore order.
70
Pompeius** and Crassus, competitors ally
against Senate, are elected consuls and
restore traditional tribunician powers.
67-62
Pompeius given special comman (extraordinary) to deal with pirates; extended to
conclude war with Mithradates and
organize east.
63
Cicero consul;
62
Pompey returns to Italy and disbands army.
Did not want to be seen as another Sulla, but
without army loses leverage and cannot
get settlement for soldiers
60
Caesar consul; forms "triumvirate" ("gang of
three") ;
Caesar, Pompeius and Crassus were frustrated
with the Senate and needed settlement of
their affairs. Gain it through control of
assemblies, soldiers and equestrian order.
Gives him imperium throughout the
Mediterranean and 50 miles inland,
virtual control of Empire
Legacy of Sulla /rise of Pompey
82-77BC
• Sulla’s march on Rome; “ momentous event in
history” Scullard
• ‘The most enduring legacy of Sulla’s his methods”
Brunt
• Extra Ordinary Commands;
• Raised his own ‘private’ army to aid Sulla at 23,
gained propraetorian imperium and first triumph.
• Granted propraetorian command against Lepidus.
Given proconsular command against Sertorius.
• Lex Gabinia ( pirates)
• Lex Manilia ( Mithridates)
Significance of Pompey
• In Sulla’s lifetime, due to Pompey’s insubordination
• After his death, to the revolt of Lepidus and the Senates
nomination of Pompey to proconsular Imperium
• To the unleashing of the tribunate and the restoration of the
veto ( 77 Consulship)
• To the partial restoration of the courts to equite control
• To the unprecedented and limitless Imperium, granted through
the Lex Gabinia and Lex Manilia
• To the formation of the First Triumvirate, a combined effort of
private influences to secure private ambitions, against the
Senate’s will.
• Ironically by his death at Pharsalus he facilitated the transfer of
control from Senate to Dictator
Rise of Caesar 78-60BC
Suo Anno
• CURATOR OF THE APPIAN WAY
• AEDILE- BREADS AND CIRCUSES
• PRAETOR- CATILINE CONSPIRACY
• PROPRAETOR
• CONSULSHIP 60 BC
Catiline Conspiracy a metaphor for a
dying republic
• Catiline was yet another example of a Roman ambitious to seek power
through unconstitutional means
• It showed the factional nature of the Senate ie Caesar and Crassus vs
Cicero and Cato- Populares vs Optimates
• Aroused the Senates suspicions of Caaser’s motives
• Revealed Caesar’s powerful rhetorical ability and its affect on a
vascillating Senate.
• The public outcry over Caesar’s accused complicity showed the Senate
how much mass popularity Caesar had acquired
• The Senates understanding of the urban discontent is revealed in the
subsequent law providing for the distribution of cheap corn, presented in
the Asssembly by Cato!!!!!!!!!!
• The Optimates had adopted a Populare policy in order to appease the
people. On a more personel level Cato no doubt( galled by his sisters affair
with Ceasar) would hope that this policy would undermine Caesar’s
popularity with the urban masses.
• Allowed Cicero to be hailed as “Pater Patria” and led to his appeal of
Concordia Ordinum ( Agreement of good men)
Three Men ,Three Paths to Power;
Triumvirate 60- 56-52BC
• Crassus wanted to make a contract with then Asian
tax collectors as he had financial interests at stake.
Cicero supported this as it would help relations
between the knights and the senate, which he
thought was fundamentally important, but the
proposal was rejected.
• Pompey wished for land to be provided for his
veterans and to have the eastern settlement ratified in
one go, instead of every one of his actions be debated.
• Caesar wished to gain a large pro-consular
command instead of being in charge of forests in
some insignificant part of the empire, which was the
optimates plan.
Historians
• “ Conspiracy against the state by its three
leading citizens” Livy
• AN UNOFFICIAL AMICITAE
• “ He Caesar entered the city and immediately
adopted a policy which deceived everyone except
Cato. This was to effect a reconciliation between
Pompey and Crassus, the two most powerful men
in Rome. Caesar brought these men together,
making them friends instead of enemies and used
their united power for the strengthening of
himself.” Plutarch
Caesar’s Consulship-illegal or
irreverent?
• Despite Bibulus’s attempts Caesar passed
laws granting land to Caesar’s veterens, tax
concessions to Crassus, and agrarian bills for
the relief of the poor
• Due to the intransigence of the Senate,
Pompey put his soldiers in Rome and thus
left Caesar open to the accusation of illegality.
Bibulus also post dated ill omens, rendering
any laws invalid
Other significant players
• Cato- the conscience of Rome- “ fly in the
ointment”- killed himself, rather than live on
Caesar’s mercy
• Catiline- anbitious Roman ,ready to march on
Rome when frustrated in his attempts to gain
consulships
• Clodius and Milo Escalation of violence
created the Senate’s need for Pompey as
Sheriff
• Curio- tribune and negotiator in the
countdown to Civil War
Caesar and Gaul? 58-49 BC
• Allowed Caesar to gain the dignitas to equal
Pompey
• Was close enough to Rome to manipulate
politics( Something that Antony failed to do)
• 10 years later, conquered all of Gaul, made
Rome and himself wealthy, and had at his
back an invincible army ready to follow him
anywhere
Slide to Civil War51-49BC
• Offer and Counter Offer
• The lynchpin of the Civil War was the
Senate’s desire to prosecute Caesar for his
supposed illegalities in the Consulship of
59BC. This could only happen if he
relinquished his proconsulship and thus his
immunity from prosecution
• As long as he held legions the Senate could
not prosecute
• Their only choice was to declare the Senatus
Consultum Ultimum
Who was to blame?
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Caesar?
Pompey?
The Senate?
Broader deep seated problems of the Empire?
All of the above?
.”On broader grounds it may be confidently said that the
civil war was not of Caesar's making.....Caesar in 49 like
Sulla in 83 was offered the choice between self defense and
political extinction......therefore the 22 extremist senators
who insisted on Caesar's recall were in fact insisting on
Civil War. To them the feud with Caesar had become a
higher object than the welfare of the State." Cary
Shared to Sole Power49-44BC
• 49 BC Caesar is elected dictator and, during 11-day term, passes
emergency legislation.
• Caesar gives up the dictatorship, elected to second consulship with
Publius Servilius Isauricus
• 47Caesar again appointed dictator, this time for one year in
absentia. Antony, his Master of the Horse, maintains order in Italy
• 46Caesar elected consul for the third time, serving with Lepidus.
Completes some reform including the calendar
• 45Caesar serves as his fourth consulship (without a colleague). On
March 17, Caesar victorious at Munda; after administrative reforms,
he returns to Rome in October. The Senate votes extravagant decrees
in his honor, including dictatorship for life and divine
worship
• 44On February 15, Caesar appears at the Lupercalia as dictator
perpetuus (for life), in the dress of the ancient kings of Rome;
Assassins/Liberators
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Cassius, Trebonius, Casca, Decimus Brutus, Marcus Brutus
“There were various reasons which affected each and all of them and impelled them
to lay hands on the man. Some of them had hopes of becoming leaders themselves in
his place if he were out of the way, others were angered over what had happened to
them in war, embittered over the loss of relatives, property or offices of state.”
Nicholas of Damascus
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“Jealousy of Caesar’s onward progress and hatred of his being esteemed above
others” Cassius Dio
“When Caesar made himself responsible for all important decisions, he fostered a
dangerous atmosphere… those he had disappointed, frustrated… could easily focus
their anger directly on Caesar; and it was Caesars friends, who nurtured the highest
expectations, who felt this deprivation most keenly “ Relative Deprivation
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Power Vacuum and Contenders
44BC
• OCTAVIAN- Caesar’s name, client and
armies
• ANTONY- Experience ,Caesar’s
lieutenant, Consul and army loyalty
• LEPIDUS- master of Horse, in control of
many legions
2nd Triumvirate 43BC
Lex Titius
• The triumviri rei publicae constituendae ('board of three
to reconstitute the state') accepted the powers of a
dictator and took several measures
• the execution of 4,700 opponents (e.g. Cicero);
• land bills to give farms to Caesar's veterans (the
inhabitants of eighteen cities were sent away from
their homes without any compensation);
• war against Caesar's murderers, who were defeated
at Philippi;
• measures against the Senate, including the
appointment of all magistrates
Significance of Cicero
• Career highlighted the power of rhetoric and its influence in the
Senate and Courts. Prosecution of Verres was a precedent
limiting provincial corruption
• Gained prestige as Pater Patria for his role as Consul during
Catiline Conspiracy
• Creater of Concordia Ordinum
• Acted as powerbroker between Pompey and Senate, Octavian
and Senate. Inadvertantly created the adversarial environment
which led to two civil wars.
• Penned the Philippics which assisted in Antony’s downfall but
led to his own death in the proscriptions
• Left an invaluable legacy of written sources of the time in his
speeches and private letters
Octavian/Antony; 43-33BC
Changing Power Ratios
OCTAVIAN
MORAL REMEDIES- ROLE OF
THE PERFECT FAMILY
WITH LIVIA
BUIDING REFORN IN ROME
CANCELLED WAR TAXES
WATER SUPPLY
SURRENDER POWERS
SENATE RESPECT
RESTORED ELECTIONS
FOR MINOR MAGISTRATES
PROPAGANDA AGAINST ANTONY
DEMONISE CLEOPATRA
ANTONY
TOO MUCH TIME
AWAY FROM ROME
RISKY AND EXPENSIVE
CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE
PARTHIANS
LOSES RESPECT OF
ARMY
APPARENT INFATUATION WITH
CLEOPATRA
DIVORCES OCTAVIA
DONATIONS OF
ALEXANDRIA
TRIUMPH
31 BC Battle of Actium; Civil
War or Foreign Conquest
• The forces of Antony and Cleopatra, camped near the swampy
lowlands of Cape Actium, had been depleted by malaria before
the battle even began--severely reducing the contingent of
oarsmen. Supply lines had been cut, further weakening morale
and support. Faced with a bleak situation that worsened every
day, Antony burned those ships he could no longer man and
prepared with Cleopatra to withdraw southward from the gulf
with as much of his force as possible.
• Antony’s flight nullified any remaining
loyalty they may have had for him and
his soldiers surrendered
• Octavian had used a combination of
political ,diplomatic, and economic
methods to present himself as the
legitimate heir. It was his friend
Agrippa who ultimately gave him the
military success to inherit the Empire
Why did the Roman Republic
Fall
• The Roman Republic was ruled by a
Constitution which relied on a balance of
three elements; The Senate; the Magistrates;
the Assemblies.
• When the balance was upset either by
ambitious magistrates, armies or tribunes
then civil war was the result
• The Senate proved ineffectual in preventing
this.
Saying it in a nutshell
• " For Caesar publicly declared that only two things were
needed to rule, soldiers and money, and armies could only
be held together with money… since the Roman citizen
force had inevitably changed into an army of professional
soldiers, the imperator with his veterans took the political
place of the patron and his clients. What some had feared
and others aspired to, for decades, was fully realized in the
person of Caesar; the conqueror of Gaul whom the old
powers refused to recognize overwhelmed all resistance
and, on the strength of an authority based solely on the
loyalty of his soldiers, was reaching for the government of
the Empire."
• Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman