Transcript File
1 Summary of Punic Wars The main cause of the Punic Wars was the clash of interests between the existing Carthaginian Empire and the expanding Roman republic The Romans were initially interested in expansion via Sicily, part of which lay under Carthaginian control At the start of the first Punic War, Carthage was the dominant power on the Mediterranean, with an extensive maritime empire, while Rome was the rapidly ascending power in Italy Carthaginian General = Hannibal Roman General = Scipio Africanus By the end of the third war, after the deaths of many hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides, Rome had conquered Carthage's empire and destroyed the city, becoming the most powerful state of the Western Mediterranean 2 Roman Conquests After Rome defeated Carthage, it seemed no Mediterranean force could stop the Romans Rome then launched a series of wars on the Eastern Mediterranean One by one, Macedonia, Greece, and parts of Asia Minor (Turkey) surrendered and became Roman provinces Other regions, like Egypt, allied with Rome instead of fighting By 133 B.C., Roman power extended from Spain to Egypt Truly, the Romans were justified in calling the Mediterranean Mare Nostrum, or “Our Sea” 3 4 Social & Economic Effects of Imperialism: establishingImperialism control over foreign lands and peoples As the Romans conquered more and more lands, they forced people captured in war to work as slaves on their large farms This widespread use of slave labor hurt small farms Why? Also, large quantities of grain were pouring in from the conquered lands, which also hurt small farms Many farmers fell into debt and had to sell their land In despair, landless farmers flocked to Rome in search of Jobs As the gap between rich and poor grew, angry mobs began to riot The new wealth of the empire also produced corruption Greed and self-interest replaced virtues such as simplicity, hard work, and devotion to Rome 5 6 Attempts to Reform Two young patrician brothers named Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were among the first to attempt reform Both Gracchus brothers were Tribunes Tiberius called on the state to distribute land to poor farmers Gaius, sought a wider range of reforms, including the use of public funds to buy grain to feed the poor The proposed reforms by the Gracchus brothers angered the senate, which saw them as a threat to its power The brothers, along with thousands of their followers, were killed in waves of street violence set off by senators and their hired thugs 7 8 Decline of Roman Republic Unable to resolve its problems peacefully, Rome fell into a series of civil wars The main issue concerned who should hold the power Some thought the Senate should be in charge, like past times Others wanted popular political leaders to take charge who aimed at weakening the senate and making large reforms The turmoil sparked slave uprisings and revolts Meanwhile, the old legions of Roman citizensoldiers became professional armies whose first loyalty was to their commanders Rival generals marched their armies into Rome to advance their ambitions 9 The First Triumvirate Can anyone tell me who was in the First Triumvirate? Why was the Triumvirate successful? Julius Caesar, Crassus, Pompey 11 First Triumvirate Roman political alliance between three powerful Romans: -Julius Caesar: Military and political leader, later Ruler of Rome -Pompey: Military and Political leader -Crassus: a Roman General and politician; very wealthy Basically, this group of three men tried to work together as an “unofficial” or secret alliance They thought they could accomplish more as a whole as compared to going about it individually However, their arguments and personal rivalries would eventually prove to be to strong to prolong this alliance especially between Pompey & Crassus This intense disagreement eventually turned into a civil war between Caesar’s troops and Crassus’ troops Caesar’s army defeated Crassus’ army and Crassus was slain in battle Next, in fear of his life, Pompey fled to Egypt In time, assassins caught up with him and he was stabbed to death, thus ending the first triumvirate The First Triumvirate proved to be politically effective for a short while, but ego and greed got in the way 12 The death’s of Pompey & Crassus left Julius Caesar as the leader of Rome 13 Julius Caesar 100 B.C. – 44 B.C. Roman General, Politician, and Emperor One of the most influential men in all of world history He played the most important role in transforming Rome from a republic to an Empire Brilliant Military leader As a General, Caesar conquered all of Gaul (modern day France) He also, invaded and conquered much of Great Britain Greatly expanded the Roman empire and led to the spread of Roman culture 14 Julius Caesar After Caesar crushed Pompey and his supporters, he then swept around the Mediterranean, suppression rebellions “Veni, vidi, vici” – “I came, I saw, I conquered” A famous quote by Caesar after winning a battle Later, returning to Rome, he forced the senate to make him dictator His soldiers were loyal to him, not to Rome Although he kept the senate and other features of the republic, he was in fact the absolute ruler of Rome 15