Transcript notes on the Roman Empire - stjohns

Rome
SPQR
Senatus Populusque Romanus
(the Senate and the people of Rome)
Eras Roman History






Early Rome - Creation
Carthage - Competition from Africa
Punic Wars - Rise to dominance
Republic - Government and expansion
Empire - Julius and Augustus Caesar
Fall of the Empire - Descent into…
Darkness?
Aeneas begins the legend…



Aeneas fights for Troy in the Trojan War,
escapes with twelve shiploads of refugees
after the Achaens destroy Troy.
Drifts westward for seven years, until they
land at the Phoenician colony of Carthage,
where the Phoenician Queen Dido has
settled.
Dido falls in love with Aeneas, but he is
commanded by Jupiter to leave and fulfill his
destiny - to found Rome - and Dido kills
herself as he sails away.
The Aeneid and Carthage
“’Traitor, did you expect to conceal the crime
you were planning,
and quietly sneak away from my land? Was
our love unable to hold you,
or the mutual vows that we gave, or the
thought of Dido abandoned,
doomed to a piteous death… have you no
heart?’
So Dido poured out her pain, but Aeneas, by
Jupiter’s order,
displayed no trace of emotion and repressed
the anguish of his heart.”
Virgil, The Aeneid lines 305-312
The Aeneid and Carthage
Night covers the earth with misty shadows and darkness,
But stars never rise in the east to march on their fiery
courses…
And last, great Jove himself - I swear by your head and my
own Has sent his herald to bring my orders down through the
tempest.
By the clearest light of the day I saw him enter the city,
And when he addressed me I listened with all my closest
attention.
So please, give over inflaming both yourself and me with
your protests;
Though not by my own free will, to Italy I make my
venture!”
Virgil, The Aeneid lines 334-345
Early Rome: Twins and Aeneas

Romulus and Remus - descendents of Aeneas





Vestal Virgin gave birth to the twins, father
was Mars (miraculous birth)
Twins sent in a basket down the Tiber River
Founded Rome where they were found by
shepherd’s wife.
Romulus killed Remus, becoming Rome’s
first king
Abduction (sometimes Rape) of the Sabine
Women - populating the new city
Worldly (Not
Legendary)
Roman
Beginnings
 Latin
speakers
descending from the
Alps; Indo-European
descendents
 Lived closely with
Etruscans, Latins,
and Greeks
Worldly Beginnings of Rome






Rome thought to have been a collection of
villages around 1000 BCE
Around 600 BCE, Etruscan kings conquered
Rome and areas beyond
Tribal people, selected chiefs democratically, but
eventually grew under influence of many kings.
Senate - an advisory council of elders
Capitol - like a Greek acropolis; temple and
meeting place
Forum - the heart of Roman political life
Worldly Beginnings of Rome
The last Etruscan King was Tarquin the
Proud. A tyrant who was driven from
power around 509 BCE
 The Romans declared they would never be
ruled by a king again
 Established a new government called a
Republic - more about the republican
government system will be described later

Challenges to the Growth of Rome
As Rome grew, she had easy access to
the Mediterranean trade routes
Eventually, they came into conflict with
Carthage, the other trading power in
the Mediterranean
Fought three wars over the course of one
hundred years.
[We will work on a packet tomorrow
where we will go into more depth on
this subject]
Punic Wars
1st Punic War: Fought over control of Sicily
2nd Punic War: led by Hannibal brilliant general
from Carthage. 50,000men, 9,000 cavalry, 60
Elephants
 Although
victorious on many occasions, unable
to win decisively and ultimately loses when
Scipio leads an attack against Carthage itself
3rd Punic War: Rome is not happy about the regrowth of Carthage, decide to destroy her.
 Sold
50,000 inhabitants into slavery and burnt
the city
 Territory made into a new province in Africa
Problems after the Punic Wars


The Punic Wars, though Rome emerged victorious,
led to problems
The Wealthy lived on the large estates called
latifundia



Romans made slaves of many of the conquered
peoples


Many of these estates were from taking land left by
soldiers who went to war
Many returning soldiers became homeless and jobless
Slaves became 1/3 of Rome’s population
The urban poor became 1/4 of Rome’s population

Class tensions grow
The Roman Army

All citizens who owned land were
required to serve ten years in the army


Roman farmer-soldiers were more
motivated to fight for Rome, increased
morale
Army was organized into groups called legions
5,000
heavily armed men
Each legion divided into centuries of 80 men
Each century could act
independently of the legion
More Post-Punic Wars Problems
(after 146 BCE)

Some Tribunes attempted to help the poor by
proposing reforms: the Gracchus Brothers



These reforms were strongly opposed by other
senators, and these Tribunes met violent
deaths in 133 BCE and 121 BCE
Civil War erupted, resulting in very powerful
military leaders (Sulla and Marius)
Generals began recruiting the poor and
homeless by promising land

These soldiers fought for pay and were loyal
to their commander
Move Toward Empire



His political rivals ordered Caesar to disband his
legions and return home
 Caesar disobeyed, brought his army and
defeated Pompey, now his rival, eventually
marching into Rome
Was appointed dictator for life in 44 BCE
However, as an absolute ruler, he gained many
enemies, and on March 15th, 44 BCE, he was
stabbed to death in the Senate chamber
Move Toward Empire


In order for politicians to be successful, they now had to be
supported by military
Caesar with the help of Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and
Pompey, a popular General created a triumvirate - a group of
three rulers
 Caesar was a brilliant military leader and after his year
as Consul he governed Gaul
 Conquered Gaul and won the loyalty of his troops
 Became very popular with the Romans
The First Triumvirate

Julius Caesar

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Gaius Magnus Pompey
Julius Caesar

Caesar had absolute power







He granted citizenship to many people in the provinces
Expanded the senate
Created jobs with construction of new public buildings
Created new colonies where the landless could own land
Increased soldiers pay
Many nobles and senators were concerned about Caesars
growing power
On March 15, 44 B.C. Caesar was stabbed to death
by Brutus and Cassius(his friends)
The Empire

Civil War broke out after Caesar’s death



Caesar’s nephew,Octavian, a General, Marc Antony, and a politician –
Lepidus - took control and created the Second Triumvirate
This triumvirate killed Caesar’s assassins
After the triumvirate controlled Rome Octavian and Marc Antony
became rivals



Octavian accused Antony of attempting to conquer Rome


Marc Antony met Queen Cleopatra of Egypt while in Anatolia
He fell in love with her and followed her to Egypt
Octavian fought and defeated the combined forces of Antony and
Cleopatra
Octavian restored the republic with a few changes
 He took the title of Augustus or exalted one
 Became the imperator or supreme military
commander - the emperor
The First Roman Dynasty
Roman Roads Worksheet
A vast and Powerful Empire

Augustus’ rule was the beginning of 207 years of
peace
Minimal fighting along the borders of the empire
 This period was called Pax Romana, or Roman
Peace


Roman Empire



Covered approximately 3 million square miles
Included 60 to 80 million people
1 million living in the city of Rome
A vast and Powerful Empire

Agriculture
 Most important industry
 90 percent of the people
farmed
 Most Romans survived on
local produce
 Additional food items and
luxury goods were
acquired through trade

Trade
 Huge trading network
 Had common coins made
of silver
 Protected by the roman
Navy
 Roman cities became
wealthy
 Rome traded with China
and India
 Roads originally used for
the military became
successful trade route
Managing the Empire



Borders extended 10,000 miles
 Reached from Spain to Mesopotamia and from Britain to
North Africa
 Many cultures became part of Roman life
 All had to serve in the Army regardless of citizenship
Augustus was the most able Emperor
 The system of government he created lasted for centuries
 The government was run more by Plebeians than by the
senate
Most Roman emperors during Pax Romana were able but
some were not
 Caligula
 Nero - believed to have burnt down Rome
 Both were either insane or unstable
Roman Empire: Pax Romana
Roman Empire: Pax Romana
In the film we saw about
Carthage,
Rome’s empire was called
“Rome’s Private Lake.”
Why is that?
Examples from: The Twelve Tables
Table IV: 1) A dreadfully deformed child shall
be quickly killed 2) If a father sells his son
three times, the son shall be free from his father
5) A child born after ten months since the father’s
death will not be admitted into legal inheritance.
Table V: 1) Females will remain in guardianship
Even when they have attained their majority
Table VII: 1)Let them keep the road in order. If they have
not paved it, a man may drive his team where he likes.
10) A man might gather up fruit that was falling down
onto another man's farm.
Examples from: The Twelve Tables
Table VIII: 3) If one is slain while committing theft by
night, he is rightly slain. 23) A person who had been found
guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from
the Tarpeian Rock.
Table XI: 1. Marriages should not take place between
plebeians and patricians.
Table XII: 5) Whatever the people had last ordained
should be held as binding by law.
Cicero


…Right reason is Law, [and] we must believe
that men have Law also in common with the
gods. Further, those who share law must also
share justice; and those who share these are to be
regarded as members of the same
commonwealth…
Justice and all things honourable [sic] are to be
sought for their own sake. And indeed all good
men love fairness in itself and Justice in itself….
Therefore Justice must be sought and cultivated
for her own sake.
Marcus Tullius Cicero