Transcript History of the Roman Empire

History of the Roman Empire
ENG 251
Western World Literature I
Legendary Origins
According to legend, the city of Rome
was founded in 753 BC (on April 21) by
Romulus and Remus.
Early Roman History
509 BC The Romans drive out the
Etruscans and establish a republic
In this republic, the two social classes
were the patricians and the plebians.
The patricians were the wealthy 10%,
and the plebians were the other 90%.
Early Roman History
The Roman republic was nominally ruled by the
consuls, two rulers. Originally, both were
patricians, although later on there was one
patrician and one plebian.
The real power in Rome was found in the Senate,
a group of 300 patricians.
Early Wars of Domination
380 BC Rome is sacked by the Celts; it would not be
touched by outside military forces again for 800 years
338 BC End of the Samnite Wars, Romans defeat the
Latins
280-279 Romans defeat the Greek colonies
270 BC Romans dominate the Italian peninsula south of
the Rubicon River
264-241 BC First Punic War, Rome defeats Carthage
218-201 BC Second Punic War, Romans defeat Hannibal
Early Wars of Domination
215-205 First Macedonian War
200-196 Second Macedonian War
171-168 Third Macedonian War
149-148 Fourth Macedonian War ends with Macedonia
becoming a Roman province
148-146 Third Punic War, Romans destroy Carthage,
plow it under, and salt the earth
Early Political Intrigue
133 BC Tiberius attempts to transfer lands to the poor. He
is killed by a group of senators.
123-121 Gaius, the brother of Tiberius, attempts to break
the power of the Senate. He and 3000 follower are slain.
111-105 Jugurthine War established the power and
reputation of the first great Roman general/policitian
Marius
Early Political Intrigue
107-101 Marius is consul for an unprecedented number of
years in a row, essentially a military dictatorship
90-88 Sulla proves his power as a general in the Social
War between Rome and its Italian allies
88 BC Sulla and Marius are rivals
86 BC Marius dies
Early Political Intrigue
78 BC Sulla dies
72 BC Pompey and Crassus gain power and reputation
by putting down the slave revolt led by Spartacus
70 BC Pompey and Crassus are elected consuls
60 BC The first Triumvirate is formed, with Pompey,
Crassus, and Julius Caesar being triumvirs
The Rise of Caesar
58-56
Wars
Caesar leads the Romans in fighting the Gallic
56 BC Due to tension between Crassus and Pompey,
Caesar attempts to reconcile the triumvirs
54 BC Caesar’s daughter, who was married to Pompey,
dies
53 BC Crassus is killed by the Parthians
52 BC Pompey turns on Caesar
The Rise of Caesar
49 BC Caesar brings his army across the Rubicon River
(a no-no at the time, defies the Senate, and beats Pompey
In effect, Caesar becomes the sole ruler at this point with
Crassus dead, Pompey exiled, and the Senate beaten
48 BC Pompey is assassinated in Egypt
45 BC Caesar finally defeats the last of Pompey’s
supporters
44 BC Six months after solidifying control over the
empire, Caesar is assassinated by Brutus, Cassius, and a
group of senators.
Life After Julius Caesar
43 BC Octavian (Caesar’s nephew), Marc Antony
(Caesar’s protégé) and Lepidus (Caesar’s second in
command) become the second triumvirate
They force to Senate to recognize them for five years.
42 BC The second triumvirate defeats the forces of
Brutus and Cassius; both Brutus and Cassius commit
suicide
40 BC Antony marries Octavia, the sister of Octavian
Life After Julius Caesar
37 BC The second triumvirate is recognized for five more
years by the Senate.
Octavian removes Lepidus
Antony spends an increasing amount of time in the east,
falling in love with Cleopatra, ruler of Egypt
31 BC Battle of Actium -- Octavian beats the forces of
Antony and Cleopatra
30 BC Antony and Cleopatra both commit suicide after
Octavian arrives in Egypt
Octavian is now the sole ruler
The New Caesar
29 BC Octavian is named Imperator (supreme
commander of the army)
27 BC Octavian changes his name to Caesar Augustus
Octavian/Augustus never officially declared himself
emperor; he didn’t need to. He preferred the title
“Princeps” meaning, “first among equals”
Establishment of the Pax Romana
AD 14 Caesar Augustus dies
Pax Romana
 Humanitas (social heroism) – subordination
of the individual to the social good
 Pietas (piety) – subordination of the human
will to the divine
 Gravitas (self-restraint) – intellectual
integrity
 Virtus (masculine virtue) – strength,
courage, military prowess
Roman Law
 Single sovereignty – law should come from
a single source
 Universality – all citizens are under the
same laws
 Equity – circumstances should alter the
individual application of laws
The Julio-Claudian Emperors
AD 14 Tiberius (the son of Augustus’ first wife by her
first marriage) becomes emperor upon the death of
Augustus
AD 37 After the death of Tiberius, Caligula becomes
emperor
AD 41 After the assassination of Caligula, Claudius
becomes emperor
AD 54 After the assassination of Claudius, Nero becomes
emperor
AD 64 Nero condemned many Christians after the
burning of Rome; among the dead are Peter and Paul
AD 68 Nero commits suicide
The Flavian Emperors
AD 68 There are actually four emperors (Galba, Otho,
Vitellius, and Vespasian) during this year; only the last
actually manages to survive for an extended period
AD 79 After Vespasian dies, Titus becomes emperor
AD 81 Domitian becomes emperor
AD 96 Domitian is assassinated on the orders of his wife
The Antoine Emperors
AD 96 Nerva becomes emperor and begins the process of
succession by adoption
AD 98 Traja, born in Spain, becomes the first non-Italian
emperor
AD 117 Hardian, likewise from Spain, becomes emperor
AD 138 Antonius Pius becomes emperor
AD 161 Marcus Aurelius becomes emperor
AD 180 Aurelius breaks the Antoine tradition of choosing a
worthy sucessor and instead chooses his son Commodus
The Beginning of the End
192
Commodus is assassinated; Pertinax and Didius
Julianus briefly serve as emperor over the next year
193
Septimus Severus takes over by using troops
211
Caracalla becomes emperor
Then follows a long succession of general-emperors; for
example, between 235 and 284 there were more than 2
dozen emperors and all but one died a violent death
The Long Goodbye
284
Diocletian is placed on the throne by the army; he
begins the eventual split of the empire by establishing the
Tetrarchy (2 Augustii and 2 Caesars)
305
Diocletian retires; the Tetrarchy fails
306
Constantine becomes emperor in the west
324
Constantine reunites the empire
395
Empire is formally split in two with the death of
Theodosius, into the western Roman empire and the
eastern Byzantine empire
The Long Goodbye
410 Rome is sacked by the Goths
451 Attila the Huns and his forces swarm into Gaul
476 The western Roman empire falls as the last emperor
Romulus Augustulus (just a boy) is deposed by
Odoacer
Why did it end?
From Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved
Civilization:
“The changing character of the native
population, brought about through unremarked
pressures on porous borders; the creation of an
increasingly unwieldy and rigid bureaucracy,
whose own survival becomes its overriding goal
…”
Why did it end?
“the despising of the military and the avoidance
of its service by established families, while its
offices present unprecedented opportunity for
marginal men to whom its ranks had once been
closed; the lip service paid to values long dead;
the pretense that we still are what we once were;
the increasing concentrations of the populace
into richer and poorer by way of a corrupt tax
system, and the desperation that inevitably
follows…”
Why did it end?
“the aggrandizement of executive power at the
expense of the legislature; ineffectual legislation
promulgated with great show; the moral
vocation of man at the top to maintain order at
all costs, while growing blind to the cruel
dilemmas of ordinary life – these are all themes
with which our world is familiar.”