Transcript File - Yip the Great

Rome – How Long Were They Around?
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
800
600
400
200
11
BCE CE
200
400
600
When did the following things happen?
- Founding of Rome
- Beginning of Republic
- Punic Wars
- Beginning of Empire
- Fall of western Rome
- Fall of Constantinople
800
1000
1200
1400
- Persian Wars
- Alexander the Great
conquers Persia
- Renaissance
- Columbus discovers
America
1600
Rome – How Long Were They Around?
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
800
600
400
200
11
BCE CE
Roman Republic lasted 478
years
- Rome lasted 1229 years in
the west
- Rome lasted 2206 years
altogether!
- from Classical or Ancient
Period to Modern
times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Why did Rome last so long?
Geography
- excellent location for expansion
- protection from sea & land
invasions
- able to move on both land & sea
- Mare Nostrum
Military
- land ownership  all
citizens requires to serve
-organization – legions
-flexibility – maniples
- adaptability
- system of roads
Why did Rome last so long?
Government
The different magistrates
- tri-partite
- Censors (5 for 18 months) –
- Magistrates – a sort of
take census (duh!) and keep
executive branch
track of net worth
- Consul (2) – head of state
- Tribunes (10) – represent
& army
interest of Plebeians
- Praetors (8) – Chief
- two social classes Patricians
Judges & key
(nobility) and Plebeians
Administrators
(commoners)
- Questors (20) – Money
- veto power – I forbid!
people
- Dictator – 6 months with
- Aediles (2) - games
absolute power for times of
emergencies
- all magistrates elected for 1 year
terms and expected to not run for
re-election for 10 years
Why did Rome last so long?
The Assemblies (3) – kind of
legislative branch
-suppose to pass laws & elect
magistrates
- Curiate
- Tribal
- Centuriate
Senate – most powerful of the 3
branches - 300 aristocrats
(patricians) for life
- controlled treasury
- made foreign policy – appointed
foreign governors & bureaucrats
- advised magistrates & assemblies
Why did Rome last so long?
Roman Values
- Religious
- Pontifex Maximus
- Vestal Virgins
- bring Rome good fortune
- uphold traditional customs
Family
- Paterfamilias
- head of family
- metaphor for head of state
- strict discipline
- loyalty
- teach values
Why did Rome last so long?
Social Values
- Cincinnatus
- duty
- Regulus
- state is more important than
individual
- principle of giving your word
"With one hand he returns the fasces,
a symbol of power as appointed
dictator of Rome. His other hand holds
the plow, as he resumes the life of a
citizen and farmer.“
Patriotism!!
Early Roman History
- mythical founding by Romulus
and Remus – 753 BCE
- 753 – 509 – Time of Kings
- ruled by Latin tribes & later
Etruscans
- most famous Etruscan king 
Tarquin the Proud
- overthrown in 509
- Etruscans
- excellent engineers
- organized military
- triumph parade
- fasces
Early Roman History
The Republic
494 – plebeians rebel against patricians –
The Struggle of the Orders
- plebeians threatened to leave Rome and
start own city
- patricians gave rights to plebeians –
tribune (representation), assembly
450 – Twelve Tables passed – laws of Rome
were written for all
450 – 270 BCE – Conquest of Italy
- Pyrrhic Wars
- Italians allowed to keep some rights
- supply soldiers for wars & accept Senate
foreign policies
- the hiccup  Gallic invasion of 390
Early Roman History
The Punic Wars 264-146 BCE
Wars with Carthage for
control of w. Med. Sea – first
oversea wars
-Former Phoenician colony –
commercial & naval power
- First Punic War (264-246
BCE) – over control of Sicily
-to win, Rome needed to become a
naval power
- built fleet and created naval
innovations  turned naval battles
into land battles on sea
- won Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica 
first overseas possessions!
Early Roman History
The Punic Wars 264-146 BCE
Second Punic Wars (218-202 BCE)
The Story of Hannibal  Rome’s
greatest scourge!
-looks to recover what Carthage lost
- great general
- invades Italy through Spain & Alps
Battle of Cannae – 216
-worst defeat for Rome since Gallic
invasion – 70,000 soldiers killed,
including 80 senators
- every family lost a member!
Early Roman History
The Punic Wars 264-146 BCE
Fabius Maximus appointed
dictator  Fabian Strategy –
avoid direct confrontation
- Romans hated it  not manly
- effective in keeping most Italians
from turning to Hannibal – turns
to “scorch earth policy”
↓ Publius Scipio Africanus
Scipio invades Africa forcing Hannibal
to leave Italy
Battle of Zama – Scipio defeats
Hannibal to end Second Punic War
Early Roman History
The Punic Wars 264-146 BCE
Terms of end of war
- Rome gets Spain & all islands between
Africa & Italy
- huge annual tribute payable for 50 years
- Rome determines all foreign policies
- Masters of the western Mediterranean
Third Punic War 149-146 BCE
Rome destroys Carthage
“Carthago delenda est” – Cato the Elder
-turns military against Macedonia & Greece
- controls eastern Mediterranean – Mare
Nostrum
The Roman Republic – After the Punic Wars (and
the Macedonian Wars
The Good News!!
• Rome controlled the Mediterranean – Yay!!
• Lots of a new territory for her to exploit – Yay!!
• Many slaves pouring into Rome to do the work – Yay!!
Now the Bad News
• Slaves – Rome was turning from labor economy to
slave economy
• What is the issue??
 Hannibal had destroyed the
countryside
 Returning veterans sell land
 Soldiers cannot be part of
military!
 Wealthy controls the land –
latifundia (large plantations)
 Former soldiers go to
Rome looking for work but
instead join large
unemployed group!
The Real Aftermath of Punic Wars
• Large population of unemployed, restless mass in
Rome
• Small group of wealthy Romans controlling most
land in growing empire
• Issues?
The Gracchi Brothers
Both are plebeians & grandsons of Scipio
Africanus
Tiberius Gracchus (168-133 BCE)
• elected tribune in 133
• proposed land reform limiting
Romans to owning no more than 500
acres – redistribute rest
• claimed it was fairer and would reduce slave revolt and
restlessness
• opposed by Senate – bypassed Senate & went to Tribal
Assembly
• needed to run for re-election as tribune
• considered treasonous - murdered in the Forum by a mob
Senate had hired the mob
Gaius Gracchus (159-121 BCE)
• elected tribune in 123
• more successful in progressive
measures by enlisting support of
middle class
• passed some land reforms
• public works projects
• “Bread & Circus”
• Re-elected tribune in 122
• tried to give citizenship to Italians and run again in 121
• accused of trying to become king
• after failing to win re-election, his supporters rioted in the
streets
• Consul (Opimius) ordered soldiers to kill rioters
• Gaius commits suicide
Results
• Senate repeals land
reform
• resorts to violence
• birth of political parties –
optimates & populares
The Rise of Gaius Marius (157-86)
Born of modest background but grew
wealthy through shrewd business
dealings
Gained prestige by marrying into a
prominent family who was losing their
wealth - Julii
Rome faced 2 threats in 107 BCE – Cimbri/Teutones in north &
Numidians (Jugurtha) in Africa
• problems – continuing unrest & lack of soldiers
• to solve problems required several years and he had to stand
for re-election
• Standing for re-election without waiting for 10 years breaks
precedent – wins election to Consul in 107, 104-100 & a 7th term
in 86
• Also reforms military
• Waives property requirement for military service
• Promises land for service
• Introduces innovations to weapons
• Trains a professional army
MAKES ARMY LOYAL TO GENERAL!!!!!
• Defeats both the nomadic
people in north and the
Numidians in Africa by 102
The Rise of Lucius Cornelius Sulla 138-78 BCE
• Patrician birth but lived younger days
as poor man
• Resented those from plebeian class
surpassing patricians socioeconomically
• Would acquire wealth and attain status
as Senator
• Becomes questor in Marius’ army – one
responsible for the capture of Jugurtha
• Quells violence of Social Wars
(91-88)
• grants citizenship to
Italians
Civil War
Marius v. Sulla
Problems in the East
• King Mithridates of Pontus incites
rebellion against Rome in Anatolia and
Greece in 88
• Sulla elected Consul and Senate
appoints him to command army to defeat
Mithridates
• Tribal Assembly appoints Marius – Sulla’s army rejects
Assembly appointment
• Sulla marches on Rome in 87 – breaks precedent – no General
may enter Rome at the head of his army
• Marius flees Rome to Africa
• Sulla takes control of Rome
• places death sentence on Marius
• kills Marian supporters
• returns to Greece to continue war
• Marius returns to Rome in 86 and wins
7th Consulship
• Dies shortly after
• Sulla forced to return again and become
dictator in 83 for life
• Kills political enemies and takes propertyproscription
• Weakens all political institutions, except
Senate
• Retires in 79
• Never defeated Mithridates
So What’s Next????
Oh Yeah – SPARTACUS!!!!
The First Triumvirate (political alliance of three)
Triumvir – one of three people sharing power
After the political reforms of Sulla and slave rebellion led by
Spartacus, Rome continues to experience political turmoil
• political divisions remain
• unrest among landless and unemployed in Rome
• pressures on foreign policy with rebellions and pirates
• commerce hurt
Marcus Licinius Crassus (115-53 BCE)
• Wealthiest of the triumvirs
• Defeated Spartacus 70 BCE
• Elected Consul
• Always longed for military glory
• Given control of Syria in 55 BCE
• Decides to conquer Parthia
• Defeated at Battle of Carrhae (in
modern-day Turkey) and killed in
battle – loses head and hands
Least important
member of the First
Triumvirate
Gnaeus Pompey (106-48 BCE)
aka Pompey the Great
• Politically pragmatic
• War hero (excellent general)
 Credited with defeating
Mithridates
 Drove out the pirates from
Mediterranean
 Defeated last Marian supporters
in Spain
• Formed alliance with Julius Caesar with marriage to his
daughter
Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE)
• Well-respected family
• Nephew of Gaius Marius
 Left Rome during Sulla’s
reign to avoid proscription
• Returns to Rome after Sulla’s
death and securing the kingdom
of Bithynia
• Becomes popular with common
people – lives in lower class slums
of Rome
• Becomes client of Crassus – gets funds to rise up politically
• Offers charisma to First Triumvirate
• Unpopular with Senate
• Wins Consulship in 59
• Needing money to repay debts, decides to go to
Gaul after Consulship
Rome’s Second Civil War – Caesar v. Pompey
Senate hoped Caesar’s popularity would wane while
campaigning in Gaul
• THEY ARE WRONG! – becomes even more popular with
publication of Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War
• Caesar takes 10 years to control all of Gaul - Consequence of
Caesar’s conquest  spread of Roman culture/civilization
into Gaul (France)
• Senate spread rumors about Caesar’s motivation in Gaul
• Convince Pompey that Caesar plans to take over all of Rome
With Crassus dead and
Pompey’s wife (Caesar’s
daughter) dying in
childbirth, Pompey
believes Senate
• Pompey sends message to Caesar to return to Rome without
his legions to stand trial for corruption
• Caesar gets message at banks of Rubicon River in 49
• Realizes crossing Rubicon with legions means civil war;
crossing without legions means certain death
• “Let the die fly!” – Crosses with his legion!
• Many northern
legions join Caesar
• Pompey and
Senate flee to
Greece
• Caesar pursues
Pompey & Senate
to Pharsalus in 48
• Caesar defeats Pompey and the Senate at Pharsalus
• Pompey flees to Egypt where he is murdered by Ptolemy’s
advisers
• Caesar goes east to
defeat remaining
rebellious senators and
Egypt to assess what to
do about Pompey’s
murderers – meets
Cleopatra and forms
alliance with her
• “Veni, Vidi, Vici” – I
Came, I Saw, I
Conquered
Rome under Julius Caesar
• Caesar realizes old republic is dead
• “The Republic is merely a name, without form or substance.”
• Believed only benevolent dictatorship could save Rome from
continued civil war and collapse
• Assumed title of “Dictator for the administration of public
affairs” – needed to address issues of last 100 years
• Reforms of Caesar
 Granted citizenship to the Gauls and other non-Italian
 Packed Senate with many supporters (both Italian & nonItalians)
 Increased size of Senate to 900 – now a more
representative body
 Reduced its power to advisory council  to rubberstamp
his policies
 Gave his loyal soldiers public lands
 Reduced the Bread & Circus by
decreeing that all estates must
employ 1/3 of its labor force (only 2/3
slave)  reduced public dole from
more than 325,000 to 150,000
 Inaugurated public works program
(roads, bridges, aqueducts, etc)
 Established colonies outside of
Italy – Corinth, Carthage
 Reduced public debts
 Most long lasting reform was the
change of the calendar to 365¼
days  will be used in Europe
until 1582!
Assassination of Julius Caesar
- Ides of March (15th)
- Liberators – led by Gaius Cassius
& Marcus Brutus
- killed in Senate
- warned of attempt on his life
(“What is this, Caesar? Are you a
man to pay attention to a woman’s
dreams and the idle gossip of stupid
men, and to insult the Senate by not
going out…” – Brutus)
- “Et tu, Brute?” or “Kai su,
teknon?”
- liberators tried to cast
themselves as freeing Rome
- people reject hem
- civil war – AGAIN!!
Third Civil War
Formation of Second Triumvirate – formal
alliance
- Mark Antony (Caesar’s co-consul & top
officer
- Lepidus (Pontifex Maximus & Master of
the Horse)
- Octavian (Caesar’s adopted son & nephew)
- first order of business – kill the assassins 
accomplished at Philippi in Macedonia
- second order of business – fight each other 
Lepidus gets sent away
“O wretched Virtue, thou wert but a
name, and yet I worshipped thee as
real indeed; but now, it seems, thou
were but fortune’s slave.” - Brutus
Third Civil War
Octavian v. Mark Antony
- empire divided into 2 sections
 east & west
- Octavian gets west & Antony
gets east
- Antony goes to Egypt and becomes involved with Cleopatra
- Octavian turns public opinion against Antony  exposes will
giving territory to Cleo’s sons
- Battle of Actium – 31 BCE
- Octavian decisively defeats
Antony
- Antony & Cleo flee back to
Egypt
- commit suicide
Augustus and the early Empire
Octavian takes title Augustus 
revered one
- privately acknowledges what his
great uncle said – “The republic is
merely a name, without form or
substance”
- publicly rejects trapping of king or
dictator
- never takes title of dictator and is
seldom elected consul
- gave himself same power as a
tribune (introduce legislation in tribal
assembly and veto legislation)
Augustus and the early Empire
- kept total control over army (imperator – derivation of
modern term emperor) and provincial governments
- took title of “princeps” – first citizen
o annexed Egypt as province
o extend border to Danube R. and Rhine R.
o control most of Asia Minor and Syria
Reforms include:
- rebuilding temples and
restoring priests to revive
the practice of religion
- stopping alarming
growth of divorce and
decline of family by
outlawing adultery
Augustus and the early Empire
- disarming gangs by outlawing
the carrying of daggers in
public
- creating paid bureaucracy to
stop corruption of public
officials that was rampant in
the republic
- establishing permanent
standing army to be stationed
in frontiers and attempted to
keep them out of the reach of
politicians in Rome
- establishing colonies
throughout empire to give land
to war veterans
Pax Romana – the Roman Peace
a new period of optimism and stability lasting more than 200
years – 27 BCE to 180 CE
- known as the Augustan Age or the Pax Romana
- unprecedented unification of the ancient world from
present-day England to the Middle East
o longest period of relative peace ever experienced in the
west
o tremendous expansion of commerce & trade (despite
reliance still on agrarian society)
o tremendous achievements in law (ius civilis & common
law), engineering (roads, aqueducts, bridges),
architecture (Roman basilica, arch, building of the
Colosseum), sculpture (realism), painting, literature
(Ovid, Cicero, Virgil), history (Livy & Plutarch), science
(Galen & Ptolemy), and philosophy (Seneca)