Transcript The Romans - MsLeonardsGlobalHistoryWiki

The Romans
► ROMAN
REPUBLIC
 Roman Mind
►pietas
– piety: honor the gods
loyalty to family & state
►gravitas
– sense of seriousness
►dignitas
– dignity: moderation
►virtus
– manliness: demonstrate courage
►mutual
►Other
service to the state
dependence – patron/client
– loved organization, sports
obsessed with questions of law and order
 Origins of Roman Republic
►Legend
of Aeneas
 Son of Aphrodite
 Charged with creating
a new Greek city away
from Greece
 Creates a new city on
the Tiber River
 Romulus & Remus
►Son
of Mars
►Thrown into Tiber by an uncle
►Brought up by a wolf
►Decided to build a city together
►Quarreled
 Remus was
killed
 The Facts
►Began
as a small village along Tiber River
►Latium – central location in Italian peninsula
►7 hills among which it was located provided
defense
►Period
of monarchy (753-509BC)
 King
 Senators (Council of Elders)
 Patricians
►Aristocracy/wealthy landowners
 Plebeians
►Everyone else – 90% of the population
►Free but no political power
►Open
to foreigners - including other
“Italians”
►Citizenship
based on military service, which
required property ownership
Plebeians w/ enough $ could join the
military
but not become officers
►Gradually
republic
►The
transformed from monarchy to
last 3 kings of the Roman monarchy
were Etruscan
 Etruscans
►Immigrants
from Asia Minor or descendants
from earlier Italians
►highly
civilized & prosperous
►women
given much higher status than Greek
or Roman women (kept their own names,
could attend athletic contests)
►Culture
►Ruled
reflected Greek influence
Rome from 616-509BC
► The
Roman Republic - Structure
 Last Etruscan king overthrown in 509BC
►Theory
about King Tarquin & his cruelty
►Rebellion led by the Patricians
 Three Branches of Government
►1.
Executive
 Consuls (chief commanders)
► 2 elected each year by Assembly
► Served for one year then became a Senator
 Magistrates
► Quaestors – census takers
► Aediles – kept order; public buildings
► Praetors - judges
►2.
Legislative – Assemblies (2 of them)
 Elected consuls and lower magistrates
 Voted on laws & treaties
►3.
Senate (Deliberative) – had the most
power




Senator for life (no term limits) (300 of them)
Advised magistrates
Controlled the budget
Elders and patricians
►Dictators
 In times of emergency
 6-month term of office
 Held accountable for actions as dictator
►
Formation of the Roman Republic
 Plebeians vs. Patricians
►Bulk of the army
►Merchants, farmers, craftspeople
►Wanted participation in the government; a say
in what happens to them
►Used
force to get more rights
 494BC – allowed to have 10 tribunes
(representatives of the people) in the Senate
►Could veto decisions of consul and Senate
►Only served for one year
 471BC – given their own assembly
►To draft requests on issues they felt were
important
►For rest of government to make into law
 449BC – 12 Tablets
►New law code – for all people
►Located in the forum of Rome (center
of city)
 367BC – Licinian-Sextan laws
►Plebeians could hold any office within
government
►One of the consuls must be a plebeian
(and then senator after end of term
 287BC – Hortensian Law
►Laws passed by the Plebeian Assembly
were binding on all people in the state
ROMAN CULTURE
► Life
and Religion
 Household (familia)
►Nuclear
family – family, slaves, animals,
property
►Legal head of the family – oldest male
relative
►Wives had much responsibility within the
family – running household domestic affairs,
caring for children, etc.
more freedom than in Greek society
 Patron/client relationship
►Network
of relationships
►Patron financially supports the client
►Client owed services to patron
► Religion
 Nature gods – early Roman society
►Local
gods of household, fields, weather, etc.
 Anthropomorphic gods (Greek influence)
►Jupiter
(like Zeus)
►Juno (like Hera)
MARS
Minverva
NEPTUNE
VENUS
► Republican
 Reasons
Expansion – 3 Stages
►Greed,
Ambition, Fear of Invasion, Growing
Population
 Stage 1 – Uniting the Peninsula
King Pyrrhus
 Stage 2 – Defeat of Carthage (Punic Wars)
►1st
Punic War - Conquest of Sicily
 Rome develops a navy
►2nd
Punic War – Defeat of Hannibal
 Siege of Rome
 General Scipio
►3rd
Punic War – Final Destruction of
Carthage
 Stage 3 – Conquest of Mediterranean
 By 146BC – Rome had subjected the entire
Mediterranean world to its will
 Italy, Spain, Southern Gaul, North Africa, Egypt,
Greek world
 Consequences of Expansion
►New Classes
 Equestrian (war profiteers)
 Optimates (Patricians & their supporters)
 Populares (Plebeians)
►Influx
of Greeks into Rome – influence of
Greek culture
►Expansion of Roman Legal System
►Increased corruption & taste for luxury
►Women
 Situation for many improved
 More opportunities
Overall Rome became more prosperous, but at
the expense of the lower classes
► Collapse
of the Republic
 Growing territorial concerns
►Tried
to govern an expanding area with
government that focused on local issues
 Wealth became more important than
original Roman values that made them
successful
 Growth of slave class & crisis in
agriculture
►Small
farmers displaced
►Hannibal had destroyed much of the
agriculture outside the city of Rome
 Gracchi Revolution
►Two
brothers who attempted to reform Rome
in favor of the poor
►Tried to go through political/government
channels to enact changes
►Senate responded to these attempts with
violence
 One brother assassinated
 Second brother killed by the Senate
 Led to other uprisings and rebellions
►Resulted
in various individuals seizing control
 Ruling as sole rulers
► Julius
Caesar
 Enacted reforms
►Lowered
taxes
►Gave land to veterans
►Calendar w/ 365 ¼ days
 Ruling classes afraid of
his power
(Role in helping Cleopatra)
►15 March 44BC
 Ides of March
 Stabbed by 60 Senators
 Marks the final stages of the Republic
►Antony
& Cleopatra
►Octavian
Roman Empire – Rise & Fall
► Octavian
- First emperor (r. 27BC-14AD)
“Restored” the Republic
Called himself “First citizen” (princeps)
City & peninsular improvements
Allowed traditional customs in provinces & selfrule in provinces
 Reorganized the Senate




► PAX
ROMANA (AD 14 – 161)
 A. Tiberius (AD 14-37)
►Ruled wisely
 B. Caligula (AD 37-41)
►Insane
(practiced grimaces)
►ordered golden statue of himself in Jewish temple
►created a new cult to himself
 C. Claudius (41-54)
►Wanted
to correct damage done by earlier emperors
►Ruled fairly
►poisoned - probably by his wife Agrippina
CALIGULA
CLAUDIUS
NERO
 D. Nero (AD 54-68)
►Mentally
deranged
►Paranoid
►burning
of Rome
 E. Period of emperors who either ruled well or
didn’t cause too much trouble
 F. Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180)
►reign
marked by frequent strife
►financial problems b/c of warring
►chose his son, Commodus, to succeed him
**End of the Pax Romana**
MARCUS AURELIUS
COMMODUS
►DECLINE
OF ROMAN EMPIRE
 Trouble in the Empire
►Internal
unrest
►Social & Economic weakness
►Cultural Stagnation & Rise of Religions
►Problems w/ Rulers
 Commodus
 Lack of stable leadership
(26 soldier-emperors 235-285; 25 killed)
 Diocletian
 Constantine
 Germanic Invasions
 Final Defeat of the Roman Empire
►Germanization of western part of the empire
 Power had shifted to the Eastern part of the Empire
 German tribes settling on Roman soil
►Invasions
and migrations
 Visigoths – forced into the area as Huns moved west
► 410
– sacked the city of Rome
►418 – given permission to settle in Southern Gaul
 Huns – Mongols from plains of Central Asia
► Militaristic
& nomadic
► 452 – marched into Italy
 Other Attacks
 455 – Vandals pillaged Rome
 476 – Last of the western Emperors was deposed by the
Germans