Transcript Rome: From Republic To Empire

Rome: From Republic To Empire
By 270 B.C., Rome had
conquered most of the
Italian peninsula
Rome was committed
to a policy of
imperialism, or
establishing control
over foreign lands and
peoples.
Between 264 B.C. and 146 B.C., Rome fought three wars
(Punic Wars) against Carthage, a city-state on the north
coast of Africa that controlled north Africa and the
western Mediterranean Sea.
•1st War – Rome won Siciliy, Corsica, and Sardinia
•2nd War – Carthage wants revenge. General Hannibal leads his army
through the Alps to invade Italy from the north. For 15 years he won
many battles in Italy, but never captured Rome. Rome attacked
Carthage to force Hannibal to return to defend his homeland. Rome
defeated Hannibal and won the rest of Carthage’s western
Mediterranean lands.
•3rd War – Rome completely destroys Carthage and takes their north
African lands.
At the same time, Rome launched wars in the east
•Macedonia, Greece and Asia Minor became Roman provinces, or lands
under Roman rule.
•Egypt made an alliance with Rome.
•By 133 B.C., the Roman empire stretched from Spain to Egypt.
•Romans called the Mediterranean Mare Nostrum, or “Our Sea.”
Rome’s control of the Mediterranean trade routes brought
incredible riches, but that new wealth created problems as
well.
•Wealthy Romans bought huge estates called latifundia.
•Prisoners of war were forced to work as slaves on latifundia.
•Widespread use of slave labor drove many small farmers out of
business.
They could not produce food as cheaply as the latifundia did.
Many went into debt and had to sell their land.
•Landless farmers went to Rome and other cities to find jobs.
•There they joined the growing class of unemployed.
•The widening gap between rich and poor led angry mobs to riot
In 133 B.C. and 123 B.C. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were
elected tribune and attempted reforms to help the poor.
•Tiberius wanted to distribute lands to poor farmers.
•Gaius wanted to use public lands to buy grain to feed the poor.
•These reforms angered the senate, which saw them as a threat to its
power.
•Senators hired assassins to kill the Gracchus brothers.
•Their assassination set off a long series of civil wars.
During the Civil Wars, the legions became professional armies loyal to
their commanders. Rival generals used their armies to influence politics
in Rome. One of these was Julius Caesar.
•Between 59 B.C. and 50 B.C., Caesar
conquered Gaul, present day France.
•His growing popularity worried the
senate. They ordered him to disband
his army and return to Rome.
•Caesar defied the senate. He led his
army across the Rubicon River and
marched on Rome.
•This act of defiance led to another
civil war.
Caesar crushed his opponents and forced the senate to
make him dictator.
From 48 B.C. to 44 B.C., Caesar ruled Rome with absolute power. He
made many reforms to deal with Rome’s problems:
Launched public works projects to create jobs.
Gave public lands to the poor.
Reorganized the government of the provinces and granted citizenship
to more people.
Introduced a new calendar based on Egyptian knowledge  our
calendar today
Worried that Caesar wanted to
be king, His enemies
assassinated him on March 15,
44 B.C. in order to save the
republic. This set off another
civil war!
In 31 B.C., Octavian, Caesar’s grand-nephew, defeated Mark
Antony, Caesar’s top general, and his ally Cleopatra, the
queen of Egypt.
•The senate gave him the title
Augustus, or “Exalted One.”
•Not called king, but ruled with
absolute power and named his
successor.
•This marks the end of the republic
and the beginning of the age of
empire.
Between 31 B.C. and A.D. 14, Augustus laid the foundation
for a stable government which worked well for 200 years.
•left the senate in place, but created a civil service to
enforce the laws.
•government jobs were open to men of talent
regardless of social class.
•allowed local governments a greater measure of selfrule.
•ordered a census to make the tax system more
efficient.
•set up a postal system.
•issued new coins to make trade easier.
•used public works projects to ease unemployment.
One Problem: Succession! Rome had no constitution , and
Romans didn’t like the idea of power passing from father to son.
When an emperor died, there was usually intrigue and violence!
Augustus’ Successors
The “Bad Emperors”
•Caligula – evil and insane? He
appointed his favorite horse as
consul.
•Nero – viciously persecuted
Christians. Blamed for setting a
fire that destroyed much of Rome.
He supposedly stood on his
balcony and sang as he watched it
burn!
The “Good Emperors”
•Hadrian – Codified Roman law,
and built a defensive wall across
Britain to protect against invaders.
•Marcus Aurelius – a philosopherking. A follower of Stoicism who
embodied commitment to duty.
The period beginning with Augustus in 31 B.C. and ending
with Marcus Aurelius in A.D. 180 is known as the Pax
Romana, or Roman Peace.
•It was a golden age of general peace, order, unity and prosperity.
•Rome’s empire now stretched from the Euphrates River to Britain, an area
the size of the continental U.S.
But there was still the
problem of large mobs of
restless poor in Rome and
other cities.
•Solution: Bread & Circuses
•Emperors used tax money to
pay for chariot races, gladiator
contests, and free grain to pacify
the mob.
•This was a mistake! It placed
the people under a heavy tax
burden, and created an out of
control welfare state.