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The Roman Triumph and Fall

 

OVERVIEWGreco-Roman

Republic Augustus Caesar

Rome destroyed and replaced traditional barbarian cultures

Threat of Germans

Christianity

The Rise of RomeItaly and Its Peoples Settlements near the mouth of the Tiber River,

building on the seven hillsFourteen miles from the seaFormed a city-state around 759 B.C

Rome in Italy

The EtruscansArrived in Italy about the ninth century B.C.Moved in all directions by seventh century B.C.Greek influencesOccupied Latium where they ruled Rome for a time Rome expelled the Etruscans about 500 B.C. Rome borrowed from the Greeks In the eighth century B.C. Greece began to plant

colonies in southern Italy (called Magna Graecia by the Romans)

Roman contact brought absorption of Greek ideas and arts into their culture

The Government of the Early Republic

King Served as high priest of the sate religion, military

commander, supreme judge, and chief Executive King was advised by Senate (council of elders) Senate members drawn from the leading families

(patricians) Senate chose the king’s successor from among its own

members subject to approval by an assembly of all male citizens

Rome relied on its own citizens as fighting men and thus had to give them some share in government

Monarchy abolished about 500 B.C. with the expulsion the Etruscans

Military and executive power was transferred to two chief magistrates (consuls) Elected annually by the Assembly of Centuries Centuries were groups of one hundred men into which

the citizens were formed for government, taxation, and military purposes

Election of a plural executive designed to protect against tyranny and was extended to every important office In time of emergency a dictator was selected Selected by the consuls with advice of the Senate for a term

limited to six months

ClassesPatrician (aristocrats) Oldest and Noblest Roman families Performed religious rituals A fraction of the society and dominated Roman politics Magistrates could only come from the upper classes Senate had a fixed number, about 300

Plebeians (commoners) Complaints

No written law code Written down about 450 B.C. in the twelve tablets Want admission to major public offices Tribunes Assembly of tribunes By about 250 B.C. made eligible for all public offices

Roman ExpansionSoldier-citizens By 250 B.C., soldiers fought in small units of about one

hundred men (centuries) under the command of a centurian (elected)

Light armor and oblong shields Centuries combined into legions of about four thousand

men.Protection and self-rule offered to those conqueredColonies established on the Italian peninsula Settled by people from Rome Rights of citizenship

By 250 B.C. all of Italy south of the Po Valley was in Roman hands

Roman Expansion

Early Roman ProvincesCarthage Phoenicia Interest in Sicily Punic Wars, 264-146 B.C.

Defeat of Carthage brought Rome’s first provinces: Sicily, Spain, and Africa

Ruled by proconsuls (governors) Contributed auxiliary troops

Roman wars in Greece

The Overthrow of the Republic The Impact of War and Conquest

Disappearance of independent farmers Latifundia

Tenant farmers and hired hands

By 150 BCE was the largest slaveholding society

Urban mob (proletarians) swells in size

Erosion of Old Republican VirtuesSenatorsThe Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Resettlement Increased number of independent farmers

Close gap between rich and poor Tiberius elected tribune of the people, 133 B.C.

Broke custom of one termMurdered

Gaius tries reform and also murdered in 121 B.C

Change in character of the armyInstead of the farmer-soldier, landless and property-less citizens drafted into the legions

Bettering selves through pay, loot promotion, grants of land or money Army commanders turn into warlords

Civil Wars, 88-82 B.CGaius Marius Plebian Victories in Africa and western Europe Claimed to represent the interests of the people and common

soldiers Natural death during the civil war

Lucius Sulla Patrician Served under Marius Commanded army in Asia Minor Support of the senate Appointed dictator after death of Marius

Abolished limits on powers of senate Generously paid soldiers Use of proscription

Retired in 80 B.C., died in 78 B.C.

Julius CaesarCaesar from an old patrician familyFirst elected consul in 59 B.C.Activities in GaulWhen recalled from Gaul, brought his Army Civil war, Pompey versus Caesar

Subdued opponents and returned to Rome in 46 B.C.Gathered offices Consul and then dictator Senators believed he destroyed the republic

Assassinated March 15, 44 B.C.Marc Antony joins Octavian to defeat Cassius and Brutus Antony and Octavian divide the Roman World Antony ruled the east Octavian rules the West

Octavian defeats Antony at Actium in 31 B.C.

The Imperial FoundationsTitle of augustus (“revered”)The Augustan Political Settlement Princeps (First Citizen) Imperator (Commander-in-Chief)

Reform, Reconstruction, and the End of Expansion Governors of ability and loyalty Census Augustus as a deity Restoration of virtue Reform of the army Cut size Conditions of Service Praetorian guard kept in Rome Armies kept on the frontier

The Approach to One World: The Pax Romana

Lack of an arrangement for orderly succession Theoretically, with the death of Augustus, power should go back

to the senate Augustus selected stepson Tiberius as his successor Tiberius proclaimed princeps by the senate upon Augustus’ death

in 14 A.D. Family intrigue Flavian dynasty

The Empire: Extent and Composition Addition of Britain and Dacia Parthia China Three cultural groups

Eastern – Egyptians, Jews, and Syrians Hellenic – Aegean Sea and southern Italy Western – Romanized section of the empire

Roman Empire at Its Height

Cities of the Empire40 provinces comprised the empire Basic unit: civitas (the city) League of cities

Bound together by network of sea lanes and highways Rome at its center Impression of wealth and grandeur

Each city managed by senate

Cities of the West strove to copy Rome

The Meaning of the Roman Peace: Prosperity, Technology, Citizenship

Trajan to Marcus Aurelius

Peace

Technological innovation

Roman citizenship

Little interest in people beyond the frontiers

Roman Character and ThoughtReligion, Family Life, and Morality Numina (spirits, each with special function) Paterfamilias Women Changes in religious ideals Values and morality

Roman LiteratureLiterature as Moralistic Expression Poets Livius Andronicus: translated Homer’s Odyssey Prose Cicero History Livy: History of Rome

Literature in the reign of Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. 14) Virgil: the Aeneid Ovid: erotic poems Plutarch: Parallel Lives – 50 short biographies Juevenal: satiric poet

Roman Epicureanism and StoicismEpicurus Individual happiness: happiness equals pleasure minus pain Shun pursuit of wealth or public office Scientific and materialist view of the universe

Stoicism Zeno: founder of Stoicism Ideal Stoic: self-sufficient, dutiful, compassionate, and calm Universe is not chaos but rather functions according to a plan of

goodness Harmony and happiness achieved by striving for virtue rather than

pleasure Universal appeal Marcus Aurelius Jus Naturale (Natural Law)

Science and MedicineCenter was Alexandria, Egypt

Claudius Ptolemy, Almagest

Galen of Pergamum in medicine

Roman LawEvolution of Roman Law Justicia Praetor Jus civile Jus gentium

The Idea of “Natural Law” Influence of Stoic philosophy

One law in nature, the law of reason

Codification of the Laws Justinian’s Corpus Juruis Civilis (Body of Civil Laws) Novels Institutes

Architecture and EngineeringArchitectural Forms and Aim Arch Vault Cross-vault Dome Aqueducts Drainage works Roads

Civic Architecture and Monuments Forum of Trajan Basilica Nave Apse Pantheon

Rotunda Thermae (Bathhouse)

Baths of Diocletian Arena

Colosseum Arches and columns

The End of Rome and the Beginning of Europe

The problems of the Empire Economic weakness

Once able to live off the profits of conquest Increased taxes, decreasing population

LeadershipNo clear means of successionBarbarians

Germanic tribes

Reconstruction of the Empire by Diocletian and Constantine

The End of the Augustan Settlement Overhauls civil administration

New capital of Nicomedia Maximian appointed in 286 to govern the western portion of the

empire from Milan The two augusti (Diocletian and Maximian) each assisted by a junior

colleague (a caesar), who ruled over a prefecture One hundred twenty provinces grouped into twelve units, dioceses,

that were grouped into four prefectures

Army Legions broken into smaller units

Mobile armies in each diocese The large numbers necessary meant recruitment from the barbarians

Economics Problems in unemployment, investment, rising prices Edict of maximum prices Critical occupations made hereditary

Sacred Monarchy and the Worship of the Gods: Diocletian

Borrows idea from Egypt of the ruler as both god and man

No longer a “barracks emperor” – chosen by his army

Re-establishes imperial authority Failed to find successor

Constantine and ChristianityDisposed of all rivals by 324 Followed most of Diocletian’s reforms

Stops persecution of the Christians Edict of Milan, 313

Believed Christian God had helped him in battle

Continues Diocletian’s tradition of the sacred monarchy Chosen by one Christian god

The Burden of EmpireHigh taxes and rising prices

Barbarian invasions

Country people come under the domination of a tiny elite of landowners

Peasants become bound to the landEmergence of an elite of landowners and bishops in

the western empire Count

Bishops and landowners

Barbarian generals

Germanic Invasions of the WestWarfare under Diocletian and Constantine against their barbarian neighborsRomans take up barbarian waysThe HunsThe Visigoths Adrianople Alaric

Romulus Augustulus, last emperor of the West, 475

Invasions of the Western Empire

Battle of Châlons, 451Western empire carved up by the early sixth century Africa belonged to the Vandals Ostrogoths held Italy Visigoth occupied Spain Franks controlled Gaul Angles and Saxons conquered Britain Continuation of Roman government and

institutionsGrowth of Christianity

Discussion QuestionsHow did the early government of Rome develop? Why did it emerge in this manner? Who benefited from the governmental structure and how?

Identify the consequences of Roman growth and expansion during the Republic.

What was the impact of Augustus on Rome? In what manner did his rule change the course of Roman history and how did it affect the future of Rome?

Describe intellectual developments in the period of the Roman Empire. What was the impact of these?

How did the Roman Empire develop during and after the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine?