ROMAN REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE

60 BCE to 180 BCE

Republic to Empire

Small minority of Roman citizens are running the government Senate is made up of wealthy landowners

who serve for life Senators and the wealthy bought large tracts

of land for large-scale and highly profitable agriculture

Small farmers could not compete with large-scale agriculture

Created economic and social crisis in Rome as small farmers moved to Rome seeking economic opportunity

Reform: Gracchus Brothers

Rome had large population of poor Made up of small farmers who gave up their

land because they couldn’t compete with wealthy landowners

Gracchus brothers proposed reforms to help poor Land-reform bills to prevent large scale

agriculture Return public lands to small farmers

Gracchus brothers were assassinated by the wealthy class for their reform ideas

Roman ArmyTraditionally, the Roman Army recruited from the landowner class, who could afford armor and weapons. By first century BCE, the Army was stretched too thin and needed more soldiers. Gaius Marius, a famous general, recruited his soldiers from among the poor. He promised land in exchange for their service. • This gave soldiers the opportunity to become landowners

and possibly rise through the social classes• It made the soldiers give their allegiance to their general,

not Rome Once an army became loyal to their general instead of Rome, generals found themselves with more power – the power of force.Roman generals started to use their armies to gain political power by threatening or actually invading Rome.

Roman Generals

Gaius Marius Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Changed way armies were recruited

Gave generals more power

Forced generals to enter politics to get land for their troops

Civil war broke out when Sulla had command of army in Asia Plebs tried to give

command to Marius

Sulla brought his army back to Rome and fought Marius

Sulla defeated Marius and became dictator

Sulla

Used dictatorship to try to restore power to the Senate instead of generals

Instead showed future leaders how they could control Rome Army loyalty Bribed Tribunes of the Pleb into making

laws Left behind legacy of generals seizing

power by force and having Senate appoint them dictators

First Triumvirate

From 82 to 31 BCE, Rome was involved in several civil wars as generals tried to gain power.

In 60 BCE, three men emerged as victors and were able to dominate the political scene in Rome: Crassus, the richest man in Rome Pompey, a military hero Julius Caesar, a military commander

from one of the oldest families in Rome

First Triumvirate

First Triumvirate

Joined together in 60 BCE Pompey received command of Spain Crassus received command in Syria Caesar received command of Gaul

(France) All three used their commands to

enrich themselves and gain the loyalty of their armies

Crassus was killed in 53 BCE, ending the triumvirate

First Triumvirate: Aftermath Pompey, heavily influenced by a Senate allied

against Caesar, was convinced to take command of Rome Caesar was ordered to disband his army and

return to Rome Caesar would face charges of treason,

bribery, and illegally fighting a war in Gaul, so he refused to step down

Caesar kept his army and crossed into Rome at the Rubicon (as a result, “Crossing the Rubicon” has come to mean unable to turn)

Caesar marched on Rome, starting a civil war against Pompey’s forces

Caesar defeated Pompey, who fled Rome with most of the Senate

Julius Caesar

•Used military to seize power•Became dictator in 47 BC•Gave land to poor•Gave political offices to friends•Weakened Senate by enlarging it•Changed to 365 day calendar (was Egyptian)

Second Triumvirate

Caesar’s heir: Octavian Caesar’s nephew: Marcus Antonius Caesar’s cavalry commander:

Lepidus Three men took control of Rome Lepidus went to Africa Ocatvian and Marcus Antonius split the

rest of the Roman territory by East/West, Antonius took the East, went to Egypt Octavian stayed in Rome and gained

power

Second Triumvirate

Octavian vs. Antonius

Lepidus was soon out of power, crushed between the two opposing forces of Octavian and Antonius

Antonius fled to Egypt and allied himself with Cleopatra (his mistress – he fell in love with her)

Octavian pursued Antony with his army, had battle at Actium

Antony was defeated and a year later, he and Cleopatra committed suicide rather than surrender to Octavian

Age of Augustus

After Antony’s suicide, Octavian was supreme ruler of Rome

He promised to restore the Republic, but actually became the first emperor

In 27BCE the Senate granted Octavian the title of “Augustus”, meaning the revered one

He still controlled army, so Senate was not powerful

Was granted title of imperator, or emperor

Age of Augustus

Octavian kept standing military of around 150,000 men

Stabilized the Roman Empire

Expanded borders of known Empire

Defeated when he tried to expand into Germany

Early Empire – 14 BCE – 180 CE Empire had a strong

military First four emperors

after Octavian were all from his family Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero

Early Empire

Emperors became more powerful, took power from the Senate

Emperors became more corrupt the more power they gained

Nero killed all his opposition, including his own mother

Military abandoned Nero, who committed suicide

Pax Romana

Pax Romana was period of peace and prosperity

Five good emperors came to power during Pax Romana: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Anonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius Respected ruling classes Ended arbitrary execution Maintained Peace throughout empire Domestic policies of building including

aqueducts, bridges, roads, harbors

Empire ExpandsRome expands under emperor Trajan

Empire becomes too large to be easily governed

Hadrian withdrew from Mesopotamia, strengthened fortifications along the Rhine and Danube Rivers

Built Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain to keep out Picts and Scots

At its height, the empire was 3.5 million square miles and had a population of over 50,000,000 people

Early Empire

Emperors allowed conquered people to maintain local customs

Citizenship was granted to some conquered people, especially the wealthy and those accepting of Roman rule

In AD 212, the emperor Caracalla granted everyone Roman citizenship

Cities are critical in spreading Roman culture, including Latin, literature, and laws

Culture is Greco-Roman, since Greek was used throughout most of the Eastern part of the Empire

Economic & Social Conditions Early empire was prosperous and peaceful

High levels of trade throughout the Empire Puteoli is chief port in Italy, along with Ostia, which

was at the mouth of the Tiber River Luxury items came from as far east as China

(along the Silk Road) Farming remained the chief occupation of

Roman prosperity Large estates called latifundia dominated

farming Sheep and cattle were raised on a large scale,

mostly using slave labor Large gulf between the very wealthy and the

poor Poor were dependent on handouts of grain

from the emperor