Rome as an Empire

Augustus Builds a Stable Government• Octavian (Caesar’s grandnephew) finally secured his power in

31 BC• The senate gave him the title of Augustus, which means

“Exalted One” and called him the “princeps” or first citizen• He wasn’t a KING, but he held almost all the power in the

empire– the senate had almost no ruling power and served mostly as a court– Created a civil service where talented men could serve in the

government regardless of class– Allowed cities in the Roman empire to mostly govern themselves– Ordered a census (count of the population) so that taxes were fair– Issued new coins, set up a postal service, and gave unemployed

people jobs farming and building roads and temples for the empire

Emperors• Roles of Emperors– Inherited power from the former emperor– Served for life– Was worshipped like a god after death if he served well

• Emperors Vary– Emperors’ lives could be short due to murder-for-power– A series of good emperors served from 96-180 AD

• Hadrian made Roman law the same for all provinces and built a famous wall across Britain to hold back attackers

• Marcus Aurelius was almost a philosopher-king

– Two bad emperors• Caligula- among other crazy things, he appointed his horse as consul• Nero- persecuted Christians and blamed for setting a fire that destroyed

a lot of Rome

Pax Romana• 200-year period that began with Augustus and ended with the death of

Marcus Aurelius• Pax Romana = Roman Peace• Time when Roman rule brought peace, order, unity, and prosperity to

its own city and to its whole empire– People moved freely and safely– Trade/goods moved freely from (modern-day) China to Britain to Egypt to

Spain to India to Africa– Ideas moved around the whole area, which increased knowledge

• If you include all the lands and the Mediterranean Sea, the size of the Roman empire was about as big as the continental United States

• Even though the empire was generally prosperous, there were still people that were poor and unhappy. The government kept them quiet by providing free food and free entertainment– Gladiators fought to the death (each other or animals)– Boat and chariot races were watched and bet on

Roman Achievement• Roman Civilization is really a mixture of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman

achievements• Romans admired Greek art, literature, scientific achievements, and

philosophy; they took these ideas and adapted them into what is known as Greco-Roman civilization

• Roman philosophers often promoted the idea of Stoicism: accepting one’s fate…shows up in the realist art, too: accept one’s big nose!

• Some Roman writers wrote in the Greek language and style, but others wrote in Latin – Virgil wrote an epic poem, the Aeneid, where he tried to show that Rome’s past

was as heroic as Greece’s… said Aeneas escaped from Troy to found Rome– Some satirical writers were popular: they made fun of Roman society and people

in general– The historian Livy told the stories of Rome and tried to make people more proud

and patriotic– The historian Tacitus write about how Augustus and other emperors had

destroyed Roman liberty by taking away the republic.

More Roman Achievement• Romans were great at engineering

– They had borrowed a lot of ideas from the Etruscans– Built roads, bridges, and harbors– Built aqueducts to bring water throughout the city

• Collected knowledge into encyclopedias• Did little scientific research themselves, but did enjoy the advances of

the Greeks, who were doing plenty of researching and were part of the empire

• Rome was dedicated to justice and the rule of law– Roman legal system was the basis for many legal systems that came after,

even the US– Idea of “innocent until proven guilty” developed– Guilt had to be established “clearer than daylight” using solid evidence– Judges had to make fair decisions and interpret laws– Penalties were different, though, for different classes of people