Chapter 6Section 2 Notes

Rome’s conquest of the Italian peninsula brought it into contact with Carthage, a city-state on the northern coast of Africa

Settled by North Africans and Phoenician traders, Carthage ruled over an empire that stretched across North Africa and the western Mediterranean

As Rome began to expand westward, conflict between the two powers was inevitable

Winning and Empire

Empire of Carthage

Between 264 BC and 146 BC, Rome fought three wars against Carthage

They are known as the Punic Wars In the first Punic War, Rome defeated

Carthage and won Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia

Winning and Empire

The Carthaginians sought revenge in the Second Punic War

In 218 BC, Carthaginian general Hannibal led his army, including war elephants, across the Pyrenees, through France, and over the Alps into Italy---this cost Hannibal half of his army

He then surprised the Romans who expected an invasion from the south

For 15 years, Hannibal and his army moved across Italy winning battle after battle

Winning an Empire

Hannibal

Hannibal

Hannibal Crossing the Alps

War Elephants

Punic Wars

The Carthaginians failed to capture Rome In the end, Rome sent an army to attack Carthage

and Hannibal returned to defend his homeland, where he was defeated by the Romans

Carthage then had to give up all of its lands except those in Africa

Many Romans still saw Carthage as a rival and wanted revenge for the destruction Hannibal’s army caused in Italy

For years, Cato, a wealthy senator, ended every speech he gave with the words “Carthage must be destroyed”

Winning an Empire

Rome finally destroyed Carthage in the Third Punic War

Survivors were killed or sold into slavery The Romans poured salt over the earth so

that nothing would grow there again Finally, the Romans were now masters of

the western Mediterranean

Winning an Empire

Roman Territory after Punic Wars

Rome was committed to a policy of imperialism---establishing control over foreign lands and peoples

Rome also was expanding into the eastern Mediterranean where they confronted Hellenistic rulers who had divided up the empire of Alexander the Great

Macedonia, Greece, and parts of Asia Minor surrendered and became Roman provinces

By 133 BC, Roman power extended from Spain to Egypt

Winning an Empire

Roman Empire in 133 BC

Conquests and control of busy trade routes brought incredible riches into Rome

A new class of wealthy Romans emerged Wealthy families bought up huge estates,

called latifundia People captured in war were forced to work

on the latifundia The widespread use of slave labor hurt

small farmers, who were unable to produce food as cheaply as the latifundia could

Social and Economic Effects

The farmers’ problems were compounded when huge quantities of grain coming in from conquered lands drove down grain prices

Many farmers fell into debt and had to sell their land

Landless farmers flocked to Rome and joined more unemployed people---as the gap between rich and poor widened angry mobs sprang up

The new wealth also increased corruption---greed and self-interest replaced virtues such as simplicity, hard work, and devotion to duty so prized in the early republic

Social and Economic Effects

Two young patrician brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were among the first to attempt reform

Tiberius, who was elected a tribune, called on the state to distribute land to poor farmers

Gaius, elected a tribune 10 years later, sought a wider range of reforms including the use of public funds to buy grain to feed the poor

The reforms of the Gracchus brothers angered the senate, which saw them as a threat to its power

The brothers, along with thousands of their followers, were killed in waves of street violence set off by senators and their hired thugs

Attempts at Reform

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus

Rome was plunged into a series of civil wars At issue was who should hold power----the

senate, which wanted to govern as it had in the past, or popular political leaders, who wanted to weaken the senate and enact reforms

The turmoil sparked slave uprisings and revolts among Rome’s allies

Old legions of Roman citizen-soldiers became professional armies whose first loyalty was to their commanders

Rival generals marched their armies into Rome to advance their ambitions

Decline of the Republic

Julius Caesar, an ambitious military commander, emerged from this chaos

Julius conquered Gaul (France) after a nine-year battle

Julius crushed his former ally Pompey and then put down rebellions around the Mediterranean

“Veni, Vidi, Vici” He then returned to Rome and forced the

senate to make him dictator

Julius Caesar’s Rise to Power

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Julius Caesar

Between 48 and 44 BC, Caesar pushed through a number of reforms to deal with Rome’s many problems

Public works programs employed the jobless and gave public land to the poor

His most lasting reform was the introduction of a new calendar

The Julian calendar was used in western Europe for over 1,600 years (it is still our calendar today with only minor changes)

Julius Caesar’s Rise to Power

Caesar’s enemies worried that he planned to make himself king of Rome

In March 44 BC, as Caesar arrived in the senate, his enemies stabbed him to death

Ides of March---March 15---day that Caesar was stabbed to death in the back

Julius Caesar’s Rise to Power

Caesar’s Death

Ides of March

Beware the Ides of March

The death of Julius Caesar plunged Rome into a new round of civil wars

Mark Antony, Caesar’s chief general, and Octavian, Caesar’s grand nephew, joined forces to hunt down the murderers

The two men soon quarreled, however, setting off a bitter power struggle

In 31 BC, Ocatvian finally defeated Antony and his ally Queen Cleopatra

Assassination and Civil Wars

Octavian was given the title of Augustus meaning “Exalted One” and became the first emperor of the Roman empire

Augustus laid the foundation for a stable government

He created an efficient, well-trained civil service to enforce the laws (high level jobs were open to all men regardless of class)

He gave self-government to many cities and provinces

Roman Empire and Roman Peace

Octavian

Economic reforms also followed The tax system was made more fair by

undertaking a census in the empire Census---count of the population He set up a postal service and issued new

coins to make trade easier People without jobs built roads and temples

and sent others to farm land The government that Augustus organized

functioned well for 200 years

Roman Empire and Roman Peace

Two of Augustus’ successors were crazy Caligula---had a relationship with one of his

sisters and appointed his favorite horse as a consul

Nero---persecuted Christians and was blamed for setting a great fire that destroyed much of Rome (“Nero fiddled while Rome burned”)

Bad Emperors and Good Emperors

Caligula

Nero

There were also two good emperors Hadrian---codified Roman law making it the

same for all provinces-he also had soldiers build a wall across Britain to hold back attackers from the non-Roman north

Marcus Aurelius---read philosophy while he was on military campaigns and was a philosopher-king

Bad Emperors and Good Emperors

Hadrian

Marcus Aurelius

The two hundred year span that began with Augustus and ended with Marcus Aurelius was known as the Pax Romana i.e. “Roman Peace”

Roman rule brought peace, order, unity, and prosperity to lands stretching from the Euphrates River in the east to Britain in the west, an area approximately the size of the continental United States

Pax Romana

Roman legions maintained and protected the roads, and Roman fleets chased pirates from the seas

Trade flowed freely to and from distant lands in Africa and Asia

Trade caravans traveled along the great Silk Road bringing silk and other goods from China

Pax Romana

Throughout the empire, rich and poor alike loved spectacular entertainments

At the Circus Maximus, Rome’s largest race course, chariots thundered around an oval course, making dangerously tight turns at either end

Fans bet on their favorite teams-Reds, Greens, Blues, or Whites-and successful charioteers were hailed as heroes

Bread and Circuses

Chariot Races

Circus Maximus

Gladiator contests were even more popular Many gladiators were slaves who had been trained

to fight In the arena, they battled one another either singly

or in groups (they also fought animals of all kinds…you’ll see that in the video)

Crowds cheered a skilled gladiator, and a good fighter might even be able to win his freedom

If a gladiator made a poor showing, the crowd turned their thumbs down signaling that the should be killed (if he wasn’t killed already by the other gladiator or by the wild animals!)

Bread and Circuses

Gladiator---with Russell Crowe

Gladiators

Gladiator Parade in Modern Rome

Colosseum

Colosseum

Colosseum at Night

These amusements were a way to pacify the city of Rome’s restless mobs---but the emperors had to pay for them with the taxes they collected from the empire

In much the same spirit, the government provided free grain to feed the poor

Critics warned against this policy of “bread and circuses” but few listened

During the Pax Romana, the general prosperity hid underlying social and economic problems that later emperors could not fix with “bread and circuses”

Bread and Circuses

http://youtu.be/8KIXbrTcf-k

American Gladiators!!!