Julius Caesar• Born to the patrician class but
not the elite amongst them.• Elected priest• Way to rise in society was
through the army• Elected to low office
– Prosecuting advocate
• Career took off when he allied with General Pompey– Elected questor– Governor of Spain– Elected Consul
1st Triumvirate
• Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus (richest Roman) formed a triple alliance to aid one another in gaining more power
• Caesar went on to governorship and conquest of Gaul– Uneasy alliance as each was jealous of the others
• Worsened with the death of Crassus without a counterweight to the more famous generals
Civil War• Caesar is recalled to Rome
to stand trial for overextending his orders– Senate sees Caesar as a
threat to the Republic– Illegally returns with his
legion– Pompey, as selected
defender of the Caesar’s opponents, flees and war breaks out between the armies of Pompey and Caesar
• Defeats Pompey’s army in Greece and pursues Pompey himself to Egypt where he is murdered• Caesar meets Cleopatra and
the have a son
• Caesar returns to Rome and is made dictator for life
Caesar’s Reforms• Relieved debt and
increased representation in the Senate
• Reformed calendar (Julian)• Reorganized local
governments• Forgave followers of
Pompey and granted citizenship to more foreigners
• Had Senate bestow more titles and awards and honors on him
Caesar’s Assassination• Popularity with lower
classes increased, but members of the Senate….not so much– Envy– Concern about his grab
for power (King)– Group of Senators called
the “Liberators” led by Cassius and Brutus plotted his assassination• Stabbed to death in front
of a statue of Pompey on the Ides of March (15)
Assassination Aftermath• Liberators thought
they would be heroes after stabbing Caesar– Mutilated body and
Caesar’s will (which gave land and cash to public) changed their minds
– Caesar’s divinity questioned when a comet “hairy star” was seen on the Ides of March• “Caesar” = “hairy”
Assassination Aftermath
• Rioting ensued and much support was given to Caesar’s right hand man and friend Mark Antony– Liberators flee– But Caesar named
grand-nephew Octavius as his heir• HUGE SURPRISE, Octavius
was a political nobody
Octavius to Octavian• Took Caesar’s name to cement
his place as heir• Immediate competition
between Octavian and Antony. – Undermining the other’s
authority, blocking recognition, etc.
– Caesar’s army flocked to Octavian=demonstrated power of the name of Caesar
– Shifting alliances in immediate aftermath between Octavian, Antony, Liberators and Senate• Octavian elected Consel
2nd Triumvirate
• Octavian and Antony reconcile and along with Lepidus form the 2nd Triumvirate– Divide Empire
amongst themselves• Junta!• Take lands of rivals
to pay for army/veterans• Defeat the Liberators
Breaking of 2nd Triumvirate• Three leaders
continued to distrust and compete with one another– Octavius gets in conflict
with son of Pompey• Lepidus tries to take
advantage – Lepidus’ army deserts
» Octavian strips Lepidus of any type of power
Octavian vs. Antony• Octavian emerges as defender of
Rome/Senate after beating Sextus and made him very popular
• Antony not so much, losing battles in East and became ‘involved’ with Cleopatra– Seen as being un-Roman and
his association with Caesar’s son puts Octavian’s base of power in a troublesome place
– Worried he was going to create an Egyptian based Eastern Empire• Senate declared war on
Cleopatra
Octavian/Augustus vs. Antony• Naval battle of Actium sees
the end of Antony and Cleopatra– Eastern army defects to
Octavian and naval engagement is decisive naval victory for Octavian• Antony and Cleo commit suicide• Octavian kills Cleo’s sons
• Changes name…again to Augustus “universal consent” as symbol of the fact he is sole power in Rome.
Reign of Augustus
• Elected Consul every year from 31 BCE until 23 CE– Pater Patriae– Had power of tribune
and consul
• Senate and people gave power to Augustus– Caesar requested/took it– Didn’t deride/abuse
Senate
Problem of Succession
• Augustus, like ALL emperors after him, had the problem of naming/choosing a successor.– Wanted stability, and
leader not chosen by the elite (…)
– Wanted to use family links plus his incredible power
• Marcellus- nephew-son in law- died young
• Agrippa-military advisor- son in law-died
• Tiberius- stepson/son in law
Reforms
• Professionalized the army– Moved army to frontier an
out of center of power– Kept them busy and
victories made them loyal to him
– Praetorian guard
• Civil Service– Long term appointments– Senate moved to advisory
role
• Limited excess of wealth
• Caped divorces and punished childlessness and adultry (reinforcement of the family)
• Rejected divine honors
Pax Romana• Roman Peace (27 BCE-180
BCE)• Peace within the empire• Large!• Common language and
money• Building projects– Pantheon: Capitol Building– Roads– Colosseum– Circus Maximus– Aqueducts
• Good Emperors– Vespasian– Titus– Trajan– Hadrian– Marcus Aurelius
• Bad Emperors– Caligula– Nero– Commodus
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