Download The Empire

The Birth of the Roman Empire
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After Caesar’s assassination= civil
war ensued
Second Triumvirate: Octavian,
Marc Antony and Lepidus in 43 BCE
and divided the Republic between
them (sealed with a marriage
between Octavian’s sister and Marc
Antony)
Lepidus was pushed from power
Marc Antony met and married
Cleopatra in 36 BCE, but Octavian
defeated Antony’s armies and
Anthony and Cleopatra committed
suicide
Octavian was left as master of
Roman world
From Octavian to Augustus
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Octavian claimed he would return
control of republic to the Senate
(really gave Senate power over provinces
with weak military, while he kept provinces
with large armies for himself)
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He was given semi-divine name of
Augustus and portrayed he was a
descendant of Venus
Expanded his power by becoming
Tribune to the People to bridge the
gap between the rich and poor
Only took the title of Princeps (first
among the equals or First Citizen)
but was in fact Rome’s first emperor
Emperors were the commander in
chief of the army and head of the
priesthood
Senate continued to exist to suggest
and approve the Emperor’s decisions
Rome under Augustus
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Period of Augustan peace called Principate
Flourishing of “Romanity” (arts, religion, civil
service, literature, state sponsored
architecture, mosaics and sculptures ie. 82
temples)
Had an imperial force of 9000 men known as
Praetorian Guard to protect Rome
A great statesman and his system of
bureaucracy lasted for 200 years
Massive building program that turned Rome
from a ‘city of brick to a city of marble’ (2
circuses, 2 amphitheatres, 4 gladiatorial
schools, 11 imperial baths, 926 private
baths, 2000 fountains, 700 public pools and
37 monumental gates)
Estimated Rome population grew from 180
000 inhabitants in the Republic ( c. 270
BCE) -375 000 (130 BCE) to 1 million
people under Augustus
At its peak, there could have been as many
as 54 million people within the Roman
empire (based on Roman census taken
every 5 years as a basis for taxation)
Successors to Augustus:
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
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Of the first 12 emperors- seven
died violently by poison,
stabbing or suicide. After
Augustus, several emperors
were violent, insane or both.
Second Century AD brought a
succession of “good emperors”
many of whom were born out
of Italy. Hadrian (from Spain)rebuilt Pantheon, Hadrian's
Wall, and created special
departments to control things
such as correspondence,
justice, taxes and records. The
good emperors developed a
larger civil service and
separated the governing of the
empire into military and civil
affairs.
TRAJAN
CONSTANTINE
HADRIAN
DIOCLETIAN
NERO
SLAVES & ECONOMY
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By time of Augustus, more than one quarter of the people living
in Italy were slaves from other parts of the empire
Slaves built roads, monuments and public works, farming
Some slaves were well educated people who worked as doctors,
dentists, writer and educators
At height of empire, slaves made up an estimated 1/3 of
population and were used as gladiators, dictation, worked in
masters’ estates
During Roman Empire, free grain had to be distributed to almost
200 000 people (lack of jobs; heavy reliance on slaves)
More than ¾ of food came from Sicily, North Africa and Egypt=
paid for by taxes from rest of empire (Rome paid no taxes)
Wine, oil and pottery were the most important goods sent from
Italy to the rest of the empire but more goods came from
throughout the empire
Architecture
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Roman sculptures developed
own styles with triumphal
arches, columns and symbols
and figures that celebrated
the victories of conquering
emperors
Arch of Titus
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Hadrian’s Wall
Roman Aqueducts
Pantheon
Thermal Baths
Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre) built
in 80 CE by Emperor Titus
Circus, theatres
Bread and Circuses: Daily Life in
the Roman Empire
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Pax Romana (Roman peace)
occurred in 2nd century CE under
reigns of Hadrian and Pius (117161 CE)
Daily life: Bread and Circuses:
poor people of city were given
free grain, while both the rich and
poor enjoyed chariot races,
gladiator duels and other
spectacles of the Circus Maximus
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Legal punishments varied
depending on class and wealth
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Luxury- theatre, public baths and
diversity of goods
Religions in the Roman Empire
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Cult of Isis- Egypt religion that
worshiped Isis (wife of Osiris and
mother of Horus) was very popular in
Roman Empire (Pompeii there was a
temple)
Mithraism- Persian deity was popular
among soldiers and merchants as they
traveled to far East (ritual killing of
bull)
Christianity- became popular as it
preached equality (slave, noble ) could
achieve salvation but Christians were
the most persecuted among the rising
religions (ie. Nero and Great Fire in
Rome)
Judaism- Diaspora (dispersion) in 586
BCE spread out Jews but by 4th century
CE, there were 11 synagogues in Rome
The Problem of Greed…
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By time of Hadrian- (117-138 CE) Romans had an
empire that stretched from Britain to middle of Asia
Why would Rome want to continue to expand its
territories?
$ $ $: more taxes to generate and to push back
tribes that threatened empire
What problems would arise the larger the empire
became?
was difficult and expensive to control regions far
from Rome
Provinces want independence
Tribes in north threaten Roman provinces
Spreading of disease as soldiers traveled in Egypt
and Asia and returned to Rome