Download History of Rome

History of Rome
1. What event marked the beginning of the Roman Republic?
2. How was life unfair for plebians?
3. Why did the Senate allow plebians to elect tribunes?
4. What were the Twelve Tables and how did they help plebians?
5. Why did Pyrrhus come to Italy? Why did he leave?
6. What were the Punic Wars and what was the result?
7. For what did Hamilcar Barca want revenge?
8. How did Hannibal catch Rome by surprise?
9. How did Rome punish Carthage after it was defeated in the Third Punic War?
10. What reforms did Tiberius seek to implement? Why? What was the result?
11. What reforms did Gaius seek to implement? Why? What was the result?
12. What reforms did Marius implement?
13. Why did the First Triumvirate form?
14. How did Julius Cesar become sole dictator?
15. Who formed the Second Triumvirate?
16. How did Octavian gain total control of Rome?
17. Why was Octavian given the name of Augustus?
18. Why is Augustus considered the first emperor of Rome?
19. Describe why Augustus was considered a great leader?
20. What is the Pax Romana?
21. What happened under the leadership of
a. Caligula
b. Claudius
c. Nero
d. Flavian Dynasty
e. Trajan
f. Hadrian
g. Marcus Aurelius
22. Why were more people allowed to settle in Rome during Marcus Aurelius’ rule?
23. Why was Commodus assassinated?
24. What reforms did Alexander Severus attempt to implement and why did this lead
to his assassination?
25. Why did the empire begin to struggle after the Severan Dynasty?
26. How did Emperor Diocletian reform the empire?
27. Why were Christian persecuted during this time?
28. What major changes did Constantine implement?
29. How was Rome divided in 395?
30. How did the Western Empire end?
History of Rome
Beginnings of Rome
An ancient Roman legend tells how the twin babies Romulus and Remus were abandoned by their mother
and raised by a female wolf. When they grew up, they set off to found Rome, and Romulus became the
city's first king. The traditional date for the founding is 753 B.C. Actually, almost nothing is known of the
origins and early history of Rome.
It is probable that sometime during the eighth century B.C. Latin settlements on seven of Rome's hills united
to form the city. In the next century, Etruscan nobles from the north of Rome founded the Roman monarchy.
Under the Etruscan kings, the Romans drained the marshes, developed agriculture, stimulated trade,
extended the city, and subjected other Latin settlements to their rule. According to tradition, the patrician
landowners led a revolt while the king was out of the city in 509 B.C. and deposed him. This marked the
beginning of the republic.
Plebeian Against Patrician
Throughout the early years of the Republic, the patricians held all high government posts and all seats in the
Senate. By dominating the machinery of government, the patricians were able to pass and enforce laws in
their favor. Because of such laws, plebeians were often deprived of land and sometimes forced into
bondage to pay off debts. In addition, plebeians were forbidden to marry patricians.
The plebeians carried on a long resistance to patrician domination. While Rome was at war in 494 B.C.,
great numbers of plebeians threatened to secede and form a separate city. The Senate, in panic, agreed to
let the plebeians elect tribunes to defend their interests. In 450 B.C., the plebeians succeeded in having the
laws of Rome codified and written down in a compilation called the Twelve Tables. The existence of written
law helped to prevent patrician abuse of the law. In 445 B.C., intermarriage between plebeians and
patricians was allowed by law.
In 367 B.C., the Licinio-Sextian laws set a limit on the amount of land any one person could own, eased the
penalties on debt, and provided that one of the two consuls be a plebeian. Gradually the distinction between
patrician and plebeian disappeared.
Unification of Ancient Italy
After Rome had deposed its last king, the surrounding cities proclaimed their freedom. For the next two
centuries Rome was almost continuously at war, first to protect itself from neighboring city-states, mainly
Etruscan and Latin, and then to conquer central Italy.
An important early victory was the conquest of the Etruscan city-state of Veii, 10 miles (16 km) north of
Rome. In 390 B.C. Rome was defeated by the Gauls, barbarians from the north who swarmed through
central Italy and burned much of Rome. The city quickly recovered and gradually conquered the remaining
Etruscan city-states to the north and the neighboring Latin states. Following Rome's victory in the Latin War
(340–338 B.C.), several Latin states were annexed by Rome and the remainder were forced to become
compliant allies.
The Romans subdued other peoples as well, notably the Samnites, the Umbrians, and the Gauls. As
territory was acquired, garrisons of soldiers and colonies of citizens were established to ensure permanent
control. By 290 B.C., Rome ruled all of central Italy.
At that time, a number of Greek cities were flourishing in southern Italy and Sicily. Early in the third century
B.C. they found themselves threatened by Rome. Tarentum, one of the cities in Italy, requested aid from
Epirus, a kingdom in Greece. Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, led a powerful army into southern Italy, and defeated
the Romans at Heraclea (280 B.C.) and Ausculum (279). But his losses were so great that he decided not to
fight on toward Rome. Instead, he went to the aid of the Greek cities in Sicily, which were threatened by
Carthage, a wealthy city on the northern coast of Africa. Pyrrhus returned home when the Greek cities
refused to give him fresh troops, and in 272 Tarentum fell to Rome. Within a few years, Rome conquered all
southern Italy.
The Three Punic Wars
The conquest of Italy left Rome with one major rival in the western Mediterranean, Carthage, in North Africa.
The two powers clashed in a series of three wars, called the Punic Wars, that ended with the destruction of
Carthage. The First Punic War (264–241 B.C.) began when Carthage and Rome vied for control of the city
of Messana (Messina), Sicily. Carthage occupied the city first and the Roman Senate, fearing a further
Carthaginian advance into Italy, sent an army to Messana and ordered a fleet built.
Roman legions defeated the Carthaginians in Sicily, and in a great sea battle off Cape Ecnomus in 256 B.C.,
the Romans defeated a Carthaginian fleet. However, the war dragged on, with enormous losses on both
sides, until Carthage sued for peace in 241 B.C. Rome won Sicily and a large indemnity. In 238 B.C., Rome
seized Sardinia and Corsica from Carthage.
Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian general, planned revenge, and in 237 B.C., crossed into Spain and began
building and training an army. In 219 B.C., Hannibal, Hamilcar's son, seized a city in Spain allied to Rome.
The Romans declared war, and the Second Punic War (218–201 B.C.) began.
Hannibal entered Italy by crossing the Alps, a feat that caught the Romans by surprise. He won brilliant
victories at Lake Trasimeno (217 B.C.) and Cannae (216 B.C.), destroying two Roman armies. For 10 years
the Roman general Fabius led damaging raids against Hannibal's army while preserving his own weak
forces by carefully avoiding a major battle.
The turning point came in 207 B.C., when Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal, led an army of reinforcements from
Spain. His troops were crushed by the Romans at the Battle of the Metaurus River. A Roman invasion of
Africa in 204 forced Carthage to recall Hannibal. In 202 B.C. Hannibal's army was destroyed at the battle of
Zama, near Carthage, by Publius Cornelius Scipio (Scipio the Elder). The Second Punic War ended with
Rome annexing Spain and taking the Carthaginian war fleet and a very large indemnity.
The Third Punic War began in 149 B.C. and ended in 146 when Rome wiped out Carthage. In 150 Numidia,
an ally of Rome, had invaded Carthaginian territory. Carthage resisted, and a Roman army laid siege to the
city. Finally, Scipio Aemilianus (Scipio the Younger), adopted grandson of Scipio the Elder, broke the city's
defenses. The Romans enslaved the survivors, burned Carthage to the ground, and sowed salt to make the
soil unproductive.
The Macedonian Wars
Macedonia and Greece were conquered in a series of conflicts called the Macedonian Wars. The first war
(215–205), in which Macedonia allied itself with Carthage, was inconclusive. The second war (200–196) was
a partial victory for Rome, forcing Macedonia to give up its claim to Greece. In the third war (172–167),
Rome reduced Macedonia and Greece to virtual vassal states. Following a revolt by the Macedonians (152–
146), all of Greece and Macedonia were made Roman provinces.
Revolution
At the end of the Third Punic War, Rome ruled Spain, Italy, Greece, and the large islands of the western
Mediterranean Sea. But the city that had won this empire had changed. Great landowners bought up even
more land. Rich businessmen became even richer through graft and plunder. Soldiers, now fighting far from
home, stayed with the armies and were rewarded wih the booty of far-off provinces.
The class of small landowners, which had formed the backbone of early Rome, became less and less
significant. A number of leaders attempted to reverse these conditions.
The first prominent reform leader was Tiberius Gracchus, who was elected tribune in 133 B.C. Tiberius
secured passage of a law to recover public land, which had been illegally taken by the wealthy, and to
distribute it to the poor. By increasing the number of landowners, who alone were subject to conscription,
Tiberius hoped to strengthen the Roman army. The land reform and Tiberius' decision to seek reelection,
which at that time was contrary to Roman practice, raised intense opposition. Tiberius was killed by a mob
sent by his enemies in the Senate.
Ten years later his brother, Gaius, was elected tribune, and he succeeded in securing passage of laws
providing for land reform. Gaius' attempt to extend Roman citizenship to other Latin communities in Italy
aroused much opposition, and in 121 B.C. he was killed by soldiers sent by the Senate.
Roman generals extending Roman conquest increased their personal power. In 105 B.C., the plebeian
general Gaius Marius won glory in a war in North Africa. As leader of the populares (people's party), who
opposed the aristocratic Senate, Marius was elected consul six times during 107–100 B.C. He created
Rome's first professional army by recruiting landless citizens and rewarding them with land upon their
discharge. Marius thus put an end to the militia system, which depended on conscription solely from the
class of landowners.
In the Social War (91–89 B.C.), some of Rome's Italian allies revolted because of Rome's refusal to extend
them Roman citizenship. Marius and Sulla, a leader of the aristocrats, ruthlessly put down the revolt, but the
Italian allies won their point and citizenship was extended to them in 90 B.C. After the war, Sulla defeated
Marius in a struggle for power, and reestablished aristrocratic rule.
Still there was no peace. In 71 B.C. the Senate had to put down a bloody slave revolt led by the gladiator
Spartacus. In 61 the Senate, led by Cicero, destroyed a conspiracy, led by Catiline, to seize the government.
The Triumvirates
In 60 B.C. Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar formed the First Triumvirate, a joint dictatorship. They
worked together in an attempt to restore order to Rome and the empire. Crassus was killed fighting the
Parthians in 53 B.C., and Pompey and Caesar soon quarreled. Caesar defeated Pompey in 48 B.C. and
become sole dictator in 46 B.C.
Caesar began work on a far-reaching program that included most of the reforms proposed during the
previous century. Before he could carry them out, however, Caesar was murdered, in 44 B.C. The Second
Triumvirate—Mark Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus—was then formed. Antony and Octavian quarreled and
Octavian defeated Antony and his ally, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, at the battle of Actium in 31 B.C.
Octavian's victory brought peace after 20 years of civil warfare.
Establishment of the Empire
In 27 B.C. the Roman Senate conferred the title Augustus (majestic) on Octavian for ending the civil strife.
Although Augustus retained the forms of republican government and never took the title of emperor, he is
considered Rome's first emperor because he held supreme power and passed his authority on to an heir.
Augustus' firm and orderly rule brought growth and prosperity to the empire. The Mediterranean Sea was
made safe for an expanding trade. His rule was the beginning of the pax Romana (Roman peace), which
lasted two centuries. Augustus established an efficient system of government, which survived misrule by
later emperors.
Augustus was succeeded by his stepson, Tiberius (reigned 14–37 A.D.), who was an able but unpopular
ruler. He was succeeded by Caligula (37–41), who became noted for his acts of cruelty and was
assassinated by his own guards. Under Claudius I (41–54), Britain was conquered and many public works
were built. He was followed by the cruel and inept Nero (54–68). In 64, much of Rome was destroyed by fire.
After Nero, the empire was torn by civil wars; during one year, 69, four different emperors ruled. The last of
them, Vespasian (69–79), returned the empire to stable and responsible rule. He and his sons Titus (79–81)
and Domitian (81–96)—the Flavian Dynasty—were good managers and increased prosperity in the empire.
Domitian was succeeded by Nerva (96–98); his reign began the era of the “five good emperors." From 96 to
180, these emperors extended the boundaries of the empire, improved the administration of justice, and built
many beautiful and useful public buildings. The Roman Empire was at the height of its power and prosperity.
The empire reached its fullest extent under Trajan (98–117), with the conquest of Dacia in 106. His
successor, Hadrian (117–38), built many cities, public works, and fortifications. His best-known building
project, Hadrian's Wall, was erected in the north of Britain to keep out the warlike Caledonians (later known
as Picts). Hadrian was succeeded by Antoninus Pius (138–61), whose reign was peaceful and prosperous.
Marcus Aurelius (161–80), the last of the “five good emperors," was a wise and benevolent ruler. During his
reign, however, the empire began to experience troubles. Barbarian attacks endangered the frontiers along
the Rhine, Danube, and Euphrates, and Aurelius was forced to spend much of his time on military
campaigns. A plague, which entered the empire from the east in 165, swept through the provinces and Italy,
depopulating large areas.
The wars and plague drained the treasury and caused a manpower shortage in the army. To fill the ranks of
the army, Gauls and other barbarian peoples were recruited, and in provinces where agricultural workers
were in short supply barbarian peoples were invited to settle.
Decline and Fall
Marcus Aurelius died in the midst of a war on the Danube frontier and left the empire in the hands of his son,
Commodus (180–92), who neglected the affairs of state to attend chariot races, circuses, and gladiatorial
contests. His assassination by his courtiers was greeted with public acclaim. Rival claimants competed for
the emperorship and after a year of disarray, Septimius Severus, a general in the Danube region, marched
on Rome and deposed a rival, Didius Julianus, who had the support of the Praetorian Guard.
Severus (193–211) was a strong ruler and a competent administrator. He greatly raised the soldiers' pay,
enlarged the army, and successfully defended the empire. For the next quarter century Rome was ruled by
the Severan Dynasty—Severus' sons and other relatives. The last rule of the dynasty was Alexander
Severus (222–35). He restored to the Senate some of the authority it had lost in the previous centuries. He
was killed by his troops, who opposed his attempts to negotiate a peace with the Goths on the German
frontier.
The troops replaced Severus with Maximinus (235–38), a peasant soldier who had risen in the ranks. The
army had taken control of the empire and from this point on made and broke emperors at will. Often there
were competing emperors when the troops in different armies would raise their commanders to the
emperorship. For the next 50 years there was chaos and civil war; some 20 emperors and many usurpers
held parts of the empire for short times. Communications within the empire were damaged, and powerful
commanders often ruled provinces with little direction from Rome.
Barbarians along the frontiers poured into the empire, driven by waves of other barbarian groups advancing
into Europe from Asia. Many of the newly arrived barbarians entered the Roman army and gradually
changed its character. Italy suffered a critical decline in population from repeated epidemics, and land lay
idle for want of people to till it.
Emperor Diocletian (284–305) restored order and brought peace to the empire. He won wars on the frontiers
and secured the borders with strings of fortifications. In 286, he appointed a coemperor, Maximian, to rule
the West while he ruled the East. The two took the title augustus. In 293 he named two subordinate
emperors, called caesars, who were officially designated successors. Diocletian established an equitable
system of taxation and inaugurated a complete census throughout the empire, which was repeated every
five years (later every 15 years).
Diocletian ended all pretense of constitutional rule and established the doctrine that the emperorship was
divine in status. Christians refused to recognize his divinity and during his rule were severely persecuted.
The system of coemperorship broke down after Diocletian. The empire by 308 was ruled by six coemperors,
four augusti and two caesars, all involved in civil war against each other. The conflict was ended in 314
when the two remaining coemperors made peace-Constantine the Great (308–37), who ruled the West, and
Licinius (307–24), who ruled the East. In 324 Constantine defeated Licinius in a short war and became sole
emperor.
Constantine began converting to Christianity in 312, and the following year ended persecution of the
Christians and made Christianity the favored faith in the empire. He founded Constantinople and made it the
capital of the empire.
Constantine partitioned the empire among his three sons and two nephews. Within a few years of his death,
however, the empire was divided between two of his sons. It was sometimes reunited under their
successors, but was permanently divided upon the death of Theodosius the Great in 395. The Eastern, or
Byzantine, Empire from then until its fall in 1453 was ruled from Constantinople.
The Western Empire of Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and western North Africa was raided by Goths and
Vandals during the fourth and fifth centuries. In 410 Alaric, a Visigoth, plundered Rome. From the mid-440's
to 453 Attila, leader of the Huns, terrorized the Balkans, Italy, and Gaul. In 455 the Vandal chief Genseric
(Gaiseric) raided Rome. Finally, in 476 the last Roman emperor, 15-year-old Romulus Augustulus, was
desposed by Odoacer, a German mercenary. The Western Empire was ended.
The title of Roman emperor was revived 324 years later when Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III.
But Charlemagne's empire and the Holy Roman Empire that followed were related to the earlier Roman
Empire in name only.