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Rome
From a Republic to an Empire
To Consider
• What groups of people originally stood in
the way of Rome’s Mediterranean
domination and what became of them?
• How did Rome differ from Greece and how
did this make them more successful?
• What went wrong with the republic?
The End of the Republic
• The old city constitution could no longer
hold up with the expanding territory
• Sulla had two political heirs
– Julius (a politician) and Pompey (a general
who had teamed up with Crassus [a banker])
– Julius became consul in 59 BC
• Formed the first triumvirate
The Triumvirate Fails
• All three spend their years in battle
• Crassus died fighting leaving Pompey and Julius to rule
• Each was suspicious of the other and eventually civil war
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broke out
Pompey snuggled up with the senate and had their
official support
They demanded that Julius relinquish his authority
Julius marched on Rome and defeated him in 45 BC
The Senate accepted his victory and appointed him
dictator for 10 years
Julius Caesar
• Julius gains the title of Caesar as the
momentum of his authority increased
• Senatorial class was uneasy with his
power
• 44 BC Caesar is killed by conspirators
• Another civil war ensues
• Second triumvirate
– Octavian, Marc Antony, Lepidus
Augustus Caesar
• Octavian and Antony go head to head for
power
• Octavian brands Antony as a traitor and
get Rome on his side
• He defeats the army and navy of Antony
and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31
BC
• Octavian becomes Augustus Caesar
The Pax Romana
• Virgil writes:
You, Roman, remember- these are your arts:
To rule nations and to impose the ways of peace,
To spare the humble and to war down the proud.
• Augustus could have declared himself dictator
but didn’t
• He claimed to restore the republic but he
created a constitutional monarchy instead
– Called himself princeps or First Citizen
The Rise to Emperor and Beyond
• 12 BC he became Pontifex Maximus
– Made him head of the state religion
• Because of his military success he became Imperator,
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which eventually came to mean Emperor
He built a more professional army as an arm of the
government
He also handled Roman colonies as part of the Empire,
not independent settlements as the Greeks had done
Eventually he became associated with the Goddess of
the state Roma
By his death in 14 AD almost every province had an altar
to Roma and Augustus
Expansion
• Rome always had problems with the Gauls
(Celts) and other tribes living north and
west of the roman borders.
• Augustus created buffer zones with forts
and military outposts in these areas,
protecting the Italian Romans from
hostility.
• Roman Peace is established
The Julio-Claudians
• Tiberius 14-37 AD
– Step-son of Augustus, good military leader, followed Augustus’ footsteps,
was frugal, and eventually retired to Capri (senility)
• Caligula 37-41
– Grand-nephew of Tiberius, started off OK but got sick and went nuts,
spent all of Tiberius’ treasury and began to charge rich families with
treason to steal their money, was killed by the praetorian guard
• Claudius 41-54
– Found by the guard hidden behind the curtains, had physical handicaps,
turned out to be a good leader with respect for the senate, concerned
with citizenship to provincials, in the end he married Caligula’s sister
Agrippina who then plotted to kill him.
• Nero 54-68
– Agrippina’s son, 16 years old, his rule was dominated by his mother, he
tried several times to kill her, he finally killed her and his wife so that he
could marry his mistress, he forced people to attend his concerts,
speculations relating to the great fires of Rome, the senate sentenced
him to death, he killed himself and said “Oh what a great artist the world
is losing”
The Flavians
• After the death of Nero several people claimed to be
emperor but Flavian Vespasian had the upper hand
– He too gave citizenship to conquered territories and did a
good job keeping down invaders
• Titus 79-81
– Son of Vespasian, continued what his father started but died
early
• Domitian 81-96
– Least popular of this crew, was disrespectful toward the
senate, insisted on being called Lord and Master, did a
terrible job, blamed Christians and Jews on the misfortune
and persecuted them severely, was finally murdered
The 5 Good Emperors and the Other Guy
• Nerva, an old senator succeeded
– Ruled for only 2 years but trained his own successor
• Trajan 98-117
– A Spaniard (1st emperor not of Italian origin), well liked, good military ruler,
Rome reached its greatest extent, on his death bed he chose another Spaniard
• Hadrian 117-138
– Modified the code of laws, retreated borders, reorganized army, Hadrian’s wall
• Antonius Pius 138-161
– Wealthy senator from Gaul, selected by Hadrian, climax of the Pax Romana, put
Rome on the defensive as opposed to the offensive
• Marcus Aurelius 161-180
– Stoic philosopher, wrote Meditations, had to deal with sever fighting in Dacia
where 25% of the population died, was stricken by plague fighting in presentday Austria
• Commodus (the not so great) 180-192
– Marcus broke tradition allowing his son to rule, he should have appointed a
suitable successor, Commodus was hated as he became a megalomaniac, he
thought he was the reincarnation of Hercules, finally the senate killed him and
removed al record of his rule from the lists.