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INTRODUCTION
• Rome was the culmination of ancient civilization
– It consolidated and improved the entire heritage of the
ancient world
• Everything great that the ancient civilizations had
achieved reached their peak of their development
under the Romans
• On the other hand, all that was negative about ancient
civilization also reached its highest state of
development with the Romans
– Slavery, inequality, political violence,
technological backwardness, and moral ambiguity
• The entire development of ancient civilization reached its
peak with Rome
– With its collapse in the 5th century AD, a new civilization
(partly based on the remnants of Roman civilization)
would gradually develop in its place
PROBLEMS WITH SOURCES I
• Titus Livius (Livy) wrote entire book on
the prehistory of the Latin people
– Written 500 years after the fact
– Used work of annalists as main
source of information
• Annalists were individuals who
recorded past events in
chronological order
– But the earliest known
annalists lived and worked
around 220 BC
» Hundreds of years after the
events they listed
PROBLEMS WITH SOURCES II
• Other sources were writings by
Greeks and Etruscans
– Information was only incidental
and fragmentary since Rome was
not their primary interest
• Written documents by early Romans
themselves were also probably used
– Writing was not used by Romans
before 500 BC
• Rome was also sacked by
Gauls in 390 BC and most
public records were destroyed
• Some private documents could be
found in archives of the great
families
– But family pride often resulted in
the production of exaggerated or
false documents regarding their
past achievements
A WORD OF CAUTION
• Ancient historians like Livy had a big problem
– His state had become the most powerful in ancient
world and it had to have a history
• Mythology and legend had already moved in the fill
the gap
– But dependable and continuous information about
the Romans was scarce for the period before 390
BC
• 800 years had to be accounted for but historians like
Livy did the best they could
– But the scarcity and unreliabliity of documents,
records, stories, and lists they found meant they
could not be accepted at face value
– Modern methodologies have been used the
information provided by Livy
» But yawning gaps still persist and intelligent
speculation must often substitute for databased analysis
EARLY ITALY
• Indo-European immigrants
merged with Neolithic
original people in Italy over
thousands of years
– Resulted in appearance
of different Italian tribes
scattered throughout
the peninsula
• Ligurians in the
north, Venetians
along northeast
coast, Latins on the
west coast, Sabellian
tribes in south and
center, and Samnites
in the mountains of
the east
GREEKS IN ITALY
• Set up colonies in southern Italy
and Sicily at end of the Dark Age
– Oldest Greek colony was
Cumae
– Other colonies were
Syracuse, Sybaris, Croton,
and Tarentum
• Each was an independent citystate
– Main economic activity was
agriculture
– Constantly squabbled among
themselves but all also
supported highly developed
arts and crafts, literature and
philosophy
• Greek cultural activity radiated
throughout the Italian peninsula
ETRUSCANS
• Inhabited Etruria
• Enigmatic people
• 12 cities were independent and
individualistic
– Often disagreed with each other
– Had of religious cohesion
• Believed their was a powerful
and inseparable relationship
between heaven, earth, and
hell
– Vital organs of sacrificed
animals could reveal the
imprint of both past and
future events
– Interpreting organs of
animals became a ritual
for Etruscans and it would
be adopted and highly
valued by the Romans
ETRUSCAN INNOVATIONS
• Cities originally ruled by kings
– But monarchs replaced by
annually elected magistrates
in 600s BC
• Most important was zilath
– Model for Roman
republican office of
consul
• Other legacies
– Purple-bordered robe worn by
consuls and triumphant
generals
– Throne
– Lictors
– Fasces (bundle of rods
around an axe)
– Concept of imperium
ETRUSCAN INFLUENCE
• The “Etruscan” nation was a collection
of individual cities primarily interested
in trade-generated commercial wealth
– At the height of Etruscan influence
during the 700-600s BC, their culture
and influence extended north of
Etruria into Po Valley and southward
into Campagna
– Cities in these regions were
conquered by roving freebooters
and populated by surplus people
from the cities in Etruria
• Rome was taken over in this
manner during this time
ETRUSCAN DECLINE
• Etruscan power began to
decline in the 400s BC
– Lost cities in Campagna to
Samnites
– Gauls captured cities in the
Po Valley
– Attempt by Gauls to capture
Etruria itself weakened
economy and hastened
decline
– Drifted into insignificance,
the victims of economic
deterioration, increasing
social unrest, and, after 300
BC, Roman aggression
ETRUSCAN LEGACY
• Etruscans taught Romans quite a
bit
– To surround their officials with
pomp and symbols of power
and numerous special
prerogatives and duties
– Art of surveying and carefully
designing street patterns
– Architecture
– Knack for capturing the
particular and unique in art
– Even some names
• Family names like Tullius
and names of many gods
• Practice of augury
EARLY ROMANS
• Descended from an Italian tribe
known as the Latins
– Their territory, Latium, was
bordered by Tiber River on
the north, the sea on the
west, foothills of the
Apennine Mountains on east
and south
– Not particularly desirable
territory
• Coastal area was malarial
swamp, subject to periodic
flooding
• Drier backcountry
experienced severe
volcanic activity until 800
BC
LATIN ORGANIZATION
• Early Latins were herdsmen
who practiced agriculture on
the side
– Organized themselves into
clans, each with its own
little bit of territory
• Within each territory was
a town or village, usually
located on the top of a
hill
• Each town originally had
its own chieftain but
many later discarded
their kings in favor of an
annually-elected dictator
FOUNDING OF ROME
• In the mid-700s, a Latin clan
established a new settlement
on the Palatine Hill
– One of several hills that
overlooked a bend in the
Tiber River
• Roman legend attributed the
founding of this village to
Romulus and Remus
– Twin grandsons of the king
of Alba Longa
– Orphaned when young and
raised by a wolf
– Later adopted by a
shepherd who grazed his
sheep on Palatine Hill
• Later remembered it as
adults and selected it as
site of settlement
EARLY SETTLEMENTS
• Good strategic and economic
reasons for selection of site
– Defensible, well-watered,
accessible to the Italian
interior, and it commanded
only feasible bridgehead
across the lower Tiber River
– Also astride a number of
natural routes to other parts
of Italy
• Within a few years, new settlers
created villages on other nearby
hills
– Mostly Latin settlements but
two were Sabine
– Land that was ultimately
become the Forum was used
as a common cemetery by the
villages
SEPTIMONTIUM
• In 600s BC, the seven villages
on the hills of Rome formed a
loose-knit league for either
mutual protection or
cooperation in exploiting
pastureland
– Called the Septimontium
– Each village still retained its
own chieftain
• Ruled with the advice of
the heads of all familites in
the village
• Powers limited by tradition
• If he proposed anything
new, it had to be approved
by an assembly of all men
of military age before it
became law
RELIGION
• Religious practices based
on worship of spiritual
forces that controlled
natural phenomenon
– Did not go in much at
this time for idolatry
– Their gods at this time
did not have concrete
form
• It was the job of the king
to maintain the health and
prosperity of his people
by appeasing these
spirits
ETRUSCAN TAKEOVER
• Latium attracted the Etruscans
because control of region would give
them a direct overland route between
Etruria and the cities of Campagna
– Etruscan overlords took control of
the Septimontium in the mid-500s
BC
– Domination began with the
appearance of adventurers with
small contingents of supporters
• Gained chieftainship of villages
through their superiority in arms
and the glamour of their
advanced culture
• Rome would be controlled for the next
100 years by Etruscan adventurers
– Tarquin the Elder, Tarquin the Proud,
Servius Tullius, and Lars Porsenna
CREATION OF RUMAN
• Etruscan overlords also took the
scattered villages of the
Septimontium and made them
into a little city
– Named it Ruman (city of the
river)
– Surrounded it with
fortifications and drained the
marsh which ultimately
became the Forum
– Enhanced political and
economic stature of the place
and its population grew
rapidly with an influx of
artisans and merchants from
other places in Italy
EARLY POLITICAL LIFE
• Latins grouped clans into curiae (geographic
districts)
• Septimontium grouped three tribes into 30 curiae
– Etruscans divided city into four tribes and 30
curiae
• Etruscans also introduced more formal methods
of combat
– Replaced old haphazard Latin style by
organizing all residents of Rome for military
service
• Based on their ability to arm themselves
instead of their family or clan connections
– Would also ultimately provide foundation for
Centuriate Assembly later
CURIATE ASSEMBLY
• During Etruscan period,
Romans had Curiate Assembly
– Each of the 30 curiae had
one vote in this assembly
• Determined by majority
vote within each curiae
– Function was to give advice
to the king, ratify his
proposals, and witness
certain religious rituals
– Would be retained by
Roman Republic where its
main function would be to
bestow imperium (the right
to act on behalf of the state)
on political leaders
GROWTH
• Commercial and manufacturing
activity increased dramatically in
Rome during Etruscan period
• Public games (horse and chariot
racing) introduced in area that
would become site of Circus
Maximus
• Forum was made habitable by
contruction of drainage system
– Later became famous Cloaca
Maxima
• Foreign artists and large numbers
of immigrant craftsmen and
merchants moved to city
– Most settled in Viscus Tuscus
commercial district
PATRICIAN RESENTMENT
• New commercial immigrants found it
difficult to assimilate with the old Latin
families
– Who based their wealth on ownership
of land and who had in the old days
served as advisors to Latin kings
• Etruscans set up special guilds for
immigrants, allowed them to serve in
army, and employed them on public works
projects
– As a result, they identified their loyalty,
safety, and well-being with Etruscan
kings
– Not with Latin landowning elite
(patricians)
• Patricians resented the Etruscans for
giving newcomers so much attention and
aid
EXPULSION OF THE
ETRUSCANS
Tarquin the Proud
• According to Roman
legend, the last
Etruscan ruler, Tarquin
the Proud, was expelled
in 509 BC because of
his arrogance and acts
of immorality
– The precise date is
probably inaccurate
• But other
evidence indicates
that it happened
around that time
PATRICIANS WIN
• Main beneficiaries of the overthrow of
Etruscan rule were the patricians
• Most likely scenario was that patricians
took advantage of military reverse suffered
by Tarquin the Proud
– Overthrew him and expelled his
supporters from city
– Then established system of government
based partly on Latin traditions and
partly on the emergence of new
conditions
• Designed to support and perpetuate
their superior position in Roman
society
– Would lead to creation of Roman
Republic
Rome would
then move on
and gradually
take over all
the other
people of
Italy
Long, slow,
difficult
process and
Roman
success was
by no means
guaranteed
Conquest of
Italy took
over 100
years and
Rome
suffered
some
serious
setbacks in
the process
But through
hard work,
perserverence,
and luck, Rome
did it