Download The Age of Religious Wars

Early Roman History
(753-265 BC)
●De Blois, chapter 12, pp. 141-167
The Western Mediterranean
●De Blois, chapter 12, pp. 141-144
Civilization arises in the Western
Mediterranean
●The history of the civilization of the western
Mediterranean differs from that of the ANE
●There were no highly civilized areas in the third and second
millennia BC.
●Civilizations didn’t emerge until coincidental to the Archaic
period in Greece and the era of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and
Persian empires.
●Three civilizations arose in the western Mediterranean
during this period
●Etruscans in central Italy
●Carthaginians in North Africa
●Greeks in the Greek colonies in southern Italy, Sicily, and
southern Gaul.
The Etruscans
●What is unique about what little of the Etruscan
language we know?
●It is not Indo-European.
●When did the Etruscan civilization reach its height?
●The seventh and sixth centuries BC (700-500 BC)
●Who conquered northern Italy (the Po valley) from
the Etruscans after 500 BC?
●The Celts (Gauls)
Carthage
●Who founded Carthage and when?
●Phoenicians from Tyre c. 800 BC
●What two factors contributed to Carthage’s wealth?
●maritime trade
●highly developed agriculture
●What was the Carthage’s primary strength?
●She held a near monopoly of shipping in the
southwester Mediterranean and on the Atlantic Ocean.
Carthage (continued)
●How did Carthage defend her position in the
Western Mediterranean?
●She established a network of fortified bases in western
Sicily, Sardinia, North Africa and Spain.
●She was always ready to defend her bases when they
were threatened.
●Who governed Carthage?
●She was governed by a class of large landowners and
rich merchants whose families also provided the
military commanders (an oligarchy).
The Origins of Rome
●De Blois, chapter 12, pp. 145-148
The origins of Rome
●Who were the first people to have settled the site
that became Rome?
●The Latins.
●According to tradition, when was Rome founded
and by whom?
●753 BC
●Romulus, the first king
●The earliest Roman population was probably a
mixture of what three peoples?
●Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines
Family names
●Gentes- clans or groups of families who claimed to
be linked by a common ancestor and who shared
certain traditions. A gens was a group of several
familiae.
●Familiae- comparable to a Greek household; it
consisted of a husband, wife, children,
grandchildren, slaves, and clients.
●Pater Familias- ruling male of a family.
Rome expands due to a favorable
location
●When did Rome begin to expand into a large city?
●After 600 BC
●How was Rome favorably located?
●It was in a fertile, relatively densely populated region.
●It was at the junction of an important road linking
Greek and Etruscan settlements, a shipping route along
the Tiber and a road to the slat-pans at the coast.
State and society in early Rome:
Roman classes
●clients.
●Dependant peasants
●patroni.
●Aristocratic protectors
●plebeians.
●Peasants and craftsmen not under the patronage of the
aristocrats
●patricians.
●Aristocrats who claimed to descend form heroes of
Roman legends and folk tales
Responsibilities and power of
early Roman kings
●They commanded the army, administered
justice and led the ceremonies for the state
deities.
●The enjoyed absolute power in all areas of
concern to the state.
Elements that assisted the kings
●Senate- council consisting of the heads of the
aristocratic families, it assisted and advised the king.
●Comitia Curiata- the public assembly; it formally
conferred the imperium (absolute power) on the
king, thereby sanctioning the position.
●Curiae- ward; consisted of a number of gentes;
thirty curiae made up the Comitia Curiata, each
curiae having one vote.
Each Roman had three names
●Res publica- public affairs; the government
●Res privata- personal affairs
●Names
●Personal, e.g Publius
●Gens, e.g. Cornelius
●One or more surnames (family names),
e.g. Scipio
The Army and the Comitia Centuriata
●What was the original basis for Roman military
organization?
●The gentes formed the basis of military units.
●When and how did Roman military tactics change?
●In the sixth century (500s) the Romans adopted the
Greek phalanx.
●What were the wealthiest citizens (patricians and
wealthiest plebians) called and where did they serve?
●They were called equites, after equus, meaning horse,
because they served in the cavalry.
The Army and the Comitia Centuriata
(continued)
●Where did the wealthy peasants and lower classes
serve, respectively?
●They served as heavily armed infantrymen and as
lightly armed soldiers.
●Where did the poorest people without property
serve?
●They did not serve in the army.
Taxes and the Public Assembly
●What other two functions were based on this property
classification?
●property taxes (tributum).
●organizing the new public assembly, the Comitia Centuriata,
which gradually replaced the Comitia Curiata.
●Centuriae
●Unit of 100 men which collectively had one vote and formed
the subdivisions, by property class, of the Comitia Centuriata.
●Proletarians
●Citizens without property who were excluded from the army
but sat on the assembly as a single centuria with one vote.
The Early Republic (509-265 BC)
●De Blois, chapter 12, pp. 148-158
State and Society
●When was the last king of Rome expelled
(traditional date)?
●509 BC
●What were the “Latin rights?”
●Communal citizen rights including the right to conduct
trade and to marry among the member states of the
Latin League.
Consuls
●Who assumed executive power after kingship was
abolished, what were they called, and how was their
power limited?
●Power was transferred to two annually elected
magistrates, called consuls after 367, whose power
(imperium) was restricted by each other’s right of veto
and because the term was limited to one year. After that
year any dissatisfied citizen could file complaints
against them if they so desired.
The Senate and magistrates
●Why did the Senate’s power increase?
●The consuls usually followed the Senate’s advice and
the decisions of the popular assembly had the force of
law only after they had been approved by the Senate.
●Who took over the religious authority from the
kings?
●Rex sacrorum (king of holy affairs) and the pontifex
maximus (head of the priests)
Dictators and patricians
●Who was appointed as absolute ruler in
times of emergency such as war, by whom,
and for how long?
●The magistrates (consuls) could appoint a dictator for
six months.
●How did the patricians come to dominate politics?
●They furnished the magistrates, senators, and priests
The 5th-3rd centuries B.C.
●What two historical processes dominated the
history of the Roman republic for the next 300
years?
●the expansion of the Roman empire in peninsular Italy
●the ‘struggle of the orders’ between the patricians and
plebeians
Roman expansion in Italy
(509-265 BC)
●Rome’s conquest of Italy could be described
in three phases. Briefly date and summarize
each phase.
●509-350 Rome subdued the hill tribes
●350-290 Rome subjected the Latin cities and
Italy except the Greek cities in the south
●290-265 Rome subjected the Greek cities
Rome and her “allies”
●What was the relationship between Rome
and her ‘allies” after she subjected Italy?
●The allies were obliged to supply troops to
Rome and support her foreign politics but they
did not have to pay any tributes. The retained
their autonomy in internal affairs and their own
citizen rights. They were not granted Latin
rights.
Colonization
●Coloniae Latinae
●colonies founded by Rome on confiscated territory of
conquered land; settled by Romans and Latins without
property and peasants with military experience
●Coloniae Romanae
●small colonies founded as military bases
●What rights did the colonists have?
●The former had Latin rights and full Roman citizenship
if they returned to Rome while the later retained their
full Roman citizenship.
Rome benefits from colonization
●How was the land distributed by Rome?
●It was public land (owned by the state). Some was granted to
colonists while the remaining public land was rented.
●How did Rome benefit from colonization?
●She acquired a network of strategically based fortifications
throughout Italy.
●She solved internal conflicts by helping poor citizens start a
new life under better conditions.
●The leasing of public lands provided extra income.
●Rome’s military resources expanded as more people became
members of the property classes from which troops were
recruited.
Municipia
●Municipium
●a subject city with a culture and language similar to
those of the Romans that was granted local autonomy as
a reward for service or other support to Rome. Citizens
had Roman citizen rights except the right to vote.
●Romanization
●the process of adapting to the organization, language
and culture of the Romans.
Rights and citizenship
●Describe the four different types of rights and
citizenship of peoples bound to Rome by 265 BC.
●the Roman heartland with full Roman citizenship
●the area of the former Latin city states and the coloniae
Latinae with Latin rights
●the municipia with citizen rights except the vote
●the allies who had only their own citizen rights
●Why did the majority of Italian city states and tribes
never join forces against Rome?
●Their interests differed due to the different terms of their
alliances with Rome (Rome’s ‘divide and rule’ policy).
The military character of Roman society
●Rome’s wars in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.
●They were minor skirmishes and plunderings which were
fought only in summer (Mar-Nov).
●How did Roman citizens come to regard warfare?
●They regarded it as an ordinary and lucrative business. It
provided the opportunity to acquire booty, land, military
fame. It gave birth to heroic tales.
●What constituted ‘just’ wars to the Romans?
●The Romans considered all wars that were declared in the
proper manner and were started with proper religious rights
as just in the eyes of the Roman gods. Wars were usually
regarded as defensive, though many were ‘preemptive.’
The struggle of the orders
(c. 500-287 BC)
●Three groups of plebeians.
●Rich plebeians were large landowners who became
Roman citizens after the patricians had closed their
ranks.
●Plebeians of moderate means were land-owning
farmers and merchants.
●Poor plebeians were small farmers, craftsmen, and day
laborers.
Plebeian demands
●The demands of the plebeians
●The rich demanded to be admitted to the governing elite.
●The poor wanted relaxation of the harsh debt laws.
●All demanded that the main rules of the unwritten law be
recorded in a written code, arbitrary acts of the magistrates be
stopped and the plebeians’ assembly (Concilium Plebis) be
recognized as an official popular assembly.
●Why were the plebeians in a powerful position versus
the patricians?
●The middle ranks formed the backbone of the army.
History of the struggle of the orders
●When the poor plebeians’ debt problems got really
bad the entire plebeian body seceded from political
life and refused to participate in military enterprises.
●The patricians made political concessions, then the
rebellion died down.
●New wars then distracted the attention from
internal problems and the subsequent distribution of
booty and the settlement of poor citizens in colonies
eased a lot of tension.
The four most important concessions
that the patricians made to the plebeians
●494 BC: the tribunes were recognized as the official
champions of the people. Elected annually in the Concilium
Plebis, they became a kind of ‘anti-magistrate.’ They could
veto measures that went against the interests of the plebs and
prevent arbitrary arrests.
●451 BC: the first codification of a number of laws in the
Twelve Tables. These consisted of several mandatory and
prohibitory law with associated penalties. Many were based
on the principle of an eye for an eye and designed to prevent
blood feuds. Though primitive, they formed the basis for
Roman civil law.
The four most important concessions
that the patricians made to the plebeians
●367 BC: Wealthy plebeians were admitted to (one of the
two) highest administrative office, hereafter called the
consulship. Office of the praetorship was created. Consuls
primarily commanded the armies while the praetors
administered justice.
●287 BC: the Concilium Plebis was recognized as an official
popular assembly. The decrees of this assembly (plebiscita)
were recognized as having the force of law (lex) for all
Romans. They did not require the Senate’s sanction.
Hereafter, the Senate only advised on legislative proposals
before the assembly voted on them.
●The struggle of the orders ended in 287 with this law, the
Lex Hortensia
Institutions of the Roman Republic at
the end of the Struggle of the Orders
●De Blois, chapter 12, pp. 158-167
The Magistrates
●If the citizenry had embodied Athenian democracy, who
embodied the Roman state?
●Magistrates
●What was the most important safeguard for the plebs against
arbitrary acts?
●The veto of the tribunes of the plebs
●Consuls- 2, elected by the Comitia Centuriata and charged
with military command, maintenance of public order and
general administration.
●Praetors- 2, then 4, 8, also elected by the Comitia
Centuriata, they replaced the consuls whenever necessary and
were responsible for the administration of justice in Rome.
The Magistrates
●Tribunes of the plebs- 10, elected plebeians who presided
over the Concilium Plebis and had the rights of veto and
intervention.
●Dictator- appointed for six months to meet an emergency,
he had absolute power similar to the kings.
●Censors- 2, elected by the Comitia Centuriata every five
years from among former consuls, they served 1½ years and
selected worthy candidates to fill vacancies in the Senate,
registered all citizens and assigned them to property classes,
commissioned public works, leased state contracts, farm the
taxes and remove unworthy senators.
Imperium
●Which offices had imperium?
●Consul and Praetor
●How was imperium limited within the city limits of
Rome? outside Rome?
●Within the city the imperium was limited by the
citizens’ right of appeal (to the Comitia Tributa) and by
the powers of the tribunes of the plebs (veto and
intervention), while outside the city it was absolute,
except as limited by other magistrates’ right of veto.
Armed soldiers in Rome?
●What restrictions applied to armed soldiers within
the city limits of Rome?
●They were not allowed to enter the city- they had to
change into civilian clothing and leave their weapons.
The one exception was when a consul was granted
permission to lead his army on a triumphal procession.
The Senate
●What was the most important body of the Roman state?
●Senate
●Over what areas did it exercise complete control?
●State finances and foreign politics
●Who presided over this body?
●Consul or praetor
●Who had seniority to speak first and therefore were the
effective rulers of the Roman republic?
●Ex-consuls
Nobiles, senators and equites
●Nobiles
●the leading patrician and rich plebeian families who
furnished all the praetors and consuls.
●Senators
●the active administrative part of the highest property
class in Rome, the knights (equites).
●Equites
●the highest property class in Rome. It ranged from
about 2,000 in 300 BC to over 20,000 by the late 1st
century BC. The senior officers of the army all came
from this class.
Increasing differentiation within
the Roman elite
●Restrictions placed on senators in 218 BC
●Senators were forbidden to engage in trade, banking and
fiscal enterprises (tax farming).
●This law affected the control of these enterprises
●These sectors came to be controlled by proxies or by a
small group of rich equites who set up large companies to
run the enterprise.
●The cavalry changed after 300 BC
●It no longer consisted exclusively of members of the
equestrian order and included progressively more allies.
The popular assemblies
●What popular assemblies remained in effect after the
struggle of orders?
●Comitia Centuriata and Comitia Tributa (Concilium Plebis)
●What took place at the popular assemblies?
●No discussions were held. They were only voting meetings
on legislative proposals and election of officials.
●Actions of the officer presiding over popular assemblies
●He put forth the issue or legislative proposal, informed the
assembly of the Senate’s advice and then called for a vote. In
elections he presented the list of candidates and called for the
vote.
The popular assemblies
●Who presided over the respective popular
assemblies?
●Consul or praetor
●After 287 BC, what were the purposes of the
respective popular assemblies?
●The Comitia Centuriata met for specific purposes such
as to declare war, ratify a peace treaty or elect new
censors, consuls or praetors.
●The Comitia Tributa (or Concilium Plebis) handled all
other issues and elections.
The popular assemblies
●The Comitia Centuriata
●There were five property classes, from richest to
poorest.
●Each class had centuries of various size, each century
having one vote.
●Class I had 98 centuries, classes II-IV had 20 each, and
class V had 30, thus class I had the majority of the vote.
●There was a sixth class of property less citizens (five
centuries) who were exempt from military service.
The popular assemblies
●The Comitia Tributa
●It consisted of 35 districts, each with one vote.
●What other function did the Comitia Tributa
assume after 287 BC?
●It served as a court of appeal.
An oligarchic government
●The Roman republic constitution and laws were
unwritten, with the exception of a few outstanding issues
that provoked dissension.
●The Roman republic’s government (Aristotle’s
classifications), in practice, was an oligarchy.
●The nobiles dominated the government.
●They dominated the popular assemblies through their many
clients, their personal relations and the authority (respect) that
they enjoyed among all classes.
●Rome did not have political parties.
●Private friendships and vertical ties between clients and patrons
were more important than political views or programs. Ad hoc
A new type of client
●The reciprocal client-patron relationship after 300 BC.
●Clients were poor citizens who were assisted by a
patron in times of hunger and hardship and who were
supported by him if they became involved in a dispute
(legal or business).
●In return, clients supported their patron at elections
and in political conflicts, escorted him in public and
greeted him at his home each day.
●More clients = more status.
Some demographic data
●The primary demographic reason that Rome never
became a democracy comparable to that of Athens
●Rome had too many citizens.
●Two factors that contributed to the tremendous
increase in Rome’s citizenry
●incorporation of central Italian and southern Etruscan
tribes into the Roman citizen territory
●Rome’s policy of granting citizen rights to children of
mixed marriages, immigrants from Latium and the
Latin colonies and freed slaves