Download Chapter 5 - Coosa High School

Chapter 5
The Roman Republic
Timeline
The Roman Republic
Italy, less mountainous and more fertile
than Greece, almost bisects the
Mediterranean, and was thus potentially
positioned to dominate that inland sea, and
under Rome it did so. The Greeks to the
south and the Etruscans to the north were
early influences, and the latter ruled Rome
during the sixth century B.C.
In 509 B.C. the Romans expelled the
Etruscans establishing a republic. There were
various magistrates, with two consuls at the
apex. The Senate of 300 was not formally a
legislature, but its advice came to have the
force of law. The several assemblies were
dominated by the rich few. Rome was a
republic, but one ruled by an aristocratic
oligarchy.
The Emergence of Rome
Geography of Italy
750 miles long; 120 miles across
Mountains and Plains
Islands
Rome
Tiber River
Mediterranean Sea
Map 5.1: Ancient Italy
The Greeks, Etruscans, and Early
Rome
The Greeks
Arrived between 750 – 550 B.C.
Influence on Romans
The Etruscans
Origins
Urbanization
Early Rome
Romulus and Remus (753 B.C.)
Monarchy
Etruscan influence
Founding of the Republic (c. 509 B.C.)
The Roman State
Political Institutions
Consuls and Praetors
• Imperium
Specialized Officials
• Quaestors, Aediles,
Censors
Roman Senate
• 300 Men served for life
Centuriate Assembly
Social Organization
Paterfamilias
Clientage
Patricians and
Plebeians
The Struggle of the Orders
Political Inequality
Plebeians withdraw from the state (494 B.C.)
Tribunes of the Plebs
Council of the Plebs
Plebiscita
The Twelve Tables of Law (450 B.C.)
Hortensian Law (287 B.C.)
Consequences of the struggle between the orders
Roman citizens were divided into two
groups, or orders, the few patricians and the
many plebeians. At the beginning of the
Republic the former had the power, but
from the early fifth century the two orders
struggled with each other. Over time,
through the Roman genius for political
compromise, the plebeian gained influence,
including a plebeian assembly, the right to
become magistrates, and intermarriage, but
most of the advantages went to the richer
plebeians.
The Roman Conquest of Italy
Livy
Conquest of the Samnites (beginning c. 340
B.C.)
Roman Confederation
Citizenship
Opportunistic Expansion
Roads
Obligatory Military Service
Roman Roads in Italy,
c. 100 B.C.
Rome also struggled with its neighbors, but
not so peacefully. By 264 B.C. Rome was
the master of Italy. Roman diplomacy was
as important as its armies, and its rule was
softened by allowing local autonomy and
gradually granting Roman citizenship to
non-Romans. The next challenge was
Carthage and its empire in Africa and
Spain.
Three wars were fought (the Punic Wars: 264241, 218-202, and 149146 B.C.), with Rome
the victor. In the east, Rome conquered
Macedonia in 148 B.C., taking over Greece.
As the text states, there was no imperial
master plan. Its empire resulted from a
combination of factors, including sheer
opportunism.
Roman Conquest of the
Mediterranean (264 – 133 B.C.)
The Struggle with Carthage
First Punic War (264 – 241 B.C.)
• Roman conquest of Sicily
Second Punic War (218 – 205 B.C.)
• Hannibal
 Invasion of Italy
 Battle of Cannae (216 B.C.)
• Battle of Zama
• Roman conquest of Spain
Third Punic War (149 – 146 B.C.)
• Cato
• Carthage destroyed
Map 5.2: Roman Conquests in
the Mediterranean, 264-133 B.C.
The Eastern Mediterranean &
Roman Imperialism
The Eastern Mediterranean
Greek support for Carthage
Macedonia made Roman province (148 B.C.)
Corinth destroyed (146 B.C.)
Acquisition of Pergamum (133 B.C.)
The Nature of Roman Imperialism
Opportunistic expansion
Willful expansion
Religion and law permeated Roman life.
Ritual was at the focus of religion, for ritual
established the correct relationship with the
gods, both for individuals (families had
their household cults) and for the state.
Roman law was among its most enduring
accomplishments. The early laws, written
in the Twelve Tables, was the civil law for
Romans.
As they expanded, a new body of law
developed, the law of nations, for Romans
and non-Romans alike. Finally, a system of
natural law emerged, based upon reason and
universal divine law. Late Republican
Rome was influenced by Hellenistic
Greece, particularly in literature, art, and
Stoic philosophy.
Roman Religion
Religion and the State
Adoption of New Deities
Greco-Roman Religion
Rituals
Omens
Household Cults
Religious Festivals
The Temple of Diana – Nimes, Southern France
Education: The Importance of
Rhetoric
Rome had no public education
Greek Studies
Rhetoric and philosophy
Schools
In the second century the conservative and
traditional values of Rome declined as affluence
and individualism increased, and from 133 B.C. to
31 B.C. the Republic was in crisis. There were
factional struggles within the governing oligarchy.
The small farmer class, the backbone of Rome’s
armies, had largely lost their lands to the wealthy
as a result of Rome’s imperial ventures. Attempts
were made to solve the problem of corrupted
values and lack of an army by demanding lands be
restored to the ex-farmers, recruiting an army by
promising land to the landless, and dictatorship,
but much Roman blood was shed in the process.
Schoolmaster and Pupils
The Growth of Slavery
Slaves from conquests
Slave Occupations
Latifundia
Treatment of Slaves
Slave Laws
Slave Revolts
Revolt in Sicily (104 – 101 B.C.)
Revolt by Spartacus (73 B.C.)
Roman Family, Roman Law
The Roman Family
Paterfamilias
• Authority
• Arranged marriages
 Divorce
• Education of daughters
The Evolution of Roman Law
The Twelve Tables (450 B.C.)
Praetors
Law of Nations
Law of Nature
A Roman Lady
The Development of Literature
and Art
Literature
Plautus (c. 254 – 184 B.C.)
Terence (185 – 159 B.C.)
Latin Prose
Influence of Hellenistic Art
Values and Attitudes
Cato the Elder (234 – 149 B.C.)
Scipio Aemilianus (185 – 129 B.C.)
The Pont du Gard – Roman Aqueduct
Provence, France
Decline and Fall of the Roman
Republic (133 – 31 B.C.)
Power of the Senate
Control of the Nobiles (Governing Class)
Optimates
Populares
Rule of the Equestrians
The Land Problem
Latifundias
Tiberius Gracchus (163 – 133 B.C.)
Gaius Gracchus (153 – 121 B.C.)
A New Role for the Roman
Army: Marius and Sulla
Marius (consul 107, 104 – 100 B.C.)
Military reforms
Lucius Cornelius Sulla (dictator 82 – 79
B.C.)
Seizes power using the army
Reign of terror against opponents
The Death of the Republic
The Rise of Pompey
Role of Marcus Tullius Cicero ( 106 – 43 B.C.)
First Triumvirate (Crassus, Pompey and Caesar)
Julius Caesar (100 – 44 B.C.)
Conquest of Gaul (Modern France)
Crosses the Rubicon River (49 B.C.)
Defeats Pompey
Dictator in 47 B.C.; Dictator for Life in 44 B.C.
Reconstitutes Senate
Assassinated (44 B.C.)
Octavian and Marc Antony
Cleopatra Queen of Egypt
Battle of Actium (31 B.C.)
Marc Antony and Cleopatra commit suicide
In 60 B.C., Pompey, Crassus, and Julius
Caesar seized power. Caesar conquered
Gaul (most of western Europe) during the
50s B.C., thus becoming a threat to Pompey
and the Senate. War led the defeat of the
Senate and the death of Pompey. Caesar
became dictator, thus alienating the Senate
oligarchy, who murdered him on March 15,
44 B.C.
Mark Antony, Caesar’s chief associate, and
Caesar’s young adopted heir, Octavian, then
formed an alliance, but Antony’s relations
with the Egyptian ruler, Cleopatra,
contributed to the breaking of the pact. At the
battle of Actium (31 B.C.) Antony and
Cleopatra were defeated, and Octavian
became the sole ruler of the Roman world.
The Republic had come to an end.
Map 5.3: Roman Dominions in
the Late Republic, 31 B.C.
Literature in the Late Republic
Catullus (born c. 82 B.C.)
Lucretius (c. 94 – 55 B.C.)
Cicero (106 – 43 B.C.)
Sallust (86 – 35 B.C.)
Caesar (100 – 44 B.C.)
Discussion Questions
Why were the Romans able to defeat or subdue all
their enemies in the Italian peninsula?
What were the keys to the Roman defeat of
Carthage during the Punic Wars?
What influence did Greece and other Italian
peoples have on the Romans?
What was the nature of Roman Imperialism?
Did slavery have a positive or negative effect on
the Roman Republic?
What factors brought about the downfall of the
Roman Republic?
Web Links
The Mysterious Etruscans
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook - Rome
Encyclopedia Mythica: Roman Mythology
Rome Exposed
Hannibal Barca and the Punic Wars
Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome
The Glory that was Rome
Julius Caesar: The Last Dictator