Download Civil War

From Republic to Empire
Main Idea
Governmental and social problems led to the end of the Roman
Republic and the creation of a new form of government.
Objectives:
• Students will explore how Rome became an empire.
• Students will discover what forces held Rome together during the
Pax Romana.
Rome Becomes a Republic
Etruscan Rule Ends
• Etruscans ruled Rome until about 509 BC
• Romans revolted, threw out last of kings, setup new type of government
• Republic—elected officials governed state
Patricians
• In early days, heads of a few aristocratic families, patricians, elected officials
• Patrician families controlled all society—politics, religion, economics, military
• Maintained power through patronage system
Plebeians
• From beginning, common people, plebeians, challenged patricians for power
• Invaders threatened 494 BC; plebeians refused to fight until changes made
• Patricians knew they would have no army, expanded plebeian rights
Plebeian Council
• After receiving new rights, plebeians formed own assembly, Plebeian Council, to
oversee affairs and protect interests
• Gained right to elect officials known as tribunes
• Tribunes’ job—protect against unjust treatment by patrician officials
• Gained right to veto—ban laws that seemed harmful, unjust
Laws
• 450 BC, plebeians forced patricians to have all laws written down
• Laws displayed in Roman Forum, central square, on 12 large bronze tablets
• Because laws were posted, patrician judges could not make decisions based on own
opinions or secret laws
• One new law banned marriage between patricians and plebeians
Republican Government
New Offices and Institutions
• Patricians, plebeians worked out
practical constitution
Elements of Government
• Senate: 300 members, advised elected
officials, controlled public finances,
handled all foreign relations
• Created new offices of government
• Consisted of three parts: Senate,
popular assemblies, magistrates
• Initially dominated by patricians; all
state offices later open to both
patricians, plebeians
• Popular assemblies: in these all
citizens voted on laws, elected officials
• Magistrates: governed in name of
Senate and people, put laws into
practice, acted as priests
Agrarian Roots
• Despite bustling nature of city, Romans prided themselves on connection with soil
• Farming, landownership the noblest ways to make money
• Senators forbidden to participate in any career that did not involve land, could not
engage in commerce
Legend of Early Republic
• Roman tie to land illustrated in legend
of early Republic
• Romans turned to greatest general,
Cincinnatus, to save them from
invasion
• Cincinnatus plowing fields at the time
Return to Farm
• People made Cincinnatus dictator
• Office of dictator had nearly unlimited
power but could be held for only six
months
• Cincinnatus defeated enemies and
returned to farm
• Had no interest in retaining power
The Military in Politics
• 107 BC, social unrest reached new level
• General Gaius Marius elected consul
– Eliminated property restrictions
– Accepted anyone who wanted to join army
• Armies, private forces devoted to general
– Poor hoped to share plunder at end of war
– Ruthless generals realized loyalty of troops could be used as political
tool
Social and Civil Wars
The Social War
Civil War
• Rome’s Italian allies had been trying to
obtain Roman citizenship
• Social War revealed talent of General
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
• Senate wanted to maintain monopoly
on power, refused
• 90 BC, Social War broke out
• Sulla became consul, 88 BC; after
consulship ended, Marius tried to
prevent Sulla from taking military
command
• Italian rebels were defeated, but
Senate agreed to give them citizenship
• Sulla marched on Rome, won civil war,
became dictator
• Carried out program of reforms to
protect power of Senate
Rome Becomes an Empire
Sulla paved the way for major changes in Rome’s government. The end of the
Republic resulted from the ambitions of a few individuals.
The First Triumvirate
• Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey,
Licinius Crassus helped bring end to
Republic
End of Triumvirate
• Crassus died; Pompey, Caesar fought
civil war
• Caesar, Pompey successful military
commanders
• Caesar defeated Pompey, took full
control of Rome, became dictator for
life, 44 BC
• Crassus one of wealthiest people in
Rome
• Caesar brought many changes to
Rome, popular reforms
• 60 BC, the three took over Roman
state, ruled as First Triumvirate
• Senate feared he would destroy
Roman Republic, murdered him, Ides
of March
The Second Triumvirate
• Caesar’s murder did not save the Republic
• 43 BC, Second Triumvirate took power—Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian; loyal
officer Marc Antony; high priest Lepidus
• Lepidus pushed aside; Antony, Octavian agreed to govern half the empire each,
Octavian in west, Antony in East
Civil War
• Civil war between Octavian, Antony broke out
• Octavian defeated Antony and his ally, Egypt’s Queen Cleopatra
• Cleopatra, Antony committed suicide; Octavian alone controlled Rome
• Republic effectively dead; new period in Roman history beginning
From Octavian to Augustus
Octavian Takes Power
• Octavian faced task of restoring order
in empire
• Had no intention of establishing
dictatorship when he took power
Principate
New Political Order
• Octavian decided it impossible to
return Rome to republican form of
government
• Created new political order, known
today as the empire
New Title
• Octavian careful to avoid title of king
or emperor
• 27 BC, Senate gave Octavian title
Augustus, “the revered one”
• Called himself princeps, “first citizen”
• Title a religious honor; able to wear
laurel and oak leaf crown
• Government called Principate
The Augustan Age (PAX ROMANA)
New Imperial Government
• Augustus head of state more than 40 years, made smooth transition to new
imperial government with power divided between him and Senate
• Most financial, administrative matters under Augustus’s control
Foreign Affairs
• Started program to bring peace to west, particularly to Gaul, Spain
• Began series of conquests that pushed border eastward to Danube River
• Also took special care of Rome itself “I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble”
Legacy
• Created police force, fire brigades; stockpiled food, water
• Began building program; presided over moral, religious reforms
• Great period of cultural creativity; great writers like Horace, Ovid, Virgil
Nero
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Wp4K8
N7mU
The Good Emperors
Empire grew tremendously under Good Emperors
• Reached limits of expansion under Trajan
• Added what are now Romania, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and
the Sinai Peninsula
• Successor Hadrian thought empire too large
– Withdrew from almost all eastern additions
– Built defensive fortifications to guard against invasions
– Built wall 73 miles long in northern Britain
Legal System
Laws
• Roman law unified the empire
• Laws specified what could, could not be done; penalties for breaking law
• Same laws applied to everyone in empire, wherever they lived
Agriculture
• Agriculture remained primary occupation throughout Pax Romana
• Most farms, independent with little, no surplus to sell
• Tenant farmers began to replace slaves on large farms
Manufacturing
• Manufacturing increased throughout empire
• Italy, Gaul, Spain—artisans made cheap pottery, textiles
• Fine glassware made in eastern cities like Alexandria
Opportunities for Trade
Trade
• Italy imported grain, meat, raw materials from provinces
• Merchants brought silks, linens, glassware, jewelry, furniture from Asia
• Rome, Alexandria became commercial centers
Transportation
• Commercial activity possible because of empire’s location around Mediterranean
and extensive road network
• Ultimately about 50,000 miles of roads bound empire together
Military and Merchant Routes
• Most roads built, maintained for military purposes
• Cheaper to transport grain by ship from one end of Mediterranean to other than to
send it overland; most goods went by sea
Bread and Circuses
Entertainments
• Romans of all classes enjoyed circus, chariot races
• Held in Circus Maximus—racetrack could hold 250,000 spectators
• Also liked theater, mimes, jugglers, dancers, acrobats, clowns
Bloody Spectacles
• Romans enjoyed spectacles in amphitheaters
• Wild animals battled each other and professional fighters
• Gladiator contests most popular, performed in Colosseum for 50,000 people
• Audiences were often given free food and entertainment
• WHAT WAS THE REASONING BEHIND THE BREAD AND CIRCUSES?
• DISTRACTION FROM A WEAKENING EMPIRE AND DESIGNED TO STAVE OFF
REBELLION
Religion
•
Romans were polytheistic and adopted many different
Gods from conquered peoples
• Greeks, Egyptians, Mesopotamia and Persia
• Romans also worshipped the Emperor as a God
•
Gods explained natural phenomenon and the augurs
(priests)interpreted these signs
•
Eventually Christianity would rise during the Roman
Empire (sift from polytheism to monotheism)
•
Initially Christians were a persecuted minority but
eventually Christianity would sweep through the
Empire and become the official religion.
Timeline Dates
(bce = before the common era
ce = common era)
Etruscans Monarchy
Roman Republic
Social War (1st Civil War)
1st Triumvirate
2nd Triumvirate
Augustan Age
Pax Romana
Trajan
Hadrian
Nero
616 bce – 509 bce
505 bce – 44 bce
91 bce – 88 bce
60 bce – 44 bce
43 bce – 32 bce
27 bce – 14 bce
27 bce – 180 ce
98 ce – 117 ce
117 ce – 138 ce
54 ce – 68ce