Download 1 The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire II The Rise and Fall of the

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire II
Rome: From Republic to Empire
Marius and Sulla – Marius becomes a general in 107B.C. and institutes a volunteer army to gain loyal follower to him
not the state
in 88B.C., the Senate gave command of an army expedition to Marius’ successor while Marius comes
out of nowhere and wants the same appointment which is granted to him by the Plebeian Council
Senate  appointed Sulla
Plebeian Council  appointed Marius
a dispute over command of the armies led to a civil war within Rome  first time Roman armies were
used against each other in Italy
Marius is defeated by Sulla who takes over Rome with the help of his army and the Senate then gave
him the position of dictator  ruler who assumes sole power over the state
Sulla then attempted to restore the supreme power of the Senate and lessen the power of the assemblies
While the Senate did regain much of their previous powers, the lasting effect of Marius and Sulla is how one person with
an army can gain power and control of Rome  shows how the use of the army can gain power
after Sulla’s death, the Senate appointed Pompey as a general to secure their restored positions
Pompey – puts down a rebellion in Spain gaining him political/military glory
returns to Italy to help another general, Crassus, with a slave rebellion led by a young gladiator named
Spartacus
although both men were ambitious and feared by the Senate for their power, the two men disliked each
other
Crassus sought to gain help support to counter Pompey’s power and help himself  he found a powerful
ally from a young general conquering in Spain  Julius Caesar
First Triumvirate - informally created in 60B.C. between Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar to unofficially run
Rome’s armies
Roman main armies were divided amongst them
Pompey – given command of an army in Spain
Crassus – given command of an army in Syria
Caesar – given command of an army in Gaul
in 53B.C. Crassus is killed in battle  fearing Caesars power, the Senate voted to give all power to
Pompey while Caesar would have to lay down arms and give up his command  Caesar refuses
in 49B.C. Julius Caesar chooses to take his army into Italy (illegal) crossing the Rubicon River
“The die is cast” – Julius Caesar
in 48B.C. a civil war breaks out with Julies Caesars defeating Pompey  two years later the Senate
appoints Caesar to dictator for ten years  changed it to dictator for life in 44B.C.
Julius Caesar – increased the Senate to 900 members adding many of his own supporters which greatly weakens its
power while still maintaining the establishment of a republic… a weak one
in 44B.C. Julius Caesar is assassinated by two close friends and leading senators (60 senators – 23 stab
wounds) power struggle follows
Second Triumvirate – a group of powerful men come together to form a new Triumvirate
Octavian – heir to Caesar (grandnephew)
Mark Antony – Caesars ally and assistant
Lepidus – Caesar’s cavalry commander  he soon retires leaving the other two in charge
the two men fight amongst each other with Mark Antony fleeing to Egypt and allying himself with
Cleopatra
Octavian crushes the combined army and navy of Cleopatra and Antony who later commit suicide
27B.C. – being the last man standing, the Senate awards Octavian the title of Augustus “revered
one” and becomes the first emperor of Rome (imperator – commander in chief = emperor)
Rome was now an empire
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“Rome wasn’t built in a day” – unknown
With Augustus Caesar, the transformation of Rome from a grand republic to an expanding empire was complete. Having
gained control of the Mediterranean Sea, Rome grew and prospered in the first 200 years of the empire life that would
not be equaled for over a 1,000 years. For the next millennia, every nation and empire would be compared to Rome: the
greatest empire the western world had ever known.
Pax Romana (27B.C. – 180A.D.) – “Peace of Rome” which was a time period beginning in 27B.C. in which the Roman
Empire was at peace with itself
EARLY EMPIRE
(Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius I, Nero)
Augustus Caesar (27B.C.-14A.D.) – crowned the first emperor of Rome
with no more civil wars, Augustus created a standing army of 28 legions (1 legion = 5,000 men) to
protect the new empire
stabilized the Roman frontier  realizes the limit to Rome’s power in a failed invasion of Germania
(area north of Alps)
established the praetorian guard to protect the emperor as well as help replace him
his name Caesar was adopted by every subsequent emperor
the month of Sextilies was officially renamed August in his honor
Caligula – (37-41A.D.) – ushered in as a great and wonderful emperor but goes nuts after his sister death
became ruthless and crazy killing those who got in his way (even appointing a horse to the Senate)
Caligula is assassinated in a conspiracy between a few senators and the praetorian guard due to his harsh
treatment of the Senate and poor military campaigns  the Senate attempts to reestablish the republic
but the praetorian guard still loyal to the imperial throne replaces Caligula with his uncle Claudius who
expands the empire into Britain
Emperors can be chosen by the military  a general with enough support could be made emperor
Nero (54-68A.D.) – replaces his stepdad (and great-uncle) as a ruthless emperor at the age of 17
has his mother killed
known for his persecution of the Christians
him and his friends burn down half of Rome  blamed it on the Christians
in 68A.D. the army turns against Nero and he commits suicide
After Nero’s death, a series of civil wars break out in empire, with different generals competing for the position of
emperor
THE LINE OF GOOD EMPERORS
The “good emperors” as they became known as were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius
Nerva (96-98A.D.) – is elected emperor by the Senate and starts “The Line of Good Emperors”
Trajan (98-117A.D.) – under his rule, the empire reached its greatest territorial extent and provided a large
number of public works (baths, aqueducts, roads, etc)
Hadrian (117-138A.D.) – built a wall (Hadrian’s Wall) 20ft tall, 6ft wide on the island of Britain to deal with
barbarian tribes to the north of the island  first limit to Rome’s size
Marcus Aurelius (161-180A.D.) – noted as being a great philosopher-king and emperor
ended the line of good emperors when he appointed his son Commodus as emperor
Crisis of the 3rd Century – after Commodus, the empire went through nearly 100 years of distress with few moments of
peace and stability from the emperors. This lack of internal stability led to other problems for the empire
barbarians took advantage from Rome’s weakness and continued putting pressure on the frontier
especially from the region of Germania
widespread sickness due to poor upkeep of sanitations led to disease and a lack of workers/soldiers
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Lack of workers hurt the economy  poor economy hurt funds to pay for things that were needed (public works,
soldiers’ pay)  not enough pay for soldiers meant not enough soldiers to defend the frontier  the Roman Empire
began paying mercenaries (soldiers for hire) to defend the frontier (some of them barbarians/Germans themselves)
THE LATE EMPIRE
Diocletian (284-305A.D.) – Diocletian become emperor ending the “crisis of the 3rd century”
realizing the empire was too big for one man to rule he splits the empire into two separate regions (East
and West) adding a co-emperor Maximian to rule the West while he would maintain rule in the East
both emperors called “Augustus” would have an assistant/successor called a “Caesar” who
would help rule their part of the empire
Diocletian (Augustus) & Galerius (Caesar) ruled the divided Eastern Empire
Maximian (Augustus) & Constantius (Caesar) ruled the divided Western Empire
when one Augustus died or left office, the other must do the same and the Caesars would replace
them
in 305A.D.., Diocletian and Maximiam retire from being emperors  soon after a civil war breaks out for
control of the whole empire with Constantius’ son, Constantine, emerging victorious
Constantine (306-337A.D.) – Constantine continued Diocletian’s plan for a split empire, and like Diocletian controlled
the entire Roman Empire while managing only the Eastern empire
in 313A.D. he writes Edict of Milan granting religious freedom  ends the 300 year persecution of the
Christians eventually becoming baptized as the first Christian emperor
moved his capital to the Greek city of Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople after himself  it would
eventually become the Nova Roma (New Rome) in the East
Western Empire – the western empire became gradually rural as barbarian invasions of the north intensified
this led to cities diminishing into nothing more than walled fortress that held troops and priests
the nobility also moved into the country gaining independence from central authority while
tightening their grip over their workers
the Christian Church would become the only unified establishment in the west 
this pattern of noble control and church unity would become the foundation of the early Middle
Ages
Eastern Empire – the eastern empire flourished and as the basis of Western culture with the Constantinople
sitting in the heart of a trade routes between the West, the far East, and Africa
this prosperous culture would continue and flourish for nearly 1,000 years while the West would
fall