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From Republic to Empire
S. Steckroth
7th Grade
Structure of the Republic
2
-Patricians= landholding
upper class
-Plebeians= farmers,
merchants, artisans,
traders
-Senate= governing body
-Consuls= two patricians
-Dictator= assigned to be
in charge in the event of a
war for six months
Patricians
Plebeians
Patricians versus Plebeians
• Both the consuls and the
Senate represented the
interests of the
patricians– the
hereditary aristocrats and
wealthy classes
• This caused tension
between the patricians
and the common people–
the plebeians
Increased Representation for Plebeians
• During the 4th Century, plebeians became
eligible to hold almost all state offices and
gained the right to have one of the consuls come
from their ranks
• By the early 3rd Century, plebeian-dominated
assemblies won the power to make decisions
binding on all of Rome
• Republican Rome was gradually broadening the
base of political participation
Expansion of the Republic
• Rome expanded
from central
Italy, to the
Italian Peninsula,
to the
Mediterranean
basin
• Defeated the
Carthaginians in
the Punic Wars
between 264 and
146 B.C.
Territory under Roman control near
the end of the republic, 44 B.C.
The Punic Wars
-Carthage had an empire
throughout the Mediterranean
-Rome fought Carthage in
three wars from 264 B.C. to
146 B.C. (118 years!)
-By the Third Punic War, Rome
had completely destroyed
Carthage and gained all of
Carthage’s territory
6
Economics
-Conquests brought much wealth to Rome
-Wealthy families bought huge estates called
latifundia.
-Romans forced the people they conquered to work
as slaves on the latifundia
-Slave labor hurt the small farmers because it cost
them more to produce food, and the price was
driven down by the immense quantities coming into
Rome
-Farmers fell into debt, sold their land, and moved
to the city looking for work
-gap between rich and poor widens=riots and chaos
7
The Gracchus Brothers
-Tiberius and Gaius
Gracchus were patricians
who were elected tribunes
8
•The brothers worked to
get the state to distribute
the land to the poor
farmers
•They also worked to get
the state to buy grain to
feed the poor
•Senate felt they were a
threat to its power, and
hired thugs to kill the
brothers and their followers
Bigger Problem
• The problem of land distribution was a symptom
of a bigger problem
▫ The constitution of the Roman republic had been
designed for a small city-state
▫ It was not suitable for a large and growing empire
• Roman politicians and generals began jockeying
for power and several raised personal armies for
support
10
Republic to Empire
-Civil wars break out to decide who should hold
power. The senate wanted to keep the status quo;
political leaders wanted to weaken the senate and
enact reforms
-Slave uprisings throughout the republic
-Armies became loyal to their commanders
because they gave them benefits such as captured
land
Civil War
• The two most
important generals
were Gaius Marius
and Lucius
Cornelius Sulla
▫ Marius sided with
social reformers
who favored
redistribution of
land
▫ Sulla sided with the
conservative and
aristocratic classes
Marius
Sulla
Civil War
• In 87 B.C., Marius marched on Rome, placed the
city under military occupation, and began
hunting down his enemies
• When Marius died the next year, Sulla moved to
replace him
• In 83, Sulla seized Rome and began slaughtering
his enemies
Sulla
• Sulla initiated a reign of terror that lasted almost
five years until he died in 78
• During that period he killed some ten thousand
individuals
• He imposed an extremely conservative
legislative program that weakened the influence
of the lower classes and strengthened the hand
of the wealthy
The Republic Collapses
• Military Upheaval
▫ Military becomes less disciplined and disloyal.
▫ Soldiers recruited from the poor; show loyalty
only to their generals
Julius Caesar
• Caesar was a nephew
of Marius and he
favored Marius’
liberal policies and
social reform
• In the 50s B.C.,
Caesar led an army
that conquered Gaul
and made him very
popular
Gaul (now mostly France)
Julius Caesar
• In 49 Caesar marched
his army to Rome and
by early 46 he had
named himself
dictator
• But instead of the
constitutional six
month term, Caesar
claimed to be dictator
for life
The Republic Collapses
• Caesar’s Reforms
▫ Caesar makes reforms: grants wider citizenship,
creates jobs for the poor.
▫ Group of senators opposes Caesar and murders
him on March 15, 44 B.C.
Octavian
• Octavian was a
nephew, protégé,
and adopted son
of Julius Caesar
• He defeated his
principal rival,
Mark Anthony,
and Anthony’s
ally Cleopatra at
Actium, Greece
in 31 B.C.
Anthony and Cleopatra by Sir
Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Augustus
• Octavian consolidated his
rule and in 27 B.C., the
Senate bestowed upon
him the title Augustus
▫ “Augustus” has religious
connotations suggesting a
divine or semidivine nature
• Augustus ruled virtually
unopposed for 45 years in
“a monarchy disguised as
a republic”
Pax Romana
• By stopping the civil wars, Augustus inaugurated
an era known as pax romana (“Roman peace”)
which greatly facilitated trade and
communication
▫ Lasted from 27 B.C. to 180 A.D.
• Also included applying standards of justice and a
basic code of law throughout the empire
Pax Romana
▫ Under Augustus, Rome
moves from a republic
to an empire.
▫ Power no longer resides
with citizens, but in a
single ruler.
▫ Rome enjoys 200 years
of peace and prosperity
known as Pax Romana
• A Sound Government
▫ Augustus, Rome’s ablest
ruler, creates a lasting
system of government.
 Glorifies Rome with
beautiful public buildings
 Sets up a civil service to
administer the
Roman Empire, 117 A.D.
A Vast and Powerful Empire
• Agriculture and Trade
▫ Agriculture is the most important industry in the
empire; 90% of Romans farm.
▫ Common coin, denarius, makes trade within
empire easier
▫ Rome has a vast trading network which includes
China and India.
▫ Network of Roman roads links the empire to
Persia and Russia.
Series of good and bad Emperors
Hadrian
Constantine
Claudius
Trajan
24
Augustus
Claudius
Nero
Titus
Trajan
Hadrian
Rome's first emperor. He also added many territories to the empire.
He conquered Britain.
He was insane. He murdered his mother and his wife and threw thousands
of Christians to the lions.
Before he was emperor he destroyed the great Jewish temple of Solomon
in Jerusalem.
He was a great conqueror. Under his rule the empire reached its greatest
extent.
He built 'Hadrian's Wall' in the north of Britain to shield the province from
the northern barbarians.
Diocletian
He split the empire into two pieces - a western and an eastern empire.
Constantine
He was the first Christian emperor. He united the empire again chose his
capital to be the small town Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople.
Romulus Augustus
He was the last emperor of Rome, nicknamed Augustulus which means
'little Augustus'.
Justinian
He was the last 'great' emperor. He conquered many territories, created
the 'Justinian Code' and built the fantastic church Santa Sophia.
Constantine XI
The last emperor of Constantinople. He died defending his great city
against the Turks.
The Rise of Christianity
Barbarian Invasions
Attila the Hun:
“The Scourge of God”
Diocletian Splits the
Empire in Two: 294 CE
Why did Rome fall?
Economic Reasons
• Gap between rich and poor
• Impoverished workers became
tied to the land as coloni (sold
as the land was sold)
• As fewer members of the lower
classes could afford to buy
goods (no purchasing power),
manufacturing and trade
declined
• Large estates became selfsufficient, further hurting
manufacturing and trade
Military Reasons
• Roman Republic
• Armies were servants of Rome
• Roman Empire
• Armies made and unmade
emperors
• Reliance on barbarian troops
• Not ultimately loyal to Rome
• Could not be counted on to
fight their fellow barbarians
• Interested in obtaining booty,
not defending Rome or
furthering Rome’s interests
Why did Rome fall?
Political Reasons
• Decline in patriotism
• Democracy did not exist in reality
• Citizens lost their tie (voting rights)
to the state
• Patriotism became based on loyalty
to an emperor, not to Rome
• Most emperors did not inspire
respect or loyalty
• East/West split
• Two empires created problems
regarding loyalty
• No orderly succession
• Murders, forced suicides, and civil
wars frequently accompanied the
transition from one emperor to the
next
Social Reasons
• Population decline
• Hunger
• Plagues
• War
• Decline in intellectual culture
• People did not dedicate themselves
to public service and intellectual
pursuits
• People instead spent their leisure
time watching chariot races and
gladiatorial contests
• Religious divisions
• Eastern and Egyptian cults took
away the popularity and status of
traditional Roman religion
• New faiths like Christianity directly
questioned and challenged concepts
such as imperial divinity
The Roman World
• Slaves and Captivity
▫ Slavery is a significant part of Roman life in both
cities and farms.
▫ Some slaves become gladiators; forced to fight to
the death.
• Gods and Goddesses
▫ Early Romans honored guardian spirits and gods
Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
▫ Worship of emperor becomes part of official
religion of Rome.
The Roman World
• Society and Culture
▫ Rich live well; most people are poor, receive grain
from government.
▫ 150 holidays and Colosseum events were created
to control the masses.
The Legacy of Rome
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Republic Government
Roman Law
Latin Language
Roman Catholic Church
City Planning
Romanesque Architectural Style
Roman Engineering
• Aqueducts
• Sewage systems
• Dams
• Cement
• Arch
• The Romans used only 7 letters to represent all numbers . . .
I = 1 V = 5 X = 10 L = 50 C = 100 D = 500 M = 1000
Letters are placed before or after each other to lower or increase their value.
IX = 9 MXI = 1011 MCMLXXXVIII = 1988 IIMM = 1998
• Calendar under Julius Ceasar.
• Family Life
The average Roman family consisted of father,
mother, children,married sons, their family, and
slaves. If you didn't get married by the age of 15-16,
you were punished. The person who decided who his
children marry was the head of the house, the father
(PATERFAMILIAS). The family was very important
to the Romans. Women were under control of their
husbands but controlled how the house was run and
were known as (MATERFAMILIAS).
• Roman Schools
Rome didn't have any public schools. Most
children
went to private school or studied at home.Their
subjects
were reading, writing, and arithmetic. In many
homes,
the slaves taught the children. Before the age of
fourteen, they studied Latin and Greek.
• The Public Baths were extremely popular.
Roman women and men tried to visit the baths
at least once every day.
• The baths had hot and cold pools, towels, slaves
to wait on you, steam rooms, saunas, exercise
rooms, and hair cutting salons. They had reading
rooms and libraries, as among the freeborn, who
had the right to frequent baths, the majority
could read.