Download A farmer`s republic Rome`s central location contributed to its success

I.
A farmer’s republic
A. Rome’s central location contributed to its success
1. At midpoint of the peninsula
2. Natural protection - hills and mountains
3. Hillsides provided natural resources such as timber for construction and fuel
B. Mild climate
1. Long growing season
2. Wide variety of crops
C. Mostly mountainous with some arable land in the coastal plains and river valleys
D. Land contained fertile volcanic soil
E. Prided itself on offering hospitality to exiles and outcasts
F. Agriculture was the essential economic activity
1. Land was basis of wealth
2. Social status, political privilege, and fundamental values were related to land
ownership
3. Majority of Romans were independent farmers
G. “council of elders” played a dominant role in politics
H. In 507 the Roman Republic emerged
1. Power resided in several assemblies
a. All white males were eligible to attend
b. The votes from the wealthy classes counted for more than the poor classes
I. Hierarchy of state offices evolved
1. Power was given to two consuls
2. Consuls presided over meetings of the senate and assemblies and commanded army
on military campaigns
J. Center of power was roman senate
1. Made policy and governed
2. Senators nominated sons for public office
3. Members served for life
K. Inequalities in roman society led to conflicts between the elite (patricians) and the
majority of the population ( the plebeians)
1. Known as the conflict of orders
2. Plebeians refused to work or fight and some physically withdrew from the city
L. Resulted in:
1. The publication of the laws on twelve stone tablets
2. Tribunes
a. Were drawn from and elected by the lower classes
b. Could veto or block any action of the assembly or patrician officials
M. Basic unit of roman society was family
1. Authority was given to the oldest living male
2. Patron/client relationships bound together individuals and families
N. Women never ceased to be a child in the eyes of the law
II.
III.
1. When married she came under the jurisdiction of her husband’s family
2. Dependant on male guardians
3. Unable to own property and represent herself in legal proceedings
O. Numina- invisible, shapeless forces.
1. Vesta- energy of fire
2. Penates- watched over food
P. Made small offerings of cakes and liquids to gain favor of these spirits
1. Jupiter- god of the sky
2. Mars- god of agriculture
3. Romans tried to maintain pax deorum- a covenant between the gods and the roman
state
Q. When the Romans came into contact with the Greeks the equated their major deities
with gods from the Greek pantheon
Expansion in Italy and the Mediterranean
A. Expansion reached its peak in the third and second centuries BCE
B. All male citizens who owned a specified amount of land were subject to military service
C. Roman armies were famous for their training and discipline
D. Rome’s conquest for Italy was sparked by ongoing friction between the pastoral hill
tribes of the Apennines
E. In the fifth century Rome rose to a position of leadership within a league of central
Italian cities organized for defense against the hill tribes
F. Romans granted the political, legal, and economic privileges of roman citizenship to
conquered populations
G. Manpower was key to Rome’s military success
1. Were able to endure higher casualties
2. Prevailed by sheer numbers
H. Rome fought two wars against the Carthaginians
I. Rome emerged as the unchallenged master of the western Mediterranean and
acquired Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain
J. The conquest of the people of Gaul by Julius Caesar led to the first territorial
acquisitions in Europe
K. Rome gave indigenous groups that were willing to collaborate with them considerable
responsibility for local administration and tax collection
1. Each year a senator was dispatched to serve as governor in each providence
2. The governor was responsible for defending the providence, overseeing taxes,
and deciding legal cases
3. Officials were chosen because of their political connections and often lacked
competence and experience
4. Some governors extorted money provincial populace
The Failure of the Republic
A. In the third and second centuries BCE while Italian peasant farmers were away at war it was
easy for investors to take possession of their farms by purchase, deception, or intimidation
B.
C.
D.
E.
IV.
V.
Wealth ended up in the hands of the upper class
Resulted in the replacement of independent farms by “Broad Estates”
Italy became dependant on imported grain
Prisoners of war were used as slaves- this made it hard for peasants to find work in the
countryside
F. Many people moved to Rome
1. Found no work
2. Lived in dire poverty
G. Gaius Marius achieved political prominence by accepting into the Roman legions poor,
propertyless men to whom he promised farms upon retirement from military service
H. Between 88 and 31 BCE Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and Octavian
commanded armies that were more loyal to them then they were to the state
1. This increased individual power
2. Led to wars between military factions
The Roman Principate
A. Julius Caesar’s grandnephew Octavian eliminated all rivals by 31 BCE
1. Refashioned government
2. Maintained the forms of the republic
3. Fundamentally altered the realities of power
B. The period following the Roman Republic is known as the Roman Principate
1. Augustus = Octavian
a. Allied himself with Equites- the class of wealthy merchants an land owners
b. These landowners became the core of a new civil service that helped run the
Roman Empire
2. Emperors were affirmed by the senate, but really chosen by the armies
3. The terse laws of the twelve tables were supplemented by the senate, bills passed in
the assembly, and annual proclamations of the praetors, elected public officials
responsible for hearing cases and administering the law
4. A small group of legal experts began to emerge who analyzed laws and legal
procedures
5. During the Principate the emperor became a major source of new laws
An Urban Empire
A. The empire was administered through a network of towns and cities, and the urban
populace benefited most
B. Approximately a million residents
1. The upper class lived in elegant townhouses
2. The poor lived in crowded slums
C. A town council and two annually elected officials maintained law and order and collected
both urban and rural taxes
D. This “municipal aristocracy” endowed cities and towns, which had very little revenue of
their own, with attractive elements of Roman urban life
E. Forum- an open plaza that served as a civic center
VI.
VII.
F. Slaves were no longer plentiful or inexpensive and landowners needed a new source of
labor
G. Independent farmers were replaced by tenant farmers- were allowed to live and cultivate
land in return for a portion of their crops
H. Commerce was greatly enhanced by the Pax Romana
I. Rome depended on the import of massive quantities of grain from Sicily and Egypt
J. Romanization- the spread of the Latin language and the Roman way of life
K. Greek language and culture dominated eastern Mediterranean
L. Roman empire gradually granted citizenship to people living outside Italy
1. Men who completed their 26 year military terms were granted citizenship and could
pass this status on to their descendants
2. Emperors made grants of citizenship to individuals and communities as rewards for
good service
3. The emperor Caracalla granted citizenship to all free, adult male inhabitants of the
empire
The Rise of Christianity
A. Judea was put under Roman rule in 6CE
B. Roman governors insensitive to the Jewish belief in god managed to increase tensions, and
oppositions to roman rule sprang up
C. Many Jews waited for the messiah
D. Jesus- a young carpenter from Galilee who some believed to be the messiah
1. Attracted the attention of the Jewish authorities
2. Was turned over to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate
3. Was imprisoned and crucified
4. After his death his followers continued to spread his teachings
5. Followers believed that he was the messiah and had been resurrected
E. Paul- a Jew from the city of Tarsus converted to the new creed
F. Paul set up a string of Christian communities in the Eastern Mediterranean
G. Because of revolts within Judea one of the communities was dismantled
H. Christianity began to diverge more and more from its Jewish roots
1. Many of the first converts were women, slaves and the urban poor
2. Developed a hierarchy of priests and bishops
I. Early Christians were persecuted by Roman officials
J. “mystery colts arose in the Eastern Mediterranean and spread throughout the Greco-Roman
islands
Technology and Transformation
A. The relative ease and safety of travel enabled merchants to sell their wares and help the
early Christians spread their faith
B. Aqueducts- long elevated or underground conduits that carried water from a source to an
urban center using the force of gravity
C. The Romans were pioneers in the use of Arches, the invention of concrete, and the creation
of vast vaulted and domed interior spaces
VIII.
D. On particularly desolate frontiers the Romans built long walls to keep out the peoples who
lived beyond
E. After Augustus stabilized the internal political situation and addressed the needs of the
empire the Roman state prospered for two and a half centuries
F. From 235-284ce political, military, and economical problems nearly destroyed the Roman
Empire
G. Germanic tribes took advantage of the frequent civil wars and periods of anarchy to raid
deep into the empire
H. Rome began buying the loyalty of the army and paying to defend the frontiers
1. The Roman government raised taxes
2. Reduced the amount of precious metal in coins
3. Reverted to a barter economy
I. The decline of trade eroded their wealth
J. Many people began to evade their civic duties and even went into hiding
K. People sought protection from raiders and government officials
L. Diocletian gained power in 284 CE
1. Implemented radical reforms that saved the Roman state
2. Issued an edict that specified the maximum prices that could be charged for various
commodities and services
3. Froze many people into their professions and required them to train their sons to
succeed them
M. A “black market” arose
N. Diocletian resigned in 305 CE
O. Constantine became new emperor
1. Reunited empire
2. Claimed that he won a key battle at Milvian because the Christian god had helped
him
3. Granted freedom of worship to Christians and all others
P. Large numbers of people began to convert to Christianity
Q. In 324 Constantine transferred the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed to
Constantinople
R. The Eastern half of the empire was more educated and more people were Christians
compared to the Western half
Byzantines and Germans
A. The lands in the west came under the influence of Germanic rulers
B. Constantine studded the east with churches , controlled the appointment of newly created
Christian patriarch of Constantinople, and involved himself in doctrinal disputes over which
beliefs constituted heresy
C. In 325 he called hundreds of bishops to a council at the city of Nicaea to resolve disputes
over religious doctrine
D. The next several centuries were filled with disputes over theology and quarrels among the
patriarchs
E. The Patriarchs appointed bishops, and each bishop consecrated priests within his area of
jurisdiction, called a diocese
F. Christianity progressed rapidly in urban centers
G. The emperor Julian tried in vain to restore the old polytheism as a state culture and banned
all pagan ceremonies
H. The emperor Justinian sent armies to regain control of Roman North Africa
I. Commanded seventeen legal scholars to compile all roman laws - “Corpus Juris Civilis” which
ended up influencing the modern European legal systems
J. The western empire formally separated entirely from the eastern empire in 395 CE
K. Byzantine armies warded off most assaults on the Danube River frontier which persuaded
Germanic warriors to move westward
L. They overwhelmed the Roman legions in the west
M. Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 CE
N. The city of Rome had lost its political importance but retained prominence as the seat of the
most influential western churchman
O. Latin evolved into the romance dialects that eventually became modern Portuguese,
Spanish , French, Italian, and Romanian
P. North and east of the Rhine River spoke Germanic
Q. East of the Elbe River spoke Slavic languages