Download Notes, RH chapter 1 Indo-European

Notes, RH chapter 1
Indo-European
Note the similarities between the words in the following languages:
Latin
mater
ped
pater
frater
edo
nox
Greek
mater,
pod
pater
phrater
edomai
nyx
meter
Sanskrit
matar
pad
pitar
bhrater
admi
German
Mutter
Fuss
Vater
Bruder
essen
Wendish
mac,
(pesi,
macer
on foot)
bratr
Nacht
noč
Around 3500-2500 B.C., a group of people living around the Black and Caspian Seas
started migrating, and groups of them ended up in Europe and Asia. We call that people the
Indo-Europeans, and their language proto-Indo-European. Their language evolved into the
languages shown here:
http://www.danshort.com/ie/iecentum.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliarda/5222418678/
Here are some non-Indo-European families of languages:
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Sino-Tibetan. This includes Tibetan and the languages/dialects of modern Chinese:
Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Yue, Min, and Hakka.
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Mon-Khmer. This includes Mon (spoken in Burma and Thailand), and Khmer
(Cambodian), and Vietnamese.
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Tai. This includes Thai and Laotian.
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Finno-Ugric. This includes Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian.
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Hamito-Semitic. This includes the ancient languages Akkadian (the language of ancient
Mesopotamia), Aramaic (language of ancient Syria, parts of the Bible, and probably the
first language of Jesus), and Phoenician (or Punic, the language of ancient Carthage); it
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also includes the modern languages Arabic, Hebrew, Ethiopian, and Coptic (ancient and
modern).
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Malayo-Polynesian. This includes most of the languages in the islands of the Pacific and
Indian Oceans, such as Javanese, Tagalog, Samoan, Fijian, and Hawaiian.
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Altaic. This includes Turkish, Uzbek, and Kazakh, and some linguists posit a distant
relation with Japanese and Korean.
•
Australian and Papuan. These include the various languages spoken by the aborigines
in Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea.
•
Niger-Congo. These are many of the languages of sub-Saharan Africa, or “Black”
Africa, such as the language of Nigeria, Yoruba, Igbo, Bantu, Swahili, and Zulu.
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Khoisan: Bushman and Hottentot, particularly interesting to the linguist because these
languages have “clicks.”
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North American Indian
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Eskimo. Aleut and Athabasian
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Algonquian
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Iroquoian
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Siouan
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Mayan
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South America Indian. This includes Quechua, Arawak, Carib, and Inca.
Notable language isolates are Basque and Etruscan.
Latin was the language of the Latin people, who lived in the area south of Rome called
Latium. The city Rome was founded by people from Latium in the middle of the 8th century
B.C. Like all languages, Latin was influenced by the languages of the peoples with whom its
speakers came into contact. Scholars have identified words of Etruscan, Sabine, Greek, Celtic,
German, and even Persian origin in Latin.
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The history of the Latin language can be broken up into rough time-periods.
Archaic–beginnings until 250 B.C. or so. From this era we have only fragments of
literature, and inscriptions (e.g., tombstones).
Pre-classical-250 B.C. until 100 B.C. The Romans produced much literature during this
time, but plays by only two authors—Plautus and Terence—survive. We have fragments from
other authors of the time.
Classical–100 B.C.-A.D. 200.
Golden Age-80 B.C.-A.D.17 (Cicero, Caesar, Catullus, Lucretius, Vergil,
Horace, Propertius, Tibullus, Ovid, Livy)
Silver Age–A.D.17-200 (Seneca the Elder, Seneca the Younger, Statius, Lucan,
Petronius, Tacitus, Juvenal, Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger)
Post-classical-A.D.200–500 or so
Christian Latin writings by early Christian writers–Tertullian, Augustine,
Prudentius, Jerome, et al.
Medieval 500-? The spoken language is evolving into Romance languages; the
written language is “frozen” and not changing.
The major Romance languages are Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Rumanian.
There are also Catalán, Provençal, Romantsch, in addition to a dozen or so dying or already
extinct Romance languages: Limousin, Asturian, Leonese, Walloon, Gascon, Aragonese, IstroRomanian, Ladin, Friulian, Galician, Mozarabic, Corsican, Sardinian, Sicilian, and more.
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notes, RH chapter 2
1. Problems in studying ancient history
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ancients did not know early history; explained past with myths and legends, passed down
via oral tradition
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loss of books from ancient world
•
biases
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philosophy of historiography (emphasis on morality and patriotism)
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wie es eigentlich gewesen
2. Mythical beginnings:
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Aeneas as in Aeneid by Vergil (70-19 B.C.)
Aeneas, Trojan prince and son of Venus, famous for pietas and valor in battle, flees Troy
upon its destruction by Greeks in Trojan War (1200 B.C.). As he leaves, he carries his father out
of the city, and his father holds the Lars and Penates, and the Palladium. aeneas.jpg. With his
father Anchises, his son Ascanius, and other Trojans, Aeneas travels around Mediterranean,
looking to establish new Troy. He hears that he is destined to establish what will become a great
empire.
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The Dido episode: He meets Dido, queen of Carthage (in northern Africa, around Tunis
wlAncientItaly.tif), and falls in love with her; he leaves her to establish the new Troy,
which causes her to curse him and his descendants (Rome and Romans) before she
commits suicide.
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Aeneas arrives in Italy and travels to Underworld (as Odysseus did), sees his father, and
gets preview of Roman history to come.
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After returning from the Underworld, Aeneas fights hostile natives in order to gain
foothold in Italy, and establishes town Lavinium.
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Aeneas’s son Ascanius founds town Alba Longa, in Latium.
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RH Chapter 3: Romulus and Remus found Rome
In the 8th century B.C.
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Numitor, the king of Alba Longa, is deposed by his brother Amulius.
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Numitor is driven into exile, his sons are murdered, and his daughter, Rhea Silvia, is
made a Vestal Virgin. ..\..\Pics for RH\tempio-di-vesta[1].jpg
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She becomes pregnant by the god Mars, and bears twins, Romulus and Remus.
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Amulius learns of the twins’ existence and orders that they be drowned in the Tiber river.
They are placed in a basket in the river, which runs aground, leaving the twin babies safe.
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They are nursed by a she-wolf and then found by a shepherd, who takes them home and
raises them. cap wolf.jpg ..\My RH pics\R&R.jpg
Romulus and Remus grow up to be strong and brave young men. They rob robbers of
their loot, and distribute it to the poor. Remus is captured by some robbers, but Romulus rescues
him (before Amulius can kill him), and then they depose Amulius and restore Numitor to the
throne.
Romulus and Remus decided to found a city on the Palatine Hill.
•
April 21, 753 B.C.
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augury
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Romulus kills Remus, and becomes first king of Rome: R&R quarrel.pdf
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King Romulus establishes certain customs of Rome:
lictors
fasces ..\..\Pics for RH\lictors400[1].jpg
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senatus
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patricians/nobiles
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plebs
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asylum
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Rape of the Sabinespoussin_sabinem.jpg, ..\..\Pics for RH\IMG_1169.JPG
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Wars with the Sabines
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Tarpeia, Tarpeian Rock
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Alliance with Sabines; Hersilia ..\..\Pics for RH\david35[1].jpg
Death of Romulus: disappears into a cloud, or is torn apart by senators. Apotheosis: he
becomes Quirinus, the deified form of the mortal Romulus. Story that after death he appeared to
Proculus Julius, urging Romans to conquer the world.
The real history of Rome’s beginnings?

niger lapis

recei

casa Romuli

Lupercalia—purification of Palatine

pomerium

Have archaeologists found the original pomerium?

“Rome existed before it became Rome.”

Rome wasn’t named after Romulus; Romulus was named after Rome. Whole Romulus
story heavily influenced (if not created) by Greeks.

“The archaeological evidence thus bears witness to a dramatic reorganization in the last
decades of the 7th c. B.C.”
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RH, chapter 4: Kings after Romulus
Numa Pompilius (a Sabine)
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interregnum
•
Titus Tatius
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peace-loving, with great reputation for justice and piety, made Romans religious to keep
a Sabine
them from degenerating during times of peace
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made instructions for worshipping the gods. He received the instructions from the
nymph Egeria.
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made calendar for establishing religious festivals and religious days
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pax deorum
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built Temple of Janus; what its gates signified—open, closed
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flamen, flamines; flamen Dialis (the strange restrictions—couldn’t touch a goat, dog, raw
meat, beans, ivy; hair and nails couldn’t be cut with iron knife; he couldn’t leave his
house for a single night; his wife might not appear in public with hair done up, and
couldn’t wear shoes made from skin of any but a sacrificial victim)
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numen (Rose, p. 161: “What works to effect everything which is beyond the ordinary
power of men, outside the common processes of nature.” )
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pontifex, pontifex maximus, Regia
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He established the Vestal Virgins in Rome.
•
http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/black/t_vesta/ab661506.html
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fas
nefas
Tullus Hostilius
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Latin League
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waged war on Alba Longa
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fear of Etruscans (the etruscans.pdf) prompted Hostilius and Alba Longa’s leader,
Mettius Fufetius, to decide issue with battle between two sets of triplets, Horatii (for
Romans), Curiatii (for Alba Longa). horatii.jpg
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Lesson of battle:
8
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Horatius killed his sister
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treachery of Mettius Fufetius, and his punishment. Alba Longa was destroyed.
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Hostilius killed, after committing sacrilege.
Ancus Marcius
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established rites for declaring war; fetials
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Ostia, port of Rome, first Roman colonywlAncientItaly.tif
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Tyrrhenian Sea
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built carcer
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Lucumo (“king” in Etruscan) came to Rome from Tarquinii, Etruscan city; eagle landed
on his head as he entered the city. He became Tarquinius.
Tarquinius became king of Rome when Ancus Marcius died.
Tarquinius (Priscus)
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established ludi
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built Circus Maximus
(http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/rome/circus_max/ac881618.html
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drained swamp, where Forum was eventually built
(http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/black/forum_rom/ab660802.html
..\My RH pics\Forum1.jpg ..\My RH pics\Forum2.jpg
•
story of power of augur and auspices to sceptical Tarquin
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bought Sibylline books, after fabled delay
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started construction of temple for Capitoline Jupiter and Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno,
and Minerva). This marks a turning point in Roman religion: “Before the temples and
statues, no deity of the city had been so housed, because he could not be thought of in
terms of human life, as visible in human form and needing shelter.”
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story of the head of a slave’s son bursting into flames; Servius Tullius
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Tarquin assassinated by the sons of Ancus Marcius; Servius Tullius became king
Servius Tullius
•
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divided Roman plebs into classes, reformed army: Knights (equites, conspicuous for
customary golden ring), 1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class, etc; lowest class, proletarii. Rich
voted before the poorer.
•
each class divided into centuriae, in which soldiers voted
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established census, assessment of number of citizens and their property. Reasons?
•
established lustrum, purification ceremony every five years
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added remaining hills to Rome. Altogether, they are Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline,
Palatine, Capitoline, Caelian, and Aventine.
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“Wall of Servius” ..\My RH pics\Wall of Servius.jpg
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pomerium “When the army returned, a lustrum had to be repeated in order to rid men,
horses, arms, trumpets, etc., of such evil contagion they might have contracted during
their absence.”
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Campus Martius “Mars was always worshipped outside the city, as a god who must be
kept at a distance.” (“Quirinus est Mars qui praeest paci et intra civitatem colitur, nam
belli Mars extra civitatem templum habet.”) Rome during Republic.jpg
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RH Chapter Five: The End of the Monarchy
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Lucius Tarquin, son of Tarquinius Priscus, agitates to become king. After securing
support from the leading families of Rome, he overthrew Servius and had him murdered;
did not allow burial of Servius, even joked about it.
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He got the name Tarquinius “Superbus” (the Proud): He did not ratify his position with
people or Senate; executed hostile Senators and seized their property; employed a
bodyguard beyond the lictors. Overall, he gave the concept rex great unpopularity in
Rome. Maybe he was like the Greek tyrants—too friendly to common people.
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He built the cloaca maxima,
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/121939/Cloaca-Maxima) and finished the
Temple of Capitoline Jupiter and the Capitoline Triad. Although the Romans centuries
later looked back at this time as one of noble simplicity and poverty, the truth is that
Rome in the late regal period was one of the greatest cities in the Western Mediterranean.
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Tarquin sent sons and Brutus (his sister’s son, whom many thought an idiot–he was
pretending to be dumb, brutus in Latin) to Delphi to consult oracle. After getting the
information he wanted, they asked the oracle who would be the next king in Rome. The
oracle answered that the one who next kissed his mother will be the next king of Rome.
While leaving the temple, Brutus pretended to trip and fall, and, while lying on the
ground, kissed the earth, the mother of all living things.
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Sextus Tarquin, the king’s son, raped Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus; she was a paragon
of female virtue (cf. Most Faithful Wife story). She summoned her husband, her father,
and Brutus to tell them of the rape; after telling them, she committed suicide.
http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=1750
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Brutus led the rebellion against the king, and he and the other Romans swore an oath that
they would never allow another man to be king in Rome. Tarquin, who was outside of the
city on a military campaign, returned to find the gates closed against him.
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The period of the monarchy was over, in 509 B.C.
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RH Chapter 6
Res publica: SPQR
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res publica: commonwealth, property of the people
•
Senatus Populusque Romanus..\My RH pics\sewer cover.JPG
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Republic not democratic; power vested in magistrates, who consulted the Senate; the
magistrates came from the senatorial class.
The Magistrates
consul
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the culmination of a Roman politician’s life, position ennobled man’s family forever;
intense competition
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two per year, term lasted one year; one consul could veto the other’s actions
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assumed king’s power; purple stripe on toga denotes semi-royal power
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chief generals of the army, chief duty leading the army in war
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led Senate in discussions of policy; consuls expected to heed Senate’s advice
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had imperium, power to lead army and punish citizens; while on campaign, had power to
execute soldiers without a trial. His imperium shown by twelve fasces and sella curulis
(ivory chair allowed only to holders of imperium)
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year named after the consuls: “In the consulship of Cicero and Antony,” i.e., 63 B.C.
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elected by comitia centuriata, assembly of soldiers
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the year after a consul’s term ended, he would have to serve as governor of a province
(proconsul)
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checked auspices
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minimum age for consul, 42
dictator
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appointed only during times of crisis, or when the consuls were out of the city or
otherwise unable to perform duties
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had supreme power–actions and rulings not subject to veto or appeal until after 300 B.C;
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his supreme power symbolized by 24 lictors with fasces
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term of office 6 months, customary for dictator to resign at end of crisis
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assistant was magister equitum, in charge of the cavalry
Characteristics of men appointed dictators?
censor
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two of them, elected every five years; usually completed work in 18 months
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assessed citizen’s property and number of citizens
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performed lustrum at conclusion of census
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enrolled men in Senate, or kicked them out
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in charge of maintaining moral standards of Rome; passed “sumptuary laws”
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awarded government contracts for building bridges, roads, collecting taxes in the
provinces, etc.
Characteristics of men elected censors?
praetor
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regarded as junior colleague of consul
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held imperium (with fasces and sella curulis), shown by 6 lictors
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main duty presiding over courts; Roman law consists mostly of praetorian edicts
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could (and did) lead small armies
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could convene Senate if consuls couldn’t
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might have to serve as governor of a province the year after his praetorship (propraetor)
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praetor urbanus reponsible for administration of justice in Rome; praetor peregrinus dealt
with lawsuits in which one or both parties were foreigners
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minimum age, 39
quaestor
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“go-fer” in Roman government; first significant office a rising politician could be elected
to
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in charge of treasury (aerarium) and public records
•
13
as a minor officer in army, would command wing of cavalry during battle
and procure supplies for army
•
minimum age, 30
tribunes (tribuni plebis, or tribunes of the people)
•
protected common people from abuses of power of the magistrates and Senate, who were
predominately nobles if not patricians; only plebeians were allowed to be tribunes.
•
had great power, the intercessio, power to veto anything the magistrates and Senate were
doing, if it harmed the common people
•
supposed to be sacrosanct–cannot be harmed, even by holders of imperium
•
elected by concilium plebis, assembly of the common people
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led meetings of concilium plebis
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after 149 B.C., tribune automatically enrolled in the Senate
aediles
•
originally subordinates to tribune
•
responsible for maintenance of roads, buildings, and bridges in Rome, the infrastructure
(root aed has to do with “building”) (cf. story of Caligula and Vespasian)
•
supervised weights and measures in the market place, and traffic regulations
•
cura annonae, made sure Rome had adequate supply of grain
•
from own pocket paid for ludi, public games (why?)
Senate
•
stable political body in Rome, since magistrates changed every year
•
represented community’s collected political wisdom, with members being ex-consuls, expraetors, ex-dictators, ex-censors, etc.
•
met in curia, or Senate house
•
had no formal power, only the power to advise and make recommendations for
magistrates; recommendations were called decreta or consulta
•
had great prestige, especially during Punic Wars
•
14
until 267 B.C., it could veto laws passed by Concilium Plebis, or Popular Assembly. The
Senate’s approval was patrum auctoritas.
•
determined expenditures and revenues, rate of tribute of allies, taxes, etc.
•
not elected to office, and in for life, unless expelled by censors
•
minimum property requirement
•
no pay for being a senator; even barred from engaging in business and owning large ships
•
princeps senatus, “chief of the Senate,” was the most eminent man in the Senate
•
consul would lead meetings of the Senate, calling first upon those of consular and
dictatorial rank, then those of praetorian rank, etc., for their opinions on a matter
•
latus clavus, wide purple stripe on toga
cursus honorum
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The ladder of offices leading to the top: quaestor, aedile/tribune, praetor, consul.
Assemblies
comitia centuriata meetings of men of military age, by groups of 100, in their classes;
•
elected consuls, praetors, and quaestors, and appointed dictators
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voted whether or not to go to war
•
heard appeals of citizens condemned to death
•
approved laws recommended by Senate or consuls
•
met on Campus Martius
concilium plebis assembly of common people; led by tribunes
•
after 267 B.C. could pass laws without approval of Senate (such laws were called
plebiscita); elected tribunes and aediles
priests
The seven pontifices formed a college of priests which oversaw all aspects of the official
state religion; the chief among them was the pontifex maximus. They supervised the haruspices,
Vestal Virgins, augurs, and flamines (there were three flamines maiores: flamen Dialis; flamen
Quirinalis; and flamen Martialis. There were twelve flamines minores.)
15
RH Chapter Seven: Traitors and Heroes of the Early Republic
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Brutus drafted more men into the Senate; they were called patres conscripti.
•
The first consuls were Brutus and Collatinus. The Romans, nervous about their new
liberty, became suspicious of Collatinus, as his name (Tarquinius Collatinus) reminded
them of the hated king. Deferring to their fears, Collatinus resigned.
•
He was replaced by Publius Valerius. Valerius also aroused the people’s fear: he built a
splendid house on the highest hill of the city, which prompted the people’s fears that he
would use the house to spy on the people, and when Brutus was killed in combat,
Valerius did not seek a replacement for his colleague. Deferring to their fears, Valerius
tore down his house and had it rebuilt in the lowest part of the city, so that the citizens
could always look over him. He also started the tradition of having the fasces lowered in
the presence of the people, showing that the power of the people was greater than that of
the consuls. Valerius was also thought to have been responsible for the law that
established the citizen’s right to appeal a capital sentence (ius provocationis) to the
comitia centuriata; for all the things he did for the common people, he got the nickname
Poplicola, “lover of the common people.”
•
Tarquin in exile tried to stir up discontent among the nobles with the new form of
government. A conspiracy to recall Tarquin arose; Brutus’s own sons Titus and Tiberius
were involved in it. Since Brutus’s job was to administer justice, he executed his own
sons. ..\..\Pics for RH\brutus[1].jpg He had the power to do that anyway; the father’s
absolute power over his children is called patria potestas; the power over their very
existence is ius vitae necisque. The father of the family was called paterfamilias (the
mother of the family is called materfamilias). Matrona was highly respected within the
family and in the community (“of more than Victorian correctness” as one scholar put it).
•
Tarquin’s son Arruns led an army against Rome. He and Brutus had a duel during the
battle, and killed each other.
•
The gravest threat to the new republic came from the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna, of the
city Clusium. Under his command the Etruscans launched a sudden attack; Horace
“Cocles” saved Rome with his heroics at the bridge. (Horace at the Bridge story, p. 42)
•
16
Gaius Mucius tried and failed to assassinate Lars Porsenna; Mucius got the nickname
“Scaevola.” (p. 43)
•
Lars Porsenna apparently had enough power to demand that the Romans hand over
hostages. Story of Cloelia, the courageous girl (p. 44)
•
Rome had lost its superiority over the Latins in the Latin League; in 496 the Romans
tried to regain their hegemony, at the Battle of Lake Regillus. The battle was
inconclusive; treaty reached in foedus Cassianum Story of the Dioscuri, or Gemini (p.
44); story of how the Ahenobarbus family got its name. Mecastor! Edepol!
http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/black/t_castor/ab661507.html
•
Rome had armies fighting in many different places, and needed one to stop Etruscan
raiding (from the city Veii the etruscans.pdf) on the border. The Roman clan of the Fabii
sent out all 307 of its men to stop the Veientes. After experiencing great success in small
battles, the Fabii were led into a trap, and 306 were killed in the battle.
17
RH, Chapter Eight: Class Conflict in Rome
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plebeians in early Republic had no representation in the government. Only help they
received was from patron-client relationship, which merely strengthened the power of the
wealthy nobles. Plebeians felt that with the aristocrats ruling the city, they had many
kings instead of just one, and felt they were safer among the enemy abroad than with
fellow citizens at home
•
story of old soldier (p. 51)–duties of (unpaid) military service more onerous to peasant
farmers more than to aristocrats
•
crushing debt laws–debtor in default of his payments could be sold into slavery: nexum
(“arrangement between debtor and creditor, by which the debtor pledged his liberty as
security for his debt” Cassell’s Latin Dictionary). Aristocracy saw no need to solve the
debt-problems: “It is virtually certain that the function of nexum in early Rome was to
provide dependent labor for exploitation by large landowners.” (T.J. Cornell, p. 283)
•
plebs secedes to Sacred Mount
•
“Parts of Body” speech given to them by Menenius Agrippa (pp. 52-53)
•
tribunate created; plebs forms a state within a state.
•
problems still not solved after tribunate created. Only the aristocrats knew the law, as it
was passed down via oral tradition, and could mold it to their needs. Twelve Tables
created, in 451 by decemviri, panel of ten men (supposedly they went to Athens to study
the laws of Solon); basis of ius civile and basis for many law systems today. Twelve
Tables were inscribed in bronze and posted in Forum, so all could know their rights and
responsibilities. Romans believed that this was the real revolution in Roman politics, as
it established government by law, rather than by caprice of aristocracy.
Characteristics of Twelve Tables: both remarkably primitive and remarkably modern (p. 54)
Class conflict continued through Roman history. Plebeians couldn’t even run for consulship
until 367. Marriages between plebeians and patricians were illegal until 445. Plebs seceded
again in 287; we don’t know the reason, but after a law passed then (lex Hortensia), laws passed
by popular assembly were binding upon whole community even without patrum auctoritas.
18
Chapter 9
Coriolanus, Cincinnatus, and Camillus
Coriolanus
•
Rome was suffering from a famine, and had to import grain. When the Senate was
debating at what price they should sell the grain, Coriolanus, a noble who hated the
tribunate and the power the plebeians were gaining, advised the Senate to hold the grain
hostage until the plebeians gave up the tribunate and their recently acquired power. The
plebeians were outraged. Before he could be put on trial for tyrannical behavior,
Coriolanus went into exile with the Volsci, enemies of Rome. Rome and its
neighbors.pdf
•
Coriolanus soon led the Volscian army against Rome. The Romans were thoroughly
unprepared, and Coriolanus pitched camp five miles from Rome. Things looked bad for
Rome.
•
Coriolanus’s mother Veturia, wife Volumnia, and their children soon showed up at his
camp. Veturia upbraided her son: “If I hadn’t given birth, Rome wouldn’t be under
attack; if I had no son, I would have died free, in a free country.” (speech, p. 59)
Coriolanus.jpg or ..\..\Pics for RH\Coriolanus.JPG
•
Coriolanus, touched by the weeping of the women and children (and overwhelmed by the
guilt), withdrew the army. Rome was saved.
Cincinnatus
•
The Roman army under the consul Minucius lost a minor engagement against the Aequi.
Minucius decided to not risk further losses and kept his army inside the camp. Soon the
Aequi trapped him and his army. Five Romans managed to escape, and told the Senate of
the danger that Minucius and the army were in.
•
The Romans decided to appoint a dictator to rescue Minucius and the army. They chose
L. Quinctius, or Cincinnatus (“Curly”).
•
Messengers from the Senate went to tell Cincinnatus that he had been appointed dictator.
They found him plowing his fields. Cincinnatus_statue.jpg He returned to the city, with
people greeting him and joining him on his journey to the city. He ordered the soldiers to
19
assemble at dawn in the Campus Martius.
•
Cincinnatus then led the army against the Aequi. The Romans won the battle, and saved
Minucius and his army.
•
The Romans greeted the victorious Cincinnatus with great fanfare upon his entrance into
the city. He and his soldiers marched through the city, showing the captured prisoners
and the loot seized. This was the triumph, the ticker-tape parade given for victorious
generals and their armies (description, p. 63)
•
The victorious general in the triumph was allowed to look like Jupiter for a day; he wore
clothes from the temple of Jupiter. To keep bad luck from harming him in such an
exalted state, he carried a staff of laurel, and a slave kept whispering in his year,
“Remember that you are only mortal.” The soldiers in the triumph carried laurel so that
cleansed from human bloodshed, they could enter the city.
•
A less splendid type of triumph was the ovatio.
•
Fifteen days after assuming dictatorial power, Cincinnatus resigned, and returned to his
plow.
Defeat of Veii
•
In 405 the Romans decided to conquer Veii, a rich and powerful Etruscan city only 15
km. from Rome. the etruscans.pdf
•
It took a long time (ten years, according to tradition), but the Romans finally sacked Veii.
(The siege lasted so long, the Romans had to start paying their soldiers for their service.)
They did so by the great leadership of Camillus, by tunnelling into the city. It was the
greatest victory of the Romans so far, and they won a huge amount of loot. (Camillus
and his prayer, p. 64) Now there was no obstruction to Rome’s northern expansion.
•
Before conquering a city, the Romans did evocatio, in order not to offend the gods
residing there. According to tradition, the Romans started worshipping Juno because of
the conquest of Veii.
Camillus and Roman Honor
•
While besieging Veii, the Romans were attacked by Falerii, allies of Veii. After finishing
off Veii, the Romans turned their attention to Falerii, to get revenge. Soon Falerii was
20
under siege.
•
story of schoolmaster of Falerii, pp. 65-66. ..\My RH pics\School master of Falerii.jpg
Chapter 10, The Gauls Sack Rome
•
The Gauls were migrating, and entered Italy, supposedly because they wanted wine. The
presence and power of the Etruscans had kept them from central Italy, but the Etruscans
now were weak.
•
The Gauls threatened Rome. The Gauls and Romans had a battle at the river Allia in
390; it was such a disaster and devastating loss for the Romans they cursed dies alliensis.
•
The Gauls entered the city, uncontested; the Romans who did not flee to the countryside
took refuge in the Capitol, and the Vestal Virgins carried images of gods to safety in
friendly cities. The Romans believed that the original XII Tables, along with records of
the earliest years of the city’s history, were destroyed at this time.
•
Story of Fabius and his religious duties
•
Camillus in exile was appointed dictator in absentia. He started rounding up an army to
rescue Rome.
•
Story how the Sacred Geese of Juno saved the Capitol.
•
Romans offered to pay the Gauls to leave: “vae victis!” Camillus: “ferro, non auro”
•
Romans considered moving city to a site with better natural fortifications: “hic
manebimus optime.” Camillus’s speech, based on religious reasons, convinced Romans
to stay.
•
Camillus successfully led army against Gauls and all those who attacked Rome during its
difficulties; Camillus earned title “Second Founder of Rome.” ..\..\Pics for RH\395pxLudovisi_Gaul_Altemps_Inv8608_n3[1].jpg Persistent fear of the Gauls helped the
Romans unite Italians under their leadership against the barbarians.
•
signum, as a military term ..\My RH pics\signa.jpg
•
Story of Titus Manlius and the tribune (p. 73)
•
Story how Titus Manlius earned nickname “Torquatus” (p. 74) 737px-Dying_gaul[1].jpg
21
Chapter 11
The Wars with the Samnites
•
The Samnites were a loose confederacy of people living in the Appenine Mountains
southeast of Rome. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd_1911/shepherdc-029.jpg They were tough fighters.
•
In 343 they attacked the Sidicini, a group of people living in Campania, an area with very
fertile land.
•
The Sidicini asked other towns in Campania, including Capua (the largest and richest city
in Campania–richer than Rome at that time), for help against the Samnites.
•
After giving help to the Sidicini, the Capuans and Campanians themselves were in turn
attacked by the Samnites, and the Samnites were winning.
•
The Campanians and Capuans asked Rome for help. The Romans already had a treaty
with the Samnites, and no alliance with the Campanians. The Romans asked the
Samnites to stop. The Samnites ignored the Romans’ requests.
•
Desperate, the people of Campania are said to have given their territory to the Romans,
so that the Romans would be forced to defend their own property. The Romans now had
legal justification for going to war with the Samnites; they already had a strategic reason–
they didn’t want the Samnites to get the wealthy land of Campania.
•
First Samnite War. Rome won first battles, but against the toughest enemy they had ever
encountered.
•
A mutiny in Roman army prevented the Romans from capitalizing on their victories, and
they agreed to a peace treaty with the Samnites, in 341.
•
Great Latin War. In 358 the Latins had signed a treaty recognizing Rome’s leadership
over them. By 341, the Latins were wanting to reassert themselves. They attacked the
Samnites, without seeking Rome’s approval or help. Romans summoned Latin leaders to
a conference; the Latins demanded strict equality, with one of the consuls, and half of the
Senate, to be Latin. Outraged, the Romans declared war on the Latins. The Romans’
new allies were the Samnites, against the Latins and their allies, the Campanians (who
hated the Samnites).
•
Story of consul who executed own son for deserting his post (p. 78), at Veseris.
•
22
Romans won battles, but it was a tough war.
•
Despite the victory, the Romans granted full Roman citizenship to many Latins and
Campanians. End of the Latin League.
•
Second Samnite War. Samnites had a large garrison in Naples (Neapolis), or a part of
Naples, which lay in Campania. That small city (if not a part of Naples itself) attacked
Rome’s allies. The Romans’ demand for reparations was ignored. Romans defeated the
Samnite garrison.
•
The Roman army was marching through Samnite territory, devastating the land, when
they heard that the Samnites were attacking Luceria, an ally of Rome. They could get to
Luceria by either a long path, on a plain, or a short path, through a valley with mountains
to the sides. They chose the valley, an area called Caudium–the Caudine Forks. They
marched through the valley only to discover at the far end of it that it was a trap: they
couldn’t get out, as Samnite soldiers in the mountains had them surrounded and trapped.
•
Story of Samnite commander getting strategic advice from father (p. 80)
•
Romans were forced to go “under the yoke.”
http://www.allartclassic.com/pictures_zoom.php?p_number=54&p=&number=GLM006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Tm0SQT7N4
•
Description of humiliating surrender (p. 81). Romans signed peace treaty, and pulled
troops from Samnium.
•
Second Samnite War came to humiliating end, in 321.
•
During peace that followed, Romans made alliance with Samnites’ neighbors.
•
Third Samnite War. Samnites attacked Lucania, allies of Rome. Rome declared war,
298.
•
Romans stormed through Samnite territory, winning battle after battle. Samnites tried to
stir up Gauls, Etruscans, and Umbrians to join them against Rome.
•
P. Decius did devotio for Rome’s cause (pp. 82-83).
•
Samnites, losing battles and desperate, created Linen Legion (pp. 83-84)
•
23
Final big battle, at Aquilonia. Romans won, despite lie from keeper of Sacred Chickens.
•
Samnites held out for three more years. They finally gave up in 290.
•
Romans changed name of Samnite town from Malventum to Beneventum.
24
Chapter 12
King Pyrrhus’s Pyrrhic Victories
•
Greeks from mainland Greece had sent colonies into southern Italy and Sicily as early as
1000 B.C., and those in Italy had exercised great influence on early Rome. The Greek
Italian cities (which the Romans called the area Magna GraeciawlAncientItaly.tif) had
once been very prosperous; Pythagoras, Archimedes, and Gorgias were from Magna
Graecia. By this time, however, the Greek cities in Italy were in decline.
•
Tarentum, a Greek city in instep of Italy, had been founded in 706 as a colony.
It still
had close ties to Greeks in Greece, across the Adriatic. Tarentum and Rome had signed a
treaty at some time in the past.
•
In 282 some Roman patrol boats were passing through Tarentine waters. The Tarentines
attacked the ships and captured the crews; the Roman commander was killed.
•
The Romans didn’t want war (they were busy with Gauls and Etruscans), and asked
merely for the release of the crew and the payment of reparations. The Tarentines
refused.
•
The Romans sent a consul with an army to pressure Tarentum, but he was given orders to
not attack the city. The Tarentines called for the help of Pyrrhus, the king of the Greek
country Epirus (http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/gk_wrld.htm). He had the reputation of
being an excellent general. The Tarentines promised that he would be joined by 20,000
Italian Greeks and enemies of Rome. He crossed over the Adriatic in 280, with 25,000
soldiers and 20 elephants. He took control of Tarentum and, to the displeasure of the
Tarentines, imposed military discipline on the city. The Tarentines failed to deliver the
20,000 they had promised him.
•
He and the Romans had their first battle at Heraclea, in 280; it was the first time that the
Romans faced elephants in battle. Pyrrhus won the battle, but lost 4,000 soldiers, while
the Romans lost 7,000.
•
Romans sent ambassadors to Pyrrhus to discuss ransom of the Roman and Italian
soldiers; he was shocked that they hadn’t come seeking peace. Story of Fabricius and his
integrity (p. 87)
•
25
Pyrrhus sent “gifts” to Roman nobles and their wives to prompt them to make peace. As
the Senate was discussing peace with Pyrrhus, Appius Claudius “Caecus” (censor, 312)
delivered a stinging rebuke and shamed the patres (p. 88). They called off negotiations.
•
Pyrrhus’s own doctor told Fabricius he would poison Pyrrhus if the price were right.
Fabricius informed Pyrrhus of his doctor’s offer with the comment that he was entrusting
his life to ignoble men, while fighting against honest men. In gratitude, Pyrrhus released
all his Roman captives, without ransom; the Romans then released all their Greek
captives, in order to not appear as if they had needed a favor.
•
The Romans and Pyrrhus had their second big battle at Ausculum, in 279. Again,
Pyrrhus won, but at great cost: hence the term, “Pyrrhic victory.” Pyrrhus stated that he
was fighting the Lernaean Hydra–“If we beat the Romans in another battle, we’ll be
completely destroyed.”
•
Pyrrhus left Italy for Sicily, thinking that he might have greater success helping the
Greeks there against the Carthaginians.
•
He returned to Italy and faced the Romans at Beneventum, in 275. The Romans won this
battle, and Pyrrhus sailed back to Greece, leaving his army behind. The Romans and the
commander of Pyrrhus’s army in Tarentine reached an agreement: he and his army could
leave, safe, if they delivered Tarentum to the Romans. The Romans then made treaties
with Tarentum and its allies. (Pyrrhus was later killed in street-fighting in Greece, when
a woman dropped a rooftile on his head.)
•
By 264, Rome was master of most of peninsular Italy. Romes conquest of Italy.jpg
•
..\My RH pics\West Medi..jpg
How Rome Organized Its Leadership Over Italy
Rome made a separate treaty with each city or town, depending upon its past relations
with Rome. There were four types of legal statuses an individual could fall into.
•
civitas Romana: Roman citizenship, which included the right to marry other Roman
citizens, conduct business with Romans, vote in Roman elections, and ius provocationis,
the right to appeal a capital sentence to comitia centuriata. Men had to serve in the
military. After 167 B.C., Roman citizens paid no direct taxes.
•
26
Latinum nomen (“Latin rights”): defined as civitas sine suffragio, it was awarded to
many Latins after the Great Latin War. The most important benefit was ius
provocationis. They held dual citizenship, in a way.
•
civitas sine suffragio: this was awarded to the nobles of non-Latin towns and cities that
had shown special loyalty to Rome. Towns and cities that received it were called
municipia. They too held dual citizenship, in a way.
•
socii Italici: mostly Etruscans, Greeks, Samnites, and Gauls, they had no real rights
comparable to what citizens had–most importantly, they didn’t have ius provocationis.
They did have ius gentium, rights under a sort of international law, but that wasn’t much.
Slaves were res mancipi (property) and thus had no rights, and freedmen (liberti) did not
have rights either, although up to a point in Roman history freedmen were eligible to apply for
citizenship.
The Colonies
To exercise a greater influence on the peoples who were hostile to Rome, the Romans
sent out colonies of citizens to show a military presence and also to spread Roman civilization.
One type of colony was the Roman colony, which had 200-300 Roman families; a dozen or so of
them were sent to various places in Italy. Of much greater importance, however, were the Latin
colonies: they had 6,000-12,000 Romans and Latins, and the Romans sent out 30 such Latin
colonies, mostly in areas like Etruria and Samnium. The Latin colonies played a crucial role in
spreading Roman and Latin civilization and in keeping the newly conquered people under
control (on the diversity of Italy before Romans established control: scholars have been able to
identify about 40 different languages and dialects in Italy before Latin became the predominant
language). Commerce and communication were enhanced by the excellent roads that Rome
built. Roads of common Italy.jpg Chief of the roads was Via Appia, named after Appius
Claudius “Caecus” (censor 312 B.C.). ..\..\Pics for RH\Via Appia.jpg
After the war with Pyrrhus, the Romans started issuing coins regularly and
systematically.
27
Chapter Thirteen
The First Punic War
•
Carthage was a Semitic (Phoenician, hence name Punic) city in northern Africa, founded,
according to myth, by Queen Dido. A rich and prosperous city, it had a trading empire
and a very powerful navy, greatest in the western Mediterranean. map It controlled
Corsica, Sardinia, and western half of Sicily; Greeks controlled the eastern half. Sicily
and south ital in 5th century bc.pdf ..\My RH pics\West Medi..jpg
•
Mercenaries from Campania, called Mamertines (after Mamers, Oscan word for Mars),
who had been hired by king of Syracuse, upon his death took control of Messana, the city
they had been hired to protect. Hiero, the general of the army of Syracuse, then
conquered the Mamertines (for which victory he was crowned king); needing help, they
sent ambassadors to Rome and Carthage. Carthage sent an army to help the Mamertines,
and the army got into the city.
•
Romans were worried, as they didn’t want Carthage to have a base so close to Italy.
Therefore in 264 they sent consul Appius Claudius “Caudex” to Sicily to drive the
Carthaginians out of Messana.
•
When Claudius got there, he learned that things had changed. The Mamertines had
tricked the Carthaginians into leaving the city, so the Carthaginian army and the
Syracusan army made a truce so that they could together conquer the Mamertines.
Claudius first conquered the army of Syracuse, after which Hiero became a steadfast ally
of Rome; then Claudius conquered the Carthaginian army.
•
Carthage in turn sent an army of 50,000 to Agrigentum, a city it controlled on the western
tip of the island. Claudius marched across the island and conquered that army, too.
Because of that victory, the Romans got the idea of conquering the whole island.
•
Romans knew they would not be able to conquer the whole island, as they had no navy to
speak of. By sheer luck, they managed to capture a Carthaginian warship and used it as a
model for building their first navy, 120 ships. First battle was a complete disaster for the
Romans–their commander was killed, and many ships captured.
•
Romans created “raven” on ships to change rules of combat (description, p. 96). The
28
raven made naval battle hand-to-hand combat, at which the Romans excelled.
Description of raven. Romans win next naval battle. Subsequent naval battles did not
turn out as well for Rome, however, mostly due to inexperience of Roman commanders.
The Romans ended up losing approximately 500 ships in the coming years, and finally
gave up on the navy.
•
Story of Sacred Chickens at Drepana.
•
While the Romans were gaining control over Sicily and restricting the Carthaginians to
two cities on the western part of the island, they sent consul M. Atilius Regulus to attack
Carthage itself. Regulus conquered Carthaginian army, prompting Carthage to seek
peace; the terms Regulus proposed were so harsh that the Carthaginians rejected them.
•
Carthage hired a Spartan mercenary to revamp their army in Africa. He did so, and
conquered Romans in next battle, even capturing Regulus. Carthaginians again sought
peace, and sent Regulus to convince Senate to grant peace. He swore he would secure
peace or return to Carthage.
•
Regulus’s oath, speech to Senate, and subsequent fate (p. 97). ..\..\Pics for
RH\Regulus.jpg
•
The Romans had great success on land, and eventually had cornered the Carthaginians
into their last two strongholds, Lilybaeum and Drepana, on the far western coast of the
island. Eventually the Romans realized they couldn’t finish war without a navy. By
great sacrifice, they built one last navy and trained it extensively.
•
The new Roman navy caught the Carthaginians by surprise, and obliterated it, at battle of
Aegates Islands in 241. The Romans finished off the last two Carthaginian strongholds
in Sicily, and Carthage asked for peace.
•
By terms of treaty Carthage had to abandon holdings in Sicily. Rome also took Corsica
and Sardinia, a breach of faith and dirty dealing that embittered Carthage against Rome.
Other Developments
•
Pirates in the Adriatic were causing problems for Italian traders. The Romans went to
war with the pirates, and ending up taking over the islands Pharos and Corcyra, and the
Greek cities Apollonia and Dyrrhachium. (http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/gk_wrld.htm
•
29
The Romans continued wars with the Gauls in the north of Italy. After various battles
and wars in 225-224, the Romans extended their control up to the Po River (Padua, in
Latin).
•
During one of those battles, the Roman commander M. Claudius Marcellus won spolia
opima. Only Romulus and A. Cornelius Cossus had done it before him, and no other
commander did it after him (although the son of Crassus tried).
RH Chapter Fourteen
The Second Punic War
•
After losing Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, the Carthaginians expanded into Spain. The
Romans became suspicious, and concluded a treaty by which Carthage would not cross
the Ebro river or attack the town Saguntum, which lay on the Carthaginian side of the
Ebro. ..\My RH pics\West Medi..jpg
•
In 221, Hasdrubal, the general of the Carthaginian forces in Spain, died, and he was
succeeded by Hannibal, his brother-in-law. Hannibal’s father had fought against Rome
and bitterly hated Rome; Hannibal inherited his father’s hatred. (Story from Hannibal’s
youth p. 100.)
•
Hannibal continued Carthage’s expansion in Spain, and abided by the terms of the treaty.
•
In 219 Hannibal attacked Saguntum, knowing that that would instigate war with Rome.
The Senate protested to the Carthaginian Senate, but Carthage backed its general; the
Romans failed to deliver help to Saguntum, and Saguntum fell. Hannibal ordered his
soldiers to kill every male of military age.
•
Rome sent another delegation to Carthage. Again, Carthage supported its general. (Story
of Q. Fabius and his toga, p. 101) Rome and Carthage declared war on each other.
•
Hannibal then led his army out of Spain. An advance force under P. Cornelius Scipio
sailed to Massilia (modern Marseille) to stop Hannibal in southern Gaul, but arrived too
late–Hannibal had already passed by. (half of 2nd punic war.jpg, other half punic
war.jpg) Scipio then sailed to Transalpine Gaul to try to stop Hannibal at the Alps, but
Hannibal surprised him by crossing through more difficult terrain.
30
http://www.illustrationartgallery.com/acatalog/info_HowatEleLL.html
•
Hannibal entered Italy unopposed, and the Romans were unprepared for the coming
struggle.
•
Battle at Ticinus, in 218. The Romans lost this minor engagement. Most noteworthy
was that the consul Scipio was rescued by his 17 year old son, P. Cornelius Scipio.
•
Battle at Trebia, 218. Hannibal inflicted a devastating loss on the Romans; the Romans
lost approximately 30,000 men. (How Hannibal did it, p. 102)
•
In 217, Hannibal marched through swamps to surprise Roman consul Flaminius and gain
favorable ground. Flaminius foolishly decided to fight, and was led into a trap at Lake
Trasimene. Hannibal again inflicted a serious defeat on the Romans, who lost 15,000
men, including the consul Flaminius. How Hannibal did it. “Pugna magna victi sumus.”
•
Romans appointed a dictator, Q. Fabius Maximus “Cunctator.” Fabius avoided set battle
with Hannibal, choosing instead to use guerilla tactics and to wage a war of attrition to
wear Hannibal out. The tactic (called Fabian) was successful. A poet would later write
of Fabius, “unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem” (cunctor, “delay” restituo,
“restore”).
•
Story how Fabius trapped Hannibal in a valley, and how Hannibal got his army out of the
jam. (p. 105)
•
Despite his military success (i.e., no recent losses), Fabius was becoming unpopular: the
Romans wanted action against Hannibal. Even Fabius’s Master of Horse was badmouthing him. Senate voted to split the command, but Fabius insisted that they split the
army, rather than alternate days of command over the whole army. With his half,
Minucius then attacked Hannibal, and got into trouble; Fabius rescued him.
•
The next year (216), the consuls were L. Aemilius Paullus and G. Terentius Varro.
Paullus was cautious, Varro aggressive. Varro promised to destroy Hannibal’s army the
first day he saw it. Since the consuls were so different, they split the command–Paullus
one day, Varro the next.
•
Hannibal took a position at Cannae. Romans amassed an army of more than 50,000,
hoping to smother Hannibal’s army of 40,000. Varro led army out, without even
consulting Paullus.
•
31
Again Hannibal inflicted a devastating defeat on the Romans, who lost 45,000 men,
including the consul Paullus, who had argued against the battle; how Hannibal did it this
time. Varro, who was largely culpable for the disaster, was later congratulated by the
citizens “for not despairing of the Republic.”
•
Rome had lost three major battles. Capua revolted from alliance, as did Greeks; Gauls
and Samnites joined Hannibal’s side. Syracuse under its new young king revolted. Most
Italians, however, stayed loyal to Rome.
•
Romans were in a panic—Roman society forever changed by the trauma. They
sacrificed a pair of Greeks and a pair of Gauls. Some Vestal Virgins were found to have
lapsed in their vows; they were buried alive, and the man implicated in their lapse (a
minor priest) was beaten to death by the pontifex maximus in a public ceremony. The
Romans declared a ver sacrum. They devoted a golden thunderbolt of 50 pounds to
Jupiter. Women were sweeping the floors of the temples with their hair. Silence was
imposed everywhere. Certain religious ceremonies had to be cancelled, as everybody
had lost a family member in the various battles.
•
Romans did maintain some discipline and sense of order. One man turned down
opportunity to become consul because of poor eyesight, and instructed the comitia
centuriata to elect a more capable general (p. 109). Fabius convinces the comitia
centuriata to select a candidate more qualified than his niece’s husband. The Romans
refused to pay ransom for the soldiers Hannibal had captured; story how the Romans sent
back a soldier who reneged on his oath. They punish the 5,000-10,000 survivors of
Cannae for cowardice and bad soldiering.
•
Rome sent an army to Spain to cut off Hannibal’s supply lines. The two Roman generals
there were the brothers Gn. Cornelius Scipio and P. Cornelius Scipio. They were killed
in battle in 211 and were succeeded by P. Cornelius Scipio, then only 24 years old. By
arms and diplomacy young Scipio conquers Spain for Rome and turns Spanish against
Carthage.
•
Term imperator, p. 111. “conquering general”
•
Hannibal failed to capitalize on glorious victories: “Victoria uti nescis,” one of his men is
said to have told him. He lacked the materials to besiege Rome, and had to constantly
32
move to get provisions for soldiers and horses. His soldiers are said to have lost their
fighting edge after spending the winter of 216 in Capua’s decadence and luxury
(“Hannibal’s Cannae”). Hannibal spent the next 10 years marching up and down the
peninsulae, accomplishing little. other half punic war.jpg. He was also losing many
soldiers through the constant guerrilla warfare. The Roman general M. Claudius
Marcellus (the winner of spolia opima) proved to be a match for Hannibal in wits, and
inflicted serious losses upon his army. While the cautious Fabius had been called “The
Shield of Rome,” the more aggressive Marcellus was called “The Sword of Rome.”
Marcellus was killed in 208 while on reconnaissance.
•
During that time Rome reconquered Capua and Sicily. Archimedes was killed by a
Roman soldier in Syracuse.
•
The Romans were so successful in Spain the Carthaginians gave up on their hopes there,
and instructed their general, Hasdrubal (Hannibal’s brother), to bring his army and
treasury to Hannibal in Italy.
•
The Romans knew they had to prevent Hasdrubal and the reinforcements from joining
Hannibal. They destroyed Hasdrubal’s army in northern Italy at the Metaurus other half
punic war.jpg, in 207, their first victory of the war in Italy. Hasdrubal was killed in the
battle, and his head was cut off and later brought to Hannibal in southern Italy.
•
Scipio proposed invading Africa. Some Romans (Fabius, for example) opposed his idea,
thinking that they needed to take care of Hannibal first. The Senate gave Scipio its
grudging approval, but only minimal supplies. Nonetheless Scipio got together an army
of volunteers (many of those who had survived Cannae and were desperate for an
opportunity to win back their honor) and enough provisions to invade Africa. By
diplomacy in Spain, Scipio had gained an ally in Numidia, Carthage’s enemy and
neighbor.
•
In Africa Scipio destroyed the Carthaginian army, by a trick. Carthage was forced to
recall Hannibal to defend Carthage.
•
Scipio and Hannibal had battle at Zama in 202. Scipio won. Carthage sued for peace.
Rome was now master of western Mediterranean, with involvement in Spain and southern Gaul,
and an ally in northern Africa. Since Philip V, king of Macedonia, had sent help to Hannibal
33
after Cannae, the Romans turned to Philip next and got involved in Greece and the eastern
Mediterranean.
Chapter 15
Rome Encounters the East
The Second Punic War ended up getting the Romans involved in the affairs of the eastern
Mediterranean, and through the wars they fought in the East the Romans came into contact with
Hellenistic civilization. Hellenistic civilization was the widespread Greek-based culture and
civilization that had taken root in the countries ruled by the generals of Alexander the Great.
Alexander (356-323) had destroyed the political structure of the Persian Empire1st part of alex
the great.jpg 2nd half of alex the great.jpg. Upon his death, his generals (all Greeks, particularly,
Macedonian Greeks) each claimed a part of Alexander’s huge empire for himself. Those
generals were Ptolemaeus, who took Egypt hellenistic kingdomw 185 BC.pdf and its capitol,
Alexandria, which become one of the great centers of learning in the world and tremendously
important in the development of Christianity; Seleucus, who took Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel,
Iraq, and Iran (a few kings of the Seleucid Kingdom are named Antiochus); Eumenes, who took
Pergamum and a large chunk of Asia Minor (the ruling family is called the Attalids, after
Attalus); and the various kings of Macedon, who often exercised power over the Greeks in the
south, were often named Philip. (map) Other players in the Hellenistic East were Rhodes, an
island-nation with a great navy (it built the Colossus); the Achaean League, composed of Athens
and many cities and towns in southern Greece; and the Aetolian League, a confederacy of towns
in northern Greece. Hellenistic civilization was a hybrid culture common in those areas, which
were united by a common Greek language, koine Greek, a simplified version of the dialect
spoken in Athens (Attic Greek); Alexandrian Jews, for example, translated some of their sacred
writings into koine Greek—the Septuagint.
Since Philip V of Macedon had sent help to Hannibal after Cannae, and had tried to take
over Apollonia and Dyrrhachium during that time, the Romans waged a brief and indecisive war
with Philip, called “The First Macedonian War.” During the war the Romans had urged the
Greeks, particularly the Aetolians, to rebel against Philip; the Romans, distracted by their
problems with Hannibal and Spain, arranged a truce with Philip in 205, and deserted the
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Aetolians, who were quickly defeated by Philip. They never forgave the Romans for that.
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The Second Macedonian War: The Romans were worried about Philip’s friendship with
Antiochus the Great, of the Seleucid Empire. He and Philip had made a treaty to not
obstruct each other’s aggression and to assist each other: Antiochus wanted Egypt, and
both wanted Pergamum; Philip wanted Thrace. Rhodes and Pergamum fought an
indecisive battle with Philip, and then asked Rome for help. Romans feared Philip would
combine with Antiochus and attack Italy, using Macedonia as a base. The proposal for
war against Macedonia was vetoed at first by the comitia centuriata, whose members
wanted peace after the long war with Hannibal. The consul gave a stirring speech to
change the soldiers’ minds (p. 121). The Roman army crossed Adriatic in 200. The
Greeks, who hated Philip and his brutality (in many ways, Hellenistic warfare was more
humane than previous warfare, but Philip played by the old, more brutal rules), joined
Romans against him. Rome and allies led by T. Quinctius Flamininus won the battle at
Cynoscephelae in 197, ending the Second Macedonian War.
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Flamininus declared Greeks free of foreign rule at Isthmian Games in 196. The Greeks
were ecstatic–only the Aetolians were angry, as they did not get back the land they had
lost during the previous war with Philip. Rome was very popular in Greece, for a little
while, but the Greeks were incapable of living at peace with each other, and the Romans
became unpopular when they had to take sides in the internecine wars the Greeks
habitually engaged in.
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War with Antiochus Antiochus had taken part of Egypt, and was attacking Asia and
Pergamum. The Romans warned him to stay out of Europe, but were worried mostly
because of his strategic advisor–Hannibal, who had been driven into exile and had taken
refuge at his court. The Aetolians told Antiochus that the Greeks all hated Rome and
would greet him as a savior from Roman oppression.
•
Antiochus brought army to Greece in 192, and the Romans sent army back to Greece.
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Antiochus was disappointed with the few Greeks that joined his side, and the Aetolians
were disappointed that he brought only 10,000 men. He and his army were defeated at
Thermopylae in 191, chiefly because of the tactics of M. Porcius Cato. After the defeat,
Antiochus fled, and was pursued by L. Scipio, brother of Africanus (who was on his
staff); Scipio pursued Antiochus into Asia and defeated him at Magnesia in 190.
Antiochus then sued for peace. (Hannibal fled to Prusias, king of Bithynia; seeing that
Prusias would hand him over to the Romans, Hannibal committed suicide.)
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Wars with the Galatians The Romans had wars with the Galatians, a Gallic tribe that had
migrated into central Asia Minor. They had helped Antiochus, and the Romans, wanting
revenge, defeated them in two battles.
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Third Macedonian War. Late in life, Philip wanted to wage war on Rome again, and had
made preparations for another war. He had two sons, Demetrius and Perseus. Demetrius
was on good terms with the Romans, which made Philip suspicious of him; Perseus
played upon those suspicions and convinced Philip that Demetrius was a traitor. Philip
ordered Demetrius killed, and realized too late that Perseus was evil; Philip was said to
have died of a broken heart. Perseus succeeded Philip as king in 179, and stirred up other
Greeks against the Romans. He tried to poison Roman officials and assassinate Eumenes
of Pergamum. The Romans declared war in 171.
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The Roman army was ill-prepared and undisciplined for the war, no match for the tough
Macedonian veterans. The Romans made no progress in the war until 168, when L.
Aemilius Paullus became consul. He restored morale and discipline, and within three
months destroyed Perseus’s army at Pydna in 168. (Paullus’s speech on the mutability of
human fortunes, p. 127. ) Macedon was dismantled into four independent republics, so it
would never cause trouble again.
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Polybius Paullus made a walking tour of Greece to assess the help given to the Romans
by the various Greek cities. He was dissatisfied with the Achaean League, and took as
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hostages 1,000 prominent Achaeans. One of them was named Polybius (“one of the most
hard-headed and reliable historians in antiquity”); he became a friend of many leading
Romans (including the Scipios), and ended up writing a history of Rome’s rise to power.
It is one of our great sources for the Punic Wars and other wars of that time.
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Antiochus Epiphanes (“God Manifest”), the son of Antiochus the Great, invaded Egypt in
168. The Romans wanted him to leave Egypt alone, and sent the consul G. Popilius
Laenas to convince him to leave Egypt alone. (Laenas’s rude but effective actions, p.
130.) This is the same Antiochus who thought that Judaism needed to be reformed and
made rational with Greek philosophy; his aggression and establishment of a pagan cult in
the Temple instigated the Maccabean revolt and resulted also in Hanukkah.
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The Fourth Macedonian War. A man named Andriscus, claiming to be Phillip’s long-lost
son, started a rebellion in Macedon. Rome conquered him in 148 and annexed Macedon
as a province of Rome. The Roman governor of Macedonia had power over all Greece.
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Third Punic War: Carthage had lived by the terms of the treaty and had regained its
prosperity. Its neighbor and enemy, Numidia, whom the Romans relied upon to keep
Carthage in check, continually encroached on Carthaginian territory, capturing more than
70 Carthaginian towns. When Carthage protested to Rome about Numidia’s
encroachments on its territory, Rome always sided with its ally. Desperate, Carthage
declared war on Numidia (a breach of the treaty with Rome), and lost the war. The hardliners in the Senate, like Cato (who ended every speech he gave in the Senate with the
words “Carthago delenda est!”) now had the excuse they were looking for and gave the
Carthaginians the ultimatum: either desert their city and move inland, or face war.
Carthage chose war in 149, and lost after a three-year siege. Led by P. Cornelius Scipio
Aemilianus (he had been adopted by P. Scipio, the son of Africanus), the Romans sacked
Carthage in 146, destroyed it, sold the survivors into slavery, and sowed the land with
salt. The area became the Roman province Africa, and soon regained prosperity.
•
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War in Spain was continuous, until the Romans broke the back of organized Spanish
opposition with their victory at Numantia in 133. Spain would not become peaceful until
the time of Augustus. (Julius Caesar would learn the art of being a general while serving
in Spain.)
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In 133 Attalus III of Pergamum died, without an heir. In his will he bequeathed his
empire to Rome. It became the Roman province Asia. roman empire at 100 bc.jpg
Romans start calling Mediterranean mare nostrum.
Imperium Romanum
Rome didn’t have a civil service or a blue-print for running a large empire. The Romans
didn’t want to create a large government, either–their “constitution” was that of a small, 6th
century city-state. How the Romans managed their empire:
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The largely independent allies. These were allies of the Romans, and they were free to
run their cities or kingdoms as they saw fit: they did not pay taxes to Rome, nor did a
Roman governor rule them, and they had jurisdiction over Romans and Italians in their
territory. One group of these was called amici, the client-kings. Another group was the
civitates foederatae, states allied by treaty. Another group was civitates sine foedere
liberae, who differed from the previous group only in that their status could be revoked
by the Senate, while the previous group’s status was solidified by a treaty. (Story of
Prusias of Bithynia addressing the Senate.)
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The unfortunate group were the provincials, or stipendiarii. They were ruled by a Roman
governor (a proconsul or propraetor) who was backed by a standing Roman army, and
paid taxes to the hated publicani. The bad thing about the Romans’ management of the
provinces was the system of tax-farming, which not infrequently made the taxation
oppressive, and the corrupt Roman officials (the governor and his staff and army), who
abused their power to enrich themselves. The Roman Senate often was not interested in
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prosecuting its corrupt officials (in fact, Romans looked forward to becoming governors
so they could enrich themselves off the provincials–story about three year’s term). The
good thing was peace and stability, not to mention the ethical Roman governors who
ruled fairly, as their uneventful terms as governors are rarely mentioned in history
because scandals, not ethical government, make news worth writing about. The Romans
did set up a court for trying corrupt officials (quaestio de repetundis) which did
occasionally convict the flagrantly corrupt.
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The Threat to the Old Ways
The Romans are changing. The soldiers campaigning in Sicily, Greece, and the East saw
advanced civilizations and foreign ways which gave them some perspective on traditional
Roman ways. Also, tons of money were pouring into Rome from tributes paid by subject
peoples and the booty taken by soldiers. Traditional Roman ways are in danger, and some
Romans later thought that it was during this time–particularly, after the destruction of Carthage–
that Rome started to decline. (Quote from Sallust, pp. 134-5)
Those traditional Roman values were
virtus–courage, manliness (“all that is best in the physical and moral nature of man”)
pietas–dutifulness to the family, gods, and community
gravitas–seriousness ..\..\Pics for RH\stern patrician.jpg
constantia steadfastness, self-control, consistency
pudicitia–modesty, sense of shame (for women)
•
The conflict of the times can best be seen in the feud between Cato and Scipio. M.
Porcius Cato (known as “Cato the Censor” [184] or “Cato the Elder”) believed firmly in
traditional Roman values; the Latin phrase is mos maiorum, “the custom of our
ancestors.” He believed that traditional Roman values had made Rome powerful; why
adopt the culture of the Greeks, who had lost the war and were ruled by the Romans?
(As the poet Ennius said, “Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque.”) Seeing that there
was not a native Latin literature for his son to use while learning to read, Cato wrote a
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book for him, on Rome’s beginnings (Origines). While many Romans were handing
their sons over to Greek tutors for their education, Cato himself gave his son a traditional
Roman education–swimming, boxing, riding on horseback, etc., and reading with The
Twelve Tables. Cato was a stern censor, but the Romans apparently thought they need to
be reformed, because they elected him censor knowing full well that he would be stern.
Cato had contempt for Greek ways and the Romans who adopted them.
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Scipio, on the other hand, was a Hellenophile. While relaxing in Sicily (before the
invasion of Africa), Scipio had Greek athletic contests between his soldiers, Greek
theater for them, etc., and even wore Greek slippers and Greek clothes while his soldiers
were on parade. Cato was Scipio’s questor at that time, and complained to the Senate
that Scipio was wasting money on amusements for his soldiers. Eventually Scipio went
on trial for that, but was acquitted; he was so bitter about how he had been treated by the
Romans that he went into voluntary self-exile and wrote in his will to not bury his body
in ungrateful Rome. Cato won that battle.
Cato didn’t win the war, though. The Romans adapted Greek culture to Roman ways, and Greek
culture profoundly changed Roman civilization, and that Greco-Roman-Italian amalgam shaped
European civilization. mystery religions (Isis and Osiris, Mithras, Eleusinian Mysteries, Cybele
The Beginnings of Latin Literature: “Graecia Capta Ferum Victorem Cepit”
Under the influence of Greek culture, the Romans began creating Latin literature. The
first Roman poet was Livius Andronicus (mid-3rd century), a Greek from Tarentum, who
translated The Odyssey into Latin. His Odyssia became a textbook for Roman schoolboys.
Plautus (dead, 184?) wrote comedies of a rough and boisterous nature, yet in the style of Greek
New Comedy; he was extremely popular during his lifetime, and praised for his style: if the
Muses spoke Latin, said one ancient critic, they would speak Plautine Latin. Twenty of his plays
survive today. Terence (190-159), wrote comedies (also in Greek New Comedy style) of a more
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genteel and sophisticated nature, but was not as popular with the Roman audiences; Caesar
himself praised the purity of Terence’s style. Six of his plays survive. Ennius (239-169), or
“pater Ennius” as Cicero refers to him, was the first Roman poet to write epic poetry in the
dactylic hexameter, a Greek meter; his most famous work was the Annales, an epic poem of
Roman history. Only fragments of it survive (cf. quote on Fabius). The Romans did not produce
any philosophy at this time, but they did learn some. They found Stoicism most congenial to
Roman ways, for Stoicism emphasized selflessness and self-abnegation, and fulfilling one’s duty
to the community, gods, and family: “The Romans found in Stoicism an explanation of man’s
place in the universe.” Vis deos propitiare? Bonus esto. Satis illos coluit, quisquis imitatus est.
Their big hero was Hercules—he of the twelve labors. They were very hostile to Epicureanism,
which stressed that the most important thing in life was the avoidance of pain; since such a goal
would require that one withdraw from the stresses and strains of political and community life to
the quiet of contemplation in one’s garden, the Romans disliked Epicureanism (cf. “Behold the
lilies of the field...” http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-28.htm) The Romans could not comprehend
Cynicism, which taught that human institutions such as government and society are evil; Cynics
preached a life of virtuous poverty (cf. http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/muddepaws/jesus.html).
The Romans had great suspicion of philosophy, since the supposed goal of some philosophy was
to “make the worse cause appear the better.”
The only literary genre that the Romans created is satire, and it is typical of Roman
culture. In it the poet can, by using humor, point out the vices of others and thereby spur them
on to improvement. Lucilius wrote satire during this time period, but only fragments of his
satires survive today; he was very influential on a later Roman satirist, Horace.
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Chapter 16
The Gracchi: The Beginning of the End of the Res Publica
The period of the Gracchi inaugurates a century of constant civil strife alternating with
bursts of civil war that will culminate in the destruction of the Republic and the creation of the
Principate, in 31 B.C.
Tiberius (tribune, 133 B.C.) and his brother Gaius (tribune 123-122 B.C.) belonged to an
illustrius plebeian family. Their father had been consul twice, and their mother, Cornelia, was
the granddaughter of Scipio Africanus. (Story about Cornelia and jewels) Tiberius had won
corona muralis at Carthage in 146, and should have won corona civica in Spain.
Elected tribune in 133, Tiberius called for reforms to address the following problems:
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decline of the peasantry (reasons), and growth of latifundia; growing
masses of unemployed idle in city; loss of property requirement, fewer soldiers
for the army, of poorer quality. (“Latifundia perdidere Italiam”)
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slave rebellions, too many slaves in Italy; there had been a huge slave
rebellion in Sicily in 135
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agitation of Latins and Italian allies for more, if not some, political power
in Republic
Tiberius made a proposal to give public lands (ager publicus--lands confiscated from
Rome’s enemies and those that took Hannibal’s side) to landless poor, with some restrictions on
how much a family could get. The terms were very generous. Yet many rich people and
aristocrats had been farming public lands illegally (and had made huge investments and
improvements on the land), and obstructed him. To circumvent the obstruction, Tiberius took
his proposal immediately to the concilium plebis without seeking the Senate’s advice or
approval. It was not illegal to do so, but not good politics. When another tribune vetoed the
proposal, Tiberius got a law passed deposing the tribune. The bill passed, but now the Senate
was really afraid: was Tiberius seeking to establish a radical democracy in Rome, with him as a
tyrant? If the tribunes could legislate in such a way in the concilium plebis, what would serve as
a check on their power, if not the Senate?
Work started on the distribution of the public land. Tiberius knew he had to be re-elected
to obstruct future opposition to his land law. He was re-elected for a consecutive term,
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something that was illegal for other office-holders, but it was uncertain whether or not it was
illegal for a tribune.
Now the Senate was even more alarmed. A group of Senators, led by Scipio Nasica the
pontifex maximus (and a cousin of Tiberius and owner of a large amount of public land) attacked
and killed Tiberius and 300 of his supporters, and dumped their bodies into the Tiber; they even
refused permission to bury the dead. Thousands other supporters were driven into exile, without
a trial. Nonetheless, the land-law was not repealed, and much public land was distributed to
landless poor.
Gaius, nine years younger, more passionate and fiery than his brother; (the whistle
anecdote). He made many proposals during his two years in office:
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establishment of many colonies, to reinvigorate the peasantry and get the
idle poor out of the city; one colony was on site of former Carthage
•
a law for the regulation of the sale of grain in Rome, to protect poor from
huge fluctuations in prices
•
changes in the make-up of juries: the juries of nobles were far too lenient
on corrupt governors, and Gaius wanted to punish the corrupt and ensure ethical
administration in the provinces
•
grant of Roman citizenship to Latins, and Latin status to Italian allies
•
miscellaneous other reforms
Almost everybody was unhappy with his proposals. As opposition mounted, Gaius and
supporters occupied Aventine Hill. The Senate passed senatūs consultum ultimum. Armed
citizens attacked Gaius and his supporters, killing thousands; Gaius committed suicide. The
consul Opimius condemned 3,000 of his supporters to death without a trial; their estates were
confiscated, and the families forbidden to wear mourning.
The problems were left unsolved, and caused tremendous upheavals in the next centuries.
•
The unemployed, idle masses in Rome continued to grow, dependent on
the grain dole (“bread and circuses”), ready to agitate for any demagogue
•
there were more slave rebellions (e.g., Spartacus), and gangs of runaway
slaves made travel between cities and towns very dangerous
•
Roman politics was split between the boni (or Optimates), who wanted the
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Republic run by the Senate, and the populares, who wanted to run the Republic
through the Popular Assembly. Do not think of this opposition in terms of
Republicans vs. Democrats!
•
The Latins and Italian allies were unhappy, and another war between
Rome and her allies looms ahead.
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Chapter 17
The War against Jugurtha and the Rise of Marius
Numidia had become an ally of Rome during the Second Punic War, to wage war on
Carthage, and had been loyal to Rome. Soon they would fight a war against each other.
The king of Numidia, Micipsa, had three sons; two were by marriage, and the third,
Jugurtha, was by adoption. On his deathbed, Micipsa asked his sons to divide the kingdom into
three parts and to rule in peace. He died, in 118.
Shortly after Micipsa’s death, Jugurtha had one brother murdered, and attacked the
kingdom of the other, Adherbal. Adherbal sent envoys to Rome to seek the Senate’s help against
Jugurtha. Jugurtha, however, had already bribed many senators, and they therefore rejected
Adherbal’s pleas for help. The Senate decided to divide Numidia between the two. A few years
later, in 112, Jugurtha again attacked Cirta, the capital of Adherbal’s kingdom, where thousands
of Italian merchants lived. Adherbal again sent envoys to ask for help; the Senate summoned
Jugurtha to Rome to address the Senate. Feeling safe, the people of Cirta surrendered to
Jugurtha; he tortured and killed his brother, and ordered his soldiers to kill every adult male in
the city. The thousands of Italian merchants fell in the massacre.
Outraged, the Romans declared war on Jugurtha, in 112. The consul Aulus Bestia had
destroyed a few small towns when Jugurtha bribed him into making peace. Bestia returns to
Rome, where the citizens are outraged at his tender treatment of Jugurtha. Jugurtha was
summoned to Rome to give testimony about bribery, but his testimony was blocked by a tribune,
whom he had bribed. After having a rival to the throne assassinated while in Rome, Jugurtha
was ordered to leave; while leaving Rome he said, “That’s a city available for a price, and it will
fall soon enough, once it finds a buyer.”
The Romans sent the consul of 110 to renew the war. He allowed his brother to take
charge, and he got the army trapped; to avoid a massacre, the Roman army had to go under the
yoke.
The next consul was Metellus. Metellus restored discipline and morale in the army, and
inflicted many defeats on Jugurtha, but was unable to capture him or deliver a decisive blow. He
was helped by his legate, Gaius Marius.
Marius was from an equestrian family from Arpinum, outside of Rome. He was fearless
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in battle, and very popular with the soldiers under his command, for he did not act like a snobby
officer–he marched with them, dug trenches with them, ate alongside of them, etc.
Marius, despite rude discouragement from Metellus, ran for consulship for 107. His
chief attraction to the common people was that he was not a noble, and he used that to his
advantage, and constantly railed against the nobles for their loose morals, luxury, decadence,
effeminate natures, love of power, incompetent management of Rome’s armies, etc., and he
spoke in un-educated, common Latin. (speech from Sallust, p. 152) He became a folk-hero to
the commoners, and they elected him consul for 107. He became a novus homo, a consul who
could boast of no consuls in his family.
Marius took over the command from Metellus,
whom he had (unfairly) maligned in particular, despite the help that Metellus had given him in
his career.
While enrolling soldiers in the army, Marius did something seemingly insignificant, that
had tremendous consequences for the Republic. He was forced, by the lack of soldiers with the
necessary property qualification, to enroll men who had no property. That is, when the war was
over, these men would have no farm to return to. Since the Republic provided no pension for its
soldiers–it didn’t have to, as they were supposed to have a farm to return to upon their discharge
from the army--they looked to their general to provide them with a farm upon their discharge
from the army. In effect, the soldiers became the general’s clients, and he became their patron;
they became loyal to him, not the State, because he, not the Senate or the State, was providing
for their livelihoods in the future. The reforms of Marius—besides the reorganization of the
army for battle—also created a professional army, which provided, for men who lacked property
or family background, a career and chances of advancement and wealth; but it also influenced
Roman attitudes towards the army, for such soldiers did not want to leave the military, since it
was their livelihood.
Marius was an excellent general–perhaps even a genius–and won many great victories
over Jugurtha. He couldn’t capture him, however, or deliver the final defeat. Finally he
managed to force one of Jugurtha’s allies to betray him, and Jugurtha was handed over to Sulla,
Marius’s quaestor, in 105. The war was over.
Italy at that time was being threatened by the Germanic tribes the Cimbri and Teutones.
In fact, they had already destroyed two armies under patrician generals. Worried, the Romans
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elected Marius consul in absentia (which was illegal) for 104; the Germans didn’t invade that
year, but the Romans, still worried, elected Marius consul for 103, too, and again the Germans
didn’t invade. It’s good that the Romans elected him consul for 102, for that year the Germans
did start for Italy; Marius crossed the Alps to meet them. Marius kept his men from fighting;
comments from German soldiers made Marius’s men beg him to allow them to fight.
Marius then allowed them to fight, and his army destroyed one German army at Aquae
Sextiae (modern Aix-en-Provence); the next year, with Marius again consul (his colleague was
Catulus), the Romans won another devastating victory over another Germanic tribe at Vercellae.
For these victories Marius was honored with the title “Third Founder of Rome.”
Marius now needed land for his veterans. He used the tribune Saturninus to get land.
Saturninus proposed a law to grant land in Africa to the veterans. When another tribune tried to
veto the bill, Marius’s soldiers threw rocks at him and drove him from the assembly. The bill
passed. Next year, Saturninus (having been re-elected) proposed another land-bill, which
displeased everybody but the soldiers; Saturninus got the bill passed through violence and the
threats of violence.
The Senate, alarmed, passed the consultum ultimum and ordered Marius to restore order.
Saturninus and many of his supporters were killed in the violence of the restoration.
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Chapter 18
The Italian Wars and the Career of Sulla
After gaining control over the Italian peninsula in 270, the Romans had made alliances
with the different peoples living there. There were three different non-slave groups: Roman
citizens, holders of Latin rights (Latinum nomen), and socii Italici. Increasingly the Latins and
the allies were growing dissatisfied and restless–their different statuses hadn’t changed in
almost 200 years, and the Romans certainly could not have conquered their empire without the
help of the Latins and Italians. Moreover, the conduct of the Roman magistrates was becoming
more obnoxious. (Story told by Gaius Gracchus, pp. 155-56)
In 91 B.C. a tribune proposed a law giving citizenship to Latins and Italians. Romans,
for selfish reasons, obstruct the bill; a law was passed making it illegal to try to help the Italians
get the vote. Many eminent Romans were driven into exile.
One town had rebelled against Rome, in 125. In 91, Asculum rebelled, killing the Roman
praetor there. Both sides prepared for war. The Latins, Greeks, Gauls, and Etruscans did not
rebel, but the Samnites, Marsi, and Paeligni did in what is called the “Italian War,” “Social
War,” or “Marsic War.” Rebels established capital in Corfinium (in Samnite territory), named
their confederacy “Italia,” and issued own coinage (a bull goring a wolf).
Romans quickly learned it would be a tough war. The rebels won the first battles. The
Romans finally started winning under the leadership of Marius and Sulla. Seeing that a victory
would be too costly, the consul Lucius Caesar (uncle of Julius, then 10 years old), passed a law
giving citizenship to all Italians who had remained loyal to Rome. The next year, the lex Plauta
Papiria was passed, giving citizenship to rebels who stopped fighting.
Little fighting remained. Sulla took the opportunity to try to exterminate Samnite race.
By 88, the fighting was finished. By 84, all free-born Italians had Roman citizenship.
Sulla and Marius, despite serving as colleagues in many successful battles, hated each
other. Sulla (Lucius Cornelius Sulla “Felix”) was from an aristocratic family, although he had
grown up in poverty and his family had not accomplished anything in many generations, while
Marius was more common, and Sulla got much of the credit for the defeat of Iugurtha (statue
story). The Senate backed Sulla, while the plebs backed Marius.
Both wanted the command in the war against Mithridates, king of Pontus roman empire
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at death of augustus.jpg, who had been attacking Rome’s allies in Asia Minor; his son was
conquering Thrace and Macedonia, and inciting the rest of Greece to rebel; he claimed he would
liberate them from Roman oppression. Mithridates had arranged a massacre of 80,000 Romans
and Italians living in Asia Minor. The Senate had voted that Sulla should get the command
against Mithridates, but Marius got a tribune, named Sulpicius, to back his demand; Sulpicius
formed a huge gang, called the Anti-Senate, and used violence to compel the Popular Assembly
to transfer the command to Marius. Fearing for their lives, Sulla, family, and friends fled Rome.
The army for the war against Mithridates was in Campania. Sulla dashed down to
Campania and arrived before Marius did. Sulla got the army and marched back to Rome. It was
the first time that a Roman army invaded Rome. After some street fighting, Sulla gained control
of Rome, and put a price on the head of Sulpicius and Marius, who fled to Africa to gather
together an army of his veterans.
Sulla passed a law that concilium plebis could not legislate, and that legislation from the
comitia centuriata need the Senate’s approval. Then he went east, to fight Mithridates.
During Sulla’s absence from Rome, Marius returned to Rome, and joined Cinna as
consul. They had a reign of terror in which they murdered hundreds of the leading members of
the aristocratic party. Sulla’s wife, Metella, fled to him, as he was besieging Athens (which had
taken Mithridates’ side). Marius died, drinking himself to death. Sulla finally conquered
Athens, and allows his soldiers to loot and kill at will in the city; he resented the words they had
said, and the gestures they had made, to him and his wife during the siege. Sulla concluded a
hasty peace with Mithridates, which angered his soldiers, but he had other things on his mind.
They wanted revenge for the murders of the thousands of Romans and Italians, orchestrated by
Mithridates.
Sulla had to fight to retake Rome, in 83. He was helped by Marcus Licinius Crassus, and
Gnaeus Pompeius. Pompey held no legal position or magistracy; he had just gathered up 6,000
supporters who had fought for his father during the Italian War, and joined Sulla’s side. Sulla
won his battles, and had himself appointed dictator for re-establishing the republic.
As dictator, Sulla held a reign of terror worse than that under Marius and Cinna. He
started the proscription lists; 6,000 are said to have been murdered, with the murderer earning a
handsome reward.
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He also made some changes in the Roman constitution. We call this the Sullan
Constitution.
•
He brought more equestrians from Italy (not just Rome and Latium) into
the Senate.
•
He made a law that a consul had to wait 10 years before being eligible to
be consul again; the minimum age to be a consul was 42, for praetor 39, and
quaestor, 30.
•
He made a law that tribunes could not legislate in the concilium plebis.
•
He makes a law that a tribune would be ineligible for other political office
after serving as tribune, and had to wait ten years before being tribune again.
•
He restored the law-courts to senatorial control.
After being dictator for three years, Sulla retired, in 79 B.C. He died the next year.
The new Sullan constitution was challenged the very next year. The consuls were
Lepidus (who was opposed to the Senate), and Catulus (who had been pro-Sulla). The two
argued so much the Senate made them swear that they would not resort to violence against each
other. At the end of their term, Lepidus led an army against Rome, and demanded another
consulship for himself and the restoration of the tribune’s powers.
The Senate passed the ultimum consultum. Catulus defeated Lepidus, and Pompey
defeated and killed Brutus, Lepidus’s lieutenant (and father of Brutus the tyrannicide). The
Lepidus episode was finished, because he was not a good general.
Sertorius was different. He had been part of Marius’s party, but had objected to the use
of violence and political murders. After Sulla’s return, Sertorius went to Spain as governor, and
found the natives there bitterly resentful of Roman rule. He ruled fairly, however, and earned
their respect and goodwill. Soon another governor was sent by Sulla to replace him; Sertorius
had to flee from Spain. Eventually, he returned, and made an army of the Spanish against the
Roman government in Spain. With his small army of peasants, Sertorius inflicted serious defeats
on the Roman armies sent against him, through guerilla warfare
(Story of the white fawn, p. 162)
The Senate, finding Pompey a potential threat (he hesitated to disband his army after
defeating Brutus), sent him against Sertorius. Sertorius defeated him too, and even captured his
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horse. Thousands more joined Sertorius’s side, and Sertorius won the battles. Pompey put an
enormous bounty on Sertorius’s head, but it did no good; Sertorius was assassinated, however,
but only because of rivalry. Pompey then conquered the assassin, and returned to Italy,
victorious.
He arrived in time to take on Spartacus. Spartacus, a Thracian slave, had led a rebellion
of slaves in Campania, in 73. He wanted to lead his army to the Alps, and freedom in northern
Europe. His slave army grew to 70,000 men, and conquered the Roman armies sent against it.
Crassus, then praetor, managed to win some battles, and hoped to inflict the final defeat on the
slave army before Pompey returned from Spain. He did win a decisive victory over Spartacus’s
army, but the survivors fell in with Pompey’s army, which conquered them. Pompey then
crucified 6,000 of them along the Appian Way. Pompey sent a letter to the Senate, claiming the
victory over Spartacus as his (he had “ripped the heart and soul out of the rebellion”), and the
Romans believed him: quote from letter. Crassus forever after that held a grudge against
Pompey for stealing the credit.
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Chapter 19
The Rise of Pompey
After defeating the remnants of Spartacus’s army, Pompey did not immediately disband
his army. Instead, he and his army camped just outside of Rome and he asked the Senate for a
triumph (he wanted his chariot to be drawn by elephants) and for permission to run for the
consulship in 70. He had not gone through any of the steps of the cursus honorum, and was only
36 years old. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469463/Pompey-the-Great
The Senate wanted to play Crassus and Pompey off each other. Crassus and Pompey
were too smart for that, however, and joined forces, leaving the Senate helpless. Crassus and
Pompey were therefore both elected consuls for 70 B.C. Having not served in any magistracies,
Pompey was ignorant of the workings of the Senate, and had the scholar Varro write a handbook
for him on the procedures of the Senate.
The first thing Pompey and Crassus did, once in office, was to quickly repeal the laws
against the tribunes. Why was tribunate good, and why was it bad. What were the problems in
Roman government?
The repeal of the laws against the tribunes was their only accomplishment; they were
distrustful of each other, but had a reconciliation at the end of the term.
In 69, a friendly tribune proposed a law for an extraordinary command in a war against
the pirates, who infested the Mediterranean; since merchants feared to sail, the price of bread
skyrocketed, and people (e.g., Julius Caesar) were kidnapped and held for ransom. The law
passed, and the command was given to Pompey; it had huge, sweeping powers, with vast sums
of money, ships, and manpower. (Pompey’s vanity, p. 168) He started the war against the
pirates, and cleared the Mediterranean of pirates within three months. Since the price of bread
plummetted, Pompey was incredibly popular.
Mithridates was causing problems in Asia Minor again. The general Lucullus had been
having success against him, and had even won some allies back to Rome (they had taken
Mithridates’s side because Roman taxation was so oppressive). Nonetheless, Lucullus was
unpopular with his soldiers and the equites: the soldiers hated him because he was a harsh
disciplinarian, and the equites hated him because he protected the provincials from their rapacity.
By political machinations, Pompey got the command against Mithridates transferred from
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Lucullus to himself (Pompey’s vanity, p. 169) Pompey changed many of Lucullus’s
arrangements, just to anger him. Lucullus said that Pompey was a “crazed vulture.” Pompey
won many battles against Mithridates, but could not deliver the final, decisive blow. Pompey
chased Mithridates all over Asia Minor before he committed suicide, in 63. (BTW, through
Lucullus apricot trees were brought to Europe.)
Pompey “the Great” created new Roman provinces: Syria, Judaea, Bithynia, and Pontus.
He was particularly hated by the Jews for sacking Jerusalem in 63 (see Psalms of Solomon), and
after generally friendly relations with Rome, now came to hate Romans. Upon his return to
Rome in 62, he held a triumph that last for two days. He was the first Roman general to have
won triumphs for victories in three continents.
The Conspiracy of Catiline
While Pompey was fighting in the East, L. Sergius Catilina was causing problems in
Rome. Catiline was not a virtuous Roman (he killed his brother-in-law, slept with a Vestal
Virgin, and killed his own son); an arrogant noble, he lived way beyond his means and was
tremendously in debt. Catiline felt that he, as a noble, was entitled to a consulate, which he
failed to win in 65 and 64. While campaigning for 63, he ran on a platform of novae tabulae, and
even let it be known that as consul he’d have proscriptions of the rich and confiscations of their
estates. He gathered together a large band of trashy followers, many of whom were former
soldiers. The equites became worried, and managed to get two safe candidates elected consul for
63: G. Antonius and Marcus Tullius Cicero, a novus homo from Arpinum.
Cicero (http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/black/capit_museum/ab661329.html)
had made his first real splash in Roman politics by successfully prosecuting Verres for
corruption in Sicily, in 70. He backed the Senate, but fully understood how corrupt, arrogant,
and exclusive they were. Cicero had served in the military with distinction, but he was basing
his career on his oratorical abilities and his knowledge of the law.
After Cicero and Antony took office, they had to hold elections for the consuls for 62.
Again, Catiline lost, and he was getting increasingly desperate. Therefore he formed a plan to
assassinate Cicero; during the chaos, he’d seize power. Cicero found out, convened the Senate,
and gave his First Speech against Catiline. He lacked hard evidence, though, and could do little
more than convince the Senate to pass the ultimum consultum. Cicero did succeed in getting
53
Catiline to leave Rome; Catiline went to Etruria, where his army was waiting for him. He even
had his own standards carried before him. He made plans for fomenting chaos in Rome–men
were to set fires simultaneously to different parts of the city, during which Catiline would seize
power.
Cicero soon got the hard evidence he needed. Catiline approached the Allobroges, a tribe
of Gauls, for help; they secretly asked Cicero what to do. He instructed them to play along with
Catiline and get hard evidence. They did, and handed it over to Cicero. Cicero had many
conspirators arrested (some he put to death without a trial), and a praetor conquered Catiline’s
army in Etruria. Catiline was killed during the battle, fighting courageously.
For saving Rome, Cicero was called pater patriae. Yet later he was sent into exile for
executing citizens without a trial. This was also the high point of Cicero’s political career. His
speeches against Catiline are stock material for Latin students, as is also a different portrayal of
Catiline by the historian Sallust (Bellum Catilinae).
Bona Dea Scandal
The annual celebration of the Bona Dea, a goddess of women’s health, was held at the
Regia, the house of the Pontifex Maximus, with his wife being the host. All male creatures
(even pets) were expected to leave the house during the celebration. Julius Caesar was the
Pontifex Maximus, and his wife Pompeia therefore was the host.
Publius Clodius was in love with Pompeia, and sneaked into the house by wearing
women’s clothes, in order to have a rendez-vous with her. He was discovered in the house, and
eventually put on trial for sacrilege. Caesar protested for his wife’s innocence, but divorced her
anyway (“Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion as well as accusation”). He also refused to
give testimony against Clodius. Cicero, however, testified and wrecked Clodius’s alibi, for
which Clodius held a grudge against Cicero. Clodius was acquitted, probably because Crassus
had bribed the jury.
54
Chapter 20
The First Triumvirate
While Pompey was fighting Mithridates, Crassus worried: Would Pompey return as Sulla
had? Crassus desperately tried to find a command or an army, but everything fell through. He
nervously waited, and before Pompey’s arrival, packed up his family and left Rome. Pompey
returned and immediately disbanded his army (and divorced his wife Mucia, who, according to
rumors, had been having an affair). His triumph lasted for two days (details, p. 175).
He had no revolutionary intentions. He had only two requests of the Senate: to ratify his
settlement of the East, and to grant his soldiers land for their retirement.
His political enemies went into action: Lucullus (the general whom he had replaced in the
war against Mithridates) and Metellus (brother of Mucia) obstructed the various proposals.
Nothing passed, and Pompey was said to have regretted disbanding his army.
Pompey was soon approached by Julius Caesar. Caesar had just finished his praetorship
in Spain, and hoped to be elected consul in 59. The Optimates hated Caesar, and he knew he
would need help to have an effective consulate. The two then entered into secret negotiations
with Crassus (the richest man in Rome) and Cicero about forming a pact to help each other.
Cicero declined the offer, but Crassus joined: we call it the First Triumvirate. Caesar gave his
daughter to Pompey in marriage to seal the deal, and got elected consul for 59. His colleague
was M. Calpurnius Bibulus, who hated Caesar bitterly; Bibulus himself was elected consul only
after a bribery fund had been set up for him by the optimates.
Caesar’s First Consulship
The optimates hated Caesar. ..\..\Pics for RH\Julius Caesar.jpg He was a popularis: his
aunt Julia had been married to Marius, and at her death Caesar had dared to have the imagines of
Marius brought out and worn. The optimates knew of his incredible ambition and hunger for
power; as aedile he got himself tremendously in debt (320 pairs of gladiators, p. 178), etc., and
won election to Pontifex Maximus by rampant bribery.
As consul, Caesar brought forward to Senate many proposals, two to ratify Pompey’s
settlement of East and grant his soldiers their land. Cato, who utterly hated Caesar, obstructed
the bill, so Caesar had him arrested and jailed. (Later he had to release him, as Cato was more
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dangerous in jail than in the Senate.) (other interesting stories, p. 178) Caesar’s colleague
Bibulus tried to obstruct the bills, but was treated roughly by the soldiers in the crowd; after that,
he stayed at home for his entire term, “watching the heavens” (i.e., for bad omens, which
technically rendered the laws invalid). Because Caesar was so dominant, with Bibulus staying at
home hearing thunder, critics of Caesar said the legislation was passed during the consulship of
Julius and Caesar. Caesar got the bills passed, by rampant bribery and threats of violence. For
Caesar, the most important legislation he got passed was a change in his proconsulate: instead of
a non-military position, he got himself the proconsulate of the Gauls. Crassus’s reward was
getting a remission of 1/3 of the taxes of Asia; it was a huge bribe for Crassus and the publicani.
Triumviri very unpopular in Italy. Letter from Cicero, p. 179-80.
Cicero questioned the legality of the laws during one speech, and Caesar’s reaction was
swift: that afternoon Clodius was adopted into a plebeian family (even though he was twenty
years older than his adoptive father), and later elected tribune. Clodius hated Cicero. Cicero
was very nervous now, as Clodius was now in a very powerful position, without much to restrain
him.
At end of term, Caesar departed for his proconsulate in Transalpine and Cisalpine Gaul.
He fought in Gaul for next 10 years, and recounted his battles and experiences there in the Gallic
Wars. While in Gaul, he had Clodius in Rome to watch his interests.
As tribune in 58, Clodius passed a few laws.
•
one to give free grain to the urban masses, instead of at reduced prices
•
another to legalize clubs, which he used to form his own political gang
•
another to deprive of fire and water anyone who had put a Roman citizen to death
without a trial. It was aimed at Cicero. Consequently, Cicero was driven into
exile, and his houses were burned down.
Clodius’s gang threatened even Pompey; Pompey, tired of it all, went into semi-
retirement for a while. Eventually he formed a gang of his own, under the leadership of a noble
named T. Annius Milo. There were huge fights between the gangs of Milo and Clodius.
Eventually Pompey got Cicero recalled from exile, in 57. (Cicero’s letters about the chaos in
Rome, p. 183)
Cicero proposed law that Pompey be appointed dictator for the grain supply, as there was
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a famine. The price of grain plummetted, and Pompey was popular again (Pompey’s vanity).
Clodius charged that the famine had been created so that an extraordinary command could be
created for Pompey (his vanity, p. 184).
Conference at Luca: relations among Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar were tense, so the
three met in 56 to iron out their differences and renew the pact for five more years: Crassus and
Pompey would be consuls for 55, with Crassus getting a proconsulate in Syria afterwards, and
Pompey in Spain, and Caesar got five more years in Gaul. (How they overcame the technical
difficulty of missing the deadline, p. 183) Pompey warned Cicero to stop speaking out on
politics; Cicero, no doubt remembering the year in exile, therefore retired and wrote
philosophical works.
Problems in the triumvirate. In 54, Julia, Caesar’s daughter and Pompey’s wife, died; she
had been an intermediary between the two. In 53, Crassus had started his war on the Parthians;
he got his army trapped at Carrhae (Harran, in modern Turkey), and it was annihilated. With
Crassus dead, it was only Pompey and Caesar, and they weren’t united by common bond of
Julia.
Caesar completes subjugation of Gaul through 49.
Anarchy in Rome. The gangs of Milo and Clodius had more riots in the Forum. The
year 53 began without consuls, as all candidates were on trial for bribery. Pompey was elected
sole consul, and restored order; even Cato, a strict constitutionalist, agreed that it was necessary.
The tribunes passed a law called the Law of the Ten Tribunes, which would allow Caesar to run
for the consulship of 48 in absentia; he needed a command waiting for him when his term in
Gaul expired. Why? Caesar, still working hard in Gaul, needed more soldiers, so Pompey, who
was supposed to be governor of Spain but had never left Rome, lent him a legion.
Milo laid an ambush for Clodius outside of Rome, at Bovillae. Clodius was wounded,
and later killed on Milo’s orders. When Clodius’s body was returned to Rome, the mob used the
Curia as a funeral pyre. Milo was put on trial for the murder of Clodius, and Cicero defended
him; Cicero lost his nerve because of the shouting of the mob, and lost the case. Milo was
convicted and driven into exile in Marseilles. (Cicero sent him a copy of the speech that he had
intended to deliver. Milo wasn’t real appreciative.)
Pompey passed a law barring candidature in absentia. After the law was passed, he
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added a rider making an exception for Caesar, but the rider was invalid as it had not been
approved by the voters. Caesar needed the next command waiting for him, and if he couldn’t run
for the consulate in 48 in absentia, he wouldn’t have the command waiting for him. Why was it
such a big deal for him?
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Chapter 21
Civil War
M. Claudius Marcellus, consul of 51, hated Caesar violently. That year Caesar asked the
Senate for an extension of his command, and Senate rejected the request; Marcellus even
proposed a law that Caesar immediately relinquish his command. That was rejected, too. To
show his contempt for Caesar, Marcellus whipped a Gaul that Caesar had made a citizen.
One of the consuls of 50 was Marcellus’s cousin. With Pompey’s connivance, he
proposed that both Pompey and Caesar be required each to give up a legion for the defense of
Syria, which was in severe danger after Crassus’s disaster. Pompey gave the legion that he had
given to Caesar, meaning that Caesar had to give up two legions. Before the soldiers left, Caesar
gave them lavish gifts. (The legions never went to Syria–they stayed in Italy.)
Late in 50, the tribune Curio proposed a law that Caesar and Pompey should both
abandon their commands. The Senate approved the measure 370-22, but it was vetoed by the
consuls. Marcellus entrusted Pompey with the defense of the Republic. Caesar received no
extension of his command and no dispensation to run for the consulship of 48 in absentia. Why
was Pompey not avoiding a showdown with Caesar? (Examples of Pompey’s vanity; his
marriage of Crassus Jr.’s widow)
Pompey overconfident: “Wherever I should stamp my foot in Italy, there will rise up
forces of infantry and cavalry.” One of Caesar’s lieutenants (Titus Labienus) had defected to the
Optimates side and told them that the army that had conquered Gaul was wounded, dead, or
retired. Most people wanted peace, even Cato. Only die-hard Optimates wanted war; Pompey
turned down Caesar’s numerous offers for a face-to-face meeting.
The consuls of 49 were G. Claudius Marcellus and Lucius Lentulus, both hostile to
Caesar. Mark Antony, one of Caesar’s officers, was elected tribune. Caesar made peace offers,
all of which were rejected; when Antony and another tribune who was friendly to Caesar were
warned that they might meet with violence if they stayed in Rome, they fled (they had to
disguise themselves as slaves) from Rome, to safety with Caesar. It made a propaganda point for
Caesar: the Senate was destroying the rights of the tribunes.
Upon hearing that his latest peace proposal had been rejected, Caesar led one legion
across the Rubicon. “Alea iacta est,” he said. (Although one scholar, citing an ancient Greek
59
source, argues that Caesar said “Alea iacta esto”–“Let the die be cast.”)
Optimates were unprepared for war: their only forces in Italy were the two legions that
had formerly served under Caesar. The Optimates never expected Caesar to strike immediately.
Caesar took all of northern Italy without bloodshed, even Picenum, the area that Pompey was
from. Pompey and Senate fled Rome, to Brundisium, and then to Greece. Caesar took Rome
without a fight, had himself appointed dictator, held elections for the consuls of 48, and was
elected consul. He then went to Spain to destroy Pompey’s army there. He managed to
“conquer” Pompey’s army in Spain without fighting a major battle; he managed to trap the
enemy army, and forced them to surrender. He let them go, and many joined his army. Caesar
became famous for his clementia.
Caesar returned to Rome, and then went to Brundisium, where he crossed the Adriatic.
(Bibulus died, trying to prevent Caesar’s crossing.) Pompey had stationed army in Dyrrhachium.
Time was on Pompey’s side, as he had plenty of supplies (Caesar’s army, however, was always
short on food and supplies), and he needed time to train his recruits. After losing a small battle,
Caesar decided to leave for Thessaly, where he could more easily get food. The Optimates
thought victory was certain. (Their plans for a post-Caesarian Rome; Caesar’s letter, and
Cicero’s letter, p. 198)
Pompey finally yielded to demands of the Optimates, who were eager for battle; it was
fought at Pharsalus in 48. (Description of battle, p. 199). When the battle seemed lost, Pompey
fled; he went to Egypt, where he was murdered (mentioned in Jewish literature
http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/ot/pseudo/psalms-solomon.htm). When the
battle was turning into a rout, Caesar instructed his soldiers to spare their fellow Romans.
Seeing the field of dead Optimates and soldiers, Caesar said, “Hoc voluerunt.” Caesar
went in pursuit of Pompey. While in Egypt, Caesar spent some time with Cleopatra. ..\..\Pics
for RH\Cleopatra.jpg In 47, he then went to Asia Minor to take on Pharnabazus, king of Pontus
(son of Mithridates), at Zela: veni, vidi, vici.
Caesar then returned to Rome, and quelled a mutiny of his soldiers just by addressing
them as “Quirites.” In 46 Caesar went to Africa to take on the Republican army under Cato.
The battle was at Thapsus. Caesar won, and Cato committed suicide rather than allow Caesar
the glory of granting clemency to his hated enemy; a cult of Cato arose. (Character of Cato, p.
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202: victrix causa deis placuit, sed victa Catoni. ..\..\Pics for RH\cato2[1].gif)
Caesar then conquered the last remnants of the Republican opposition at Munda, in
Spain, in 45; he almost lost the battle. After returning, Caesar forgave his former enemies,
including Cicero, and even Marcellus. He gave positions of authority to former enemies. He
was appointed dictator for ten years. Populace dedicated a temple clementiae Caesaris.
He made some reforms:
•
reduced the number of people eligible for free grain.
•
established colonies in Africa, Spain, and Gaul (consequences?)
•
gave citizenship to certain nobles from Spain and Gaul (jokes of the time told of Gauls,
wearing trousers in Rome, asking where the Senate house was), and to many other Gauls
•
reformed calendar from lunar to solar calendar (“Julian calendar”)
He planned a massive expedition against the Parthian Empire, and on the way back, the conquest
of Germany. He was appointed dictator for life.
A conspiracy against his life arose (p. 206). The conspirators managed to get Brutus into
their group. Ides of March, 44 B.C. “Et tu, Brute?” (description of assassination, p. 207)
Shoe cartoon.pdf
Latin Literature of the Late Republic
Caesar: Gallic Wars and Civil Wars. Other works did not survive: Anti-Cato, Iter, and
De Analogia. Clear, simple, elegant prose
Lucretius: De Rerum Natura, epic poem on Epicurean philosophy; only substantial
remains of Latin epic poetry before Roman poets become influenced by Alexandria.
Catullus: lyric poetry on love and various other topics; member of novi poetae,
influenced by Alexandrian esthetic.
Sallust: history, Bellum Catilinae, Bellum Iugurthinum, maybe letter to Caesar, Invectio
in Ciceronem.
Cicero: arguably ancient Rome’s greatest literary figure. Most famous speeches: In
Catilinam, Pro Caelio, In Verrem. Oratorical works: Brutus, De Oratore, Orator. Philosophical:
De Officiis, De Amicitia, De Senectute, De Republica, De Natura Deorum, Tusculan
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Disputations. He even wrote an epic poem, which did not survive (most famous line from it: “O
Rome, that became lucky when I was consul!”). Eight volumes of letters to friends–best friend
was Atticus), other friends and acquaintances (Caesar, Pompey, Brutus, his slave Tiro, and
others), family members, etc.; they show Cicero with his guard down, and are invaluable for the
information gleaned from them and for the knowledge they give us of how educated Romans
spoke in ordinary conversation (sermo cotidianus). Cicero had enormous influence on Latin and
Western literature in general.
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Chapter 22
Renewed Civil War and the Rise of Octavian
The conspirators had made no plans for a change in the Roman constitution. Without a
change in the constitution, one could expect just another round of generals like Sulla, Marius,
Pompey, et al.
The citizens were unhappy that Caesar had been assassinated and besieged conspirators on
the Capitol. Antony was consul and Lepidus, Caesar’s former master of horse, was in charge of
an army outside Rome. Antony received Caesar’s cash, will, and state papers and documents
from his widow Calpurnia.
Antony and Lepidus met with conspirators and reached an agreement: amnesty was
granted to the conspirators, while Caesar’s proposals (recorded in the state documents, in
Antony’s possession) were given blanket ratification. Land was granted to Caesar’s soldiers.
Provinces were allotted to Antony and his brother, and to the conspirators M. Brutus, D. Brutus,
and Cassius. Brutus issued a coin commemorating the liberation of Rome from the tyranny of
Caesar. ..\..\Pics for RH\IdesMarchcoin.jpg
Brutus foolishly allowed Antony to plan Caesar’s funeral. (Description of Antony’s
speech, pp. 212-213; tie-in to Shakespeare) Fearing the wrath of the mob, Brutus and Cassius fled
Rome, to go to their provinces. Antony exploited blanket ratification of Caesar’s proposals and
enriched himself tremendously. He had parties with actresses, mimes, and jugglers (not
respectable and reputable people to middle-class and aristocratic Roman society), and was
frequently drunk; he even vomited while giving a consular speech. He surrounded himself with
an armed guard of 6,000 soldiers.
At this point Octavian entered the scene. Caesar had adopted, as his son, Octavian, the 19
year old grandson of his sister. By the terms of the will, Octavian had been awarded 3/4 of
Caesar’s estate, and he now came forward to claim his inheritance; Antony controlled Caesar’s
estate. Antony treated Octavian with contempt (he called him “boy”) and delayed handing over
the estate. Octavian, now Caesar’s son, ingratiated himself with the populace, and gained great
popularity among Caesar’s soldiers, who were angry at the fact that Caesar’s assassins had not
been punished. Octavian got those soldiers together into his own private army. Feeling
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threatened, Antony went to get his army (he was consul), and when they mutineed, he performed
a decimatio. He marched on Rome with his army, where ½ of his soldiers switched to Octavian’s
side.
Octavian was joined by members of the Senate, who feared Antony wanted to take the
place of Caesar. One of Antony’s brothers was praetor, and the other brother could expect to be
praetor next year. (In a letter of April 44, Cicero called the assassination of Caesar “a great and
beautiful deed, but incomplete”) Consequently, Cicero came out of retirement and delivered a
series of speeches and wrotes pamphlets attacking Antony; they were called the Philippics (pp.
215-216). With Cicero exhorting them to action, the senators declared war on Antony.
The battle was fought at Mutina, in 43. Octavian, now a propraetor, with consuls Pansa
and Hirtius, defeated the army of Antony and his brother. Antony escaped and found safety.
Hirtius, however, was killed during the battle, and Pansa later died of his wounds. Only Octavian
and Antony remained. Octavian returned to Rome, and expected to be treated with respect by
Senate (letter from Cicero, p. 217). The Senate refused him a consulship, so Octavian marched
his army into Rome and got a consulship. He declared Caesar’s assassins outlaws.
On election day, when he entered the Campus Martius, Octavian is said to have seen first
six, and then twelve, vultures, as Romulus had.
Octavian soon realized that he needed Antony and Lepidus more than the Senate and
Cicero. So he deserted Cicero and the Senate, and joined Antony and Lepidus in the “Second
Triumvirate.” Unlike the First Triumvirate, this agreement was legal (ratified in lex Titia); it was
good for five years. The three divided the provinces among themselves, and Octavian married
Clodia, daughter of Antony’s wife Fulvia by her first husband, Clodius the tribune.
The three men then started the proscriptions and confiscation of estates. They did this to
get revenge on their enemies and to raise money to pay their combined 45 legions. One of the
victims was Cicero, whose death Antony insisted upon ..\My RH pics\Cicero.jpg; Cicero’s son
escaped, but his brother Quintus and his son were among the hundreds killed. Those fleeing the
proscriptions joined Brutus and Cassius in Greece, where they were amassing an army.
The last big battle for the Republic was fought in 42, at Philippi. On one side were Brutus
and Cassius, and on the other were Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian. Brutus’s army was winning,
while Cassius’s was losing; thinking all lost, Cassius committed suicide. The next day, Brutus
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lost to Antony in another battle, and committed suicide. The Republic was officially dead.
After Philippi, Antony left Italy for the East, to prepare for his invasion of Parthia. He
thought it was a good idea, as he left Octavian a huge mess to clean up–to demobilize hundreds of
thousands of soldiers. Octavian had to find land for them, and to do that he took the land from
rightful owners (one of whom was Vergil: First Eclogue:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0057%3Apoem%3D
4). Consequently he became hated among the Italians. Antony’s brother and wife tried to
capitalize on that hatred and started a war with Octavian; he won, and when Antony came back to
war upon Octavian, the soldiers insisted they make peace. They made a new treaty, and Antony
married Octavian’s sister Octavia to cement the deal (the marriage was the occasion of Vergil’s
4th Eclogue), and redivided the Empire.
Antony returned to the East. While preparing for the invasion of Parthia, he met
Cleopatra ..\..\Pics for RH\Cleopatra.jpg, and fell under her spell. He engaged in un-Roman
practices, which Octavian played up to his Roman and Italian audience. (Description, pp. 220-21)
While Antony was in the East, Octavian was working hard to gain the support of the Italians and
people in the West. He gave gifts to the populace, had a massive building program, and gave
literary patronage to poets. Over time, Octavian came to symbolize stable government and
prosperity. He conquered S. Pompey, the last son of Pompey, who was harassing shipping;
stability and prosperity returned to the West, and Octavian got the credit. (pp. 222-3) Lepidus
was sent into exile, for plotting against Octavian. Octavian also won a military reputation for
himself by waging successful campaigns in Pannonia and Illyricum.
News reached Rome of the “Donations of Alexandria” and Antony’s will. It seems that
Cleopatra dreamed of conquering the West, and she was using Antony in her plans. People knew
it would come down to war. In 32, Antony divorced Octavia, who was a good and loyal wife
despite her husband’s opposition to her brother. She even cared for Antony’s children by his
previous wife.
In 31 B.C. Antony and Cleopatra brought their navy to Greece; the issue was fought at
Actium. After being defeated, Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, where they eventually
committed suicide. Octavian had Caesarion (Cleopatra’s son by Caesar) killed, and incorporated
Egypt into Empire as his own personal property.
(Horace’s “Cleopatra” Ode.)
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RH notes, Chapter 23
The Roman Empire
The Principate
The problems Octavian faced:
•
he couldn’t restore the Republic
•
he couldn’t make himself king or dictator
“festina lente”
How Octavian kept himself in power: from 43-33, by his triumviral powers; from 31-23
by successive consulships (nobles started to resent his monopoly on consulate). After serious
illness in 27, he offered to restore the old Republic, but Senate refused and begged him to
continue.
The “settlement” of Octavian: the Empire was divided into two types of provinces: the
Senatorial provinces, which were peaceful and did not need a large standing army (Sicily,
Corsica, Sardinia, Greece, Asia, Bithynia, Crete, and Africa); and the Imperial provinces (ruled
by the Emperor), which needed a large standing army, were actively involved in war, or too
valuable to entrust to a Senator (Gaul, Spain, Syria, and Egypt).
After re-establishing the Republic, Octavian was given honorary title “Augustus” by the
Senate. The month Sextilis was renamed in his honor. After another major illness in 23, he was
granted maius imperium, which allowed him to override the decision of any magistrate; he
already had tribunicia potestas. By another law, princeps legibus absolutus est (legal
ramifications?).
All the positions and privileges he had (except for the one mentioned last) were standard
Republican positions. Officially, he was princeps, “chief man.” He wanted himself to be thought
of as primus inter pares. He and his family had a monopoly on military positions, however, and
the consulate ended up becoming largely ceremonial; the Senate had much less autonomy, and
became the civil service for the government positions. Since Augustus picked the candidates for
the governors, and paid them a salary, he was able to ensure fair and ethical government in the
provinces.
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Since Augustus controlled all the armies, and there was no one left to oppose him, peace
returned to the Empire. This is the beginning of the Pax Romana. aug12.jpg aug13.jpg ..\My RH
pics\August togatus.jpgSpain and Gaul finally saw the establishment of peace, and prosperity
returned. Augustus also made a peace treaty with the Parthians, and won a public-relations coup
by regaining the standards lost by Crassus’s army. In campaigns along the Danube in 17-10 B.C.,
he or his generals incorporated new provinces into the Empire: Rhaetia, Noricum, Upper and
Lower Pannonia, and in A.D. 6, Moesia. roman empire at death of agustus.jpgThe gates of the
Temple of Janus were closed, for a brief time period; Augustus did have armies fighting
intermittently in Germany, as they were trying to establish the Elbe as the border between Gaul
and Germany. In Germany there occurred the one military disaster of his reign. In A.D. 9, the
Roman general Varus was led into a trap by the German Arminius in the Teutoberg forest; Varus
and his entire force of three legions were annihilated. It was a big blow to Augustus: “Varus,
give me back those three legions!” After that disaster, Augustus decided to withdraw Roman
troops and to establish the Rhine as the frontier; he decided not to expand the borders of the
Empire, a policy most of his successors followed. Such was the stature of Rome that
ambassadors from India came to Rome, as Augustus acknowledged: Ad me ex Indiā regum
legationes saepe missae sunt non visae ante id tempus apud quemquam Romanorum
ducem. (Trade with India and China increased after the discovery by Hippalus that the
monsoon could drastically shorten the journey; ships could sail through the Red Sea to
the Indian Ocean.)
Augustus had started a public-relations campaign, during the early and mid 30s, to solidify
his position against Antony. He continued his policy of improving Rome, Italy, and the
provinces: “I found Rome a city of clay, but left it a city of marble.” He built the Ara Pacis
(http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/arapacis/arapacis.html); repaired roads,
aqueducts, temples, and sewers, under his right-hand man, Agrippa (0148.jpg
..\..\Pics for RH\Pont du Gard.jpgHe established fire brigades for the city and a type of police
force to cut down on the bandits that made travel between towns unsafe. He established the
aerarium militare and the Praetorian Guard. He abolished the system of tax-farming and put it
entirely in the hands of paid equestrian procurators. He also engaged in literary patronage, and in
that was helped by his wealthy friend Maecenas. This was the Golden Age of Latin literature:
•
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Vergil, who wrote Eclogues, Georgics, and The Aeneid: “There is no better way of
getting to understand the spirit of the Roman religion than by continual study of the
Aeneid, where the hero is the ideal Roman, pius in the best and wisest sense.” (N.b.: On
his deathbed Vergil ordered that the Aeneid be burned.)
•
Horace, who wrote lyric poetry–Odes, Epodes, Sermones (Satires), and more
•
Ovid, who wrote the Metamorphoses, Ars Amatoria, elegy, and others
•
Livy, author of Ab urbe condita, a history of Rome from its founding
•
Tibullus, author of elegies
•
Propertius, author of elegies and erotic poetry
Because of the establishment of peace–this was the beginning of the pax Romana–and the
return of prosperity, there grew up the cult of the Emperor, which Augustus certainly fostered, to
increase his subjects’ loyalty to him and the new type of government. The ruler-cult had existed
for a long time in the Hellenistic East before Augustus; in such a far-flung empire, with so many
different languages and cultures, the emperor cult fostered unity.
Augustus tried to revive the old religious practices and old Roman morality; many thought
that the Republic had fallen because the gods were angry and the Romans were corrupt. He
revived the laws against adultery, and even banished his profligate daughter to an island; the poet
Ovid was banished to Tomi, on the Black Sea. He passed laws to encourage Italian and Roman
women to have more children, by rewarding those who had three or more. He himself
encouraged Romans and Italians to live simply with his own simple lifestyle.
The only problem Augustus had was that of finding a worthy successor. The ones he
hoped would succeed him tended to die. Eventually, the only real possibility was Tiberius, of
whom Augustus was not too fond; nonetheless, Tiberius became the heir-apparent.
Before his death, Augustus recorded his accomplishments in Res Gestae, his record of his
accomplishments.
He died, in A.D. 14. At his funeral, an eagle was released from under his funeral pyre, to
symbolize his apotheosis and ascent into heaven.
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Chapter 24
The Julio-Claudian Emperors
Tiberius (A.D. 14-37): Ambiguus Imperandi
Tiberius had a hard act to follow. Who wouldn’t suffer in a comparison with Augustus?
Tiberius was 56 when he assumed power he didn’t really want; he had been Augustus’s last
choice for a successor, and was old and tired after a long and successful career fighting the
Germans. He felt he was holding a wolf by the ears. ..\..\Pics for RH\tiberius[1].jpg
Few were alive who remembered the horrors of the civil wars, and aristocracy
increasingly resented the imperial family’s monopoly of positions of military power. Our main
source for the Julio-Claudians, Tacitus, was bitterly hostile towards them because he and other
nobles were shut out of positions of power.
Upon assuming power, Tiberius offered to share the rule of the Empire with Senate: he’d
rule 1/3, and the Senate would rule 2/3. Senate, full of sycophants (or fearing his power), begged
him to take all the power: “Men fit for slaves,” he muttered. Tiberius lacked people skills; he
wanted the Senate to run the Empire, and tried to prod them into ruling and acquiring some
backbone by not speaking his mind. People were never too sure what he wanted, and feared his
power.
Very unpopular ruler: very conservative with money, giving few games and public
amusements. People were well fed and the government functioned well, but they wanted
amusements and resented Tiberius’ frugality; peace and prosperity weren’t enough.
Tiberius became hated also because of the trials of maiestas minuta, a type of treason.
The delatores were hated and feared, and Tiberius apparently didn’t do enough to stop them.
Problem with Sejanus, his Commander of the Praetorian Guard. Sejanus wanted to
become emperor himself. Sejanus convinced the tired and weary emperor that there were
conspiracies against his life, and Tiberius eventually secluded himself on his island palace of
Capreae, letting Sejanus govern and control access to him. Sejanus enriched himself and killed
off personal enemies and rivals, even driving Tiberius’s granddaughter Agrippina into exile.
Sejanus was very powerful, and hated and feared, and was trying to do away with Tiberius
entirely in order to establish himself as emperor.
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Tiberius managed to figure out what Sejanus was trying to accomplish, and created a
counterplot. The dramatic story inside the Curia (p. 244). Sejanus, his friends, and his wife and
children were killed.
Tiberius, old, miserable, and constantly drunk ruled from Capreae: “Biberius Caldius
Mero.” Died in 37. “In Tiberim Tiberium!” cried the Romans upon learning of his death. No
successor had been arranged for, but Tiberius was deified.
Gaius “Caligula” (AD 37-41)
Very popular upon assuming power; young, lavish, and fun, very different from dour
Tiberius. He gave parties and games. He quickly ordered the death of a cousin, whom he
perceived to be a rival, and killed others he feared; Tiberius had said that Gaius would have all
the vices of Sulla, but without the virtues. ..\..\Pics for RH\caligula1a[1].jpg
Six months into his reign, he became very ill, and the illness made him insane. He became
a bloodthirsty tyrant after that (examples, p. 245). A megalomaniac, he thought he had become a
god (he replaced the heads on the statues of the gods with his own). (Torquatus, Cincinnatus,
Pompeius stories) Incitatus. He wasted all the money the frugal Tiberius had saved, and had to
raise taxes.
He was assassinated in 41.
Claudius (AD 41-54)
He was an unlikely choice for emperor: sickly, drooly, with uncontrollable laugh; his
family, out of shame, had kept him out of public view, and he had spent his time in literary and
historical pursuits. Mother’s cruel words about him.
Yet he was a diligent, devoted emperor, the best Rome had seen since Augustus. He
engaged in a public works project, and passed laws to protect old and sick slaves. He even sat in
court and pronounced judgement (although he fell asleep occasionally).
His greatest accomplishment was his invasion of England, and making it a province of
Rome; his generals gained control of much of southern part of the island. Later generals would
be constantly engaged in pushing the Roman frontier further north towards Scotland, and
stamping out the rebellions.Roman empire from tiberius.jpg
The bad things about Claudius’s rule: he was controlled by his wives and freedmen. His
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first wife, Messalina, used her power to kill or exile personal enemies; eventually she was found
to be plotting against him, and was put to death. His freedmen (Narcissus, Callistus, and Pallas )
ran the Empire, enriched themselves, and killed or exiled personal enemies. His second wife
Agrippina convinced him to place her son, Nero, before his son, Britannicus, in line for the
succession; when Claudius later changed his mind, Agrippina fed him poisoned mushrooms.
Nero, after becoming emperor, joked that mushrooms were the food of the gods, for by them
Claudius had become a god.
Nero (54-68)
He became emperor at age 17, due to the machinations of his mother, Agrippina ..\..\Pics
for RH\46.agrippina_younger[1].jpgSince he was so young, he had as tutors Seneca, a Stoic
philosopher and the foremost intellectual of the age, and Burrus, commander of the Praetorian
Guard.
Burrus and Seneca saw how much power Agrippina had over her son, so to decrease her
power they allowed him to engage in his various interests–painting, singing, sculpting, dancing,
and sexual affairs with slave girls. While he was busy in his various amusements, they ran the
Empire, and did a good job of it.
Soon Agrippina realized she was losing her control over her son, and she threatened to
replace him with Britannicus. “I made you Emperor!” she told him. So Nero poisoned
Britannicus (dramatic story of the banquet, p. 251). Later Nero killed his mother as well (the
boat story).
Nero did little to govern the empire. He busied himself with poetry, and went on tour as a
poet. He always performed to packed houses, and had his professional clappers always in
attendance; people were not allowed to leave the performance.
Burrus, one stabilizing influence in his life, died, and Seneca, feeling less powerful,
retired; the new commander of the Guard was the evil Tigellinus. Nero divorced his wife,
Octavia, accusing her of adultery (her slaves, even under excruciating torture, refused to lie), and
had her killed. He then married Poppaea Sabina, who gave birth to a baby girl, who died not long
after.
The most famous event of Nero’s reign was the great fire, July 18, 64. Did Nero fiddle
while Rome burned? He blamed the Christians for it, and thus started the first of the persecutions
71
against Christians. Peter and Paul were among the victims of this round of persecutions. Nero
aroused much suspicion against him by starting construction on his domus aurea, a huge and
extravagant palace. He planned to have a 200 feet-tall statue of himself, and planned to rename
Rome “Neropolis.”
Since Nero was hated and feared, and always in need of money to fund his extravagant
lifestyle, he restarted the trials of maiestas. A conspiracy arose to kill him, under the leadership,
it seems, of the poet Piso (hence the name, the Pisonian Conspiracy). Hundreds of nobles were
murdered in Nero’s relentless and savage quest for revenge. Three famous victims: Seneca, the
Stoic philosopher; Lucan, the poet and author of Pharsalia; and Petronius, the arbiter elegentiae
and author of Satyricon. Description of Petronius’s death. Trimalchio’s dinner
Despite the chaos in the palace, the Empire itself was prospering; Nero’s insanity affected
only the nobility and the palace. A rebellion in England was crushed. Armenia was gained for
the Empire; and a Roman army was besieging Jerusalem in the Jewish war.
Since the treasury was drained, Nero needed money; crazy delusion (p. 255).
Fearing a conspiracy, Nero ordered the death of one excellent general (who had
mistakenly trusted him). After his death, one general revolted, and then another; the Senate voted
Nero out of power. Nero thought he could always make a living from his poetry, if he lost his
political power. He committed suicide. His last words: “Qualis artifex pereo!”
The Year of the Four Emperors (68-69)
Galba, marched to Rome and made himself emperor. He was murdered by Otho, who
became emperor. Vitellius’s soldiers revolted and made their general emperor. Vespasian, who
had been in Jerusalem, marched on Rome and made himself Emperor.
Latin Literature of the Julio-Claudian Emperors
“Silver Age”
Seneca Stoic philosopher (Epistulae Morales), tragedian (“closet” tragedies, never really
meant to be performed), Apocolocyntosis (“The Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius”)
Pliny the Elder (Natural History)
Petronius Satyricon and “Cena Trimalchionis”
Lucan Pharsalia
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Chapter Twenty-Five
The Flavian Emperors
Vespasian (69-79)
Vespasian faced many problems: empty treasury; war in Jerusalem; war in Gaul; and
Dacians (from modern Romania) were invading Roman territory.
Vespasian had none of the pretensions of his predecessors. He had the gift of common
sense (tax on tanners story). Earlier in life he had incurred Caligula’s anger (dirty alley story),
and later Nero’s, for falling asleep during one of his recitals. “I would rather you smelled of
garlic.” He raised taxes to restore the treasury, yet when natural disasters struck, he remitted the
taxes for those areas. Peace was restored in Gaul, and the Dacians were driven out of the Empire,
and his son Titus carried on the siege of Jerusalem to total victory, and the Temple was destroyed
in 70. Arch of Titus: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/titus/titus.html ..\..\Pics for
RH\column of Titus, detail.jpg
He stopped trials of maiestas and even restored citizenship to those exiled because of
maiestas. He stopped the delatores, and committed only one political murder; apparently L.
Helvidius Priscus would not get the message to stop agitating for a revolution. He built roads and
buildings, one of which was the Colosseum (Amphitheatrum Flavianum). ..\My RH
pics\Colosseum.jpg ..\My RH pics\Colosseum2.jpg ..\..\Pics for RH\Colosseum, interior.JPGHe
also started something like public education in Italy by paying for professional teachers and
granting them immunity from taxes. He granted Latin rights to all Spain and drafted provincials
into the Senate; an African became consul in 80.
He died in 79. His last words show his common sense and humor: “Vae, puto deus fio”
Titus (79-81): Amici, diem perdidi.
Titus was very young when he became emperor. People were afraid that he would turn
out like Nero or Caligula, as he too had had a wild, dissolute youth. Yet he became immensely
popular, giving games and all sorts of entertainment. He respected private property and tried to
use all his powers to help his subjects. He is said to have exclaimed that he had lost a day when
73
he had not helped someone. He suspected that his brother Domitian was plotting against him, but
never did anything to stop him, only begging him to stop.
The most significant event of his reign was the eruption of Vesuvius. It buried
Herculaneum and Pompeii.
The British revolted, and were squashed by Roman armies; the navy sailed around Britain
and learned that it was, in fact, an island.
He died in 81, perhaps poisoned by Domitian.
Domitian (81-96)
Domitian was very different from his brother and father. He became one of the most
hated and feared emperors. He had 24 lictors precede him, and made himself censor perpetuus.
He insisted that people call him dominus et deus, and ordered that they make sacrifices to him. he
revived trials of maiestas, and unleashed the delatores. He was very paranoid about conspiracies
against his life; he coated the columns around his palace with some reflective substance so that he
could always see everything in the room.
He was an efficient emperor, for the most part. He did engage in a not-successful war in
Dacia. He started construction of the Pantheon.
His wife joined a conspiracy against him, and she removed the blade from a dagger that he
kept under his pillow; he put up a terrific fight when the assassins came, but they succeeded. So
hated had he been that the Senate voted a damnatio memoriae for him.
74
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Five Good Emperors
The Culmination of the Pax Romana
Nerva (AD 96-98)
For the first time ever, the Senate was given the opportunity to choose the next emperor.
The senators chose Nerva. Nerva was an old man, but well respected among the patres. He
lacked the total support of the army, however, as the soldiers were unhappy that Domitian’s
assassins had not been brought to justice; Domitian had been very popular with the soldiers. For
a while, Nerva was besieged in his palace by the soldiers; then he took an unusual step–he named
his successor, Trajan, the general of the armies along the Rhine. Then the unrest quieted down,
and Nerva died of natural causes.
Trajan (98-117) “Optimus Princeps”
“Take this sword to use for me, if I rule well, or against me, if I rule badly.”
He had been born in Spain (Baetica). A good emperor Trajan did not allow trials for
maiestas (Sura story, p. 266). He engaged in a large public works project: Forum Traiani, with
two libraries, one for Latin, and the other for Greek; the Forum also had the Column of Trajan.
He sought to restore prosperity in Italy. He gave subsidies for poor children.
He waged two wars. ..\..\Pics for RH\Trajan.jpgThe first was against Dacia (modern
Romania). The first campaign was 101-2 was successful, and Trajan allowed Decebalus, the king
of the Dacians, to retain his kingdom. In 103, Decebalus revolted, and overran the Roman
garrisons. Trajan returned to Dacia and completed the conquest in 105. It became the province
Dacia, and Trajan colonized it with peoples from all over the Empire. Therefore Romanian is the
youngest of the Romance languages. The Column of Trajan commemorates the battles (p. 269).
..\My RH pics\Column of Trajan.jpg ..\..\Pics for RH\Trajan's Column, detail.jpg
Trajan’s other war wasn’t as successful. Parthia had long been a problem for Rome. In
113 he started for Armenia, which had long been a problem between Rome and the Parthians. He
deposed the Parthian puppet-king of Armenia, and made it a province of Rome. Then he invaded
Parthia itself, crossing the Tigris and capturing Ctesiphon, the capital of Parthia; he couldn’t
75
capture the king, however. He made Parthia the Roman province Mesopotamia, and the Roman
Empire then reached its greatest extent, including Iraq and northern Iran. Roman empire from
tiberius.jpg Trajan then became the first Roman emperor to see the Persian Gulf.
The Parthians revolted and invaded Armenia. The Romans managed to keep
Mesopotamia and to regain Armenia, but gave up other of their new acquisitions. While resting
in Syria, Trajan died.
Hadrian (A.D. 117-138)
•
Devoted and diligent (old lady story)
•
no serious war
•
Like Trajan, he too came from Spain. He showed great respect for the Senate, and
brought more provincials into it: “The men who were prominent in it, like himself,
were no longer Romans; hardly three of the old Roman families were still to the
fore. Spaniards, Gauls, Africans, natives of Asia Minor, who were rich and
established, and possessed a strong following, composed the assembly of the
illustrious, who were no longer a reflection of Rome, but a collection of a new
upper class of the Empire, divergent in their interests, world-wide in their
horizons, united by the influence of a uniformly political and intellectual culture.”
(Cambridge Ancient History XI, p. 308)
•
He renounced Trajan’s gains in Parthia, stopped Rome’s advances in
England, and allowed Armenia to be ruled by his own king. He didn’t want to
overextend Rome’s resources, and instead sought to solidify and strengthen what
Rome already had. He toured the entire empire to inspect conditions.
•
He started the construction of a wall to keep marauding Scots out of
England. Called “Hadrian’s Wall,” the wall stretches from one side of England to
the other. Parts of it survive today. ..\..\Pics for RH\Hadrian's Wall.jpg
•
He made more humane conditions for slaves, and gave Christians some
measure of protection. He continued Trajan’s work of helping the poor and
children.
•
He built Hadrian’s villa and huge mausoleum (now Castel San Angelo),
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and restored other buildings.
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/castelsa/distant.jpg
•
Yet was unpopular. He was very knowledgeable about philosophy and poetry, and
liked to engage in discussions with philosophers and poets; he wanted to win the
arguments, yet his opponents could not really argue. He did commit a few
political murders early in his reign, and that soured people’s opinion of him.
•
He suffered a hemorrhage and died, in great pain. Before he died, he appointed M.
Antoninus as his heir.
•
His villa at Tivoli:
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/tivoli/hadrian'svilla/hadrian3.html
Marcus Antoninus, “The Dutiful” (138-161)
•
Very gentle, simple, dutiful, generous with his wealth, but frugal in his
lifestyle. He is said to have eaten the food that came from his own estates, and
even helped in harvesting the grapes. Visitors to his house are said to have found
him wearing simple clothes, doing household chores.
•
He enlarged upon the welfare system for widows and orphans, calling them
“Faustinians” in honor of his wife Faustina, who died in the third year of his reign.
When his officials collected more money in taxes than had been called for, they
had to explain the reason.
•
He did not persecute Christians.
•
There was very little warfare during his reign. He is said to have quoted a
saying of Scipio, that he would rather save one citizen than kill one thousand
enemies.
•
Senate wanted to rename the month of his birth in his honor. He refused.
•
He named Marcus Aurelius as his successor.
Marcus Aurelius, “The Philosopher” (161-179)
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He was co-emperor with brother Verus. Verus, however, did very little to
•
help the Empire, while Aurelius did most of the work.
•
Aurelius was a devoted Stoic. Major tenet of Stoicism: to live in
accordance with nature and the will of God (Stoicism was monotheistic). Despite
the great similarities between Christianity and Stoicism, Aurelius persecuted
Christians.
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War with Parthia. Parthians take over Armenia, but Romans drive them
out and inflict serious losses on Parthian army. Romans then withdraw from
Armenia. Returning soldiers brought back a plague, which is estimated to have
killed 25% of Roman populace.
•
Germanic tribe Marcomanni overrun Dacia and advance into Empire as far
as Aquileia. Emperors drive Germans out, but the pressure on the borders never
abates, and Aurelius spends most of the rest of his reign along the Danube, leading
the campaign against the Germans.
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/marcusaurelius/marcusaurelius.htm
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To raise money for the army, Aurelius sold treasures from his palaces,
instead of raising taxes.
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The governor of Syria, who was having an affair with Aurelius’s wife,
revolted. Aurelius had to leave war to take care of him (the governor was
murdered by one of his own.
•
He wrote Meditations, a book of inspirational and philosophical thoughts
on life, man’s place in it, and how to get by in it from a Stoic perspective. People
still read it today.
•
Appoints son Commodus as his successor, the only bad thing he did as
emperor.
Commodus (180-192)
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He turned out to be worse than Nero. He was murdered after a brutal reign.
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Epilogue
M. Didius Julianus, the emperor after Commodus’s replacement (M. Helvidius
Pertinax), was the highest bidder when the Praetorian Guard put the position of Emperor
on the auction block. He enjoyed the position for only three months, for he was
overthrown and killed.
Septimius Severus (193-211), who was born in Lepcis Magna in Africa and was a
Semite, restored order and had a great arch built to commemorate his victories over the
Parthians.
http://www.livius.org/a/italy/rome/arch_severus/arch_septimius_severus_03.jpg
His son Caracalla gave citizenship to all free men in the empire (mostly because it
brought money into the treasury).
The empire celebrated its 1,000th year of existence on April 21, 247, when Philip
“The Arab” was emperor. Some believe that Philip was Christian. The persecution of
Christians reaches a high point under the emperor Decius (ca. 250) and Diocletian.
The Germans become a greater presence in the history of the Empire. It must first
be stated that they did not aspire to destroy the empire; in fact, they wanted to become a
part of it and to enjoy its benefits, as they themselves were being pushed west by yet more
ferocious tribes (e.g., Huns). Yet they wished to enter when the Empire did not want them
to, and the invasions caused chaos along the Danube and Rhein, at the same time that the
Parthians were causing problems in the East. To secure peace with the barbaric tribes, the
Emperors started allowing them to enter the empire and settle as confederate nations. It
was cheaper and more feasible to pay the barbarians to defend the Empire from other
barbarians and to not invade, which can be thought of as a “subsidy” as well as
“extortion.” (What choice did the emperors really have?) Over time—decades--Germans
come to fill most positions in the army, from the common foot-soldiers to the leadership
positions, while “Romans” (that is, non-barbarians) dominate the civilian positions in the
government.
Diocletian came to power (284-305) and pulled the Empire back from the abyss.
He created the “Tetrarchy.” As “Augustus” he ruled eastern part of Empire with his
assistant Galerius (“Caesar”), while the “Augustus” in the western part was Maximian,
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and his “Caesar” was Chlorus. The Augustus/Caesar arrangement clarified the issue of
succession. Diocletian and his successor Constantine bear much of the responsibility for
making the position of emperor much like the oriental despots; Constantine started
wearing a diadem. The emperor alone had the power to legislate. One had to do
proskynesis before addressing the emperor, and address him as dominus; despotes is also
used regularly to address the emperor (although the emperor “seldom forgot that if he was
a dominus, he was a dominus liberorum.” Bury I.16). The adjective sacer comes to refer
to anything having to do with the emperor. The emperor’s council/cabinet was called a
consistorium because its members had to stand in the emperor’s presence, and the
emperor’s dominance of its proceedings is indicated by the term for a meeting, silentium.
To support the oriental-type court and the costs of defending the frontiers, taxes became
outrageously high. As farmers started deserting their lands (either to join the barbarians or
to seek other occupations), new laws were instituted binding them to their land; they
become coloni. Another law required that the son follow the occupation of his father.
Diocletian retired, and the new tetrarchy did not survive, as its members began
fighting with each other. Eventually Constantine replaced his father, Constantius, and he
became allied with Licinius. Together they issued the first edict of toleration for the
Christians; Licinius’ soldiers were even instructed to say a prayer before the big battle
with Maximin, who was hostile to Christians. The Christian writer Lactantius tells us the
prayer:
Summe deus, te rogamus, sancte deus, te rogamus.
Omnem iustitiam tibi commendamus,
salutem nostram tibi commendamus,
imperium nostrum tibi commendamus.
Per te vivimus, per te victores et felices existimus.
Summe, sancte deus, preces nostras exaudi;
bracchia nostra ad te tendimus, exaudi sancte, summe deus."
Constantine later eliminated Licinius and (324-337) moved the capitol to
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Byzantium, and renamed it after himself, establishing it under Christian auspices; Italy
itself was becoming the backwater of the Empire. The new city allowed greater access to
the Rhine, Danube, Asia Minor, and Euphrates.
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/archconstantine/0001.jpg He issued Edict
of Milan (313) which granted Christians full religious freedom; he had seen in hoc signo
vinces before the battle of Milvian Bridge. At Council of Niceae (325), he made
Christianity official religion of Empire and the church becomes the “alter ego” of the
state, that is, another governmental power over the citizens/subjects; the emperor can see
himself not only as the viceregent of God but also as one to arbitrate and settle theological
disputes. He even assigned judicial powers to bishops. Theodosius banned pagan
religions (395).
The Empire was permanently split between East and West in 364. Yet the people
of the time still thought of it as being just one empire.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/roman_empire_395.jpg
The Western part suffered much from Germanic invasions. The Goths, angered by
the dishonesty of imperial officials, revolted in 378 and destroyed a Roman army under
Valens at Hadrianople (378), a “second Cannae.” Later, an emperor withheld the annual
subsidies from the Visigoths without at the same time forming an army to stop them, so
under their leader Alaric the Visigoths invaded Italy and sacked Rome in 410. During the
chaos of these decades Germanic tribes take over parts of the Empire: Vandals and Suevi
in Spain (and Vandals cross into Africa in 429 and take Carthage, 439); Visigoths,
Burgundians, and Franks in Gaul; and eventually the Lombardi in Italy. During this same
time the Huns (not Germans, but from the Ural-Altaic group) are pressuring Europe and
are at the height of their power in Europe from 445-450. Yet the danger of the Huns
forced the Germans to cooperate more closely with the Romans, as the Germans now saw
that they shared a common heritage with the Empire, a heritage they needed to protect and
foster.
The Eastern part of the Empire fared very well for centuries, but certainly had
many struggles against Arabs, Christians (particularly the Crusaders), and then the Turks.
It was sacked by its “allies” during the Fourth Crusade (1204). It fell in 1453 to
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Muhammed II, the Ottoman sultan. People say that the sack of Constantinople was a great
contributing factor to the Renaissance, for during the Dark Ages the West had lost its
knowledge of Greek, and the fleeing Greek scholars found jobs in Italy, where there was a
hunger for classical Greek.