Download Roman World - HISTORY APPRECIATION

Ancient Rome
& its World
Roman Geography
Italian Peninsula 750 BCE
Influences
• Etruscans
• Greeks
• Latium region
– Latins and Sabines.
– tribal, agrarian
Reflections on the Etruscan Civilization
By Graziano Baccolini
I can never succeed in understanding why Italians still
fail to recognize the enormous contribution that the
Etruscan civilization has made to our Western
civilization. We keep on believing the teaching that the
Greeks and above all the Romans are the peoples to
whom the Western world owes its origins. All of this is
considerably exaggerated and based on historical
falsehoods. However, I have ascertained instead that it
is the Etruscans, coming from the East, who are the true
founders of our European culture, …
Etruscans
• Settled between 900 - 800 BCE
• Origins unknown, possibly eastern
Mediterranean, possibly Asia Minor
• Brought civilization and urbanization to
Italian Peninsula
• Single most important influence on
Roman culture in its transition to
civilization.
Chimera
Etruscan
society & Contributions
• Architecture & Engineering
– Arch used in gates & bridges
– FORUM plan
• Women play a fairly significant role
• Alphabet a variation of Greek, foundation
for Latin (isolate language)
• Religion
– anthropomorphic gods
& divination (augury)
• Artistic Legacy
As the Etruscans developed their civilization in the
North, what events were taking place south along
the Tiber River?
ROMAN BEGINNINGS….
The Forum
• political and
economical center of
Rome during the
Republic
• It emerged in the 7th
century BCE
maintained well into the
Imperial period
– reduced to a monumental area
Roman Origins
• Legend and mythology ???
• Ancient writers such as Livy
and Herodotus
• Archeological evidence
• Virgil’s Aeneid
• Titus Livius , The History of
Rome
– Romulus and Remus, founders
of Rome.
– Romulus murdered Remus
– Romulus - the first King of
Rome
Rise of Roman
Power
Consolidation of Italian
Peninsula …
(5th C – 3rd C BCE)
•Rome: a city state w/ Etruscan
Kings - liberated 509 BCE
•Continual Battle for control
•Organization of Governing Body
The Roman
Legion
Roman Republic
Structure & Society
Government
Law
Family
Gender
Artistic Legacy as a reflection of values and society
Foreign Relations
Making sense of the Roman Republic
1. What is meant by republic and is the Roman
Republic a democratic system? Explain.
2. Romans are perhaps best remembered for
their law code, first created during the
Republic period. What was, and continues
to be, so significant about this law code?
3. What aspects of the Roman system do you
see as being problematic in terms of its
future success?
Roman Republic
509 BCE Rome is liberated
270 BCE control of entire Peninsula
2 Consuls
(Rulers of Rome)
DICTATOR
Senate
During war
(Representative body for patricians) or conflict
Tribal Assembly
(Representative body for plebeians)
Roman Roads
Appian Way
Built Roman Cultural Identity
Soldiers spread throughout
Taxation, citizenship –in some cases
The Twelve Tables, 450 BCE
CODE OF LAW
• Earliest (surviving) piece of literature
• Created out of the struggle for legal
and social protection and civil rights
between:
– PATRICIANS the privileged class
– PLEBEIANS the common people
• Bound both parties to the agreement
• Magistrates (the 2 consuls) were to
enforce impartially.
The Twelve Tables
• TABLE I Procedure: for courts and
trials
• TABLE II Trials, continued.
• TABLE III Debt
• TABLE IV Rights of fathers
(paterfamilias) over the family
• TABLE V Legal guardianship and
inheritance laws
• TABLE VI Acquisition and possession
• TABLE VII Land rights
• TABLE VIII Torts (Laws of injury)
• TABLE IX Public law
• TABLE X Sacred law
Plebeians also
won…
TRIBUNE
w/VETO Power
Continued to gain
more participation
in government
Excerpts from Twelve Tables
V. 1 "Our ancestors saw fit that "females, by reason of
levity of disposition, shall remain in guardianship,
even when they have attained their majority."
XI. 1 "Marriage shall not take place between a
patrician and a plebeian."
What do these tell us about Roman society?
Insights from the
Twelve Tables
main bonds which hold the society
together and allow it to operate are:
• the clan (genos, gens)
• patronage (patron/client)
• the inherent (and inherited) right of
the patricians to leadership (in war,
religion, law, and government).
Recap…
1. What strategies/methods did the Romans
implement in their takeover of the Italian
Peninsula?
2. Why would it be correct to say that the
Mediterranean Sea was the most
significant geographic feature in the
development of the Roman Empire?
3. How did Roman expansion influence their
relationship with their neighbors?
Carthaginians
218BCE: after 1st Punic War
Punic Wars
• Roman & Carthaginian Rivalry
• 264 BCE- 146 BCE
1st Punic War
2nd Punic War
3rd Punic War
Roman victory
•Sardinia
•Corsica
•Sicily
Hannibal invades
Rome
Romans invade
Carthage
Romans defeat
Hannibal at Zama
Romans invaded
Carthage
Sold survivors
into slavery
“Salted the earth”
Rome establishes provinces in North Africa
Hannibal’s Route
Second Punic War, 218BCE
Siege of Carthage
100BCE: After 3rd Punic War
Evaluating the Success of the Republic
• In what ways was the Roman Republic a
success?
• In what ways was the Roman Republic a
failure?
• How could the creation of an empire
essentially bring about an end to the
government of the republic?
Roman Empire
Civil War & Transition
From Republic to Empire
Civil War Emerged from the spoils & chaos of
conquest…
– Excess wealth from cheap labor and markets
– Sizeable slave population
– Corruption & greed
• Widening gap between rich & poor
• Calls for reform:
– Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (Tribunes)
• the poor should be given grain and small plots of free land.
• Assassinated
Political Turmoil
Civil War gave rise to professional armies, instead
of citizen soldiers
– Loyal to commanders, not senate or consuls
Competition among
– “old Republicans” who believed Senate should hold
the power
– Popular leaders (reformers, commanders)
ENTER…. JULIUS CAESAR: Consul & Commander
Julius Caesar:
Veni, vidi, vici
• Conquered Gaul 59 BCE
• Crossed the Rubicon
– Marched on Rome disregarded
Senate & Pompey’s orders
• Ruled as a dictator
– maintained Senate which had no
real power
• Reforms
– Public works, increased
citizenship, created jobs, calendar
Beware the Ides of March
Senators feared Caesar's growing power
What should be the
legacy of Julius Caesar?
Provide examples in support of
your decision…
Julius Caesar was a reformer who was
working in the best interest of the Roman
people when his life was cut short by
assassins.
Julius Caesar was a dictator who intended
to use his popularity to usurp the power of
the Senate and establish a monarchy to
benefit himself and his family.
Julius Caesar’s true objectives will never
be known, but given the available evidence
I believe his legacy is best described as …
…having pitted Roman against Roman and
ultimately destroying the Roman Republic.
Julius Caesar’s true objectives will never
be known, but given the available evidence
I believe his legacy is best described as …
…having laid the foundation for the great
Roman Empire.
AD
337: At its Peak
Civil War Again!
Caesar’s supporters joined forces to capture
murderers
• Caesar’s chief general: Marc Antony
• Caesar’s grandnephew: Octavian
Power struggle ensued between Antony &
Octavian
The Age of Empire had begun….
Antony & Cleopatra
Roman Empire
31BCE Octavian defeated Antony & Cleopatra
• 27 BCE Senate bestowed title “Augustus”
– Religious connotation, divine, semi-divine
– Monarchy disguised as republic
• Preserved traditional offices
• New standing army loyal to
emperor
– Ruled for 45 years
– Initiated Pax Romana
Augustus
of Prima
Porta
AD
14: At the time of
Octavian Augustus Death
Pax Romana
ROMAN PEACE
• Wealth brought greater Urban development of Rome
– Circus Maximus, The Coliseum, Aqueducts
– Development of Cities (Paris, London, Lyon, Toledo)
• Interdependence
– Specialization of Agriculture
– Facilitation of Trade and Communication
– Postal Service, Roads
• Roman law (added to and adapted 12 Tables)
– Innocent until proven guilty
– Right to face accusers in court of law
Mare Nostrum
Roman
Roads
North African road almost
3,000 miles
All Roads Lead to Rome
Coliseum & Circus Maximus
Aqueducts
Engineering an Empire
How had life changed for
people during Pax Romana?
Consider…
Roman Society
What aspects stayed the same as the Republic and what
changed?
• Growth of New Social Classes
– Merchants, contractors, engineers, landowners
• Pater Familias
– “Father of the family” – patriarchal, deferential society
• Women’s Role
– Domestic affairs, inheritance & influence grew over time
• Slavery
– 1/3rd of Population – growth of slave population
– revolts
73 BCE Spartacus Revolt
Politics & Religion
Polytheism to Monotheism
Belief Systems of the
Early Roman Empire
• Polytheistic spirits (unlike Greece) Pantheon of
deities (like Greece)
– Jupiter – principle god
• Rituals, Sacrifices, Priests & Priestess
• Tolerant, blended with other local religions
– Religions of Salvation (saved for a better afterlife)
– Cult of Isis
• Jewish Community problematic to Roman
Emperor Because of monotheistic nature
– Jewish War 66 – 70AD
– Emergence of Christian Jewish Sect- followers of Jesus
of Nazareth
Early Christian Beliefs & Practices
• Monotheistic
– Jesus of Nazareth – Savior & son of God
• Salvation equally accessible to all
– Eternal life - Salvation
– Rich, poor, men, women
– High moral standards of conduct
challenges to
traditional Roman
society
• Faith ahead of personal & family interests –
• Regional variations according to bishops
– Role of women, ordination, account of Jesus’ life &
impact
Spread of Christianity
How are Roman officials likely
to respond to the growth of the
Christian sect?
Why might Christianity
become more of a concern for
the Romans than the Jewish
sect?
Christian relationship with
Early Roman Empire
• Missionary Component
– St Paul of Tarsus traveled throughout Mediterranean
bringing converts to Christian Community
– Appealed to lower classes, women, urban populations
– Sizeable Christian population by 300 CE
• Problem…Refused to honor Roman deities or
recognize Emperor as having an element of
divinity
– Sporadic campaigns by Empire to persecute &
eliminate Christians
Back to Politics…
What changes were taking place in the
Empire by the 3rd Century?
What were some of the problems the
Empire might be experiencing?
Later Empire: Fundamental
Political Changes
Accession of Diocletian to the throne in A.D. 284.
• Roles of consul, tribune, senate lost any remaining
significance, and were practically abolished.
• 292, Diocletian created a Tetrarchy :
– A co-Augustus in the West;
– Two lesser rulers (Caesars)
• Each emperor ruled in his own territory
– defending the frontiers
– suppressing revolts
Emperor Constantine
• Ruled 306 to 337
• ruled the ‘Western Empire’
– proclaimed emperor by the legions of
Gaul
– Battle of the Milvian Bridge
• Ended the civil wars of the Tetrarchy
• 323 Constantine became sole
Emperor of the whole Roman world
Constantine’s
Conversion
• Vision in battle -Constantine had soldiers wear crucifix
symbol into battle
• 313 - Edict of Milan granted by Constantine
– religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire
– restitution of property confiscated from Christians.
• Constantine's profession of Christianity deprived it of
much of its independence
– used the church as an instrument of imperial policy
– imposed upon the church his imperial ideology
Constantinople
• Dedicated on May 11, 330
• Ancient Greek city of
Byzantium
• Capital of the empire
• Favorable position
– Economic (ports, trade)
– Political (eastern fronts)
• Christian Capital
– Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom)
Hagia Sophia
Fall of the Roman
Empire
Not one specific cause
• Internal Decay
• External pressures
• Timing consistent
with Fall of Asian
Empires
• Crises of Late
Antiquity
Internal Decay
• Disease & epidemics
– small pox, measles
• Economic drain
– Centralization unmanageable
– Rise of regional self sufficiency
• Political turmoil
– succession crises
• Widening gap between rich and poor
External pressures
• Germanic invasions
• Late 4th Century Huns
– Attila the Hun
– Aggressive westward migration
– Invaded Hungary, Balkans, Northern Italy
• Pressure on other Germanic groups
–
–
–
–
Visigoths, Franks, Vandals
Invaded Roman territories
Rome sacked 410
476 Imperial Authority came to an end
Crisis of Late Antiquity
Sources
•
•
•
•
http://www.unrv.com/empire/founding.php
http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/12tables.html
http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/4_Forum_Romanum.html
http://historyworld.org/christianity%20conversion_of_constantine.htm
• http://www.earlychurch.org.uk/constantine.php