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Western Civ 101-02
Class 14
Sept. 24, 2015
Rise of the Roman Empire
Timelines for Rome
753 BC: Legendary brothers Romulus and Remus establish Rome on
seven hills
510 BC: Romans rise against the Etruscans and create the Republic of
Rome
By 500 BC, other Italian peoples
are living in city-states, and that
distinctively Greek political form,
the republic, is taking root in the
peninsula.
In central Italy, the small city of
Rome is even now winning its
independence from Etruscan
domination and becoming one of
these new-fangled city-republics.
http://www.timemaps.com/history/i
taly-500bc
Timelines for Rome
By the end of the fourth century BC, Romans were
expanding their power across central and southern Italy.
Long, fierce wars ended in Sabine, Samnite, and
Umbrian hill tribes, and Etruscan and Greek city-states, all
falling under Roman domination.
Pursuing a far-sighted policy, Rome did not treat
defeated opponents as conquered peoples, but formed
them into a confederation of allies under her leadership.
A network of roads and colonies underpinned Roman
control of the peninsula.
Timelines for Rome
• Rome’s Italian allies
provided troops for the
great wars Rome fought
with Carthage in the
third century (264-241
BC and 218-202 BC),
and mostly held firm in
their loyalty to the
Romans in the face of
Hannibal's devastating
invasion of Italy.
218 BC: Hannibal crossed the Alps during the Second
Punic War: he did NOT defeat Rome
Carthage and Rome
had fought,
repeatedly, and had
treaties. Carthage
lost the 1st war, and
with it Sicily and
most of it’s navy.
They had previously
conquered Spain
and had a treaty to
the Elbro River with
Greece. So Hannibal
went there, to
“New Carthage” to
conquer Greece by
land. Over rivers,
mountains, the
Alps. With some
Elephants along….
Timelines for Rome
58-51 BC: Julius Caesar defeats the Gauls and the Britons
47-44 BC: Julius Caesar is named dictator, only to be
murdered by senators
Timelines for Rome
27 BC: Octavian becomes Augustus, the first emperor
1 AD: Birth of Christ and common era
79 AD: Vesuvius erupts, destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum
167 AD: Barbarians Invade the Empire’s northern and
southern provinces
312 AD: Constantine declares Christianity Rome’s state religion.
The Roman Empire
Introduction to Roman Empire’s
Contributions to Western Civilization
• Retention of Greek High Culture
– Literature, arts, education, science, philosophy,
etc.
– We get a LOT of what we know about/have
from Greece, through Roman conservation.
• The value of copying
– And to some degree, adapting
– There’s a lot of good to be learned by emulating
the best forms.
Introduction to Roman Empire’s
Contributions to Western Civilization
• Imperial Empire
– Egypt, Persian, Greek, Hellenistic as models
– Refined into an enduring form
• Imperial administration (the best up until
then; then until the British).
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Don’t kill or enslave those you conquer.
Leave order in place, then undermine it.
Collect the taxes.
Export the goodies home.
Give em peace, order, services.
Introduction to Roman Empire’s
Contributions to Western Civilization
• Engineering/architectural infrastructure
– Roads, aqueducts, urban buildings and
monuments of all sorts.
• Important revisions to military strategy
• Football
– Ok . . . Not football exactly . . . But massive
spectator sports/spectacles that literally
overwhelmed the culture with entertainment
lust.
Introduction to Roman Empire’s
Contributions to Western Civilization
• Public school system for education
– Based on the rhetorical models from Greece
• Latin as standard FORMAL code (initially, no good;
eventually, the gold standard for diplomacy).
– Remember that no one ever adopts it as the vernacular.
• History (deeply refined the practice of writing them)
• Plastic art that boarders on the greatest: esp.
Sculpture & Mosaics
• Great Literature
• Some lasting philosophical perspectives
Introduction to Roman Empire’s
Contributions to Western Civilization
• Politics
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–
–
–
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Briefly representative
Based on stated high ideals
Thereafter, mostly fake
Demonstrates how to build and run an empire
DID I MENTION MOSTLY FAKE?
• Law, especially the notion of “natural law” and the
articulation of broad administrative codes that work
for masses of people, including imperial conquests.
• “The Good Man Speaking Well”
– Wedding the value of broad liberal education with civic
duty and articulate and influential communication
Introduction to Roman Empire’s
Contributions to Western Civilization
• Graphic demonstration of how corruption -political, moral, cultural -- can truly destroy an
entire civilization, no matter how great.
• Make way for the Christians. Not to over-simplify,
but:
– The Romans provide the Christians with a common enemy
– It’s possible to “go forth and teach all nations” when there are good
roads and travel to “the provinces” is not extraordinary.
– Once you get there, the language, money, etc., are shared in common.
One passport, one currency, a common “formal” language.
• Spreading a common cultural element, like religion, is
not out of the question, esp. once it is validated by the
State.