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Ancient Rome
Rome
Similarities to other ancient civilizations?
 What made it unique?
 Pros and cons of republic vs. empire?
 Where do we see traces of it in modern
West?

Archaic Rome
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The Origins of Rome
 In Latium
 Tiber River
 Foundation myth:
Romulus and Remus
Archaic Rome
She-wolf (ca. 500 BC),
Capitoline Museum, Rome
Archaic Rome
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The Kings (ca. 625-509 BC)
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Original rulers of Rome (supposedly 7)
Wielded imperium
Advised by Senate
Archaic Rome
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The Roman Family
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PATERFAMILIAS
Women subject to male
authority
Lots of children eneded!
Archaic Rome
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Questions?
The Roman Republic
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The Roman Republic (ca. 500-27 BC)
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Established after overthrow of kings
REPUBLIC (res publica)
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Goal: limit arbitrary authority of one person
Government authority to be shared equally among Roman
aristocrats
The Roman Republic
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Republican
Government
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The Senate
CONSULS
The Senate
DICTATOR
The Roman Republic
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Roman Expansion
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Formidable army (“iron
legions”)
By 133 BC Italy and
Greek East conquered
Built roads
Established colonies
The Roman Republic
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Greek Impact on Roman Culture
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Expansion  exposure to Greek civilization
Romans and Greece
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Enamored with Greek culture
Greek tutors!
Greek and Italian synthesis  Greco-Roman culture
The Roman Republic
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Cicero (106-43 BC)
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Lawyer, politician
Studied oratory,
philosophy in Greek East
Latin conduit of Greek
thought
Famous for his orations
The Roman Republic
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The Punic Wars
(264-146 BC)
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Mediterranean powers:
Rome, Carthage
Carthaginian Empire was
great naval power
Roman and Carthaginian
animosity  three wars
End result: destruction of
Carthage
The Roman Republic
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First Punic War
(264-241 BC)
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Over Sicily
Rome built a fleet
Roman victory
Outcome
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Carthage no longer
maritime superpower
Rome gained Sicily,
more later
The Roman Republic
Corvus
The Roman Republic
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Second Punic War
(218-201 BC)
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Due to Carthage’s
expansion in Spain
HANNIBAL invaded Italy
via Alps
Rome conquered Spain,
won in Africa
Outcome: Carthage lost
empire outside Africa
The Roman Republic

Questions?
The Roman Republic

Crisis in the Republic
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100+ years of warfare
Disregard for
republican ideals
Slave War in Italy
(73-71 BC)
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70,000 + slaves revolted,
led by SPARTACUS
Ultimately crushed  6,000
slaves crucified
The Roman Republic
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Julius Caesar
(100-44 BC)
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Roman general, politician
Growing power  threat to
Senate, politicians
Caesar invaded Italy (50
BC), gained control
Hunted enemies down in
Greece, Africa
The Roman Republic
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The Fall of Caesar
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Returned to Rome in triumph  more power!
Senate granted Caesar title “dictator for life” (Feb., 44 BC)
Assassinated by 60 senators (March 15, 44 BC)
The Roman Republic
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The Collapse of the Republic
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Civil War: Caesarians vs. “Liberators”
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Leading Caesarians: Mark Antony and Octavian
Defeated “Liberators” at Philippi (42 BC)
Civil War: Antony vs. Octavian
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Octavian controlled Latin West; Antony, Greek East
Turned on each other, suspicious of each other
The Roman Republic
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Cleopatra VII
(r. 51-30 BC)
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Hellenistic pharaoh
Wore “two faces”
Encounters with
Romans
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Met Julius Caesar 
lovers
She and Antony 
lovers, allies
The Roman Republic
The Roman Republic
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Civil War: Antony and
Cleopatra vs. Octavian
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Octavian victorious at
Battle of Actium, Greece
(September, 31 BC)
Antony, Cleopatra
committed suicide
Octavian now master of
Roman world
Battle of Actium
The Roman Republic
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Questions?
The Roman Empire
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Augustus Caesar
(r. 29 BC – AD 14)
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Called “Augustus”
Task: tactfully rebuild Rome
First Roman emperor
Ruled as constitutional
monarch
Rome
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Augustan Reforms
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Centralized
government, provincial
focus
Crusade against
“immorality”
Sought to revive
religion
The Roman Empire
Remains of Temple of Julius Caesar, Roman Forum
The Roman Empire
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The Pax Romana and Culture
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PAX ROMANA
“Golden Age” of Latin Literature
 Augustus was a patron of the arts
 Virgil’s AENEID
 Ovid’s Art of Love  banishment!
The Roman Empire
Pont du Gard (1st cent. AD), Nîmes, France
The Roman Empire
Garden Room, Villa Livia (Late 1st cent. BC)
The Roman Empire
Augustus of Primaporta (ca. 20 BC)
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire
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Augustus Caesar
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“I found Rome a city of
brick and left it a city of
marble!”
No heirs
Rule  stepson Tiberius
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire
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Colosseum (AD 80)
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Amphitheater
50,000+ spectators
Mock naval battles!
Main entertainment:
gladiators
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire
1989-1996
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire
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The Second Century
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Roman Empire at its zenith
Constant frontier warfare
“Good emperors”
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire
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Marcus Aurelius
(r. 161-180)
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“Enlightened”
Devoted to Stoic
philosophy, wrote about
it in Meditations
Peaceful, but had to
continue military
conflicts
The Roman Empire
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Third-Century
Anarchy (235-285)
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Assassinations, civil
wars  many
emperors
Continued frontier
war  empire
stretched too thin
Other disasters
Capture of Valerian (r. 253-260) by Persians
The Roman Empire
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Diocletian (r. 284-305)
 Ended crisis
 Reforms: tetrarchy,
increased size of
military
 Emperor now absolute
monarch, lord
The Roman Empire
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Questions?
Rome
Similarities to other ancient civilizations?
 What made it unique?
 Pros and cons of republic vs. empire?
 Where do we see traces of it in modern
West?
