Download The Romans – Engineering an Empire Notes

The Romans: Engineering an Empire: Parts 1-4
March 15, 44 B.C – Julius Caesar is assassinated in the Forum (by Brutus and Cassius)
Caesar ruled from 49-44 BC
He seemed to want all the power for himself (not willing to share)
Caesar began his quest decades before when he realized Rome’s journey to superpower
would be fought on the battle fields far away from Rome
55BC – he lead 40,000 men through Gaul and wanted to cross the River Rhine (it had acted as
a buffer to protect them from the Romans (he wanted to surpass Alex the Great)
They could have went by boat – but Caesar wanted to enter in grand fashion and march!
River was 1000 feet wide (est). They had to build a bridge (4 football fields long)
So they set to work and built the bridge in just 10 days! They marched across the bridge to
Germanic forces (who had over 400,000 soldiers).
Toured Gaul for 18 days – he encountered no resistance – Rome now occupied the Germans –
they went back across the bridge and dismantled the bridge. This story proved that “Rome
could go anywhere!”
44B.C at the age of 55, Caesar was declared Rome’s first “Dictator for Life” (whispers of
assassination began to show up)
Roman Senators felt he was too powerful and should be taken down (supposedly for the
good of Rome)
Caesar reign as supreme ruler marked the end of the republic and the beginning of an empire
By the time Caesar was killed, Rome was the #1 Superpower of the Mediterranean.
Rome would grow to be the most technologically and architecturally advanced civilization
the world has ever seen
Part 2
The story of Romulus and Remus is representative of how time and time again, Roman rulers
were killed by someone else who wanted the power for themselves.
Rome began as a state that was a safe haven for anybody (slaves, pirates, whoever). Like
immigration. This allowed the free exchange of ideas from different people from different
cultures (a mosaic)
Romans would take ideas from other cultures, refine them, and develop them (many ideas
came from Etruscans
One of the first big undertakings was the underground sewer which is still used today
(Cloaca Maxima)
They used this sewer to handle waste and to drain marshlands (mosquitoes)
Then came the Forum (the city center for government)
Rome was expanding and their next project was to build roads to connect the empire
Before roads, people would travel by foot, horseback or boat. Romans can be credited for
the construction of proper roads.
312 BC the Via Appia was built – 132 miles – Rome’s first road
For surveying purposes, most of the first roads were dead straight (could cause problems).
They would have to cut through mountains to keep things straight.
Augustus 31BC-14AD
He succeeded Caesar (he was his great nephew). His real name was Octavian. Changed his
name to Augustus when he became Rome’s first Emperor
He expanded the road network to cover all of Rome’s territory. When that was done, they
needed more land to conquer (so they could build more roads)
New cities began popping up and they resembled Rome, which in fact bolstered Rome’s
impact on the world even more so.
People would flock to the cities – they were symbols of civilization, money, jobs, the good life
(resemblance to today?)
Many cities today were based on Rome (London and Paris)
Rome’s secret weapon – waterproof concrete – the strongest concrete yet. This gave way to
tremendous advantages (permanent bridges etc..)
Part 3
Aqueducts
Concrete helped make these
One of the most life altering innovations (running water for everyone)
Using these aqueducts, water could be transported from miles away. Basically they had a
pipe that has a very slight angle to it, causing the water to run from the highest point
(spring/water source) to the lowest point (Rome). This needed great mathematical
calculations from great distances, which couldn’t be deviated from – even if the terrain was
not c0operative.
Aqueducts had covered roofs.
In Rome, 11 aqueduct lines supplied city with water
200 million gallons per day from water sources miles away. Allowed up to one million people
to live in the city comfortable (drinking water, bathing water, flush away waste, sanitation)
They were built over the course of centuries
Claudius ruled from 41-54 AD had the greatest impact on Rome’s water supply.
Before coming to power, he was considered a laughingstock of Rome (had a stutter, limp,
hard of hearing)
He came to power in 41 AD when most of the royal family was murdered to avenge the death
of Claudius’ uncle, Caligula.
Claudius was spared (hiding behind a curtain) and he managed to bribe a couple of Roman
guards into proclaiming him Emperor (changed the course of Roman history)
He ruled well, he was not stupid (contrary to popular belief)
They conquered Britannia (Caesar couldn’t even do this)
He built two main aqueducts, which dramatically increased the amount of water flowing into
Rome.
Aqueducts flowed into 3 main holding tanks: 1 for public drinking fountains, 1 for public
baths, and 1 reserved for the Emperor and other wealthy Romans who paid for their own
running water.
They perfected the arch, which was huge to engineering. More strength with less material.
Basically by the end of the first century AD, every home had running water. Astounding!
His public loved him, but his private life would ruin him (apparently he married his own niece
– who was not a pleasant lady)
Agripina was from a line of powerful women (Caligula’s sister). Agripina was hungry for her
own taste of power. Once Claudius was under her spell, she was Empress and wanted her
son to be succeeded to the throne.
50AD, Agripina convinced Claudius to name her son (from previous marriage) as successor of
the throne instead of his own son. Four years later Claudius was dead, poisoned by a
mushroom (by his wife). Agripina’s son got the throne (Nero – a 16 year old “TiT” Tyrant in
training!)
Part 4
Nero
64 AD – a small fire turns into a week-long inferno – devastating. 10 out of 14 legions of
Rome were killed (by smoke or by fire itself)
Nero suspected of arson (supposedly seen playing his lyre (like a mini-harp) on a roof as
Rome burned) Nero was “fiddling while Rome burned”
After the fire, Nero announced that 1/3 of the charred remains of the city were now his own
personal property and he set out to build a 200 acre palace complex for himself in downtown
Rome. (so rumour spread why Nero started the fire).
Nero however said it was the new religious group “The Christians” who started it and he had
many Christians burned at the stake.
As a present, he gave his new wife the head of his old wife, then later kicked her to death
(when she was pregnant) in a fit of rage
59 AD He killed his own mother (Agripina) . She expected to share power with her son –
guess again. (had his guards stab her in the womb). This haunted him the rest of his life and
perhaps is what pushed him into madness. (made him more and more paranoid and more
cruel, and delusional)
His new palace (Domus Aurea) was built with public land and public money. He bled the
provinces dry and demanded money from the rich. Used forced labour to build this palace
(which in fact was common practice). When it was completed 4 years later, Nero said,
“Finally, I can live in a house worthy of a human being” A vast 150 room wing of his Domus
Aurea still exists today.
68 AD (months after moving into Domus Aurea), Nero was overthrown by the Senate and
hunted down like a fugitive by his own guards. As the guards closed in on him, Nero slit his
throat, and his last words were “What an artist lives in me”(he was sooo full of himself)
After Nero’s death, the Romans sought to get rid of anything that reminded them of his
horrible rule. It was not uncovered again until the 1500’s
o By 104 AD, Nero’s golden house was filled in with dirt and would form the foundation
of a bath complex built by a later Emperor (Emperor Tragan).
From Julius Caesar’s reign to Nero’s, every Emperor in between had been from the same bloodline.
After Nero, the top position in Rome was up for grabs. Nobody knew what was going to happen,
but they did know that it was going to be bloody, and it wasn’t going to be good until it was over.
After Nero, the top generals of the Roman army turn on each other and their armies fight to
see who will get power.
Vespasian came out on top – a simple, straight talking general who would rule from 69-79AD