Download Chapter 5 The Roman World

Chapter 5
The Roman World
Ancient Italy and the City of Rome
 Emergence of Rome
 Greek colonization, 750-550 B.C.E.
 Etruscans
 Early Rome, 753-509 B.C.E.
Romulus and Remus, 753 B.C.E.
 Roman Republic
 Conquest of Italy
 Roman State
Two consuls, imperium
Praetor, imperium
Senate , 300 men serving for life
Centuriate assembly, Roman army
 Struggle of the Orders
Roman Conquest
 Roman Conquest of the Mediterranean (264-133 B.C.E.)
 Punic Wars
First Punic War, 264-241 B.C.E.
Second Punic War, 218-201 B.C.E.
 Hannibal
 Battle of Cannae, 216 B.C.E.
 Battle of Zama, 202 B.C.E.
Third Punic War, 149-146 B.C.E.
 Eastern Meditrranean
Macedonia
Pergamum
Remains of Carthage
 Decline and Fall of the Roman Republic (133-31 B.C.E.)
 Reforms
Gracchi brothers
 Roman army
Marius and Sulla
 Collapse of the Republic
Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar
 Age of Augustus (31 B.C.E.-14 C.E.)
 Government
Princeps
 Society
Classes
 senatorial, equestrian, lower
Expansion of Roman Territories to 100 C.E.
1. The first war between Rome and Carthage (264-241 B.C.E) centered on Sicily and the Straits of Messina between Sicily and Italy. The defeat
of Carthage forced it to surrender Corsica and Sardinia. In a second conflict, Hannibal, a Carthagenian general, in 218 B.C.E. organized in Spain
an invasion force of 30,000-40,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and about forty war elephants. Crossing the Alps, Hannibal annihilated the Roman army
at Cannae in 216 B.C.E. thereby gaining control of most of Italy. The city of Rome, however, did not fall. In 202 B.C.E., Hannibal was forced to
abandon Italy and defend Carthage from a Roman army. The Carthagenian defeat at Zama resulted in the surrender of Spain to the Romans.
2. In order to protect Rome's ally Massilia (Marseille) from the Gauls, the southern region of Gaul in was annexed 121 B.C.E. After Julius Caesar
became the governor of Cisalpine and Narbonese Gaul in 58 B.C.E., war was waged on the Gauls for two years. Caesar proclaimed conquest in 56
B.C.E. and the Senate prematurely declared it a Roman province. The region was not fully conquered by Caesar until four years later.
3. In 67 B.C.E. Pompey was sent against the pirates of the Cilician coast who were ultimately defeated. Pompey then turned his attention to
Bithynia, Pontus, Syria, and Judea that were soon conquered, much to the joy of Roman businessmen and merchants.
4. In late summer 31 B.C.E. the forces of Octavian defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. Following the death of Cleopatra, Octavian
took the Egyptian throne for himself and did not make Egypt a province. Also after Actium, Augustus personally completed the conquest of Spain
and between 19 B.C.E. and 9 B.C.E. Illyricum, Pannonia, and Rhaetia were subjugated. Rome expanded into Germany in 15 B.C.E when its forces
crossed the Rhine River. By 9 B.C.E. they had reached eastern Germany. In 9 C.E., the Roman governor of Germania led three legions (16,200
men) into a trap at Teutoberg Forest and all were killed by a coalition of Germanic tribes. In the aftermath of the defeat, the army on the frontier was
reorganized and by the order of Augustus withdrawn to the Rhine River, which was to be the boundary between the Germans and Gaul. The
Danube River would serve the same purpose further east.
5. The provinces were divided into two classes by Augustus (Octavian), those that did not require active defense and those that did. The first
category, ruled by the Senate, included Sicily, Baetica, Narbonensis, Macedonia, Achaia, Asia Minor, Bithynia, Pontus, Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica,
and North Africa. Augustus’s own representatives governed all the other provinces. This division allowed Augustus to retain control of the army in
difficult provinces and draw upon their wealth.
6. The defensive imperialism established by Augustus was generally pursued by his successors. Claudius (41-54) made Britain a province and
annexed Mauritania, Lycia, and Thrace (all of which had been dependencies left under native princes). Vespasian (69-79) annexed the angle
between the Rhine and the Danube Rivers. Trajan (98-117), after a prolonged war with the Dacians, made Dacia a province. In the east, he warred
against Parthia annexed Arabia Petraea and made provinces of Armenia, northern Mesopotamia, and Syria. Overextended and facing revolts by
Jews in the east and counterattacks by the Parthians, Rome had to withdraw its troops from Armenia.
7. During the Empire some cities grew to be quite large, particularly in the east, Alexandria in Egypt had over 300,000 inhabitants; Ephesus in Asia
Minor counted 200,000; and in Syria, Antioch had about 150,000 residents.
Expansion of Roman Territories to 100 C.E.
Questions:
1. What will be the consequences of an empire so spread out in the Mediterranean?
2. What were the barriers that prevented further expansion of the Roman Empire?
Products of the Roman Empire, c. 200 C.E.
1. Italy was poor in minerals, having no gold and little silver but a fair supply of iron, some copper, lead, tin, and zinc. All, however, was inadequate
to support industrial development. Moreover, metallurgy and technology made few advances; therefore, during the Republic bronze was employed
more frequently than iron. The most prosperous industries were bronze work in Capua, manufacture of weapons and tools in Campania, and
pottery in Arretium.
2. One of the most significant problems holding back early Rome from industrial production was the difficulty of transport. Traffic moved along canals
and rivers while coastal towns imported by sea rather than from the interior. This was alleviated during the republic when Rome began to build a
road system. The Appian Way between Rome and Capua was eventually extended as far as Brundisium thereby facilitating greater trade with
Greece and the East.
3. Goods from the Far East came by two routes. One route was by sea from India to the Persian Gulf, up the Tigris River to Seleucia and then on to
Antioch. The second route also came from India by sea but went around the Arabian Peninsula, up the Red Sea, overland by caravan to Coptos on
the Nile, and then to Alexandria.
4. Movement of goods by sea was very risky at best. The ships were small and made only about six miles an hour by sail or rowing. They typically
hugged the coast since the compass did not yet exist and navigation was very rudimentary. Because the weather in the Mediterranean could be
treacherous in the winter, most ships stayed in port from November to March. When the ships did sail, typically it would take nine days to travel from
Ostia, the port for Rome at the mouth of the Tiber River, to Gades (Cadez); five days from Ostia to Carthage; twenty days from Ostia to Caesarea
in the East; and fifteen to twenty days from Puteoli on the Bay of Naples to Alexandria.
5. Internal peace and a single currency throughout the provinces during the Empire brought unprecedented levels of trade and accompanying
prosperity. The trade, however, was unbalanced. Exports included Arretine pottery, some wine, olive oil, metalware, glass, and perfumes from
Campania, and, significantly, silver to pay for vast imports. One of the most important imported products was grain needed to feed the burgeoning
population of Rome. This primarily came from Spain, North Africa, Egypt, and Asia Minor. Some of the other imported products included black
slaves and wild beasts for the arena from Africa; gold, silver, and horses from Spain; timber, textiles, wine, and pottery from Gaul; amber, slaves,
and furs from Germany; fine linen and woolen fabrics from Asia Minor; wine, silk, and linen from Syria; and textiles, perfumes, and drugs from
Palmyra.
Questions:
1. What would be the consequence of Rome's dependency on imported grains and luxury goods?
2. What factors inhibited Roman industrialization?
Products of the Roman Empire, c. 200 C.E.
 Early Empire (14-180)
 Reign of Julio-Claudians, 14-69
 Five Good Emperors, 96-180
 Roman Empire at Its Height
Territory
Prosperity
 Culture and Society in the Roman World
 Literature
Plautus (c. 254-184 B.C.E.)
Catullus (c. 87-54 B.C.E.)
Cicero (106-43 B.C.E.)
Virgil (70-19 B.C.E), Aeneid
Horace (65-8 B.C.E.)
Ovid (43 B.C.E.-18 C.E.), Metamorphoses
Livy (59 B.C.E.-17 C.E.), History of Rome
Seneca (c. 4 B.C.E.-65 C.E.)
Tacitus (c. 56-120)
Imperial Rome
1. The center of Rome and the empire was the Forum that housed the Temple of Saturn where the treasury was kept, the House of the Vestal
Virgins, and the Basilica Aemilia and Julia where the most important legal cases were heard. At the north end of the Forum was the curia (Senate
house) and the cometium (meeting place of the assemblies). The cura was a small and simple building with three rows of uncomfortable marble seats
for the senators. Immediately next to the cura was the cometium, a paved space featuring a platform from which an orator might speak. The streets
were lined with shops.
2. Overlooking the Forum to the south was Palatine Hill. Of the seven hills of Rome, this was by tradition the first to be settled, probably because
there is an island at its foot which allowed easy fording of the Tiber River. Here were found the homes of the leading patricians.
3. South of Palatine Hill was the great chariot arena, the Circus Maximus that was first built during Etruscan rule. It was 2200 feet long and 705 feet
wide with seats enough to sit 180,000. Near to it was the Hippodrome that served the same purpose.
4. The Great Fire of Rome in 64 started in the shops where the Palatine reaches the Circus Maximus. Because much of Rome at this time was
made of wood, the fire spread rapidly and burned for six days, stopping just short of the Forum. Two-thirds of the city was destroyed. When rebuilt,
a plan was utilized specifying building materials (marble and cement) and street layouts.
5. The population of Rome was about one million and included about 400,000 slaves and 300,000 free workers. Perhaps 200,000 were on the state
dole for bread. Blocks of tenements near the heart of the city ranged six to ten stories high. By the fourth century there were fewer than 2000 private
homes.
6. The Campus Martius (Field of Mars) featured theaters, baths, and stadiums. On this field athletes competed and the legions practiced. The
assemblies would meet here to go through the motions of democracy.
7. The Walls of Servius were the first to protect Rome. Rebuilt after the raid of the Gauls in 390 B.C., they eventually lapsed into ruins as peace
came. The new Walls of the Emperors was erected in 270.
8. By the fourth century there were 856 baths and 1352 public swimming pools. The Baths of Nero could accommodate 1600 people, the Baths of
Caracella, 3000. Baths were opened from daybreak to one P.M. for women and from two to eight P.M. for men. Nevertheless, most emperors
permitted mixed bathing. (Will Durant, Caesar and Christ, p. 375)
Questions:
1. What urban problems could be expected in Rome?
2. How did the city of Rome express the greatness of the empire?
Imperial Rome
 Art and architecture
 Roman law
Twelve Tables, 450 B.C.E.
Law of nations
Law of nature
 Roman family
Paterfamilias
 Slavery
Fear
Revolts
 Imperial Rome
 Gladiatorial contests
 Rise of Christianity
 Roman religion
 Jewish religion
Judaea
 Christian religion
Jesus of Nazareth (c. 6 B.C.E.-29 C.E.), Christos
Paul of Tarsus (c. 5-c. 67)
Growth
The Later Restored Roman Empire
1. The increasing orientation of the Roman Empire to the East (wealthier and more defensible) is illustrated by Diocletian's (284-305) choice of
Nicomedia on the Sea of Marmara as the seat for his rule of the eastern empire (Prefecture of the East). The Senate still met in Rome but the
power lay with Diocletian. Moreover, he recognized that only by this reorganization could Europe and Asia of the Roman Empire be defended.
2. The co-ruler (through acknowledging the seniority of Diocletian) was the faithful general Maximian who was given the title augustus, a title
synonymous with emperor. To be closer to frontier defenses, he chose as his capital not Rome but Milan on the northern frontier of Cisalpine Gaul.
3. Chosen as aid (caesar) and successor by Diocletian was Galerius who capital was Sirmium near the Danube River at the eastern end of the
province of Pannonia. From here the Danube provinces could be defended from the Dacians.
4. Maximian (308-314) selected as his caesar Constantius Chlorus whose capital was Augusta Trevirorum in Belgica located in the northeastern
sector of the Prefecture of Gaul. From here the Rhine River was to be protected from the Germans.
5. Because the reorganization of the Roman Empire did not work after Diocletian retired, Constantine (306-337) seized power following the battles of
Milvian Bridge north of Rome (312), Adrianople (323) and Scutari (324) which allowed him to establish himself as sole emperor. Nevertheless, like
Diocletian, Constantine recognized that the wealth and future of the empire lay in the East and therefore established his capital at Constantinople
(old Byzantium) at the mouth of the Black Sea.
Questions:
1. Why was the eastern part of the empire stronger than that of the western part?
2. What were the implications of Rome being abandoned as the seat of government?
3. Why will the attempts of Diocletian to establish a means of orderly succession fail?
The Later Restored Roman Empire
 Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
 Civil war, 235-284
 Invasions
 Diocletian (284-305)
Four administrative units
Economic policies
 Constantine (306-337)
Political reforms
Military reforms
Constantinople
 Christianity
 Western Roman Empire