Download From Republic to Empire

From Republic
to
Empire
The Roman Republic, in the face of changing
social and economic conditions, succumbed
to civil war and was replaced by an imperial
regime, the Roman Empire
Warm up
• How did Rome build an empire around the
Mediterranean Sea?
• What were the benefits of expansion?
• What were the problems with expansion?
• What is a latifundia?
• Who were Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus?
Essential Questions
• Why did the Roman Republic fail to
survive challenges by Julius Caesar?
• How did military conquests alter economic
and social life in Rome?
• How did an imperial monarchy come to
rule Rome?
Roman Expansion: Preparedness meets Opportunity
• Three Stages
– Conquest of Italy
– Conflict with Carthage & expansion into western
Mediterranean Sea
– Domination of Hellenistic kingdoms in the eastern
Mediterranean
Effects of Expansion:
Social & Economic
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a latifundium, or large-scale 'plantation',
during the Republic
New class of wealthy
Romans emerges
Latifundia: estates of the
wealthy
– Wealth increased
corruption
– Greed and self
interest replaced
loyalty and virtue
Spread of slave labor
Roman farmers competed
with farmers from other
lands
– Grain prices dropped
– Forced out of
business; lost farms
– Forced to move to
Rome for jobs
– Joined angry mobs
that rioted
Horatio was a hero who
represented selfless loyalty in
defense of Rome
Slavery in Ancient Rome
Attempts at Reform
• Brothers, Tiberius and
Gaius Gracchus
• Elected tribunes by
Plebeian class
• Saw need for reforms on
behalf of the poor
– Provide land and grain
to the poor
• Hated by wealthy
Senators
• Both assassinated
Gracchi Brothers Assassinated!
A Century of Civil War
• Revolts
demonstrated
weaknesses of
Republic
• Civil wars lasted
100 years
• Main issue: who
should rule?
– The Senate:
maintain style
of government
– Consuls: enact
reforms
Sulla wins for the Patricians and
become a dictator
Military Upheaval
• Soldiers became
more loyal to their
commanders than
to the Republic
• Gave allegiance
only to
commanders
because they
were paid by the
commanders
Rise of Julius Caesar
• Roman
Republic’s
greatest
general
• Ambitious,
popular
• Consul along
with Pompey
• Military
genius who
conquered
Gaul
• Dominated
Roman
politics
Crossing the Rubicon
“Alea jacta est!”=“The Die is Cast”
• Pompey jealous
of Caesar
• Has the Senate
order Caesar to
disband armyreturn to Rome
• Caesar refused
• Reached
Rubicon River in
Northern Italy
and crossed it on
the way to Rome
After Crossing the Rubicon
• Civil War erupted
• Caesar crushed
Pompey & his
supporters
• Swept across
Mediterranean &
reunited Empire
• “Veni, vidi, vici.” “I
came, I saw, I
conquered”
Changes Under Caesar
• Forced Senate to
declare him
dictator
• Created public
works to employ
jobless
• Gave public land
to poor
• Opened citizenship
to more people
• Restructured the
government
• Packed the Senate
• New calendarJulian still used
today
What were the origins & evolution of Imperial
Rome?
• First triumvirate
– Julius Caesar
– Pompey
– Crassas
• Julius Caesar-seized power,
then assassinated
• Second Triumvirate
– Octavian
– Marc Antony
– Lepidus
Triumvirate means three men; refers to a group of three
men who hold political power
• Octavian defeated Marc
Antony & became 1st Emperor
• Empire-unified & enlarged,
using imperial authority &
military
• Failed to provide a peaceful
process for the succession of
Emperors
Caesar’s Death: “Beware
the Ides of March”
Enemies feared his
growing power
• Plotted his death to
save the Republic
– stabbed on the
Senate floor
– Mark Antony
and Octavian
(Julius Caesar’s
nephew &
adopted son)
hunted down the
murderers
– Octavian turned
on Marc Antony
and claimed
power in 31
BCE
What were the causes of the
decline of the Roman Republic?
• Spread of slavery in the
agricultural system
• Migration of small farmers
into cities and
unemployment
• Civil War over the power
of Julius Caesar
• Devaluation of Roman
currency; inflation
From every towering roof the rubbish falls,
striking the head, and injuries grow rank.
See how pots strike and dint the sturdy pa
vement
There's death from every window where y
ou move.
You'd be a fool to venture out to dine,
Oblivious of what goes on above,
Without you having penned the dotted line
Of your last testament,
You can but hope they spill a chamberpot.
Juvenal
A Hypothetical Roman Tenement Building. In the upper-left corner, a
chamberpot is being dumped on the street below. In the lower-right corner, a
chamberpot is being emptied into a barrel located under a staircase. Both
methods of waste disposal were common in ancient Rome
Age of Augustus
31 BCE to 14 CE
• Octavian changed
name to Augustus
(revered)
• Absolute power
• Formal end of the
republic
• Beginning of the
empire
Imperial Rome: Augustus Created
a Stable Government
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Efficient civil service - enforced the Law
Rule of Law
High-level jobs open to all regardless of class
Ordered a census to fairly tax all cities
Postal service
Common coinage
Provided jobs
Secure travel and trade throughout the Empire
Good Emperors
• Hadrian
– Codified Roman law
– Built walls in Britain; prevented non-Romans
from attacking
• Marcus Aurelius
– Tried to live up to Plato’s ideal philosopher
king
– Wrote the Meditations
– Stoic Philosophy of commitment to duty
Bad Emperors
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Caligula
Appointed his favorite horse as consul
Nero
Had members of his own family killed
Persecuted Christians and blamed them for
causing the terrible fire that destroyed a large
area of the city where the poor lived
What was the “Pax Romana”?
• Two centuries of peace & prosperity under imperial rule
• Expansion & solidification of Roman Empire
What was the economic impact of “PaxRomana”?
• Established standard currency
• Guaranteed safe travel & trade on Roman roads
• Promoted peace, prosperity, stability
Pax Roman: Roman Peace
27-BCE- 180 CE
• Egyptians farmers
supplied empire w/ grain
• Africa provided wild
animals, ivory, gold
• India provided spices,
cotton, gems
• Persians linked Roman
roads w/ Silk Road to
China
• Greeks provided new
ideas & philosophies
Family & Religion: Changing Role of Women
• Patriarchal society
• Ideal woman: loving, dignified,
strong
• Greater freedom over time
• Patrician women had greatest
rights
• Roman women had more than
Greek women
• Went to public baths, dined
out, attended theater
• Some held public office
• Ran businesses
• Earned fortunes
• Most common job was
housewife
Education
• Girls & boys
learned to
read/write
• Upper/lower
classes
educated
• Rhetoric
important to
upper classes
Religion
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Polytheistic
Pious but not personal, ethical or morals
Inspired by Greek gods & goddesses
Roman calendar filled w/ feasts to honor
them
• Public display-All participated–sense of
community
• Numerous cults emerged – popular with
women
• “Cult of the Emperor”
The Games: Bread and Circuses
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Chariot Races at the Circus Maximus
Gladiator Games in the Colisseum
Kept the mobs entertained and happy
Provided free grain to the poor
Didn’t solve Rome’s problems
Roman Achievement: Blending & Spreading
Greco- Roman Civilization
• Rome borrowed and
absorbed Greek ideas
• Greek culture was the
height of culture
• Horace said, “ Greece
has conquered her rude
conqueror”
• Trade and travel during
the Pax Romana helped
spread Greco-Roman
civilization
Roman Achievement:
Art
• Sculpture
• Borrowed from
Greeks
• Very realistic
• Decorated
homes, gardens,
public areas
Roman Achievement:
Paintings/Mosaics
• Used stone
• Different techniques
• Captured scenes of
everyday life
Roman Achievement:
Coins
• denarius
Coins from 118 BCE
• worth about a day's
wages for a skilled laborer
or craftsman.
• Used to pay the army
• Used to pay taxes
• sestertius and the as
• used for smaller everyday
purchases by the common
people
• The denarius was a silver
coin between the size of a
modern dime and a nickel
Roman Achievement:
Architecture
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Very large, imposing buildings
Unique designs
Colosseum
Baths of Caracalla
Pantheon
Roman Achievement:
Engineering
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Roads
Bridges
Harbors
Aqueducts
Plumbing
Roman Achievement:
Science
• Borrowed from the Greeks
• Rarely did their own research
• Applied what they learned from the Greeks to
practical situations/needs
• Geography
• Greek Astronomer Ptolemy’s study of the
Universe
• Greek Scientist Galen’s study of science used
scientific method to reach conclusions
Literature: Virgil
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Poet
The Aeneid
Linked to Homer’s works
Aeneas, soldier who escaped Troy to
found Rome
• Taught patriotism and unity
Literature: Ovid
• Poet
• Linked Greek and Roman culture as well
• Connected Greek gods to Roman gods
Literature:
Horace & Juvenal
• Satirists who made fun of Roman culture
• Similar to today’s The Simpsons or South
Park, or Saturday Night Live
Historians: Livy
• goal was to restore pride in Rome
• Recalled Rome’s great past
• Recounted tales of heroes (Horatius &
Cincinnatus)
Historians: Tacitus
• Criticized past emperors
• Claimed leaders like Augustus destroyed
Roman liberty
Philosophers:
Emperor Marcus Aurelius
• Borrowed from the Greeks -Stoic
• Accepted ideas of responsibility and
acceptance of one’s fate
• Taught that citizens should care for all
people
Roman Law
• “Let justice be done though the heavens
fall”
• Famous Roman saying
• Commitment to the rule of law regardless
of outcome
Roman Law: Two Systems
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Civil Law
Laws that applied to all Roman citizens
Law of Nations
All non-citizens under Roman control
Citizenship granted to all and the two
systems merged
• Became basis for American legal system
Roman Law: Principles
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All people are equal before the law
The accused are presumed innocent
The accused are allowed a trial
Guilt must be established through
evidence
• Decisions made by a fair judge
What was the political impact of the
Pax Romana?
• Created a civil service
• Developed a uniform rule of law