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Rome
The Early Days
The Rise of Rome
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"Who is so thoughtless and lazy that does not
want to know in what way and with what kind of
government the Romans in less than 53 years
conquered nearly the entire inhabited world and
brought it under their rule - an achievement
previously unheard of?"
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This question was asked by Polybius, a Greek
historian who lived in the second century B.C.
the achievement Polybius was speaking of was
Rome’s ability to not only conquer peoples but to
incorporate them into the Roman system.
From City-State to Empire
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“Rome’s greatest achievement was to
transcend the narrow political orientation
of the city-state and to create a worldstate that unified the different nations of
the Mediterranean world…. The Hebrews
were distinguished by their prophets and
the Greeks by their philosophers. The
Romans…found expression in law and
government, in the practical, not the
theoretical” (Perry 2005, 69-70).
The Land and the Sea
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Italy ‘s Position and Climate (subtropical)
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Rivers were unsuitable for shipping so Mediterranean
became important.
The Apennines hindered people from penetrating
Italy from the north.
Geography was better than Greece. Latium and
Campania were fertile plains
The Romans established their city on the Tiber
River in Latium.
The seven hills of Rome were defensible and safe
from the floods.
Early Days
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By the 8th century BC, small peasant
communities were living in the hills of
Rome
North of them were the Etruscans
South of them were the Greeks
Eventually both of these were absorbed by
the Romans
The Etruscans
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The Etruscans were a mysterious people that formed
towns in Italy.
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Some scholars believe that they migrated from Asia Minor
The Etruscans exported mineral resources to pay for
luxury goods imported from the eastern Mediterranean.
They also created an export market in olive oil and wine.
Formed a loose league of cities whose domination
covered much of Italy
7th century B.C. they had fully entered the cosmopolitan
life of the Mediterranean world
They were eventually defeated by Celts, Greeks, and
finally Romans
Roman Legend
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According to Roman legend, Romulus and
Remus founded Rome in 753 B.C.
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Romulus built his settlement on the Palatine
Hill. Remus chose the Aventine.
Remus was jealous and jumped over Romulus’s
wall.
Romulus killed him saying "So will die whoever
else shall leap over my walls."
The Romans and the Etruscans
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During the 6th and 7th BC the Etruscans expanded their
territory and controlled the monarchy in Rome
Under the Etruscans, Rome enjoyed contacts with the
larger Mediterranean world, and the city began to grow.
Capitoline Hill became the religious center of the city
when the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was built
there.
The Romans adopted some things from the Etruscans:
the toga, Architectural styles (the vault and arch), road
construction, sanitation, hydraulic engineering,
metallurgy, ceramics, portrait sculpture, Etruscan
words, names, and gods.
Forming the Republic
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Romans expelled the Etruscan king Tarquin the
Proud from Rome in 509 B.C. and founded the
republic.
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Then they formed alliances with the Latin towns
around them.
In the beginning, religion governed the people,
dictated laws and legitimized the rule of the
patricians
Gradually religion and politics were separated
The constitutional system paralleled the Greek
achievement of rationalizing and secularizing
politics and law
Early Republic
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Early republic- power was with the aristocracythe patricians.
The Plebeians had few of the Patricians’
advantages but had a voice in politics.
The Senate- originated under the Etruscans as a
council of noble elders who advised the king, sat
year after year
Senate could not pass legislation, it could only
offer its advice.
Centuriate Assembly was established as a popular
assembly and the Senate advised it
Social Conflict in Rome
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The Struggle of Orders- social conflict that
developed between patricians and
plebeians. The plebeians wanted real
political representation and safeguards
against patrician domination.
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Senate and Centuriate Assembly
In 494 B.C., the plebeians walked out of
Rome and refused to serve in the army.
Results
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The tribunes- plebeians who brought grievances to the
senate for resolution.
Only the patricians knew the law. Plebeians wanted the law
codified and published.
 Law of the Twelve Tables- civil and criminal law that
were inscribed on large bronze plaques. They forced the
patricians to publish legal procedures as well.
In 287 B.C., the lex Hortensia gave the concilium plebes the
force of law for patricians and plebeians alike. Plebeians
could now hold the consulship and wear the purple toga, the
symbol of aristocracy- also established a new nobility with
plebes and patricians.
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Tribal Assembly no longer needed senate approval to pass laws
Roman Offices and Assemblies
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The Romans created assemblies who elected magistrates and
passed legislation.
 Comitia Curiata- religious, political, and military functions
 Comitia centuriata- a military group who would help decide
policy
 Concilium plebes- an assembly made up of plebeians to pass
ordinances
Chief magistrates of the republic were the two consuls, elected for
one-year terms.
 They appointed quaestors to assist them.
 In 421 B.C. the quaestorship became an elective office open to
plebeians.
The Praetor primarily dealt with the administration of justice.
Censors were responsible for the supervision of public morals,
the power to determine who lawfully could sit in the senate, and
for the registration of citizens.
The Roman Constitution
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Ruling ologarchy had a sense of responsibility
and talent for statesmanship
Civic needs rather than religious mystery formed
the foundation
Study and interpretation of law passed to a class
of professional jurists who classified,
systematized and sought commonsense answers
to legal problems
The Roman constitution evolved gradually and
empirically to respond to needs as they arose
146 BC
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There had been 5 great powers when Rome started to
consolidate its power:
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By 146 Rome was the dominant power in all of the
Mediterranean
This Roman expansion occurred in 3 main phases
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Seleucids in the Near East, Ptolemaics in Egypt, Macedonia,
Carthage, And the Italian Confederation (Rome dominated)
Unification of the Italian Peninsula
Collision with Carthage
Subjugation of the Hellenistic states
Rome evolved into the city of humanity – the cosmopolis
imagined by the stoics
Roman Conquest of Italy
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Romans drove the Etruscans out of Latium about a century after
forming the republic
Around 390 B.C. Rome faced a setback- the Celts (AKA Gauls)
sacked Rome.
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From 390 to 290 B.C. Rome was rebuilt; army was reorganized into mobile
legions.
Next they subdued other Latin kinsmen, semi-civilized Italian
tribes, and finally the Greek city-states in southern Italy
They developed a moral and religious devotion to their city that
kept them away from social conflict, factional disputes, and
personal ambitions.
Rome couldn’t have accomplished this task without the
cooperation of the other Italian people
Rome displayed a remarkable talent for turning former enemies
into allies and then Roman citizens
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No Greek city had ever integrated non-natives into the political system
Expansion into the Mediterranean
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Rome was drawn into conflicts that brought her
an overseas empire
In 282 B.C. Rome expanded in Italy and to
Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia.
Romans brought various peoples into one
political system.
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Those closest to Rome were incorporated into the
Roman state.
The others were bound by treaty with the Romans
and were considered allies.
Carthage
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Founded by Phoenecians in around 800 BC
Was a world commercial power
Held major pieces of Spain, Sicily, Sardinia
and Corsica
Rome was stepping into their territory
Rome also had to come to the aid of her
Sicilian and southern Italian allies
The Punic Wars (264-133 B.C.)
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The First Punic War between Rome and
Carthage lasted 23 years(264-241 B.C.).
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The Romans built a navy and fought seven major
battles with the Carthaginians, won six, and
finally wore them down.
In 241 B.C. the Romans took possession of
Sicily.
Carthage had to surrender
In 238 B.C. Rome took advantage of
Carthaginian weakness- took Sardinia and
Corsica.
Second Punic War
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Carthage still held Spain and Rome tensions were
still high between the two powers
In 237 B.C. Carthaginian named Hamilcar led an
army to Spain. With him he took his 19 year old
son, Hannibal, and made him swear to be an
enemy to Rome forever.
In 221 B.C. Hannibal became commander in
Spain. He laid siege to Saguntum. The Romans
declared war, claiming that Carthage had attacked
a friendly city.
The Second Punic War
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Hannibal struck first marching over the Alps into Italy. He
defeated one Roman army at the Battle of Trebia, another at
the Battle of Lake Trasimenne in 217 B.C., and got his greatest
victory at the Battle of Cannae.
A number of cities in central and southern Italy rebelled
against Rome.
Scipio Africanus copied Hannibal’s methods of mobile
warfare, streamlining the legions and introduced new
weapons.
With Hannibal bottled up in southern Italy, Scipio in 204 B.C.
struck directly at Carthage itself. The prompted the
Carthaginians to recall Hannibal from Italy to defend the
homeland.
In 202 B.C. Scipio defeated Hannibal in one of the world’s
truly decisive battles.
The Third Punic War
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Needless, unjust, and savage conflict that
ended in 146 B.C. when Scipio Aemilianus,
grandson of Scipio Africanus, destroyed the
old hated rival.
The war was launched merely as means to
annihilation
Rome Turns East (211-133 B.C.)
The Hellenistic World
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Overseas Conquest (282-146 B.C.) led to a fearful
Greece
In the barbarian West, Rome resorted to harsh
aggression to conquer new territory.
The Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy
called for help from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in
western Greece, a relative of Alexander the Great
and an excellent general.
Pyrrhus won two furious battles but suffered
heavy casualties.
In 275 B.C. Rome drove him from Italy and
extended her sway over southern Italy.
Hellenism Conquered
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Rome didn’t trust Greece anymore
During the Second Punic War Philip V of Macedonia
made an alliance with Hannibal against Rome.
The Romans headed east and found their first victory over
the Macedonians in 197 B.C. After that the Roman general
Titus Flamininus defeated the Spartans.
In 189 B.C. the Seleucid kingdom fell too the Romans.
The decisive victory came in 146 B.C. when the Romans
conquered the Achaean League, sacked Corinth, and
finally defeated Macedonia.
Attalus III, the last king of Pergamum, bequeathed his
kingdom to the Romans. The Ptolemies of Egypt meekly
obeyed Roman wishes.
Spread of Culture
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Roman Culture spread through religious cults, mythology, and
drama furthering the Romanization of Italy. The Italians adopted
Roman deities and their religious traditions.
The Romans and Italians grew closer together by the mutual
understanding of and participation in the religious rites of Roman
cults.
Drama gave the Italian an understanding of Roman law and
ethics.
Unlike the Greeks, the Romans did not simply conquer and
dominate.
They shared both political power and citizenship (degrees).
Rome both conquered and shared the fruits of conquest with the
conquered.
Rome could consolidate where Greece could only dominate.
Roman Law
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Divided the Mediterranean into provinces governed by
ex-consuls and ex-praetors.
The civil law, or ius civile, consisted of statutes, customs,
and forms of procedure.
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Assemblies added to the body of law, and praetors interpreted
it.
The spirit of the law aimed at protecting the property,
lives, and reputations of citizens, redressing wrongs, and
giving satisfaction to victims of injustice.
-ius gentium- "the law of peoples,," that applied to
Romans and foreigners and that laid the foundation for
a universal conception of law.
-ius naturale- "natural law, a universal law that can be
applied to all societies.
Consequences of Expansion
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Thousands of educated Greeks came to Romesome enslaved, some free, some hired as tutors
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Expedited the Hellenization process
Between 80 and 8 BC over 2 million slaves were
brought into Italy
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1/3 the Italian population
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Slave revolts
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Sicily in 135 BC
Spartacus in 73 BC
Provinces became a source for quick profit and
corruption
Cultural Aspects
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Greater Contact with Greek Culture
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Wealthy Romans either sent their sons to Athens to
study or hired Greek teachers
Roman generals shipped libraries and Greek art
back to Rome
Romans acquired a taste for Greek science,
philosophy, medicine, and geography
They adopted Greek humanism
Rome assimilated Greek culture and then
diffused it
Roman Cultural Figures
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Cato the Censor- denounced Socrates fro undermining respect
for Athenian law and warned against Greek philosophy
Plautus- Rome’s greatest playwright- adopted 4th and 3rd BC
Greek comedy
Terence- Came as a slave but was freed by his owner- less
boisterous than Plautus but superior in style
Catullus- One of the Great lyric poets- wrote about passion
and its anguish
Lucretius- an epicurean that sought philosphical tranquility.
He denounced superstition and advanced a materialistic sense
of nature. Argued that the soul perishes with the body
Cicero- roman statesman and orator. Student of Greek
philosophy
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More than 800 of his letters survive
Stoic belief in natural law as the governance of nature and humanity
Collapse of the Republic
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Destroyed Farms and returning Farmersoldiers
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Forced to sell farms for cheap money
Latifundia and slaves
Many people moved to the urban centers
Independent rural Romans became part of
the urban poor
The Gracchi
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Tiberius Gracchus (163-133)- spokesman for
land reform
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Revived old law forbidding the use of more than 312
acres of public land
Senatorial elites killed him and 300 of his followers
Gaius Gracchus (153-121)- younger brother who
reintroduced these reforms
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Enabled the poor to buy grain at ½ market price
Civil war ensued and Guy and 3000 followers died
The End is Near
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Senate saw itself as the guardian but it was
expressing the will of 300 families who wanted
to retain control
Generals like Marius begin to use their power to
gain authority
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He disposed of property rights to become a soldier
Promised money, loot, and land
Sulla battles Marius
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Marius dies and Sulla makes reforms
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Reduced the power of provincial governors
Increased senate to 600
Limited power of tribunes and the Assembly
Restored the right of the Senate to veto the Assembly
Old Values and Greek Cultue
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"Acquisition of an empire was the
beginning of Rome’s troubles:"