Download The Roman Empire from 14 to 117

Chapter 6
The Roman Empire
 The Age of Augustus Caesar, 31 B.C.-14 A.D.
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The New Order
 Senate subordinated to Princips (“first citizen of the state”)
 Augustus elected pontifex maximus (“chief pontif”), 12
B.C.
The Army
 Standing army of 28 legions; 150,000 men
 Legion = 5400 men
 Auxiliaries, 130,000 men who were non-citizens
 Praetorian Guard
 9 cohorts of elite troops; 9,000 men
 Imperator (emperor)
The Roman Empire from 14 to 117 (Augustus to Trajan)
1. The provinces were divided into two classes by Augustus, those that did not require active defense and those that did. The first category, ruled
by the Senate, included Sicily, Baetica, Narbonensis, Macedonia, Achaea, Asia Minor, Bithynia, Pontus, Cyprus, Crete, Cyrene, and North
Africa. Augustus’s own representatives governed all the other provinces. This division allowed Augustus to retain control of the army quartered in
difficult provinces and draw upon the wealth of those lands.
2. After Actium, Augustus was left with an enormous army that he apparently intended to use to expand the empire. He personally completed the
conquest of Spain and between 19 B.C. and 9 B.C. Illyria, Pannonia, and Rhaetia were subjugated. Rome also expanded into Germany, its forces
crossing the Rhine River after 15 B.C. By 9 B.C. they had reached eastern Germany. In 9 A.D., the Roman governor of Germania led three
legions (16,200 men) into a trap at Teutoburg 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the frontier was reorganized and by the order of Augustus withdrawn to the Rhine River, which was to be the boundary between the Germans and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.
3. 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. The emperor Trajan (98-117) used an enlarged army to conquer Dacia. The conquest added vast
quantities of gold and silver to Rome but at the same time added a large frontier that had to be protected. Trajan also warred against Parthia,
capturing Armenia and advancing to the Persian Gulf. Overextended and facing revolts by Jews in the east and counterattacks by the Parthians,
Rome withdrew its troops.
4. During the Empire some cities grew to be quite large, particularly in the east, Alexandria had over 300,000 inhabitants; Ephesus in Asia Minor
counted 200,000; and in Syria, Antioch had about 150,000 residents.
5. The early empire was characterized by much prosperity, especially in Italy where the chief ports were Puteoli on the Bay of Naples and Ostia at
the mouth of the Tiber River.
6. The period from the accession of the emperor Nerva in 96 to the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 is called the "Era of Five Good Emperors." It
was the height of power and prosperity for the Empire and nearly its entire people benefited.
7. Nicomedia was the seat of Diocletian's rule (284-305) of the eastern empire. Byzantium would be where Constantine (306-337) would erect
Constantinople.
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?
The Roman Empire from 14 to 117 (Augustus to Trajan)
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Roman Provinces and Frontiers
 Extension of imperium for proconsuls and propraetors
 Provinces of the princeps
 Governed by legates
 Provinces of the senate
 Governed by proconsuls and propraetors
 Governors
 Supported by local elites
 Client kingdoms
 Expansion into Germany
 Teutoburg Forest, 9 A.D.
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Augustan Society
 The Senatorial Class
 Possess property worth 1,000,000 sesterces
 Reduced to 600 men under Augustus
 The Equestrian Class
 Roman citizen
 Property of 400,000 sesterces
 Lower class
 Cult of the Emperor
 Social legislation for morality
Golden Age of Latin Literature
 Virgil (70-19 B.C.) – Aeneid
 Horace (65-8 B.C.) – Satires
 Ovid (43 B.C.-18 A.D.) – Art of Love
 Livy (59 B.C.-17 A.D.) – History of Rome
 The Early Empire, 14-180 A.D.
 Judo-Claudian (14-68) and Flavian (69-96) Emperors
 Tiberius, 14-37
 Caligula, 37-41
 Claudius, 41-54
 Nero, 54-68
 Year of the Four Emperors, 69
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 Flavians – Vespasian (69-79), Titus (79-81), Domitian (8196)
The Five “Good Emperors”, 96-180
 Nerva (96-98), Trajan (98-117), Hadrian (117-138),
Antoninus Pius (138-161), Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
 Civil service
 Alimenta
 Building programs
Roman Empire at Its Height: Frontiers and Provinces
 Consolidation of the frontier
 Abandonment of defensive imperialism
 Strengthening the provinces
Trade Routes and Products in the Roman Empire, c. 200
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.
Question:
1. What would be the consequence of Rome's dependency on imported grains and luxury goods?
Trade Routes and Products in the Roman Empire, c. 200
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 Utilization of the army
 Defense and protection
 Socialization
 Agent of Romanization
 Cities and towns
 Spread of culture, law, and Latin language
Prosperity in the Early Empire
 Manufacturing and trade
 Agriculture
 Gulf between rich and poor
Culture and Society
 Seneca , c. 4 B.C.-65 A.D.
 Stoicism
 Petronius, ?- 66 A.D.
 Satyricon
 First picaresque novel in Western literature
 Tacitus, c. 56-120
 Annals
 Histories
 Germania
 Juevenal, c. 55-c. 128
 Satires
 Art and Architecture
 Greek styles
 Arch, vault, and dome
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
 Imperial Rome
 Insulae
 Fire of 64
 Gladitorial shows and entertainment
 Medicine
 Law
 Ius gentium (“law of nations”)
 Ius natural (“natural law”)
 Slaves and their masters
 Residential slaves
 Upper class families
 Paterfamilias
 Sine manu
 The Terrible Third Century
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Weak emperors
 Civil wars
 Military monarchs
Invasions
 Sassanid Persians
 Germanic tribes
 Goths
 Franks
 Alemanni
Monetary problems
Divisions of the Restored Roman Empire, c. 300
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 (see Acetate 17, Map 6.1) 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 (though acknowledging the seniority of Diocletian) was the faithful general Maximian who was given the title augustus, a title
synonymous with emperor. He chose as his capital not Rome but Milan on the northern frontier of Cisalpine Gaul (Prefecture of Italy).
3. Chosen as aid (caesar) and successor by Diocletian was Galerius whose 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?
Divisions of the Restored Roman Empire, c. 300
 Restored Empire of the Fourth Century
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Political and Military Reform
 Diocletian, 284-305
 Small districts superintended by officials
 12 dioceses each headed by a vicar
 Dioceses grouped into 4 prefectures
 Entire empire divided into two , each containing two
prefectures and rule by an Augustus
 Diocletian rules the east, Maximian the west
 Each Augustus assisted by a vice-emperor called Caesar
 System called a tetrarchy (rule by four)
 Diocletian retired in 305
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 Constantine, 306-337
 Achieves complete military victory, 312
 Becomes sole ruler in 324
 Power of the emperor, divinely sanctioned
 Enlarged bureaucracy
 New titles of nobility
Economic, Social, and Cultural Trends
 Diocletian and Constantine
 Maximum wages and prices
 Decline in circulation of coins, collection of taxes and
government payments in produce
 Creation of the solidus
 Decline of the curiales (city councillors)
 People forced to remain in vocations
Decline of the coloni (free tenant farmers)
 Dependent on large landowners
 Becoming serfs
 Tax pressures on the lower classes
 Transformation of the Roman World: Development of
Christianity
 Religious World of the Roman Empire
 Roman state religion – Greco-Roman gods
 Romans tolerant of other religions
 Household and rural cults
 Mystery religions
 Mythraism
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Judaism
 Judaea
 Sadducees
 Essenes
 Zealots
Rise of Christianity
 Jesus of Nazareth (c. 6 B.C.-29 A.D.)
 Ethics – humility, charity, brotherly love
 Paul of Tarsus (c. 5-c. 67), “second founder”
 Gospels
 Agape
 Increasing role of the bishops over presbyters
 Roman criticisms of Christianity
 Persecution
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Growth of Christianity
 Salvation
 Another mystery religion
 Appeal to all classes
 Universal appeal
 Initiation by baptism
 Community
 Women
 Persecution
 Constantine and toleration
 Fall of the Western Roman Empire
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Invasions
 Huns
 Germanic Visigoths
 Rome sacked, 410 and 455
Causes for fall
 Christianity
 Decline of Roman values
 Lead poisoning
 Plague
 Failure to advance technology due to slavery
 Failed political system