Download Roman Civilization - Gunnery-2010-Fall

Roman Civilization I
Roman Civilization
• Small city-state in central Italy
to massive empire
• Dominant civilization for over 1,000 years
– 753 BC to 456 AD
• Government changed over time:
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Monarchy
Republic
Oligarchy & democracy combination
Autocratic empire
• Came to dominate Western Europe,
Mediterranean, North Africa & Near East
• Contributions to Western Civilization
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Law
Literature
Art
Architecture
Technology
Language
Warfare
• Legacy in the modern world
Geography of Italy & Rome
• Italy – varied geography
• Two major mountain ranges
– Alps in north
– Apennines runs north to south
• Rome – ford of Tiber River
– Seven Hills
– Strategic advantages – defense & trade
Founding of Rome
• Romans – Indo-European immigrants
to Italy
• Started as a small settlement on the
Palatine Hill
• Aeneas – Trojan hero of Virgil
• Romulus – Founding king
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Rhea Silvia, Faustulus
Brothers raised by she-wolf
Romulus Murders Remus
Sabines & Latins
Rape of the Sabine Women
Romulus founds institutions of Rome
Deified as Quirinus
• Legendary founding in 753 BC
– Evidence of settlement in 8th cen.
• Four legendary non-Etruscan
Latin kings
Etruscan Civilization
• Settled in Italian peninsula
between 900 & 800 BC
– Non Indo-European people
• Greatly influenced
development of Rome
• Etruscan kings ruled Rome
from about 616 to 509 BC
• Very sophisticated
civilization
• Greatly overlooked by history
• Prominence accorded to
women unprecedented in
ancient world
Etruscan Civilization
• Etruscan city-states flourished in 7th &
6th cens, BC
– 12 major city-states
– Each fully independent
– Ruled by a monarch, later ruled by
oligarchies
– Distinct cultural, political & social
characteristics in each
– Accumulated wealth through mining & trade
• Homeland – modern Tuscany region
– Florence, Siena, Pisa
– 200 mile territory from Arno to Tiber Rivers
• Called themselves “Rasenna”
• Notoriously fierce sea traders who often
turned to piracy
– Tyrrhenian Sea bear name
Etruscan Civilization
Origin of Etruscans
• Mixture of local and eastern
influences
• Every Etruscan city preceded by a
Villanovan settlement
• Many Near Eastern characteristics
in art & culture
• Herodatus – says from Lydia in
Asia Minor
• Language seems of eastern origin
– Adopted Phoenician alphabet
• Religious beliefs have eastern
influence
• Highly influenced by Greeks
Etruscan Civilization
Culture & Lifestyle
• Known through art & ancient
historians
• Writing, music, dance &
performance of great importance
• Cultivated a distinctive sense of
self – early concept of personality
• Known as zealous partygoers and
avid consumers of luxury goods
• Extravagant wealth – conspicuous
consumption
Etruscan Women
• Great Freedom of action
• Active participation in
society
• Public displays of affection
• Men and women recline
together at banquets
• Ancient historians mention
drinking, vanity & wife
sharing
– Shocking morals
Etruscan Art
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Most art did not survive
Funerary, pottery & temple art
Etruscan gold work unrivaled
Extravagant Tomb Frescoes
depict figures vibrant with life
– Dancing, banqueting or playing
musical instruments.
– birds or animals intermingled
with the human figures
• Sarcophagus
– intimate couplings
• Etruscan art absorbed Near
Eastern & Greek influences
– Etrusco-Corinthian pottery
dominated local market
Etruscan Influence on Rome
• Largest influence on early Roman civilization
• Acquired Etruscan alphabet – used to write
Latin language
• Adopted Etruscan engineering skills – drain
swamps
– Roman arch
• Roman numerals
• Temple architecture
• Religious practices & mythology
– Revealed religion
– Gods speak through nature & its events
– Romulus & Aeneas stories
– Deities
• Divination
– reading omens and auspices
– interpret meaning of events or divine
the future
– examine liver, flight of birds, thunder
Republic of Rome
• Republic – res publica – “public
business”
• Republic established with overthrow of
the Etruscan Tarquin monarchy
by Junius Brutus in 509 BC
– Rape of Lucretia
• Rome does not revert back to a
monarchy during its history
• Era of great expansion of Roman
power and civilization
– Lasts until 23 BC - Augustus
• Rome ruled by its Magistrates, Senate
and its assembly
• Institutions formed at the beginning of
the monarchy
• The history of the Republic is a history
of continuous warfare
Latin Language
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Italic language
Alphabet based on Etruscan & Greek
Earliest text from 6th cen. BC
Spread learning throughout empire – lingua
franca
• More than fifty percent of the words in
English are of Latin origin
• Foundation of Romance languages
– French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
• Became language of Catholic Church
Roman Army during Republic
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One of best armies of all time
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Victorious against many formidable opponents
Army was a both a duty & distinguishing mark of Roman
citizenship
Army changed drastically over time
– Originally only citizens that could afford equipment
– Fought in phalanx during monarchy
Republican Legions - units
– Equites (cavalry)
– Velites (light infantry)
– Heavy infantry
– Auxilia (auxiliary troops and specialist)
Manipular system
– Allow for tactical innovations on battlefield
– Centuries commanded by two centurions
Brutal discipline
Marian Reforms
– End of the 2nd century BC Gaius Marius
– Created professional standing armies
– Employed poorer classes
– Loyalty of the soldiers in the hands of their general
Factors in the Legion's Success
• Military organization was more flexible than
those of many opponents
• Roman discipline, organization & systemization
sustained combat effectiveness over a longer
period
• Roman military and civic culture gave the
military consistent motivation and cohesion
• Romans were more persistent and more willing
to absorb and replace losses over time than their
opponents
• Roman Engineering skills were second to none
– Offensive and defensive siege warfare
– Construction and investiture of fortifications
• Roman military equipment
– Soldiers equipped with heavy shields, helmets and
highly effective body armor
Conquest of Italy
• Began soon after the Romans expelled
the Tarquins in 509 BC
• First target were the Etruscans
• Conquered all the Etruscan territory
throughout the 4th & 5th centuries BC
• Checked in their conquest of Italy by
the Gauls – Sacked Rome in 387 BC
• 338 BC, Rome dismantled the Latin
League and took control of all of Latium
• Defeated the Samnites – by 280 BC total
control over all of central Italy
• Overpowered Greek cities to south
Conquest of Italy
• Policies toward conquered peoples that helped
them to build empire
– Didn't destroy conquered cities, but granted them
certain rights
– Some cities were allowed full Roman citizenship,
particularly those near to Rome
– Others were allowed certain Roman rights
– Some were allowed complete autonomy
– Some were allowed to become allies
– All were required to send Rome taxes and troops
– Rome settled soldiers on the captured lands as payment
for their service
• able to maintain a permanent military settlement in every
conquered land
Roman Society
Strictly hierarchal society
• Free-born citizens
– All have right to vote
• Freedmen
• Slaves
Free Citizens
• Patricians – Aristocrats
– Could trace ancestry to one of 100 Patriarchs
at the founding of Rome
• Plebeians - Commoners
• Equestrians – equites or “knights”
– Plebeians who could afford a warhorse
– Formed a powerful merchant class
• Nobles – Anyone who could count a
consul as an ancestor
• Novus homo – “new man”
– Man who was first in family to hold consulship
– Marius or Cicero
The Civilized City
• Roman life centered around the city
• Romans were social creatures
• Necessary to belong to a community, a
family & a group of friends
• Cities represented an advancement from
the mere existence as a peasant living off
the land
• Greater proximity between classes
• City bustling with activities
– Trials, elections, public
announcements, games, theater,
religious celebrations, baths,
gymnasia, markets
• Life was carried on in a very personal,
intimate manner
• Seek culture & economic advancement
The Life in the City
The Forum
• Always the center of Roman life
• Political, economic & social center of
all Roman cities
• Huge crowds strolled and gathered to
discuss public and private matters
• Each emperor added to glory of site or
created their own forum
Baths
• Exercise, socialize & relax
Shops and Markets
• Ran along all major streets
• Fast food restaurants
The Subura
• District of the poor housing
• Gangs & prostitutes
Professions
Sons usually inherited their profession and their business
from their fathers
The Upper Classes
• Restricted to careers in army, law or politics
• Other professions were deemed to be too lowly for
their kind
‘Academic' jobs, such as architecture, medicine, surgery,
dentistry, teaching & agricultural management, were
usually done by freedmen
Construction industry require enormous numbers
• Architects, engineers, surveyors, foremen, sculptors,
stonemasons, carpenters, bricklayers and simple day
laborers
Markets, shops, inns and taverns consumed raw
materials or required agricultural produce which
needed to be brought in from the countryside
Foreign craftsmen of luxury goods created refined
masterpieces in their workshops
Roman Values
Collective responsibility
Obedience to secular & religious authority
Fides (loyalty) held together families and the social order
Honor and dignity
• Distinctions in Roman society were based not on an individual’s professional
skills or wealth but rather on the capacity for public service
• Look to opinion of others for confirmation of ability & identity
• 'A good man' was hence a man deemed worthy by others
• Man’s elders of family, patron or clients, army comrades, or even - in an
election - the people of Rome
• Achievements and failures were wildly exaggerated
• Use honor to climb the social ladder and further one's political fortunes
Cursus Honorum – career path of a successful public official
• Progress through series of elected offices to reach Senate
Patron/Client System
• Foundations of Roman society
• Fides: A complicated network of mutual duties and obligations that
bound clients and patrons together
• Patron – Head of a higher family
• Client - loyal supporter of high-standing family
• Clients acted as a kind of 'clan' to the patron
– Supported him loyally in any venture, be it military or political
– Clients would quite literally queue outside the house of their rich patron
– People voted at elections in accordance to their family loyalties
• Patron would aid his clients, representing their political interests or even
defending them in the courts as their lawyer
– Created a kind of welfare network - hand out money to those they deemed
deserving of such aid
• Roman loyalty was felt not merely to particular men, but to their families
• Conservative societal force – Kept families in power for centuries
• Entire kingdoms became clients to Roman commanders
Ruling the Republic
Constitution
• Laid down the traditions and institutions of government
• Not a formal or even a written document
• Series of unwritten traditions and laws
• Invested enormous amounts of power in their officials – imperium
• Certain checks and balances
Rome was a realm of quasi kings: magistrates and senators
• All powers rested effectively with the highest magistrates
– Powers were absolute.
• The senate, made up of former magistrates
Types of power
• potentia - personal power
• potestas - political power
• provincia – power of an office
Ruling the Republic
The Senate
• Apex of the Roman social
pyramid
• Originally a council of the most
important clan heads that had
advised the kings
• No formal or constitutional
power, but had a great deal of
informal influence
• Consisted of about 300 exmagistrates
• Consuls and other magistrates
were obliged to seek its advice
on all major internal and
external policies
Ruling the Republic
Magistrates – elected officials
Consuls – top of hierarchy
• 2 patricians elected to office for one year
• Initiated legislation, served as the head of the judiciary and the military, &
served as chief priests to the nation
• Power severely limited
– only served for one year – could be reelected
– two consuls – each had veto over other
– serve on the Senate after their term in office
Proconsuls – enacted in 325 BC
• consuls with extended terms of office because of military campaigns
Quaestors - two financial officers below the consuls
Praetor - originally a judicial office, but later became central generals of Rome
• Became the one-year appointment, but could be extended in times of war
Censors - task of classifying citizens according to wealth
• Draw up the roll of citizens and fix tax status
• Acquired great powers over time – Could dismiss senators
Women in Society
• Little evidence of women in professions
• Husbands controlled their wives and the household
• Guardian system prevailed
– First the father and then her husband or other male
relative
– Cicero: “Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered
that all women, because of their innate weakness,
should be under the control of guardians.”
• Marriages usually arranged
– Arranged for girls when they were still very young
– Wait until she became an adult to be married
• Two types of marriages for women
– Family transfers her to her husband’s control, along
with financial resources
– Remain under father’s control, with her birth family
retaining financial resources
Women in Society
• With marriage, the Roman woman
gained considerable freedom
• Roman wife was generally understood
as her husband's companion and helper
• She was next to him at banquets and
parties
– She did not recline at a dinner party, nor join
in any drinking
• Shared his authority over the children,
slaves and the household
• Could freely receive visitors, leave the
house, visit other households, or leave
to go shopping
Punic Wars
• Carthage – Phoenician Colony
– Great rival of Rome
• Economic expansion
• First Punic War 264 – 241 BC
– Rome comes to the defense of the
Greek cities in Sicily against Carthage
– Naval battles
• Second Punic War 218 – 201 BC
• Hannibal – brilliant general
– Marches over the Alps
– Defeats numerous Roman armies
– Scipio – Battle of Zama 202 BC - Roman victory
• Third Punic War
– Carthage destroyed in 146 BC
• Rome the most powerful
force in the Mediterranean
after war
Macedonian Wars
• Rome fought four Macedonia Wars, 205 BC to 149 BC
• While Rome was engaged in internal politics and the conquest of Italy, the
Macedonian Greeks first conquered the Greek mainland and then the Persian
Empire
• End of the fourth century saw three great empires controlling the world east of
Rome
• The Romans didn't seem overly concerned – had regional expansionist issues
• Macedonian kingdoms seen as a threat after the Second Punic War
• Philip V allied kingdom with Carthage
• Rome became involved in stopping Macedonian expansion in Greece
• Rome wanted to guarantee that free Greek cities remained unallied
• Responded to what they saw as threats to their security
• Third Macedonian War changed attitude – became conquerors and realized
that the tremendous amount of wealth made war lucrative
• Massive wealth that was created for Rome awoke old tensions between the
classes
Empire of the Republic
Slave Society
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Military conquests expanded the slave population
After the 2nd Punic War (200 BC) much of the society
& economy were based on exploitation of slave labor
Millions of slaves in Italy, 35-40% population end of Republic
Members of every household who could afford them
– Nursemaids for most children
Undesirable jobs
– Mines, farms, factories, prostitution
– Some trained as skilled fighters to perform as gladiators in the arena - Spartacus
Vital services provided by literate slaves - accountants, librarians, scribes, artists and
entertainers - even doctors
– Most teachers were Greek slaves
Provincial tax-collectors acted as suppliers of slaves purchased by wholesale buyers
Acquiring of slaves through conquest was an accepted practice
– Slave traders often accompanied armies on campaign
– Julius Caesar, after conquering a town in Gaul, sold 53,000 slaves on the spot
Slave dealers sold their wares publicly, either in the open forum or in shops
Slave Society
• Slaves were supposed to be considered as part of the family
– Up to individual interpretation
• Slaves enjoyed no protection in law
– Roman law regarded slaves as mere chattels. They were subject to the
will of their masters, against which they enjoyed no protection.
– Marriage between a slave needed not be recognized by its master
– Children of a slave couple would be born as slaves
• Some slaves could buy their freedom
– Slaves often had a small 'part-time job' selling wares or services
– Profits would be his to keep and use in time to purchase his freedom
– Once freed, a slave enjoyed full citizenship, except for the right of
holding public office – Many freedmen became very rich
• During the empire the unlimited power of the master over his slaves was
curbed to some extent.
– Hadrian decreed that a master should no longer hold power over a
slave's life and death.
Roman Religion
• Practical attitude to religion
• Not based on any central belief, but on a
mixture of fragmented rituals, taboos,
superstitions, & traditions which they collected
over the years from a number of sources
• Extremely superstitious society
• Less a spiritual experience than a contractual
relationship between mankind and the forces
which were believed to control people's
existence and well-being
• Two main arenas of religion:
– a state cult, with significant influence on
political and military events
– private sphere, in which the head of the family
oversaw the domestic rituals and prayers in the
same way as the representatives of the people
performed the public ceremonials.
Roman Religion
Origins of Roman Religion
• Most of the Roman gods and goddesses
were a blend of several religious influences
• Many were introduced via the Greek
colonies of southern Italy
• Many had their roots in old religions of the
Etruscans or Latin tribes
• Often the old Etruscan or Latin name
survived but the deity over time became to
be seen as the Greek god of equivalent or
similar nature
• Roman habit of reading omens and auspices
stemmed from the divination of the
Etruscans
Roman Religion
Prayer and Sacrifice
• Most form of religious activity required some kind of
sacrifice
• Contract between the gods and the mortals
• Must perform highly defined rituals correctly
• A small offering to the deity would almost always
accompany a prayer
• Sacrifice had to be a symbol of life in some way
Superstitions
• Interpret natural phenomenon to determine will of gods
• Put meaning to any unusual phenomena which occurred
• Read the future by examining the entrails of sacrificial
animals, with the liver being of special importance
• Many wore amulets and lucky charms
• Ghosts roamed freely at night & in special places
Roman Religion
Religion in the Home
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Worshipped domestic deities - 2 primary:
Janus, god of doorways was seen as the chief guardian of the home
Vesta, goddess of the hearth
– Hearth - spiritual center of his home
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lares , the spirits of the family’s ancestors
Religion of the State
Pontifex maximus - head of Roman state religion
• Members were appointed for life from distinguished politicians
Four Religious Colleges
Rex sacrorum, the king of rites, became purely honorific
Pontifices – 16 priests oversaw the organization of religious events
Flamines - priests to individual gods
• Three for the major gods Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus, and twelve for the lesser ones
Vestal Virgins – 6 Priestesses of Vesta
• Shrine contained a sacred fire to Rome
• Chosen around the age of 6-10 from elite families, and served for a 30 year term
• Vestals took a strict vow/law of chastity – under penalty of death
Education
• Purpose of education to transmit Roman
culture
• Early Roman republic, the education of
children completely in the hands of parents
• By 3rd cen. BC wealthier households began
to send their children to schools which
employed educated Greek slaves as
teachers.
• Children of the wealthy, boys & girls, went
to primary school from about age of seven
• At age 12, boys went to the grammaticus
– Studied Greek and Latin literature, and the
fundamentals of history, geography, physics
and astronomy
• Later, boys would be taught rhetoric in
order to learn to speak persuasively
Roman Art
Sculpture
• Strongly influenced by Etruscan and
Ancient Greek art
• Often borrowed, copied, or even
literally stole from Greek precedents
• Original works very practical
• Portrait sculptures
– often meticulously detailed and
unidealized
– busts of famous Romans
– multiple copies of which were
circulated around the empire
• Relief sculptures
– Architectural works such as columns,
arches and Temples
Roman Art
Painting
• Known through Pompeii
• Main innovation – development of
landscapes
• Incorporating techniques of perspective
• Wide variety of themes: animals, still
life, and scenes from everyday life
• Very lively colors
Mosaics
• Covered floors &
walls of luxurious
Roman villas
Roman Painting
Roman Roads
• Essential for the growth of their empire,
by enabling them to move armies
• Proverb - "all roads lead to Rome”
• Designed that way to hinder provinces
organizing resistance against the Empire
• Roman road system spanned 53,000
miles
• Divided into numbered miles by
milestones
• Government maintained way stations, or
mansiones ("staying places)
• Appian Way – most famous of roads
– Begun in 312 BC by censor Appius
Claudius Caecus
Aqueducts
• Artificial channel constructed to
convey water from one location to
another
• Raised above the landscape,
resembling bridges rather than
rivers
• built in all parts of the Roman
Empire, from Germany to Africa
• Over 260 miles of aqueducts in
Rome
• High standard of engineering
“The Struggle of the Orders"
• Long social conflict between patricians (wealthy aristocrats) and plebeians
(commoners)
• Originally Imperium was fully concentrated in the hands of patricians
– Magistrates elected from the patrician class
– Senate composed only of patricians
• Series of political reforms forced on the patricians from about 509 to 287 BC
• Patrician class attempted to hold onto power while the plebeians attempted to
achieve social and political equality
• Patricians found themselves unable to exist without the plebeians
• In 494 BC, the plebeians withdrew from Rome and declared a Tribal
Assembly as an alternative government. Appointed Tribunes to represent the
plebeians
• In 450 BC, the Law of the Twelve Tables was enacted which formalized and
codified Roman law and its constitution
• In 287 BC, plebian Tribal Assembly became the principle legislative body
– Laws were binding on all Roman citizens
• Reforms were purchased without any civil war or internal bloodshed
Traditional Political Parties Populares and Optimates
• Later stages of the republic
Populares ('people's party')
• Platform - For extension of citizenship to provincials, the cancellation of debt, &
for distribution of land
• Equestrian order – wealthy plebeians
Optimates ('senatorial party')
• Platform - opposing conservative force, defending the traditions of Rome and the
existing order
Contest between the new powers and the old – became bloody
The old privileged families held sway in Rome & sought to prevent any change from
reducing their powers
New powerful families saw opportunities in winning more clients & supporters by
championing the cause of the less privileged or excluded
• Goal of extending their own power by extending citizenship to provincials
• No one acted on behalf of the poor, but rather sought to gain poor votes
Reforms of the Gracchi
Gracchi brothers- noble family who sought to
help the poor
• Represented Roman ideal of public service
• Seen as major threat by wealthy
• Appealed to the passions of the masses
– new style of politics
Tiberius became tribune in 133 BC
• Proposed laws to redistribute land to the poor
• Murdered along with followers
• Sparks open class conflict in Rome
Gaius became tribune in 123 BC
• Passed laws to improve grain distribution
• Proposed the extension of citizenship to all
Italians
• In 121 BC, after he left office, Senate
declared him an enemy of the state
• Murdered along with thousands of followers
Political murder new tactic
Empire of the Republic