Download Hr 04 - Roman Leaders Jigsaw

Julius Caesar (13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and politician who
played an important role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman
Empire.
In 60 BC, Caesar entered into a political alliance with Crassus and Pompey. Promoting policies
to help the plebeians, Caesar was opposed by wealthy patricians who feared his growing
popularity among the people. Caesar's conquest of Gaul (modern-day France) in 51 BC extended
Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine River. Eventually, Caesar ended his
alliance with Crassus and Pompey and later defeated Pompey in battle. When he was ordered by
the Senate to stand trial in Rome for various charges, Caesar marched from Gaul to Italy with his
legions, crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC. This sparked a civil war from which he emerged as the
unrivaled leader of the Roman world.
After taking control of Rome, Caesar passed many reforms, including making himself “dictator
for life.” A group of senators, led by Brutus, assassinated the dictator on the Ides of March (15
March) 44 BC, hoping to restore the constitutional government of the Republic. However, the
result was a series of civil wars, which ended with the founding of the Roman Empire by
Caesar's adopted heir Octavius (later known as Emperor Augustus).
Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), who was originally known as Octavian, is
considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Adopted by his great-uncle Gaius Julius
Caesar in 44 BC, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony and Lepidus in a military
dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. After defeating the Senators responsible for
murdering Julius Caesar, the Second Triumvirate divided control of Rome and Octavian ruled
Rome and many of its provinces. The triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing
ambitions of its rulers: Lepidus was driven into exile, and Mark Antony committed suicide
following his defeat by Octavian. With this, Octavian was essentially the most powerful man in
Rome. By all appearances, Octavian restored power to the Senate and wanted to protect Roman
Republic. In reality however, Octavian took most of the power for himself and later established
the Roman Empire, after which he changed his name to Augustus (i.e. “the respected one”).
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana, or Roman
peace. Despite continuous wars on the frontiers, and one year-long civil war over the imperial
succession, the Mediterranean world remained at peace for more than two centuries. Augustus’
control over the majority of Rome’s legions meant that he could force the Senate to do as he
wished as well as defend Rome’s borders and put down rebellions. Augustus enlarged the empire
dramatically by conquering Egypt, North Africa, and Hispania. Beyond Rome’s borders, he
secured the empire with client states, and made peace with neighboring empires through
negotiations. He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an
official courier system, established a standing army, established the Praetorian Guard (i.e. royal
bodyguard), and created official police and fire-fighting services for Rome. Upon his death in
AD 14, Augustus was declared a god by the Senate.
Diocletian(c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311AD) was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305.
Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the
ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus. After the deaths of
Carus and his son Numerian on a military campaign in Persia, Diocletian was declared Emperor.
After becoming Emperor, Diocletian passed many reforms and fought to defend Rome’s borders.
He founded the Tetrarchy, or “rule of four,” to divide rule over the Roman Empire between two
emperors and two junior emperors. Created to make Rome easier to govern, each emperor would
rule over a quarter-division of the Empire. Diocletian passed other reforms concerning Rome’s
provinces and increased the size of the military to protect Rome’s borders. All of these reforms
and military campaigns meant tax reform was also needed and from 297 on, imperial taxation
was standardized, made more fair, and collected at a higher rate.
However, not all of Diocletian’s reforms were successful. His persecution of Christians in the
early 300s did not destroy Christianity and his Tetrarchy essentially ended after his death due to
civil wars fought between the different emperors. Yet despite his failures, Diocletian did help to
stabilize the Roman Empire for the time being and allowed it to survive for another hundred
years. Weakened by illness, Diocletian voluntarily abdicated his throne in 305, becoming the
only emperor to do so.
Constantine the Great (c. 27 February 272 – 22 May 337 AD), also known as Constantine I or
Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. The son of a Roman general,
Constantine grew up in a period of time when the Roman Empire had begun to decline and civil
wars were frequent. During his rise to power, Constantine defeated his rivals in a series of civil
wars that ended with him becoming Emperor of Rome.
Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine issued the
Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all religions throughout the
Roman Empire and essentially ended persecution of Christians. In addition to this, Constantine
also fought successfully against many barbarian tribes, including the Franks, Alamanni,
Visigoths, and Sarmatians during his reign.
By the 300s, the western part of the Roman Empire had weakened greatly, with the capital of
Rome losing much of its earlier glory. As a result, Constantine built a new imperial residence at
the city of Byzantium, naming it Constantinople. Located between the Black Sea and the
Mediterranean Sea, Constantinople had a number of advantages over Rome, such as being
located along trade routes between Europe and Asia and being much easier to defend from attack
due to the natural borders surrounding it. Later, this city would later become the capital of the
Eastern Roman Empire for over one thousand years. After his death, Constantine became known
as the founder of Eastern Roman Empire and the first in line of Constantinople Emperors.
Theodosius I (11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was
Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern
and the western halves of the Roman Empire.
During Theodosius’ reign, the western part of the Roman Empire continued to decline due to its
weakening military and barbarian invasions. After fighting a series of wars with the Goths, a
tribe of barbarians in Europe, Theodosius eventually allowed some of them to settle within the
borders of the empire as long as they provided military service to the Roman Empire. Although
this temporarily solved Rome’s problem of not having enough soldiers to fight its wars and
defend its borders, using barbarian soldiers also caused new problems because the barbarians had
little to no sense of loyalty to the Roman Empire (being more loyal to their local tribes and chiefs
instead).
In addition to dealing with the barbarians, Theodosius also passed laws that made Christianity
the official state religion of the Roman Empire and destroyed many pagan (i.e. non-Christian)
temples, including the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and that of the Vestal Virgins in Rome. As
such, he is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Theodosius. After Theodosius’
death, the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western halves between his two sons and
was never again reunited.
Justinian I (483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was
Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 to 565. Justinian was an ambitious emperor and did much to
restore Rome’s former glory through conquest and reform.
One of Justinian’s goals as emperor was to reconquer the lands that had formerly belonged to the
Western Roman Empire before its fall in 476 AD. To do this, he sent his generals westwards
from Constantinople and they retook North Africa and Italy from the barbarians while also
extending Justinian’s empire into the area bordering eastern Europe and Asia. Although
Justinian’s attempt to reconquer the lost western part of the Roman Empire was only partially
successful, his conquests did restore some of Rome’s old territories at least temporarily and bring
in more money from taxes raised in the reconquered provinces.
Despite his military conquests, Justinian’s most lasting legacy was his rewriting of Roman law
into the Corpus Juris Civilis, later known as Justinian’s Code. Written over a thousand years ago,
this law code still serves as the basis of civil law in many modern countries. On top of this,
Justinian encouraged art and culture in the Byzantine Empire and was responsible for building
the church of Hagia Sophia, which became the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for
centuries.
A devastating outbreak of plague in the early 540s marked the end of Justinian’s reign as
emperor. Although Justinian survived his bout of the plague, the Byzantine Empire entered a
period of territorial decline not to be reversed until the ninth century.