Rome Presentation Outline

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The Roman Empire Senatus Populus que Romanus Roman Republic – 509 B.C.

 Roman Citizenship

 Men entitled to vote in elections

 Could not be flogged as punishment

 Gave right to a trial as well as an appeal

 Originally citizenship required both parents be citizens, later policy is changed to just having a father as citizen Patricians

 Aristocracy of Rome

 Wealth primarily based on real estate ownership

 Originally had a monopoly over the Senate Plebeians

 Free men who did not have Patrician ancestry

 Etruscans protected citizen rights

 With Etruscan overthrow lost political protection

 Did not have adequate representation in the government Rule of Law

 Nobody is above the law, not the king, not the senate, not the people, not the police.

 Laws are written down and respected Twelve Tables

 451 B.C. Roman laws written down on twelve tablets and hung in the Forum.

 Established that all citizens had a right to the protection of law

 Solved the class dispute between Patricians and Plebeians Government

 Consul

 Two consuls, 1 year term in ten year period, veto

 Senate

 Membership for life, originally 100 members, but grew

 Assembly

 All citizen-soldiers, little power in comparison to senate

 Dictator

 For times of need or war, 6 month term, elected by senate Rome gains control of Italy

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 For times of need or war, 6 month term, elected by senate Rome gains control of Italy

 Sack of Rome

 Gauls invade in 390 B.C.

 Paid bribe to leave

 War with the Greeks

 In 282 B.C. Rome fought off the remaining Greeks in Italy

 From 275 B.C. on continual growth of Roman territory

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First Punic War – 264 B.C.

 Primarily a naval war

 Trireme naval tactics

 Carthage has most advanced navy of the time

 Rome changes the battle, by boarding enemy ships and engaging in land battle tactics.

 Used hooks

 Rome wins the first war – 23 years long Second Punic War – 218 B.C.

 Carthaginian General Hannibal leads army through Spain and across the Alps to attack Rome by land

 Won many battles, but could not attack Rome itself

 Too heavily fortified

 Roman army chose to attack Carthage instead of focus on Hannibal

 Hannibal heads back to Carthage

 Rome defeats Carthage in the second war Hannibal Third Punic War – 149 B.C.

 Carthage weak after second war

 Hannibal commits suicide

 Economy is shattered

 Lost all territory to Rome

 Rome feared another Carthaginian rise in power and challenge

 Told Carthage to move city or else

 Rome attacks Carthage and finally defeats them

 Entire population sold into slavery, all valuables brought back to Rome

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E   ntire population sold into slavery, all valuables brought back to Rome

 City burned and salted so nothing would grow Significance

 Rome is unmatched in the Mediterranean Sea

 Rome obtains all of Carthaginian possessions in the region

 Carthage is no more

 Evidence that the Roman Republic became too powerful

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Result of Punic Wars

 Hannibal’s army had destroyed much of the Italian countryside and farms

 New class of homeless, urban poor

 Proletariat

 Unemployed farmers, Punic War soldiers

 Roman dominance in the Mediterranean Spread of Slavery

 Wealthy landowners, buy slaves to work the land

 Wealth from spoils of war

 Even had educated Greek slaves

 Slave rebellions

 3 times between 138-70 B.C.

 Spartacus – 71 -73 B.C.

 Gladiator , raised army of 70,000 slaves

 Destroyed countryside for 2 years

 Gladiators used to entertain the proletariat Tiberius Gracchus

 Greek tutors

 133 B.C. elected Tribune

 Representative of the Plebeians in the Senate

 Wanted to give proletariat land

 Some reforms passed

 Tried to be reelected, never happened before Gaius Gracchus

 Idealistic, energetic, passionate

 Excellent orator

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 Excellent orator

 Senators and followers opposed to his reforms marched to his home and killed Gaius

 3,000 supporters were jailed, tried, and executed Idealists in Society

 Gandhi

 Steven Biko

 Nelsen Mandela, FW de Klerk

 Gorbachev

 Dr. King

 Oscar Schindler

 George Washington

 Abraham Lincoln

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Army leaders become powerful

 Marius and Sulla

 Both generals

 Marius extended service in the army to the urban poor

 Marius and Sulla ended up fighting each other

 In 82 B.C. Sulla became dictator and extended his tenure indefinitely

 Both died peacefully in their bed, at the expense of massive bloodshed in Rome

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Gaius Julius Caesar

 20 year old Patrician

 Wanted to govern a Roman province

 Excellent politician

 Funded by “Crassus the Rich”

 Appointed governor of Spain First Triumvirate

 Caesar, Pompey, Crassus united

 59 B.C. Caesar was elected Consul

 After Consul Caesar became governor of Gaul

 Fought relentlessly in Gaul and even in Britannica

 50 B.C. the triumvirate falls apart

 Crassus dies in battle

 Pompey becomes Caesar’s rival

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 Pompey becomes Caesar’s rival

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Crossing the Rubicon

 Pompey and Senate ordered Caesar to return to Rome

 Caesar leads his army across the Rubicon

 Rubicon was the extent of military jurisdiction

 (making a decision from which there is no return)

 Caesar and army occupy Rome

 Defeat Pompey’s army in Greece

 Pompey dies in Alexandria Egypt

 44 B.C. Julius Caesar appointed dictator for 10 years Absolute Ruler

 Expanded Senate to 900 men

 Patricians angry that Caesar controlled Senate

 Made wealthy farmers have at least a third of their workers be paid, free men

 New Calendar – 365 days, July and August

 March 15, 44 B.C. – Caesar brutally murdered

 Senators had knives and daggers under their togas

 “Et tu, Brute!” (“and you, also Brutus?”) Octavian Augustus

 Nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar

 Second Triumvirate

 Marcus Antony, Octavian, Lepidus

 Found and killed conspirators

 Cicero – most famous orator and 100 other senators Triumvirate falls apart

 Lepidus retires after defeat

 Marcus Antony falls in love with Cleopatra, divorces Octavian’s sister

 Defeated in naval battle

 Antony and Cleopatra commit suicide

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Absolute Rule

 Took title of “first citizen”

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 Took title of “first citizen”

 Did not want to risk the fate of Julius

 27 B.C. Octavian becomes Augustus

 Now Rome is ruled by one man as an empire

 Octavian Augustus was the first emperor of Rome

 Ruled for 41 years

 Marked the beginning of the longest time of peace and prosperity in Rome’s history – Pax Romana Identify…..

 Octavian Augustus

 Nero

 Marcus Aurelius

 Veni Vidi Vici

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Philosophy of Rome

 Philosophy of Rome was an evolution from the ancient Greek philosophies

 Epicureanism – Athens, by Epicurus 330s B.C.

 Free body from pain and fear

 Avoid all excesses, even pleasure

 Death is the end of existence, accept it

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Stoicism

 Founded in Athens, by Zeno 300 B.C.

 Universe controlled by a superhuman power

 Universal Law, Divine Reason, or Supreme Power

 Stoics taught the virtues of duty, reason, and courage

 Pain and pleasure unimportant

 Marcus Aurelius

 “…a man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” Latin Literature

 Virgil

 Wrote the Aeneid

 Epic poem, which traced Rome’s origins to Romulus and Remus. Even the Trojan War

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Remus. Even the Trojan War 34

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Standards of Law

 Judges developed legal standards over time

 No person could be judged guilty of a crime until after the facts of the case were examined.

 All persons accused of crimes had the right to face their accusers and defend themselves before a judge.

 If there was doubt about a person’s guilt, he or she should be judged to be innocent.

 Any law that seemed unreasonable or unfair could be set aside Contrasts in Roman Society

 By 250 B.C. – over 150 holidays

 The Government often provided games

 Large gap between rich and poor

 Rich ate luxuries like parrot tongue pie…..mmmmm!

 Poor could barely afford three squares a day

 Rich began developing self-sufficient villas in the countryside Rise of Christianity

 Jews had been under Roman influence since 65 B.C.

 Formal establishment of Judea in 6 A.D.

 Jesus crucified by Pontius Pilot in 33 A.D.

 Saul/Paul

 Originally opposed to Christians

 Had a vision of Jesus, decided to spend the rest of his life preaching the teachings of Jesus

 Established churches throughout the empire Struggles with Religion

 Jewish revolt in 66 A.D. – after the defeat the Romans burnt down the temple.

 Nero ordered the persecution of the Christians

 Peter and Paul were killed in Rome the same day

 Accept Roman Gods or torture in the arena

 Considered martyrs

 Not until 313 B.C. under Constantine will the persecution of Christians end Fall of Rome

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Christians end Fall of Rome

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Reform Attempts

 Diocletian 284 C.E., tried to hold empire together by limiting personal freedoms

 he doubled the size of the army-using POWs and German mercenaries

 fixed prices of goods, and forced farmers to stay on their farms

 viewed Christianity as evil-persecution

 divided into halves, east and west, easier to control.-east better economics

 overall slowed down the inevitable

 Retired and then civil war broke out-Constantine Constantine

 fought his way to restoring the single ruler in 324 C.E.

 330 C.E. changed the capital to Byzantium

 ended persecution of Christians and eventually became a Christian

 324 C.E. Constantine gains control of both east and west last hope

 After Constantine, empire divided in half, the demise of west Factors of the Fall Military

 legions overwhelmed by guarding frontiers from Germanic tribes

 Soldiers gave loyalty not to Rome, but to their military commander.

 Employed cheaper mercenaries-no loyalty to Rome

 Invaded by Huns, Ostragoths, Vandals, Franks, Saxons, Visigoths, Burgundians. Economic Decline- post-Pax Romana

 hostile tribes raided Roman trade routes, adding to the cost of protection

 Wealthy spent money on luxury goods from the east- draining Rome of its gold and silver

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Rome of its gold and silver  No new expansion meant- no new gold and war plunder  in order to counter Rome’s never ending expenses they raised taxes

 tried to accomplish this by adding less silver to coins, meaning the government continued to make currency even though it had nothing to back it up, INFLATION.  overworked farms lost nutrients in soil, lead to shortage of production  finally disease spread, with migration of poor to cities.

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Political

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 lack of patriotism

 officials began to lose money

 235-284 C.E. civil war, military chose who would rule, 20 emperors Social Destruction

 low confidence in empire

 contrast between rich and poor

 disloyalty and corruption

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